kriskamweru

That's exactly what I feared, but it was worth a shot. Thank you all for your input, much appreciated

Now, I begin with a disclaimer. This post isn't strictly about overclocking. That being said, I do need some help with my laptop's speed. The specs are as follows: Intel Core i5-5200 CPU @2.20 GHz 12 GB DDR3L Hynix RAM @1600Mhz 1 TB HDD @5400rpm Windows 8.1 x64. Find a more detailed write-up of its features here: http://www8.hp.com/h20195/v2/GetPDF.aspx/c04554237.pdf Anywho, on to more pressing matters. 1) With fast boot, the laptop boots to the log in screen in just under 15 seconds. However, without that option enabled, it takes more than two minutes just to get to the log in screen, and in both instances, it's another 2-3 minutes after logging in before the applications and such are fully loaded and the computer is completely done without booting up. 2) While the computer can run most tasks adequately, and multitasking is a dream, it does seem to slow down fairly quickly, it doesn't run anywhere near as snappily as I would have imagined. For instance, if I don't allow chrome to run at startup, and in the background, it will take about a minute and a half for it to open up. I realise that this may partially be the fault of the app itself, but still. What am I ranting about you ask? Well, in short, I'd like to know how to improve my laptop's performance to nearer the levels I know it can achieve. It'd be great if you guys helped me out. Things I can't do as of now: - Buy an SSD - Buy faster/more RAM - Most things concerning hardware upgrades I'm basically looking for what I can do software side to help me out. Any and all help will greatly be appreciated.