A slow laptop is rarely a worn-out laptop. In the workshop, most machines that “need replacing” are held back by one of four things, and three of them are cheap to fix. Here is what actually makes a difference, in the order we check it.
1. A hard disk instead of an SSD
If the laptop takes minutes to start and the disk light flickers constantly, it almost certainly still has a spinning hard disk. Swapping it for an SSD is the single biggest upgrade a laptop can get: the machine starts in seconds and programs open at once. Your files and Windows can be copied across, so nothing is lost. It is worth doing on any laptop less than about eight years old.
2. Too little memory
Open Task Manager on Windows (Ctrl, Shift and Esc) or Activity Monitor on a Mac and look at memory. If it sits above 90 percent with your usual programs open, the laptop is swapping to disk, which makes everything crawl. 4 GB is too little for a browser with several tabs; 8 GB is comfortable for office work and 16 GB for design, video or many tabs. On most laptops memory can be added in a few minutes. On some thin models and all recent MacBooks it is soldered, so check before you buy a module.
3. Dust and heat
When a laptop gets hot it slows itself down to protect the processor. A loud fan, a hot underside and a machine that gets slower the longer it runs all point to blocked vents and dried-out thermal paste. A clean and fresh paste brings the speed back and makes the laptop quieter. Nairobi dust does this to most laptops within two to three years.
4. Software you did not ask for
Toolbars, “PC cleaner” apps, two antivirus programs fighting each other, and programs set to start with Windows all eat memory before you open anything. Uninstall what you do not recognise, keep one antivirus, and in Task Manager turn off startup items you do not need every day. If the laptop is still slow after that, a clean installation of Windows with your files kept is often the honest answer.
What does not help
Registry cleaners, “RAM booster” apps and driver-updater tools do not make a laptop faster and some carry adware. Deleting files makes no difference to speed unless the disk is nearly full. And replacing a laptop that only needs an SSD costs many times more than the upgrade.
Not sure which one it is?
Bring the laptop in, or send the model and what you use it for on WhatsApp. You get a price for the upgrade before any work starts, and we tell you how long it will take when we quote.