Sony Vaio VGN-FW11ZU - Windows Vista soooooo slow

Thats why windows 7 is available vista slowed computers down too much I don't think your laptop will upgrade to windows 7 as the graphjics controller is not dirext x 9 and thats a windows 7 requirement

There are 3 things to start with:
1. Delete your Internet Explorer temporary files (cache) and set the maximum value to 50Mb
2. Run Disk Cleanup and be sure to check obvious temporary files and setup logs to clean up. Don't delete any Office cache, and don't compress your files.
3. Then run Disk Defrag.

These are the main three things that cause slowdown, because Windows has to keep track of it all.

If all this fails, consider malware, as virus and malware attacks can result in the same thing.
... Thinkpads_User

I think you can start with some normal tips and tricks
1. Check how many services are running on system. Which are not used or required. (Go to Control Panel\Administrative Tools  then open Services.
2. Check your Processes running on system. (Press Ctrl+Shift+Esc keys) and check which process is taking most CPU time by sorting it in descending order.
3. Check which softwares are installed on your computer which are not required.
4. Check the space on boot drive (normally C:\ drive)
5. Check the Virtual Memory (System Properties then Advanced Tab).

From the configuration of your SONY laptop, it should not run soooooo slow.

My advice is that you should try system restore first to fix the problem and read the content below for details.

You need to download a Vista Recovery Disk or use your Vista Setup Disk to start your PC and launch system restore to go back to a restore point when there was no problem.

URL: http://www.vistax64.com/general-discussion/146356-download-vista-recovery-console.html

A downloadable version of Vista Recovery Disk is as follow.

http://coblitz.codeen.org/neosmart.net/downloads/guides/Vista_Repair/Vista_Recovery_Disc_x86.iso

(I assume that your computer is of Vista 32 bit.)

A tutorial of Vista Windows Recovery is in the URL below.

URL: http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/tutorials/tutorial142.html

When a problem appears in Vista and there are no clues from google, it seems to me the last resort is to use system restore as Vista is much better in system restore than the system restore in XP. System Restore in Vista is just like a time machine to go back to the exact state when the problem does not exist. But the drawback is that it consumes a lot of hard disk apace and it will restore the applications that you have removed and old version of document on desktop,

So, before your use System Restore, make sure all user data has been properly backup as it is just too powerful if Vista thinks that the path you stored your data is part of the system folders.

In a nutshell, System Restore can reduce the time of troubleshooting (except the problem is caused by hardware failure) but it must be used with due care.

A machine like that is roughly similar to my Thinkpad T61p. Although it is now running Windows 7 Pro 64, it ran Vista Business 64 for 15 months, and ran like greased lightning the entire time. No services had to be stopped or software uninstalled to do this. I did have to tune applications (mostly decide if / when auto updates should run, and getting indexing complete and current early on). That is why I suggested thorough clean up as that is what I need to do on any OS at least monthly. ... Thinkpads_User

it can be malware too; then i suggest to run these :
      Spybot :        http://www.download.com/3000-8022-10122137.html
http://www.malwarebytes.org/mbam.php                         MBAM
http://download.bleepingcomputer.com/sUBs/ComboFix.exe            Combofix
http://www.spychecker.com/program/hijackthis.html                                       download
http://www.hijackthis.de/index.php?langselect=english              check the log

another issue can be the drive works in PIO mode , not DMA : http://winhlp.com/node/10

or you disk has problems, run the diag you need from :  http://www.tacktech.com/display.cfm?ttid=287

IF you want to speed up that computer fast do this go to run type regedit then then hit the - hkey_current_user then hit the - on  control panel go down to desktop and click it then on right side in the box you will see menushowdelay right click it go to modify in the value data line type 0 then hit ok now restart the computer let it boot up fully and then that computer will be 100 times faster trust me.

Uninstall McAfee anti-virus and it'll solve the problem.  McAfee is horrid on any OS, but on Vista it spins into a previously uncharted dimension of horrid such that horrid is not a strong enough word to describe how horridly it is horridly horrid.  

Symantec isn't much better on Vista, don't use Panda either.  For Vista, I recommend either Trend, or the best I've seen is AVG.  AVG seems to have whatever eHeroin Vista requires in order to not be horridly horrid.  

McAfee is so bad that it doesn't even have to be installed.  The disc can be sitting in your house, inside the box, encased in a lead safe, and it'll break your Vista machine...horridly.  --TX  

Well I have done what "thinkpads_user" has said to do and so far so good the machine is already running much faster, I have however tried this approach previously and it did not work ! I am also looking at removing symantec antivirus as i think that since that has been installed it slowed down conserderably ! I will try the AVG option ! I am not sure that I will try editing the registry as I have previously done this and caused problem !

Many thanks for all the comments posted !

Thanks for the update and thank you for the points as well. ... Thinkpads_User