Q. I have a laptop that is only a few weeks old, which runs Windows 7. It is very slow to start and can take several minutes before the Starting Windows screen is displayed, and several more minutes before I can login. What can I do?

A. This sort of problem can be the very devil to get to the bottom of because there are so many possible causes. Start with the software. Start the laptop in Safe Mode, which usually requires the F8 key to be held down whilst the computer starts. (Release it when the Windows logo appears.) If the laptop started in less than a minute, rather than the many minutes that you describe, then you may have a corrupted or malfunctioning driver (something that the computer uses to control hardware). Go to the Control Panel and open Device Manager (in the Hardware and Sound section). The most likely candidate to be causing problems is the graphics card under Display Adapters. Double-click on it and then select the Driver tab. Click Update Driver, and then restart and see if the problem has been fixed. If not, repeat the process with every component that you can find in Device Manager. If none of these solve the problem, then it is probably a hardware issue. Whilst you could try swapping memory modules for instance, as described in your manual, I don't recommend it. Assuming that you have only just bought the laptop, your best bet would be to go back to the seller and ask for a replacement or free repair.