How to fasten your old laptop – 18 things to try

There is a special thing about buying a new laptop. Our hearts filled with joy and we just can’t wait to open the box and start using our new device. At that time it works like butter. Any given task can be done very fast without experiencing any lag or slowdown. But after a couple of months or years, you may notice your laptop is not performing the way it used to. Suddenly we realize that our daily companion is not new anymore and sometimes it feels frustrating to use it due to slow down.

You might feel like going for a new one as the market is always offering new updated laptops that work faster than the previous versions. But, do not decide to buy a new laptop quickly in a hurry. You can make your old laptop faster or quicker with some maintenance and fixes. So, it should work fine and minimize the chances of getting any obstruction in our comfortable usage.

Here are some of the steps to fasten your laptop.

1. Prevent system tray programs

The first thing you should check when you feel your laptop is taking time to start and run is to check for system tray programs. It may happen that your laptop is starting up multiple programs at the same time when Windows starts. You may find some programs over there are running and stay active for all the time you are using the device. Any program from the tray you think is not necessary to run, you can close it for better performance.

Steps

• Tap the upwards arrow from the right side of your taskbar.
• Then right-click on the program you do not want to run.
• And close

2. Stop start-up programs

The time you boot up your laptop to start, some programs run automatically in the background. They take resources to run and can be a reason for slowing down the system. You may or may not want to run all the programs that start running. So, stop unwanted programs from running all the time when you power on your laptop. Some programs are important for Windows to run, so please do not interfere with such programs unless you know about them.

Steps

• Right-click on the taskbar.
• Select Task Manager from there.
• Hop on to the Startup tab
• Check the list of programs and select the program you do not want to start automatically with right click.
• Click Disable.

3. Uninstall unwanted programs

Nearly every single laptop contains programs that we do not use anymore or need in our daily activity on the device. Many laptops come with multiple pre-installed apps or programs (Bloatware) that we might not know of their existence. You can delete such applications to free up some space on your device. It can help the system to act quickly to find and open files you want urgently. Note, that the programs that are essential to run the system will not feature any uninstall button.

Steps

• Go to the Control Panel.
• Over there, pick Programs and Features.
• For the programs you do not want, right-click on them.
• Then select Uninstall and follow the rest.

4. Resource-consuming programs should be stopped

There is a high chance that one or multiple programs can consume a large part of your resources. This can be one of the main reasons for the sudden slowing down of your laptop. It can also contribute the other factors to make your device not so fast. So you have to use the Task Manager to manage apps and free up some of your resources for faster performance. You can sort out the list and take the necessary action against the applications that are taking huge amounts of resources.

Steps

• Right-click on the Taskbar.
• Select Task Manager over there.
• It will show you the Processes tab by default.
• Go to Details
• If you want to close any then try to close the application first.
• If it does not close then from the Task Manager and click End Task.

5. Delete unwanted data

When you start using your brand-new laptop, it feels fresh, and quick, and offers a lot of free hard drive space. But, after a certain period that space is starting to fill up with lots of data like videos, audio, documents, pictures, and software backup files. Some of the data remain important to us and some of them are no longer needed. They fill your precious space without any reason. We need to delete those unnecessary data to free up some valuable space. Loaded hard drives may have an impact on the performance of your laptop. Heavy files like videos, high-resolution pictures, and others are better to be deleted if they are no longer needed.

Going through the loads of data in search of deleting the unnecessary ones could be a monotonous task. So from the beginning, manage your data precisely and make a habit of deleting unwanted data every week. In this way, you will remember where you have saved a certain file and the data will not overflow your laptop. And do not forget to clean your recycle bin after deleting your stuff.

6. Update Windows and applications

Only deleting and uninstalling data or applications would not help you provide a fast-working laptop. Windows and applications provide updates after a certain period to make them more compatible and error-free. Updating is the most important thing for the security of your laptop. Apart from that, it also helps the system to perform faster to make it more user-friendly. Users will get a notification from Windows automatically when a new update is available. You just need to confirm it to update the Windows.

To check for Windows updates or if you have missed an update follow the steps given below.

Steps

• Click Start.
• Select Settings from there.
• Hop on to Windows Update.
• And for the older versions select Updates & Security from Settings. And go to Windows Update.

Just like this, keep your applications and drives up–to–date for better service and speed.

7. Disc Cleanup required

To clean or delete junk from your laptop that stores in the system over time, there is a built-in tool that comes with the device. The tool is called Disk Clean-up. With the help of this application, you can clean your disk drives by selecting the files you want to remove. The tool also helps to empty the Recycle Bin and deletes temporary files from your laptop. The process is very reliable and deleting files can be done safely.

Steps

• You need to type Disk Clean up in your search bar from the taskbar.
• You will find the Disk Clean-up app from there to open.
• Here, you have to select the drive for cleaning. It usually shows C drive.
• Select the file types for deleting or click on a file type to see the description under Files to delete.
• Click OK after you have checked the boxes for the files to delete.

8. Defragment your hard drive

Defragment of your hard drives might be an essential thing to perform because files become fragmented on hard drives over time. As a result, your device has to check for information in multiple places to access the data. The process takes time to complete the task. This is why you need to defragment your hard drive to move data into a logical formation. Thus, it will take less time to access the data. It is more efficient to run the system quickly and get the results fast.

This feature is in an automated mode with the default weekly schedule for Windows 7, 8, 10, and 11. If you still feel any problem then you can do it manually.

This process is only applicable if your laptop contains a Hard Disk Drive (HDD). For Solid State Drive (SSD) you do not need to perform this because it works differently.

