When your laptop starts coming to the end of its life, it becomes much more frustrating to get things done. Things take longer to load, crashes become more frequent and you find that you’re being told you’re out of memory far too often. While these might be signs that it’s time to invest in a new machine, doing so can be an expensive purchase – something that might not be in your budget right now.

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The good news is that you don’t have to give up just yet, as there might still be life in the old girl yet. Give these five quick fixes a try to see if you can save your aging laptop.

1. Clear your storage

A laptop using almost all of its storage is guaranteed to run slowly. While you need memory to store files and software, your computer also needs a certain amount of storage for application to run – without it; they’ll be slow and prone to crashing. Clear your storage and get rid of any unwanted files. One solution is to transfer your iTunes library to an external hard drive. You’ll still get to keep all of your music, but your computer will work much faster without all of those files weighing it down.

2. Check your connectivity

If you find that web pages are slow to load, it could be your connection and not your old laptop that’s to blame. Learn how to fix WiFi problems to help you boost your connection – you might even find that after a speed test, it’s time to change provider. A slow connection can be down to many things, so check all of the other possibilities before you blame the laptop.

3. Give it a reboot

Sometimes the simplest thing to do is just to restart and try again. Rebooting your laptop to its factory settings can help eliminate some of the issues you’ve been facing and allows you to start again. Make sure you backup all of your files and know how to access any installed packages to make ensure you don’t lose anything important. Following a reboot, your computer should run much faster and give you some more time with your machine.

4. Upgrade the hard drive

While you might not be in a position to buy a new laptop, you might be able to afford some upgrades to make it run faster. You can buy a faster, larger hard drive easily from your local technology store. You can replace your laptop’s hard drive easily yourself, to get a faster running machine in minutes – just remember to backup the other one if your laptop doesn’t have the capacity for two.

5. Check for viruses and adware

Noticing a few more pop-ups than usual? Your laptop could be a victim of a virus. Protecting your laptop from viruses is important – they not only slow down your PC but the latest viruses and adware issues could be stealing your personal data. Get yourself some antivirus software and start protecting your machine.

If your laptop is still underperforming after these quick fixes, you might need to admit defeat and invest in a new machine. To help ease the financial pressure, you could consider leasing your laptop or buying one with a 0% interest credit card so that you can make repayments at a rate you’re comfortable with. Don’t be quick to throw in the towel, try and find some speedy solutions first to see if you can rejuvenate your ageing laptop.