Slow laptop, slow support

V

Very Unhappy

Member
The one thing slower than my laptop is the technical support from PC Specialist.

I sent a support request via the website last Friday morning and it is still marked unread. Really? After two full business days?

I am currently on hold on the phone - 33 minutes so far and have moved from being caller number 18 to caller number 13.

Do you have only one techie working?
 
SpyderTracks

SpyderTracks

We love you Ukraine
Very Unhappy said:
The one thing slower than my laptop is the technical support from PC Specialist.

I sent a support request via the website last Friday morning and it is still marked unread. Really? After two full business days?

I am currently on hold on the phone - 33 minutes so far and have moved from being caller number 18 to caller number 13.

Do you have only one techie working?
Click to expand...
This forum isn't frequented by any PCS staff by the way, none of us work for them.

We can help troubleshoot though if you're interested?
 
V

Very Unhappy

Member
That's very kind of you to offer Spydertracks, thank you.

I was on hold for 1hr and 5 mins and then the call "failed" - aaaaaargh!!!!!

Setting aside the complete lack of customer service, the laptop was delivered in December but I've only really used it in the past week.

It runs horribly slow - takes ages to load web pages, sometimes doesn't load them at all, struggles to play videos in a web browser, and generally suffers lags on every app I use (which is limited to Office).

I've reinstalled Windows, tried optimising Windows to run more efficiently, disabled all apps on startup, reduced Windows features such as transparency etc., run windows update and scanned for malware, tried using Chrome, then MS Edge - all to no avail.

My 8 year old Lenovo laptop on Windows 7 runs far smoother and quicker than the laptop I have purchased from PC Specialist.

Here is the spec:

Chassis & DisplayLafité Pro Series: 14" Matte Full HD 60 Hz 72% NTSC LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU)Intel® Core™ i5 Quad Core Processor i5-1135G7 (2.4GHz, 4.2GHz Turbo)
Memory (RAM)16GB Corsair 2400MHz SODIMM DDR4 (2 x 8GB)
Graphics CardIntegrated Intel® Iris® Xe Graphics
1st M.2 SSD Drive500GB SAMSUNG 970 EVO PLUS M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3500MB/R, 3200MB/W)
Memory Card ReaderIntegrated 6 in 1 Card Reader (SD /Mini SD/ SDHC / SDXC / MMC / RSMMC)
AC Adaptor1 x 65W AC Adaptor
Power Cable1 x 1 Metre Cloverleaf UK Power Cable
BatteryLafité Pro Series Integrated 49WH Lithium Ion Battery
Sound Card2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack
Bluetooth & WirelessGIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 (2.4 Gbps) + BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options1 x THUNDERBOLT 4 + 1 x USB 3.2 (TYPE C) + 2 x USB 3.2
Keyboard LanguageLAFITÉ PRO SERIES SINGLE COLOUR BACKLIT UK KEYBOARD
Operating SystemWindows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KK3-00002]
Operating System LanguageUnited Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery MediaWindows 10 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office SoftwareFREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-VirusBullGuard™ Internet Security - Free 90 Day License inc. Gamer Mode
BrowserMicrosoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
Notebook MouseINTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
WebcamINTEGRATED 1MP HD WEBCAM
 
TheMash

TheMash

Bronze Level Poster
Hi,
I'd like to help to understand what's wrong with your system.
Could you please post a screenshot of your task manager, in Processes tab sorting by CPU usage?
And Details tab as well, sorting as above by CPU usage.
 
Bhuna50

Bhuna50

Author Level
Two thoughts here to add:

i) When you reinstalled windows, did you also reinstall the Control Center software?

ii) Have you opened the laptop and checked that no components are loose or have come loose at all and that all is seated and looking correct - no loose wires etc - things do move in transit unfortunately.
 
V

Very Unhappy

Member
TheMash said:
Hi,
I'd like to help to understand what's wrong with your system.
Could you please post a screenshot of your task manager, in Processes tab sorting by CPU usage?
And Details tab as well, sorting as above by CPU usage.
Click to expand...
Hi, thank you and please see below:

1612213638937.png
 
V

Very Unhappy

Member
andjef796 said:
Two thoughts here to add:

i) When you reinstalled windows, did you also reinstall the Control Center software?

ii) Have you opened the laptop and checked that no components are loose or have come loose at all and that all is seated and looking correct - no loose wires etc - things do move in transit unfortunately.
Click to expand...
Hi,

Thank you for your help.

i) Don't recall TBH, I just went through the reinstall process through Windows 10 interface, downloading the software from Microsoft.

ii) No, didn't think to do so. Would it invalidate the warranty in any way? I can open it up and have a look but it would be a "layman's look"!
 
