4 year old Laptop - How are the specs?

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Good evening all,

I have a Lenovo G460 laptop running Windows 7 and over time it has gotten very slow, it blue screens sometimes and is very sluggish. It acts up sometimes meaning if I put some load on it such as running Netflix or copying photos it sometimes freezes and I have to reboot to bring it back to life. I'm not sure if it is overheating or is just tired and likes to crash.

I've had it for more than four years now and it has seen heavy use, traveling, etc but most of the time it doesn't leave my desk.

It does not have any viruses or spyware (I checked for all these things).

Now to my main question. Is the hardware in my machine simply outdated? Here are the specs I know:

Manufacturer: Lenovo
Model: Lenovo Win7PC
Rating: 4.2 Windows Experience Index
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i5 CPU M 480 @ 2.67 GHz
Installed memory (RAM): 4.00 GB (3.80GB useable)
System Type: 64-bit Operating System
Local Disk (C:) 421GB Capacity (114GB used, 307GB free)

If I buy a $500 laptop will it be better than what I have or are my specs still good? Perhaps my system just needs a reformat? I think I paid $600 for this machine 4 years ago...after $200 off using an online code.

I do not play games on it...it is used for internet, word processing, music, netflix, photos and other basic tasks.

Thank you for any advice.
 
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The specs don't look too bad at all, IMO.

You'd benefit from an SSD and a fresh OS install.

As far as overheating, you could run some free utility to monitor the CPU temps. If they are in fact unusually high, you might need to do some physical cleaning... often times after such a long time the fans are full of dust which reduces air flow and impairs cooling.
 
Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
The specs don't look too bad at all, IMO.

You'd benefit from an SSD and a fresh OS install.


I did think about this idea. I do notice it seems that whenever the machine slows down the most is when it is accessing the HDD. If I copy photos off my phone onto my computer and the HDD is active the machine is basically unresponsive. My work/office laptop has an SSD and it's a dream.

I'm thinking if the specs are still decent and a reformat is in order maybe now is the time to pull the trigger on an SSD.
 
Originally Posted By: mpersell
If the RAM can be upgraded and you can install an SSD it will extend it's life.


Crucial has an 8GB kit for $67.99. I have checked how much memory I am using and usually it is hovering around 2.35GB during my normal usage. Would a memory upgrade still help?
 
Windows slows down over time, a clean re-install will get things moving just fine.

An extra 4gb ram and an SSD will make it fly
 
Originally Posted By: GMFan
Would a memory upgrade still help?

It might help a little, but from what you're describing, insufficient RAM isn't your primary problem.

If you're planning to have many apps open at once, having more RAM is beneficial though.
 
Was going to say the same thing Quattro Pete suggested. Adding onto his suggestion. If its possible, add more total system ram (8 or 16 gigs).

Right now I'm waiting on my samsung 850 evo to get here, but this cold weather has my package hostage at the UPS facility. Friday before valentines day it dropped down to 184$ on newegg.

Youtube has some videos of users installing SSDs into old machines. The over all increase in performance and backwards compatibility pulled my trigger on ordering one.

Samsung has a lot of positive reviews as well as Crucial.

The 8 gig kit you mentioned from Crucial was the one I was planning to get. The price you said is pretty good since it was around 90$ last year.

I suggest checking newegg.com for deals since you could order an enclosure for your old HDD, an SSD, and the ram from one place.
 
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Originally Posted By: BikeWhisperer
Windows slows down over time, a clean re-install will get things moving just fine.


+1; you don't need a new computer, you need a new OS.
 
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This site is awesome. Thanks for the help so far.

Crucial has a 250GB SSD compatible with my laptop for a reasonable price.

http://www.crucial.com/usa/en/thinkpad-g460/CT6689278

I think I may forgo the RAM for now.

Here's where I'm lost. I've reformatted computers back with Windows XP and I had the windows disks as I had built my own computers back then. Once I went the laptop route you're stuck with the typical "partition" on your computer meant to restore your machine and they don't give you Windows disks.

