How to Squeeze More Life Out of Your Company Laptops
Problem: Your laptop is getting on in years. It's painfully slow. The hard drive is bursting at the seams. The paint is chipping off the keyboard keys. And so on.
Bigger problem: You don't have room in the budget for a new machine. And you especially don't have room for 10 new machines for all your employees and their aging laptops.
All is not lost. Though your systems may seem beyond saving, there are several ways to re-energize an old laptop. (Most of them apply to desktops as well.) Some of them are free; those that aren't will cost you much less than buying all-new hardware. Let's start with the biggie: giving Windows a refresh.
Reinstall Windows
Anyone who knows computers knows that Windows gets slower over time. (Macs probably do, too, but I wouldn't know.) In fact, after a couple years, Windows' arteries can get so clogged that your once-speedy machine will run like molasses.The fix: wipe the hard drive and reinstall Windows. (If you're still running XP or Vista, this is the perfect time to make the move to Windows 7.) It's a chore, no doubt about it, but the end result is worth the hassle of backing up all your data and reinstalling all your software: Your PC will run like new. Seriously, it'll boot faster, shut down faster, and do everything in between faster.
There are many ways to go about this, but I'm partial to the method described in PC World's Reinstall Windows Without Losing Your Data.
Dump Windows and Switch to Linux
Most Linux-based operating systems have much lower system requirements than Windows, meaning they should run much faster on older hardware. Indeed, even a sluggish, single-core laptop that's five or six years old can turn into a mobile powerhouse when outfitted with Linux.Needless to say, wiping Windows in favor of, say, Ubuntu is a big step. But if you're like most users and need little more than a Web browser, email client, and office suite, Linux offers everything you need (usually bundled right into the OS).
Last month I wrote about my experiences using Linux in place of Windows. To this day I still rely on my Ubuntu-powered Acer laptop for a lot of everyday work. It really is a viable option, and an excellent way to breathe new life into an old PC.
Deploy Some Strategic Upgrades
While I maintain that reinstalling Windows is the single best way to improve performance, there are a few upgrades that can help. For example, if your system has just 2GB of RAM, bumping it to 4GB should help Windows boot and run a little quicker. Check your manual to see what kind of RAM you need and how much your system can accommodate.What's more, swapping your hard drive for a solid-state drive (SSD) can yield significant performance gains -- and improve battery life at the same time. (Your data will also be safer should your laptop take an unfortunate spill on the pavement.) Here's another good tutorial, again from PC World, on upgrading your laptop's hard drive to an SSD.
Of course, SSDs are on the pricey side, and they offer limited storage capacity. If all you need is a bigger drive, that's an easy upgrade. In most cases you'll be shopping for a 2.5-inch SATA drive. Just by way of example, Newegg offers a bare 500GB Seagate drive for laptops for just $54.99.
Next, let's talk batteries: A laptop that barely lasts an hour on a charge can feel "old" even if it's running quickly. If your system is more than two years old, the point at which most batteries really start to peter out, consider replacing the battery (and spending anywhere from $50-150 for the privilege -- those things aren't cheap!). When you get the new one, make sure to follow my advice on making your laptop battery last longer.
Finally, remember what I said earlier about the paint chipping off the keyboard keys? That wasn't a joke; I've seen keys turn blank as the result of heavy use. Fortunately, you might actually be able to replace the keyboard, as I did not long ago on an older Dell laptop. Ebay is a great resource for those kinds of replacement parts; the Dell keyboard cost all of about $12.
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