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Probably this kind of question has been asked way too often, but as of yet I have not found a satisfying solution; please accept my apologies if I am wasting your time.

Introduction

As Windows gets slow over the course of years, especially when used by ignorant people who fill it up with toolbars and fake "optimization" software, I decided to reinstall it in order to get rid of these issues.

The Windows version that had been installed beforehand was probably Windows 7 x64 Home Edition. Since I was unable to find the OEM DVD's I used another copy of Windows, Windows 7 x64 Professional Edition, which I assumed not to be a problem.

The problem

However, the installation of Windows 7 took multiple hours, which should not be the case. The selection menus responded extremely slow. It could take up to a minute before a drop-down menu appeared after clicking it. When Windows was finally installed, everything was excruciatingly slow and unresponsive. Internet Explorer even failed to launch. It took minutes to get into the control panel.

Additional Information

  • The computer has been produced by Medion.
  • CPU: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7 CPU 870 @ 2.93 GHz (eight cores) (CPU family 6, model 30)
  • 8 GiB RAM memory, (4 x 2 GiB, DIMM SDRAM Synchronous)
  • Motherboard: MS-7616 (Medion)

  • When I boot from a Debian-like live USB-drive, everything runs smoothly wihout any trouble (and no, no matter how much I like Linux, installing Linux is not a viable option since the purpose of the computer is gaming).

  • Hard disk operations are as fast as I expect them to be under Linux, which led me to believe that the problem is a software issue.

Questions

  • Could this be a drivers issue? If so, how could I solve it? I thought I might solve the problem by installing the appropriate chip set etc. drivers from the internet (since I lost the OEM disks), but I do not know how, for IE does not start.
  • Could it be a BIOS/CMOS issue?
  • Is it a problem that I cannot find the OEM disks?
  • Could corruption of the installation DVD cause the issue?

Thanks in advance for your support.

Update 1/1/14:

  • Using gnome-disk-utility (palimpsest) while running a Linux live image, I found no disk errors.
  • When I copy files from the hard disk to a flash-drive under Linux, I experience no problems, reading performance is normal.
  • I transferred the installation executable of slimdrivers to the desktop and ran it under Windows, in safe mode, with administrator privileges. Installation failed, a message told me that Windows Installer did not work properly or was not installed.
  • Interestingly, no matter what I do under Windows, Task Manager says the PC uses approximately 0 to 1 % of the CPU capacity and only 10% of the RAM (822 MB).

Update 1/2/14:

  • I ran "chkdsk /r C:", it found no errors.
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  • Sounds like a bad disk. Did you actually test the disk fully? Like using the manufacturer diagnostics? I suggest this, as just because you didn't hit a slow/bad spot while trying a live Debian OS doesn't mean Windows didn't find it. :) Dec 31, 2013 at 16:27
  • @Ceon - If you are booting to a Live USB installation of Linux then its not ever writing to your HDD, which indicates your performance problems, are directly connected to your HDD. Use the S.M.A.R.T tool of your choice, while using a Live USB Linux installation, to verify there are no reported S.M.A.R.T errors on your HDD. There are other tools you can also use, research your options and select the one that best fits your skill level, paid solutions like Spinrite can provide additional insight into the performance of your disk.
    – Ramhound
    Dec 31, 2013 at 16:28
  • Also drivers like chipset drivers? Google SlimDrivers and use it to update your drivers. Also, chkdsk /r c: from an administrive command prompt. Yes Do do after reboot. Reboot and wait for completion.
    – cybernard
    Dec 31, 2013 at 17:01
  • In addition to doing a SMART check, you might consider (temporarily) dual booting Debian and Windows to get a more accurate idea of how both perform. That is, install Debian on the hard disk as well. This really does sound like a hard disk issue.
    – Dylan
    Jan 2, 2014 at 15:56

1 Answer 1

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Thanks everyone for suggestions, it appeared to be a driver issue (or at least a software issue) after all. After I contacted Medion, they sent me the proper installation DVD, which reset the PC to the manufacturer's initial settings. After that, everything ran smooth like it is supposed to.

I still do not understand why it did not work with an other Windows 7 x64 installation DVD, but it works now, that is what matters.

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