QuickTip: How To Speed Up Your Old Notebook Computer

Disclosure: We are a professional review site that receives compensation from the companies whose products we review. We test each product thoroughly and give high marks to only the very best. We are independently owned and the opinions expressed here are our own..

In the past I spent most of my working hours on my old desktop in the office. But lately I have setup shop in the living room so I can process images while spending time with the family. After switching to my old HP notebook I noticed how dated it was. Because it so dated I’ve been having issues with my old HP Notebook computer and it has been slowing my productivity down quite a bit.

A few weeks or so ago I started looking more into the specs of the computer and what was causing the slow down. I found its was low on memory and running windows 7. Windows 7 is still a great OS but it seemed to me a little bit of a resource hog on older computers. So with the limited RAM, overheating issues, and dead battery my computer was in desperate need to be replaced. But with needing a new camera rig, new cell phone, and bunch of expensive projects needed to be done around the house, replacing the notebook wasn’t an option and buying a cheap one wasn’t either. Image Source: Flickr

So my only option was to fix the slowness.

Three Things You Can Do To Speed Up Your Notebook Computer

Before I make any changes to the computer I back everything up to an external hard drive or Networked Attached Server (NAS). Once I back everything up I check and see if there anything on the computer that doesn’t need to be there. That includes running virus and malware detection and removal software.

The first thing I di once the computer is cleaned up and backed up and is running as it should be is to reinstall the OS and restore back to factory default settings. Then add the programs I need on the computer and then drag over the files, documents, and images from the external drive. At this point, you should notice a slight gain in performance. If not, you might want to upgrade to Windows 10. Just make sure your system can handle Windows 10.

For me the update helped some, but it didn’t help enough. So at that pointed I decided it was time to add more memory. First, I went to HP’s support site and checked the specs on my laptop. Since it came with 4 gigs of RAM I knew I needed more so I found that my computer can run 8 gigs of RAM on two slots. So I went to Amazon to order a pair of 4 gig RAM sticks. Once the RAM was installed I noticed a huge gain in performance.

For the last update I did was to add a Notebook stand with a couple of fans underneath to help cool the computer off. I know form experience that a hot computer can slow a computer down and will eventually kill it. I noticed a slight gain in performance and the computer didn’t crash as much. With the cooler on it made the notebook cooler to the touch. At some point I will add a more powerful notebook cooling system to my notebook that I will use during heavy processing times.

There are several other things you can do to your notebook but these three fixes seem to be the best bang for your buck. Adding a cooling pad and RAM cost me less than $100 but I was able to install them myself. Memory isn’t a hard thing to do but if you can’t make sure to check the price of your IT guy or big box store before paying them to do the upgrade. It might be worth it to save your money and buy another computer. These upgrades aren’t expensive its the added labor that can make it not worth it.