How to speed up my MSI U135DX netbook?

[Poster7]

My MSI U135DX was faster when it was brand new. It is a year and a half old now and runs really slowly. I have defragmented the hard drive and used Ccleaner to fix problems - these caused it to speed up slightly but it is still frustratingly slow. How do I speed it up? Should I overclock the Intel Atom processor? It has 1GB RAM. Should I upgrade it to 2GB? Please advise. Thank you very much.

 

[TechyInAZ]

LOL, you have an ATOM processor!?

That's normal for a netbook, netbooks are really low powered for budget users, so they will get slow really fast compared to notebooks and desktops.

You can't overclock an atom, even if you could you would burn up the processor really fast.

 

[TechyInAZ]

Is it running windows?

The best thing you can do if you can't afford a new processor is to upgrade to 2GB of ram and to get an SSD.

 

[bigpinkdragon286]

Reinstalling Windows is usually the most efficient method to bring back that "like new" performance. Nothing you do in hardware is likely to cause significant performance gains unless you have done something which is causing your hardware resources to be used up.

If your Netbook uses flash for it's permanent storage (in other words, if it doesn't have a spinning platter, magnetic hard drive), don't defragment it, as the only thing defragmenting flash memory does is decrease it's life expectancy.

If your Netbook is running Windows 7 Starter, it will not support upgrading beyond 2 GB of RAM.

 

[jaguarskx]

Back up any important information and do a fresh install of Windows. This should bring back the performance to when you 1st got it.

Having 2GB of RAM should increase performance as well.

It should be fine to defrag since specs states it comes with a 250GB Seagate 5400rpm HDD.

 

[TheGoat Eater]

I would suggest that you upgrade to a ssd and that you put in that 2GB of RAM - with those two things you will notice a huge improvement in speed and usability.

You should be able to pick up a ssd pretty inexpensive and then I would recommend that you put your hdd into a portable exclosure and use it as portable storage

 

[bigpinkdragon286]

There's a limit to how much money is even worth throwing at an older Netbook. By adding so many pieces, you're getting near the point where you are wasting the potential of the components you add, and should consider getting a decent Windows 8.1 tablet or full notebook instead, both of which would be noticeably faster.

 

[Alex Ferreira]

The Atom N455 is soldered to motherboard, it´s not easily upgradeable. Specs say you can go only up to 2Gb DDR3 (1066 or 1333MHz, I think), that doubles the ram amount. Lighter and/or clean operating system, check for unwanted software in process, internal cleanup and new thermal paste for better energy efficiency.

 

[Poster7]

Many thanks to everyone who replied. Sorry about my delay in replying. The netbook runs Windows 7 Starter. How can I re-install it fresh when I don't have Windows 7 Starter on a USB drive? The netbook doesn't have a DVD drive. The manufacturer didn't give any USB drive with Windows 7 Starter on it so I am stuck. Any solution? Is it possible to get Windows 8.1 on USB drive? Would Windows 8.1 run faster than Windows 7 Starter? Or should I try to get Windows XP on USB drive?

 

[bigpinkdragon286]

Obtain installation media for Windows 7 Starter and then use the Windows 7 USB/DVD download tool from Microsoft to make a bootable USB memory device that you can use to reinstall Windows from.

 

[Poster7]

Obtain installation media for Windows 7 Starter and then use the Windows 7 USB/DVD download tool from Microsoft to make a bootable USB memory device that you can use to reinstall Windows from.

Thank you. Do I have to buy Windows 7 Starter? The netbook has a Windows 7 Starter product key sticker at the bottom. Would I be able to re-use this key?

 

[bigpinkdragon286]

Just reuse the key that is already on your Netbook.

 

[Poster7]

Just reuse the key that is already on your Netbook.

Thank you. I will re-use the key but how do I re-install Windows 7 Starter when I don't have the installation software?

 

[Matchap801]

My MSI U135DX was faster when it was brand new. It is a year and a half old now and runs really slowly. I have defragmented the hard drive and used Ccleaner to fix problems - these caused it to speed up slightly but it is still frustratingly slow. How do I speed it up? Should I overclock the Intel Atom processor? It has 1GB RAM. Should I upgrade it to 2GB? Please advise. Thank you very much.

Hi, i upgraded my U135DX to 2gb of RAM and it was certainly faster. I formatted it and installed a copy of windows home 7 rather than the msi version installed and it is hugley better. But as others ay on this forum you need to balance the cost of upgrading against buying a new proper laptop! Good luck. Mat