Excel "not responding" when using laptop but works fine on desktop

Excel_for_Analysis

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Dec 11, 2018
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I frequently am working with workbooks with over 100k rows in Excel. I will filter for certain criteria and then delete the remaining visible rows which may be over 75k rows. When I use my desktop computer this take 3 or 4 seconds. When I use my laptop it can take 10-15 minutes of Excel alternating between Responding and Not Responding. I know there are certain things I could do to make this easier for the computer to perform. My question is not about how to do the task more efficiently for the computer. I would like for my computer to help me as opposed to me having to help it. I also noticed when doing certain calculations in Excel, that my CPU is being used by Excel at 99%; but when I do these mass deletes of rows, that the CPU usage is around 30% and does not utilize the full CPU capacity during its several minutes of "work".

My question is, How I can improve/upgrade or change the laptop to handle the work like the desktop?

Curent Specs on Desktop Computer:
Processor: Intel Core i7-4790 CPU @ 3.60GHz, 3601 Mhz, 4 Cores, 8 Logical Processors
BIOS Date: LENOVO 3/5/2015
OS: Windows 10 Pro 10.0.17134 Build 17134
RAM: 16.0 GB
Available Physical Memory: 13.6 GB
system Type: x64-based PC
Excel: Excel for Office 365 MSO (16.0.11029.20045) 32-bit

Current Specs on Laptop Computer:
Intel core i7-8650U CPU @ 1.90GHz, 2112 Mhz, 4 Cores, 8 Logical Processors
BIOS Date: Dell Inc. 8/27/2018
OS: Windows 10 Enterprise 10.0.17134 Build 17134
RAM 16.0 GB
Available Physical Memory: 9.69 GB
system Type: x64-based PC
Excel: Excel for Office Professional Plus 2016; Excel 2016 MSO (16.0.4738.1000) 64-bit

I had thought that the reasons for the problems could be that since the desktop is running under an Office 365 license that i have a more updated Excel on the desktop, but that does not seem to be reflected in the version numbers above (and my desktop is running the 32-bit version vs. the laptop running the 64-bit version). My other thought was the problem is the processor. Although the desktop processor is older, the GHz is higher on the desktop than the laptop. I also noticed when reviewing the specs that the "available physical memory" is higher on the desktop than the laptop.

Can anyone shed some light on the issue? While I am capable of comparing the differences between the specs, I do not know what can cause the problems. Before we start spending money and/or tinkering on the laptop and guessing about the problem, I was hoping someone might be able to offer some helpful thoughts besides the obvious (I am transitioning completely to the laptop for work reasons and will no longer be able to use the desktop for work).

Thank you,

Allison
 

Excel Facts

Will the fill handle fill 1, 2, 3?
Yes! Type 1 in a cell. Hold down Ctrl while you drag the fill handle.
I'd suspect your processor speed is the issue.
 
Upvote 0
The other issue about laptops compared to desktops is that they usually have far more peripheral equipment, cameras, bluetooth, wifi. ,etc. each one of these has a load of services that start up to make them useable even if you aren't using them.
Each one of these will take a bit of memory and a bit of time , even when doing nothing
One of my big complaints about WINDOWS is that it only ever allows you to start up in one configuration where everything is available. A decent operating system will allow you to start in a numbler of configurations so you can maximise you resources for running excel, or video editting and then start in a different config for browsing the internet .etc.
So you could compare what services are running on your laptop, and change some that start up automatically to manual. I do this to try and keep my laptop running as fast as possible. Another thing that I do is for things like my backup software which has various services , I disable the services at start and then I have a batch file which starts the service when I want to run the backups. You can take this as far as you want, but all of this is eactly what you said you didn't want to do i:e Help your computer to perform the task better.
 
Upvote 0
The data these problem workbooks came from, did it come through Data Import or Power Query? Is the Connection still valid for both machines?
Available memory is likely the integrated graphics usage.
A Laptop running on battery will usually be voltage throttled to save battery. Running on AC will allow a laptop to maximize its performance.
 
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