Steps

• In the search bar type Defragment.
• Select Defragment and Optimise Drive from the result.
• A popup Optimise Drive will be visible.
• Select an HDD drive and tap Analyze to see the result.
• If the result is below 5% then it is ok and if it is higher than that then click Optimize to defragment.

9. Optimize your browser

You might need to optimize your browser if you are experiencing a slow performance when you use your browser. Your browser is the main gateway for you to access the internet on your device. So, if it starts to lag or the device acts slowly when you use your browser can become a very difficult thing to handle. It will hamper your work and make your internet usage experience miserable. To minimize such sluggish behavior you need to follow some steps that can be beneficial for an overall affirmative result.

Steps

• Look for any update or latest version of your browser and install it for better service.
• If you suddenly feel your browser is lagging then you can close the browser and restart it for a quick refresh. This trick can help you on many occasions.
• You can install adblocker and tracker blocking extensions for quick response and privacy.
• Do not load your browser with too many add-ons and extensions because it can slow down it.
• Working with multiple open tabs in your browser will perform slowly as those tabs require RAM and consume resources.
• If nothing works well for you then you can uninstall the browser and reinstall it for a fresh start.

10. Check for viruses or malware

There is always a looming threat of viruses or malware is present to harm our laptops and infect our valuable data. It can come from many sources like websites, links, ads, software downloads, and any other downloaded files. It can affect our system from minor to major damage. It can be also a reason for slowing down the laptop. We should prevent such threats at any cost to save our laptops and data. Always use a good antivirus to protect your system from malware.

There are free and paid antivirus available to install. It is up to you which one you want to try. You can scan your files and drives with this to remove any potential threat from your laptop. Software like Avira’s free tool, Norton, and McAfee is some example of good antivirus. Using one of them can help you to keep up the speed of your laptop with security.

11. Proper antivirus software

From the above-mentioned point, you can easily understand that there is a huge demand for good antivirus software. To protect your device and data, it is the most essential thing to have. However, software like this will constantly stay active and run in the background to eliminate any threat and scan for any unusual element that may harm the system. And we use this for that type of service and protection.

But, the bad part of this service is many antiviruses consume your CPU and RAM more than you think. Software like this is heavy and can cause a slow laptop as a result. It will lack the power to perform fast and you may be annoyed by this. To minimize resource consumption you can try a tool that is light and requires fewer resources to perform the way you want. Alternatively, you can rely only on the Windows inbuilt Antivirus.

12. Disable graphics and animation

Nowadays, Windows comes with many graphics and animations to make the appearance more refined and to provide a better user experience. These animations like flyouts and fading effects are cool for a better view but they take so much resource to provide such features. And it affects the performance of your laptop making it slow. For the best result, you can disable this feature to save some valuable resources.

Steps

• Open the Control Panel and click System and Security.
• Then select System and Advanced system settings.
• Click Settings in the Performance
• Check out Adjust for best performance.
• Click Apply and OK to save the changes.

13. Replace HDD with SSD

In any laptop, proper storage space and management are essential to respond quickly to any task. If your laptop contains an HDD and running slowly despite managing storage then you can consider replacing it with an SSD. They use flash memory which is very reliable to allow the processor to find a file faster. It will make your daily task five times faster and you may not feel the lag you used to feel with your HDD. Once you start using SSD in your laptop you may never go back to HDD.

You can also use and attach an external drive for your laptop to provide some space and ease the burden of data from the disc drive. It is quick to attach and easy to handle.

14. Add more RAM

Random Access Memory (RAM) is one of the most important hardware to run your laptop smoothly and error-free. If you have a relatively old device then you can consider adding more RAM to your system. It will help you to run advanced applications very efficiently and you can use multiple tools or run multiple programs at the same time. Without having recommended RAM you may struggle to run even simple programs and can hang your laptop frequently. So, if you feel your laptop is not supported with sufficient enough RAM you should increase it for better performance.

15. Reinstall Operating System

You can consider reinstalling your Operating System without wiping out your files from your laptop. In this way, you can delete all the unnecessary files or data and provide a proper refresh to your device a fresh start. And you will not lose your important data in the process. It can help you to get a quicker laptop that you have been seeking for a long time.

16. Restart the laptop regularly

We all love to keep power on our laptops for any potential work to do swiftly. But that long run of the device may slow down it. So, restarting your laptop can be a good way for a fresh start and it can close the stuck programs and applications running in the background. Rebooting the system also allows it to clear the cache memory and enables any updates or patches that are waiting to happen. Do not forget to restart your laptop regularly to act righteously.

17. Do minimal tasks at a time

Do not demand high performance from your laptop if it is not that much new. With time, any device decreases its power and cannot perform like the way it used to be. Do one task at a time, do not open multiple tools or pages at the same time, and try to keep it simple. If you put pressure on your device then it will not be able to run properly and can cause any damage to any hardware. You need to act smartly and know your laptop will bring out the best of it.

18. Remove dust

It is one of the most obvious things to do for the performance of your laptop. The fan of the device collects dust over time and loads of dust prevent air from flowing without any obstruction. As a result, your laptop might face overheating problems. To minimize that issue, the laptop will try to reduce the performance to cool it down a little bit. This will eventually slow your device and will not deliver the expected performance.

So, cleaning your device is a must thing. Use a vacuum cleaner to blow air clean the fan and wipe out the keyboard. Remember to blow short-term gentle air to remove dust from the vent and do not harm the fan at all.

Conclusion

It is very frustrating to work on a slow laptop. Making it a little bit faster can give us some comfort and keep the laptop well-maintained. So, you can try the steps that are given in this article to save your time and your laptop. Make a habit of routine cleanup and maintenance to perform them swiftly with regular efforts.