The Best Upgrades for Old Computers? - Comments Page 1

In our computer club, we have helped about 20 members upgrade from Win 7 to Win 10. And since it was free, they continue to have a computer they like but now using the latest OS. Maybe this is the simplest, and certainly the cheapest, upgrade.

Another great article Bob, I only buy HP laptops as I have found that a configured Laptop from HP is far cheaper than anyone else.
First, I select all the FREE UPGRADES.
Second, I select the I7 Core.
Third, I compare the Memory Upgrades.
Fourth , I always select the Lighted Keyboard ($10)
Fifth, The HARD DRIVE, SSD if cheap enough.
HP's 3QB14AV_1
HP Laptop - 17t touch optional
HP - 17t Laptop
128 GB M.2 SATA SSD
Full-size island-style backlit keyboard(ash Silver)
Security Software Trial
Pale Gold
16 GB DDR4-2133 SDRAM (2x8GB)
802.11b/g/n/ac (2x2) Wi-Fi® and Bluetooth® 4.2 combo
Office Software Trial
Windows 10 Home 64 Plus
No Optane
HP TrueVision HD Camera with Digital Microphone (Pale Gold) (for Touch)
3-cell, 41 Wh Lithium-ion prismatic Battery
DVD-Writer
Intel® Core™ i7-7500U (2.7 GHz, up to 3.5 GHz, 4 MB cache, 2 cores)+Intel® HD Graphics 620
17.3" diagonal HD+ SVA WLED-backlit touch screen (1600 x 900)
Under $800 with Tax and delivery

If one already has adequate RAM, installing an SSD and booting from it instead of a spinner will give the most dramatic performance increase one can get, especially when booting. If one can afford to use an SSD to completely replace HDDs, there will also be an increase in seek, read and write speeds.

Great article again. I agree with James. I always purchase HP laptops...BUT normally I custom build. Nothing like getting a laptop right for you! You know the support to expect from HP, and buying custom from HP, the warranty is much cheaper.
I purchase a new laptop every 18 months /2 years. The old one I keep alive until they finally die for one reason or another. Just remember ...'you gets what you pay for!' No excuses.

It's Hard to take a 'The Best Upgrades for Old Computers?' article seriously when it doesn't mention Linux.
It may not be for everyone, but it at least deserves a mention since not all old computers can run Windows 10.

EDITOR'S NOTE: It appears you missed several paragraphs in the article which mentioned the Linux alternatives. "Here's one zero-cost option for speeding up an older computer. Consider moving away from Windows, and switching to the Linux operating system..."

With a very weak laptop which was slow when new with Vista, when upgraded with Windows 8, it was very fast. Brand new with Vista a video could not be watched streaming from the Internet, but with Windows 8, no problem. However detested Windows 8 was, it required very little resources to run quickly. Windows 10 is not as efficient.

Sir Paul, everyone on this list knows, or should know Bob is a Windows guy. I for one don't need to waste my time reading about Linux or MAC. If I wanted to I would get on a different list.

My computer is about 10 years old (to the best of my recollection, could be a bit less) I had it built with nearly state of the art parts (intended for gamers, which I am not) and far more SDRAM than I will ever need. I have replaced Hard Drives and media writers and upgraded the OS a couple of times to Win 10. It starts up a bit slow, but other than that it is as fast as I need it to be, though if high speed internet service ever comes to my neck of the woods (I live in the woods, literally) I may have to upgrade the whole computer.....maybe.

Hi Bob,
Always enjoy your articles and your knowledge.
I use a Windows 10 Dell Desktop that I bought years ago from Costco (great place to buy a computer with all their price & benefits).

Lately I've been turned on to Chromebook. With a fast startup, fast software updating, thin light weight design laptops, excellent battery life, cloud based backup, and a great price point. What's not to love!

Let me second the vote for Linux. When I get ready to move off of Win 7, it probably will be to some flavor of Linux. I have tried Win 10 -- sorry, it looks like it would be too expensive for me to support, and my motherboard is very borderline on running it.

Biggest problem I have found with Linux is the lack of some drivers, and Linux versions of some programs that are available for Windows.

