Windows 7 starts getting sluggish over a few days

performancewindows 7

Myself and the other developer are running Windows 7 Enterprise 64 bit with 8GB RAM on different Gigabyte motherboards with Quad core Intel CPUs. Most of the time, it runs like a dream. We use VMware workstation a lot (hence the 8GB) and that works well.

Except… now and then, after the PCs have been on for a few days, the whole system starts getting really sluggish doing certain tasks. The other's developer's system is far worse than mine with it taking up to a minute to launch IE. Today, mine has gone sluggish but nowhere near as bad. For example, normally when I click on a new tab in IE, it's instant. Today, there's an obvious delay. Right-clicking in this window to trigger iSpell is normally instant, right now it takes about five seconds. I've got resource monitor open on my second monitor and when I did that right-click, there was no obvious peak in CPU, disk or memory.

A reboot does fix it so it does sound like a resource issue but haven't a clue what might be to blame. The two computers have similarities (same spec) but also differences (like motherboard, RAM & CPU models).

So I guess the question is, any pointers on diagnosing why a PC is sluggish? What could cause such a right-click slow down in IE for example? It sounds like such a simple operation.

NOTE: whilst typing this message alone, it was fine performance wise. I can click around the page no problem but right-click still is noticeable slow. Will reboot over lunch…

Best Answer

There are so many unknowns, that I can't give you a definitive answer as to what exactly is happening. However, I can point you to some resources that may help you in your search for what may be bogging down the system. (note: this is for sluggish systems overall and not just for your specific IE problems)

  1. Run a On/Off Transition Performance Analysis:

    Believe it or not, there may be a service that is starting that you don't know about and therefore over time sucking up resources. Following this guides will help you determine EXACTLY what is starting up when you boot up, and how long each service takes to start. Running the xbootmgr.exe with the -prepsystem command will boot your system 6 times optimizing for your boot-up, while capturing traces during those boots as well

  2. Is there a reason why you're leaving the systems on for days on end?

    Again, there may be a background service that is taking up resources that you don't know about. Also windows is notorious for hogging up system resources over time (although win7 has gotten better at this). I suggest turning the system off when gone for the day

  3. Consider a purchase of an SSD

    SSD's performance for read/write, boot-up times, and application starts are unsurpassable buy any regular HDD. If you're doing a lot of same data calling, application start-up and running, then I highly recommend using an SSD for you.

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