TheMash

TheMash

Bronze Level Poster
Very Unhappy said:
Hi, thank you and please see below:

View attachment 21921
Click to expand...
Thank you very much. From what I see everything seems okay.
You should fire up the Task Manager in Details tab or Processes to check if there's anything that spike the CPU usage, as soon as you encounter any slowdowns.
Sometimes website and streaming video could be slower than usual, and that depends from your provider network saturation.
Although on a new installed system you could have some slowdowns for the first hours as the OS is managing to optimise some services, installing updates, further drivers, etc.
Also expect a slower system on battery as the CPU runs slower to preserve battery life
Sometimes some services can run in background as they're scheduled in Task Scheduler and they can be resource hog.
You need to investigate a little bit.

If you are a bit techy you could try Windows Performance Recorder and Analyzer to check what's going with your system.
There are some guides on the web explaining how it works.
 
Stephen M

Stephen M

Author Level
You are ok to open up the machine, PCS have an open case policy so warranty will not be voided. Just a case of being careful, not always easy to find all the screws, that I know from personal experience.

May not show anything but if DPD dropped the box, that has been witnessed before, something may have come loose.
 
V

Very Unhappy

Member
TheMash said:
Thank you very much. From what I see everything seems okay.
You should fire up the Task Manager in Details tab or Processes to check if there's anything that spike the CPU usage, as soon as you encounter any slowdowns.
Sometimes website and streaming video could be slower than usual, and that depends from your provider network saturation.
Although on a new installed system you could have some slowdowns for the first hours as the OS is managing to optimise some services, installing updates, further drivers, etc.
Also expect a slower system on battery as the CPU runs slower to preserve battery life
Sometimes some services can run in background as they're scheduled in Task Scheduler and they can be resource hog.
You need to investigate a little bit.

If you are a bit techy you could try Windows Performance Recorder and Analyzer to check what's going with your system.
There are some guides on the web explaining how it works.
Click to expand...
Thank you. I have run Performance Monitor and taskhostw.exe shows high cpu usage but I read somewhere that that is system idle so it means that its 95% unused/idle rather than in use - not sure if that's right?
 
V

Very Unhappy

Member
Stephen M said:
You are ok to open up the machine, PCS have an open case policy so warranty will not be voided. Just a case of being careful, not always easy to find all the screws, that I know from personal experience.

May not show anything but if DPD dropped the box, that has been witnessed before, something may have come loose.
Click to expand...
Noted and thank you Stephen, I'll open her up and take a look tomorrow when I've got some daylight (or what passes for daylight in the UK in February).
 
TheMash

TheMash

Bronze Level Poster
Very Unhappy said:
Thank you. I have run Performance Monitor and taskhostw.exe shows high cpu usage but I read somewhere that that is system idle so it means that its 95% unused/idle rather than in use - not sure if that's right?
Click to expand...
Nope, it shouldn't be that high. The one you are referring is probably System Idle Process in the Task Manager, not in Performance Monitor.
My Performance Monitor window as example.

Screenshot 2021-02-01 213548.png
 
Bhuna50

Bhuna50

Author Level
i) when reinstalling windows you are better off doing a CLEAN install - deleting partitions and then installing fresh. Run windows updates until there are no more then checking Device manager for any drivers / chipsets that might be missing, then either from your downloads page in My Account on the PCS website or from the manufacturers website obtain up to date drivers/chipsets for those missing. Rerun windows update to make sure no more updates. Then install the Control Center software.
 
FerrariVie

FerrariVie

Super Star
andjef796 said:
i) when reinstalling windows you are better off doing a CLEAN install - deleting partitions and then installing fresh. Run windows updates until there are no more then checking Device manager for any drivers / chipsets that might be missing, then either from your downloads page in My Account on the PCS website or from the manufacturers website obtain up to date drivers/chipsets for those missing. Rerun windows update to make sure no more updates. Then install the Control Center software.
Click to expand...
Agree with @andjef796 , control center software plays an important role on the config of those machines. So you'll need to install that (you can download the installer from your PCS account page, under downloads). Also check the Intel GPU drivers, you can get them from Intel (I think it should be this one): https://downloadcenter.intel.com/product/205778/Intel-Iris-Xe-Graphics
 
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