I do not worry about the lack of updates security-wise when Win 7 becomes unpopular. The bad guys target the most common OS, and there will be few exploits aimed at Win 7. (My Win 3.11 machine keeps on going!)

I have several computers. Four started with Windows, although two are now Linux. Three are 64-bit with 4 GB RAM. One, the one I want to mention, started with Windows Vista Basic and was upgraded to Windows Vista Home. It had a hard time handling that OS. Finally I switched to Linux Mint. It's a 32-bit computer. It came with 0.5 GB RAM. Yes, 0.5! I upgraded that, too, sort of. Now, I can check the amount of RAM using several different tools. Any given tool may report the RAM as 0.5 GB, 1.0 GB, or 1.5 GB. BUT IT STILL RUNS! Slowly, haltingly at times, but it still runs!

@Ken Heikkila Yes, we all know Bob is a big Windows guy as well as a Google guy. That doesn't mean he can not write about other products. If you have been here a while you would have noticed Bob has discussed Linux and Android in previous articles. I am not a Windows user and still find these posts interesting, Also, I do agree with the others that Linux should be mentioned. One good example, I have an Acer Netbook which at the time of purchase I paid extra to have the 1GB RAM upgraded to 2GB. It came with XP. Near the end even XP really bogged down the system. I put Ubuntu on the Netbook and it was revived. With Ubuntu 16 release, the system started to bog down again, so I changed the OS to LinuxLite. The Netbook is still kicking and being used weekly.

Best thing to do with old pc is to turn it into a router. this give you full control of what coming into your computer network

Yeah, and Windows 10 has a "back door" built in to it which is why some geeks don't want Win 10 and are moving towards one of the Linux variations out there.

Bob, upgrading an old computer really isn't difficult, especially a desktop. A laptop is another story.
But the major issues of upgrading are: 1, what programs are on your current computer: 2, have you backed up your data so you can restore, then backed it up again in another location.
Your most recent article on cloud storage is a good primer for anyone, but especially when replacing the OS and hard drive. Remember, a new OS upgrade to an old hard drive MIGHT reformat the old drive, and you'll lose everything except the new OS

My suggestions for old sluggish computers running Win 7 are these:
(IF, however your current motherboard/hardware will not support Windows 10, bail and get hardware that will.)
- Find a GOOD SSD and upgrade the hard drive
- Upgrade the memory to as much as a motherboard can handle, but no more that 16G
- Completely reinstall the OS
- Remove all the crapware if the OEM OS restore brought it to you.
- Install latest versions of favorite software, but staying away from useless 'helpers'
- Run a good, known, supported AV and antispyware.
- Optimize the hard driver (UNLESS you have an SSD)
Just my $.02 on this.

@James pls include a link to the "back door" info

EDITOR'S NOTE: You won't get any such link. At least not one with any credibility. You hear these "XYZ has a secret back door" comments about lots of products -- operating systems, browsers, anti-malware, encryption, etc. It's the stuff of myth, legend, and in some cases, deliberate deception.

I initially did the free upgrade to windows 10 on my duplicated win 7 drive tried it for a while but didn't like it so swapped back to the win 7 one.I still have the drive with the win 10 on it but it has never had any updates done to it. I'm not looking forward to loosing my win 7 and having to go to win 10,but I suppose sometime or other will probably have to as my laptop is from 2008 and by today's standards straight out of the ark.I have done some repairs and reinstalls for a friend on his(originally 8.1 to 10)but still don't like it as much as win 7.

I too took an old laptop that barely functioned and put Chalet OS (linux) on it. It looks just like windows and I now can use it to stream and play media. All for free. We have 3 computers with Windows, two adroid tablets and two android phones. Now we the linux machine we have succeded in avoiding anything Apple.

For what it is worth I have a slightly different take on Linux. Install Linux Mint and dual boot with your current Windows O/S. Use Linux for your internet activity as it is quicker than Windows and is safe from Windows specific malware. The result is you have a modern operating system (Linux); and access to your favorite Windows programs.

@James. Thanks for telling us in detail what you order from HP, BUT the point of th article was how to upgrade a computer. So, what is the first things you upgrade on your selected HP?

BTW, where is the back-door info on the tease you threw out there?