I have just bought a second hand netbook.  According to its spec it has plenty of memory and a reasonable chip.  However, since I had Windows 10 loaded, ( it had W7 before)  it is painfully slow.  Actually, it wasn't that fast originally.  Excuse my ignorance, but could my computer man down the road speed up, or is it stuck in this slow mode forever?  He is good but doesn't speak any English, so asking  him about the problem without knowing the answer before hand, may be problematic. Mrs P thinks its all back magic, so she is no help in translation. 

Buy a SSD ,very fast ,run cooler,not expensive now,

install a fresh installation of Win 10 Pro,did you have win 10

put on in a Thai computer shop,?, they also install all kinds

of other <deleted>.

regards worgeordie

2 minutes ago, worgeordie said:

Buy a SSD ,very fast ,run cooler,not expensive now,

install a fresh installation of Win 10 Pro,did you have win 10

put on in a Thai computer shop,?, they also install all kinds

of other <deleted>.

regards worgeordie

yes, Thai computer shop did the W10 load.  He can do the SSD bit I'm sure .   Thanks 

Depends on the Make/model etc, if the hardware can be upgraded.. Some extra Ram , if possible, would make an immediate difference.

Netbooks of that era often came with a fixed amount of Ram, HD that cannot be replaced etc.

Local Computer shop should be able to advise if it can be upgraded

A few simple things you can check:

Restart netbook and then check TaskManager for % memory being used. If at 50% or higher before you start any programs you may not have enough memory.

 

Check Programs and Features in Control Panel to see if there are any unneeded programs you can uninstall.

 

Windows may be downloading and attempting to install updates in the background. I like to set my WiFi connections as a metered connection to prevent Windows from constantly checking and updating. If Windows 10 Pro automatic updating is easily disabled by other methods.

1 hour ago, Peterw42 said:

Netbooks of that era often came with a fixed amount of Ram, HD that cannot be replaced etc.

I suspect he doesn't actually mean a netbook. They were only around for a few years after their introduction in 2007, mostly disappeared after the iPad, introduced in 2010, solved the same problems (cost, portability, battery life) in a more elegant way. He probably means a small laptop.

 

You can on most netbook models upgrade the Ram, Hard drive, Network card and the battery. The processor, sound and graphics, usb, lan and flash memory are always integrated into the motherboard.

 

That said, I have found that the biggest problems are usually installations done on dodgy crated partitions, Antivirus programs and applications running in the back ground as described by KeeTua in post #5

In my own experience windows 7 runs much faster than windows 10 on older machines if you keep your computer clean and apps running to a minimal.

12 minutes ago, douglasspade said:

In my own experience windows 7 runs much faster than windows 10 on older machines if you keep your computer clean and apps running to a minimal.

So no good really to upgrade the RAM or SSD, it's like putting a new engine in a Ford Escort.

Seven replies and not one asked for the model number of the laptop.....