Over time, our computers inevitably fail, becoming slow and sometimes finicky. You can give them a second wind. Explanation.
A good computer is expensive, often rightly so, but it’s impossible not to notice that sometimes they’re not worth the asking price. After a few years, some PCs, portable or not, really start to take a hit, the simplest tasks take longer than usual, and you start to envy new machines on the market. Before spending a few hundred or thousand euros on your dream device, know that you can give your car a real boost for less.
It is quite difficult to give computer advice, as there are so many different machines on the market. Perhaps the biggest difference exists between Mac and PC, but even within the two categories there are big differences. Some Apple devices are easy to remove, others are not. The same for PC.
The tips below are general tips for improving the speed, performance, and reliability of your aging computer. It may not be possible to implement all of them, some of them are more difficult than others, you will need to study them well in advance.
Delete unnecessary files
We all store unnecessary files. And in vain they clutter up the storage. Even the operating system stores some of them. Obviously, they can be removed manually one at a time, especially if you have large files. But the operation is often tedious.
On a Mac, there are several ways to find these files. You can use a built-in tool that Apple hides in About This Mac, or you can use a third-party tool like DaisyDisk or CleanMyMacX. Windows has a feature called Storage Sense that can help you clean up, and you can use a third party tool like CCleaner. Whichever solution you use, make sure you always have 15 to 20% of your storage available.
Limit multitasking
An aging machine can struggle to keep up with everything you do on a daily basis. Running several modern applications at the same time, each one doing background operations, can easily cheer up your computer.
A simple rule is to limit the number of apps and activities you can do at the same time. Try to close as many tabs in your browser as possible, close apps you don’t use or don’t intend to use right away, try running Netflix or Spotify on your TV or smartphone instead of your computer while you work. Do your best to limit the load on your machine so it can focus on what you are asking about when you ask it.
Restore factory settings
Ultimate software solution: factory reset. In fact, this is erasing the entire disk and reinstalling the operating system. This allows the machine to return to normal in terms of software.
Before starting, we will make sure to backup all important files. Indeed, everything on the main drive will be erased. With macOS Monterey, Apple lets you wipe your Mac without having to reinstall the entire OS. This is a good option, but if you’re still having issues, you’ll need to reinstall properly. For Windows, the procedure is quite simple.
Clean the fans
Most computers, portable or not, have fans to circulate air and cool the machine. However, over time, these fans will get very dirty. When dust builds up, their efficiency drops dramatically. As a result, the processor may overheat, resulting in a drop in performance.
Luckily, the fans are easy to clean if you can open the car, of course. Sometimes they can even be easily removed for cleaning. To do this, you have several options: by hand, with a damp cloth, brush, etc., or with a can of compressed air.
Replace battery
If you have an aging laptop, the battery is probably in very bad shape. And the battery affects not only the range, but also the performance. If your computer runs out of battery power, its performance will slow down.
Hopefully your laptop battery can be replaced. In this case, everything is simple. If the latter is glued, the operation is more delicate. If you are used to it, you will be able to remove it to replace it. Otherwise, you will need to take the car to a repair shop.
Replace the hard drive with an SSD.
Newer machines often don’t have this problem. If you have a hard drive with a player, get rid of it. These drives can’t compete with SSDs that are devoid of physical elements, much faster. If your computer takes a long time to start or run any application, your hard drive may be the cause.
Some machines have a solid state drive and a hard drive, both of which are used in different ways. The SSD is often quite small, used for the OS and most important files. The hard drive is used for storage. If applications installed on the hard drive are slow, try running them on the SSD.
Apple hasn’t made laptops with hard drives for years, but until recently it did make iMacs with hard drives. A machine with such a drive is quite usable, but if you give it an SSD, the performance will be night and day.
Most computers with hard drives can easily be upgraded with an SSD. Conversely, manufacturers of SSD devices have been able to design chassis that are much more compact and therefore more difficult to replace. Search the internet before you start.
Upgrade RAM
RAM is computer memory. This allows you to achieve what you are asking for. The more RAM you have, the more things you can do at the same time. Changing RAM is often quite simple, but there is no universal rule. Some devices allow this very easily, for others it is absolutely impossible. And here you need to figure it out again.
As for how much RAM to put in your computer, that’s a whole different story. There is a maximum, depending on the device. Ask.
Replace thermal paste
As mentioned above, it is important to keep internal components from overheating. Fans are part of the equation, but there’s also thermal paste. It sits on the CPU and GPU and transfers heat from those components to the heatsink. After years of use, the thermal paste could melt, making it difficult to transfer heat.
If you’re comfortable enough, you can do it yourself. And not only in the case of an aging car. Very often, the thermal paste that comes with the machine is of poor quality.
Choosing the thermal paste itself is not an easy task. There are different brands for every budget. Find a reliable guide suitable for your computer and see which paste is recommended. Warning: The operation is the most delicate of those mentioned in this article. You can permanently damage your processor, motherboard, or graphics card if you don’t control what you’re doing.