A slow laptop is frustrating, but it is rarely finished. In most cases the cause is simple and can be fixed without spending thousands of rand on a replacement.
Work through these checks in order. They cost nothing and take a few minutes each.
1. Restart it properly
Many people close the lid and never shut down. Over weeks, programmes pile up in memory and updates wait for a restart. Choose Restart rather than Shut down. On Windows, the fast startup feature means Shut down does not fully clear the machine, so Restart is the better test.
2. Check how full the drive is
A nearly full drive slows everything down because Windows needs free space to work. As a rule of thumb, keep around 15 percent of the drive free. Move photos and videos to an external drive or cloud storage, and uninstall programmes you no longer use.
3. Cut down what starts with the computer
Press Ctrl, Shift and Esc to open Task Manager, then open the Startup apps tab. Disable programmes you do not need running all day. Leave security software and drivers alone.
4. Look for malware
Pop-ups, a changed browser home page, unfamiliar toolbars and a fan that never stops can all point to an infection. Run a full scan with your security software. If you are unsure what you are looking at, our anti-malware service can clean the machine and protect it afterwards. You can also read What is Malware?
5. Check the drive type
If your laptop still has a traditional spinning hard drive, that is very often the bottleneck. Replacing it with a solid-state drive (SSD) is the single biggest upgrade for an older laptop. Startup drops from minutes to seconds, and your files and programmes can be moved across.
6. Check the memory
Four gigabytes of RAM is tight for modern Windows. Eight gigabytes is a sensible minimum today, and many laptops allow an upgrade. Task Manager shows how much memory is in use on the Performance tab. If it sits near the top when the machine feels slow, more memory will help.
7. Think about heat and dust
A loud fan, a hot base and sudden slowdowns suggest overheating. Dust blocks airflow and old thermal paste stops moving heat away from the processor. The laptop then slows itself down to protect the hardware. A proper clean and fresh thermal paste often fixes this.
When a new laptop makes sense
Sometimes replacement is the right call. If the machine is many years old and the repair would cost a large share of a new one, we will tell you so. We would rather give you an honest answer than a bigger invoice.
Bring your laptop to our workshop in Kensington for a free quotation. If the problem is software, ask about remote support. For hardware faults and upgrades, see our hardware repair service.