Excuse my ignorance here, but what is the best way for me to reinstall Windows 7 once I install a new SSD? I THINK I did reinstall Windows 7 once and if I remember (any my memory may be way off here) but I think I simply remember entering the Windows 7 license key to reformat but in this case I want a complete fresh install on a new drive.

I'm off to youtube to watch the videos...maybe I will get my answers there. I have opened up this laptop once to clean out the dust so I'm comfortable opening up computers. The underside of this laptop has a nice big panel to remove to gain access to the HD.
 
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There should be some Lenovo software on your machine that should allow you to create a Windows recovery disk, whether on a CD (if you have a CD drive) or on a USB stick. You should be able to use that medium to then do a fresh install on your new SSD. At least in theory...

Either that, or just use a cloning software (Samsung includes their Samsung Migration utility with their SSDs) to move everything onto the SSD (including the recovery partition), and once moved, then fire up that recovery process which should allow you to do a clean install.
 
Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
There should be some Lenovo software on your machine that should allow you to create a Windows recovery disk, whether on a CD (if you have a CD drive) or on a USB stick. You should be able to use that medium to then do a fresh install on your new SSD. At least in theory...


Thanks Quattro Pete. I found a program called "OneKey Recovery 7.0" and it does have an option to Create Recovery Disks and is says "Create a bootable recovery disc from system backup or factory default image file. These recovery discs are used to boot your computer and will guide you through the entire restoration process."

This leads to another question - will these recovery disks be looking for the recovery partition on my HD? Will this still work with a wiped drive in there?
 
I have a lenovo t500 from 2009. It has a t9400 cpu, 4 gigs ddr3 ram, windows 7 ultimate. I recently upgraded my laptop with a 250gb samsung 850 evo ssd. The computer absolutely flies. boots fast, shuts down fast, and i can go to any application within 2 seconds of the home screen showing. Why buy a newer laptop with a hdd when you can upgrade yours with a ssd and have a faster laptop than a new laptop with an hdd.
 
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This leads to another question - will these recovery disks be looking for the recovery partition on my HD? Will this still work with a wiped drive in there?

Not sure. You may need to read that utility's manual in detail.
 
For your usage, I doubt you need more RAM.

If temps are an issue, download HWINFO64. You can keep a running tab on current and max temps. Report back your finding and we may be able to determine whether you've got cooling issues.

Your first generation i5 can definitely use an upgrade, but that doesn't mean that it's necessary. Your i5, 3GB of RAM and a properly working HDD with a fresh install of W7 are all you need.

I was able to get my AMD E-350-powered laptop to speed up a bit with a fresh install of W7, but it's still painfully slow. My next option is to upgrade the 7,200 RPM HDD to an SSD, but I'm not willing to put out the money for it. I'll stick with an annoyance and only upgrade if the annoyance upgrades to prohibitive...
 
If you go with Samsung try their cloning software before wiping your original HD. Also an external hd/ssd enclosure can be had for 20$ or less. I suggest considering one of those to put the new SSD into for the cloning process then booting your system from it. That way you know everything works before taking the screws and panel off. Also your old HD can be stuffed into it once the whole upgrade process is done and you'll have even more storage.

Just like to add that another benefit of SSDs is reduced power consumption and temperature.
 
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Drew,

I downloaded and installed the registry defrag program. It said it was 1.7% defragmented. I will reboot and defrag it.

I downloaded CCleaner and it deleted over 1GB of junk.

gathermewool,

I downloaded the program and finally found the temps. It says my maximum temps are:

Core #0 - 72.0 degrees C
Core #1 - 69.0 degrees C
Core Max - 72.0 degrees C

Average is 50 degrees C. A quick google search says the chip is good until 105 degrees C.

WDC WD5000BEVT-24A0RT0 - 40.0 degrees C

Auslogics found 455 registry issues. Hmm..
whistle.gif
 
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install a solid state drive. it will be like a brand new laptop. I did that with my HP 6910P laptop core 2 duo 3.4 GHZ, 4 gb ram. I have windows 8.1 too.
 
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