8 tips to improve the performance of your old laptop

7 tips to improve the performance of your old laptop

Do you have an old laptop that keeps getting slower? It is inevitable that computers will end up becoming obsolete over the years, but there are some very simple tricks that we can use to improve their performance and extend their useful life. We present 8 tips to improve the performance of your old laptop .

Perform a format and reinstall of the operating system

reinstall the operating system

Hardware has a lot to do with a computer becoming obsolete over the years, but it is not the only factor far from it.

Software can also seriously affect the performance of a computer if it is not properly maintained. This is especially noticeable in the case of the Windows operating system, as it ends up accumulating a large amount of junk files that affect its smooth operation.

Therefore, the first step you should take if your computer is getting slower and slower is to format the hard drive and reinstall Windows. In case your computer comes with an older version like Windows 7 or Windows 8, we strongly recommend that you make the jump to Windows 10 , as it is much more optimized and works much better.

Increase the amount of RAM

Increase the amount of RAM

RAM memory is an essential component for the proper functioning of a computer. This memory is responsible for storing the necessary data so that the processor can work at full speed.

If your computer does not have enough RAM, the processor will be forced to access the data stored on the hard drive, a process that is extremely slow compared to accessing the data found in RAM.

Currently the price of RAM is very low , so it is a perfect time to buy a couple of new modules, and in this way improve the performance of your laptop.

The first thing you should do is check the type of RAM your laptop uses. Once you are clear about whether you use DDR3 or DDR4 type memory, we recommend that you buy an 8 GB kit.

Swap the hard drive for an SSD

Swap the hard drive for an SSD

Switching from a mechanical hard drive to an SSD is one of the best investments you can make to improve the overall performance of your computer, be it a laptop or desktop system.

This will make everything work much faster, from starting the operating system to opening heavy applications like Photoshop, your videos, images, games and everything in general.

Keep your laptop cool with a cooling base

Keep your laptop cool with a cooling base

Excessive temperature can also affect the operation of your laptop, causing the processor to reduce its operating frequency, to avoid getting burned.

Therefore, it is essential to maintain a correct operating temperature on your computer. This is especially important in the case of laptops, as the cooling systems they include are quite limited.

A fairly simple way to improve the ventilation of your laptop is to purchase a cooling base. Users with more advanced knowledge will be able to go further, changing the thermal paste that is between the processor and the heatsink. You can also turn to a specialized technical service to do the latter for you.

Change the operating system

Change the operating system

Another trick you can use to improve the running speed of your old laptop is to change the operating system for a lighter one.

Windows 10 is much better optimized than previous versions, but it is still a fairly heavy operating system, which may not work properly with older and less powerful computers.

In many cases, you can significantly improve the performance of your laptop by installing a Linux distribution. This is an operating system that is generally much lighter than Windows, and offers much better performance with less powerful computers.

Reduces the execution of applications and services in the background

Reduces running applications and services in the background 1

Windows is an operating system that in all its versions runs a large number of applications and services in the background. This means that as soon as you turn on the computer, there are many programs that are running without you noticing.

All these programs consume resources from the processor, RAM, and even hard disk, which reduces the availability of resources for the programs you want to use.

Therefore, a good trick that you can use to lighten Windows, and reduce the amount of services and applications that are running in the background. We also recommend that you uninstall all the programs that you don't use, this will also reduce the amount of elements that work in the background.

Eliminate visual effects

Windows comes with quite a few visual effects and animations that help improve the appearance of the operating system. However, all these effects and these animations also consume computer resources, and can negatively affect its operation.

Disabling Windows visual effects is as simple as going to the Start menu and typing "Performance" in the search box. We click on " Adjust the appearance and performance of Windows ."

Remove visual effects 1

This will open a new window, thanks to which we can configure the graphic effects that we want to be displayed in Windows 10. We recommend choosing the option " Adjust for better performance " and apply.

Remove visual effects 2

Run an antivirus scan

The last tip we offer to try to improve the performance of an old laptop is to run an antivirus scan to make sure there is no malware affecting the operation of the computer. For this you can consult our list of the best free antivirus.