Digital Home Thoughts: Speeding Up Your Old Faithful

"Every so often, I’ll hear from a friend or a reader who wants me to point them toward a great deal on a new computer. “My old computer is so slow!” is a frequent refrain from them, and if that’s what I hear, I usually suggest something besides replacing their hardware."

Image Courtesy of Cornellanense.

We have all had the temptation. You have had your computer for a few days and it is acting a bit sluggish. You find out that your friend just got a brand new computer. You see a sale on laptops. Replacing your aging computer may be an easy solution to your speed problems, but not always. Some programs and a little bit of work and your computer can often run almost as quickly as the day you got it. The Simple Dollar offers some suggestions on how to do some spring cleaning which is good but there are lots of other things you can do.

In addition to uninstalling programs, also see if other things that you might not consider "programs" are lurking around. Things like old printer drivers, system tray helpers or toolbars for your web browser all add to the jumble that makes your computer seem like its slower than getting a tax return. If your computer is truly ancient, a minimal upgrade (usually RAM in my opinion) can go leagues to making things faster. If you have had your computer for a while, or tend to use up a lot of space on the hard drive, a defrag may also be in order unless it is an SSD!

What are your usual tricks for keeping your computer perky and quick?