A slow laptop is the single most common thing we get called about across North Brisbane and Moreton Bay. Here are the real causes we find, in roughly the order we find them.
1. Too many programs starting with Windows
Almost every slow laptop we see has a startup list that has quietly grown for years. Printer utilities, update checkers, chat apps, cloud sync tools – each one is small, but twenty of them competing on boot is why the machine takes four minutes to become usable. This is usually the biggest single win, and it costs nothing.
2. A mechanical hard drive in a machine that expects an SSD
If your laptop is more than about six years old, it may still have a spinning hard drive. Modern Windows assumes a solid-state drive. Fitting an SSD is the most dramatic upgrade available for an older laptop – it often makes a seven-year-old machine feel newer than a cheap new one, for a fraction of the cost of replacing it.
3. Not enough memory
4GB was fine a decade ago. With a browser, email and a couple of documents open, it is not. Many laptops can take more, though some newer thin models have memory soldered to the board and cannot be upgraded – worth checking before you spend anything.
4. Heat and dust
Laptops throttle themselves when they get hot, deliberately running slower to avoid damage. A machine that has spent years on a bed or couch will have a fan choked with dust and lint. A proper internal clean sometimes restores performance on its own.
5. A full drive
Windows needs free space to work with. Once a drive is above roughly ninety percent full, everything slows down. Photos and videos are usually the culprit, and moving them somewhere sensible – with a backup – often frees a surprising amount.
6. Something unwanted running
Browser extensions, toolbars and the occasional genuine infection all consume resources quietly. This is less common than people fear, but it does happen.
Is it worth repairing?
Usually, yes – most slow laptops are fixable for far less than a replacement. But not always. If a machine is very old, cannot take more memory, and needs several parts, we will say so honestly rather than take your money for a repair that buys a few months.
If your laptop is dragging and you are in North Brisbane or Moreton Bay, we come to you and diagnose it onsite. Get in touch.
Tried all of that and still stuck? We come to you across North Brisbane and Moreton Bay.