Eight Ways to Improve the Speed of an Older Computer

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My computer is a few years old and I’m not as happy with its speed as I used to be — but not unhappy enough to drop the money for another top-of-the-line machine when I feel like the old machine still has some life left in it. What can I do to speed up my old computer without spending too much money?

Computer technology advances at a pace that can sometimes feel maddening for consumers. Although computer prices have decreased in recent years, it can still sting a little when you realize that the computer you spent hundreds of dollars on is now becoming obsolete. Instead of purchasing a new computer, consider these tips that can make your old computer faster and extend its life.

Remove Old Programs and Data

Installing many programs can lower the speed of your computer because many programs have startup components that remain active in the computer’s memory even when you are not actively using them. Some startup components pre-load parts of a program in memory, causing it to open more quickly when you launch it. Other components may check the Internet for updates periodically and display a message when a new software version is available.

Programs also consume hard drive space. As a hard drive fills, it becomes increasingly slower because data is saved on the fastest portion of the media first. New programs that you install, therefore, may not launch as quickly as programs that you installed when you first purchased the computer. Removing programs that you no longer use increases your computer’s speed in two ways: it removes unnecessary startup components and creates room for new software on the fastest portion of the hard drive. After removing old programs, search your hard drive for other large files you no longer need, such as videos and music. Delete or move them to a long-term backup device.

Defragment the Hard Drive

A hard drive is constantly in a state of adding or deleting data. When you delete a file, it creates a block of free space that may not be large enough for the next file you add. The hard drive resolves this problem by “fragmenting” files, breaking them up as necessary to fill the blocks of free space. File fragmentation allows a hard drive to use its free space efficiently, but it creates a second problem. If the drive needs to reposition its read/write heads several times, reading a file takes longer than it would if the file was stored in a single location. A defragmentation utility resolves this problem by moving fragmented files to contiguous locations on the hard drive. You can achieve the best results by defragmenting your hard drive after deleting unnecessary programs and data. Windows includes a built-in defragmentation utility that you can access by opening the Start Menu and typing defrag. Defraggler and Diskeeper are two alternative defragmentation utilities with a few extra features that may perk up your computer’s speed even more. Diskeeper, in particular, is quite feature-rich; for example, it has the ability to optimize your hard drive’s write patterns to prevent fragmentation before it occurs. It also organizes the contents of your hard drive intelligently so the files you access most frequently are on the fastest part of the media.

Check for Spyware

Spyware slows a computer down by tracking the owner’s online activities and transmitting the logs to the program’s creator to use for marketing and other purposes. Many viruses work in a similar fashion, but with a more insidious purpose; viruses may monitor your keystrokes in an effort to steal your passwords and other sensitive data. Spyware and other malicious software threaten your privacy and reduce your computer’s speed. Windows includes a feature that scans for malicious software automatically, but it never hurts to get a second opinion. If you find that your computer is slower now than it once was, install an Internet security program and scan your computer for a malicious software infection. Microsoft Security Essentials is a good free solution.

Upgrade the Memory

Memory is one of the least expensive computer upgrades available; you can install 8 GB of memory in a desktop computer for well under $60. Your computer uses memory as a temporary storage location for active programs and open files. If you have more open programs and files than the computer can store in memory, it uses the hard drive for temporary storage. Because the hard drive is much slower than the memory, you will notice an immediate and drastic speed drop when this occurs.

Installing additional memory gives you the ability to open more programs and files simultaneously without slowdowns. Before purchasing memory, check the version of Windows installed on your computer. If your computer runs a 32-bit version of Windows, it cannot utilize more than 4 GB of memory. If your computer has a 64-bit version of Windows installed, you can install as much memory as you like.

Install a Solid-State Drive

Your computer’s processor and memory are many orders of magnitude faster than the hard drive. Delays that you experience when you start the computer or launch programs occur because of the amount of time needed to transfer data from the hard drive to the computer’s memory. While a hard drive uses a rotating disc to store data, a solid-state drive uses flash memory chips that have far superior performance characteristics. Installing a solid-state drive results in dramatically improved computer startup and application launch times.

However, solid-state drives have drawbacks; they cost more than hard drives and store less data. For approximately $200, you can purchase a 128 GB solid-state drive or a 3 TB hard drive. The space limitation of a solid-state drive becomes less of an issue if you keep your computer’s original hard drive and use it for storage of large files such as music and video content.

Upgrade the Processor or Video Card

If your computer’s performance is poor when running specific applications, a hardware upgrade may provide the speed boost you need. Content creation applications depend greatly on the speed of a computer’s processor. Some applications that fall into this category include programs that create and edit media content, file compression software and database software. Game performance and high-definition video decoding depend more on a computer’s video card. Upgrading the component that is causing a performance bottleneck can improve the speed of these applications.

Overclock the Processor or Video Card

Upgrading your computer’s processor or video card may not be an option if your computer does not support current hardware or you cannot justify the cost. If this is the case, consider overclocking instead. When you overclock your hardware, you change its configuration to force it to run at a higher clock speed. You can generally overclock a processor by locating the “Bus Speed” setting in the motherboard setup utility and raising it slightly. Overclocking a video card requires software such as ATITool or PowerStrip.

Overclocking a processor or video card increases its heat output. You can often overclock a component by ten percent or less without risk, while overclocking by a greater amount may require you to install a new cooling unit for your processor or video card. It is important to note that, because of the increased heat, overclocking may shorten a component’s life. However, this may not be much of a concern for you if you are just trying to get another year or two of use out of an older computer.

Full System Recovery

Computer hardware does not slow down as time passes. Rather, computers appear to become slower because of a combination of factors including hard drive usage and fragmentation, unnecessary startup programs, expansion of the Windows registry and malicious software. Although it is possible to alleviate all of these issues yourself, it is much faster to use a Windows installation or system recovery disc to format your computer’s hard drive and reinstall the operating system. This returns your computer to its original factory state, giving it the same performance it had when you first purchased it.

Performing a system recovery does have a drawback, however – removing all of the data from the hard drive will result in the deletion of data you want to keep. Therefore, it is imperative that you perform a full backup of this data before beginning. Move your documents, email, pictures and other important files to an external storage device so you can move them back after restoring your computer. In addition, make sure that you have copies of your programs as well as the registration codes needed to install them.