Computer help needed!

[Filbert]

I have an acer aspire 5520g laptop which I bought 4 or 5 years ago which has the wonderful windows vista.
The problem with it is that it takes about 15 minutes to load up, even though I don't have many files running on start up and I regularly empty my files of photos and data etc. It also makes a hell of a lot of noise (I think its the fan - It used to unexpectedly shut down on me until I used an external plug-in fan). Does anyone else have this problem? It also does very strange things with the keyboard...I'll be typing and the text will appear in any order, like I've clicked the mouse to add text somewhere else (its already done it 5 times just typing this question). The other day it decided to open 15 windows without me touching anything. Any advice? Thanks, its driving me mad.

[daffy654]

My advice would be to buy a new laptop, 4-5 years is a decent run for a computer and technology has improved a lot in those years.

[HowardKennitby]

how long has it been doing this?

[Mosaic]

Could your keyboard be a bit gunky and dirty?
a clean soft paintbrush + holdng the laptop open and upside down can dislodge stuff under the keys. Worth a go.

[Filbert]

I'd love to get a new one, but at the mo its not poss. The start up has been like it for over a year and the text business only the last few months. I though it was the mouse, but I've used it on other computers without a problem.

[hc4361]

Have you ever cleaned the fan?

Data files and photos won't slow down start up. It's the amount of programs you have that start up automtically on boot up that causes the probem.
Very good advice here:
http://www.techradar....ta-boot-faster-605430

Acer has an easy to use 'restore to factory settings' facility that you can use as a last resort. You need to be aware the computer will then be exactly as you bought it, so you will need to back up your files, photos, music, everything first.
It is daunting but I like to do it every two or three years because it really does make the machine run faster. Be prepared to spend a few hours updating, installing your programs etc afterwards.

[hc4361]

If you use a mouse, disable the trackpad.

[Filbert]

Thanks for your help. I'll be trying all these at the weekend. I'll let you know how I get on.