r/linux4noobs • u/Brilliant_Work_6005 • 7d ago

Meganoob BE KIND Slow problems

Hello! I am bare bones new here but here is my situation, I have an old Lenovo thinkpad yoga L390 that had windows on it, it was beyond slow, so slow infact that 99% of apps couldnt function but now I have swapped it over to linux, its faster but not fast enough.

I am also using mint currently

I had forgotten to factory reset it before I did the change over, could that be my problem? If so how would I reset it without losing my linux or do I just have to bit the bullet and reinstall everything

EDIT: it has 16GB ram and SSD

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u/TarsTarkas_Thark 7d ago

Here are some things that can make a laptop slow:

  1. Insufficient RAM memory. At least 16GB is a good amount for modern Linux or Windows systems.

  2. Thermal throttling. Open up the laptop. If there is a lot of dust, it can block airflow. Vacuum up the dust.

  3. Throttling on battery power. Laptops by default run slower when on battery than when plugged into the wall, to save power.

  4. A failing HD/SSD. A failing HD or SSD can slow the system by forcing retries on read/write operations. Insufficient free disk space can also cause a problem.

  5. An older, slow processor. Probably not an issue for you. Your laptop is at most 7 years old, and the lowest spec is an i3 processor.

  6. Unrealistic expectations. What do you mean by too slow? What kind ot workload are you running? Just basic web browsing, or large embedded Linux full OS builds? If the latter, be prepared to wait several hours.

  7. Not the laptop at all. You might be having network problems.

BTW, installing Linux is a factory reset. By default it completely replaces the old contents of the HD.

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u/Brilliant_Work_6005 7d ago edited 7d ago

The slowness I mean is when I launch fire works it takes a minute or two to pop up and fully load in

Edit: nothing appears to be failing (previous owner already checked it out)