Staying Fit
GUILHERME HENRIQUE
When you get a new computer, it seems lightning fast.
But after a few years, it slows ... and slows. The reasons aren’t a mystery: With age, the number of stored programs and applications keeps growing, straining its resources. At the same time, the physical mechanisms in the hardware degrade.
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Considering that the cost of a decent new computer often approaches or exceeds $1,000, you probably want to keep your current one running well as long as possible. The typical life span for a computer is three to five years, but with routine care and maintenance, you can stretch that to seven years or longer. Here’s how:
When you notice problems
1. Treat the viruses. Is your computer suddenly much slower, besieged by pop-ups or crashing regularly? Antivirus software scans can clear out malware programs and be set up to run automatically, so this process is regularly done for you.
Some popular options include Bitdefender Antivirus, Norton Antivirus Plus, Kaspersky and McAfee Antivirus Plus. All run about $60 a year.
Repair or Replace?
Check out prices for parts. Components for older computers can be more difficult to source and may be more expensive than parts for a newer machine, says Roberto Baires of Micro Tech Resources.
Compare old vs. new. Much like a car, computers can be “totaled,” which means the cost of repair is greater than the worth of the machine.
Determine the age. “If your computer is 5 years old and you want it to run as good as new or close to it, based on prices, you’re probably better off getting a new computer,” Baires says.
Look at the long term. Buying now might be cheaper than repairing versus having the computer last another year or two and then having to buy a new one at a higher price.
2. Declutter. Delete applications and files you don’t need. Freeing this space helps the machine run faster.
“That’s like taking out the trash in your home,” says Eddie Matos, director of technical support for Dell. “It’s going to give you extra hard drive space.” Free programs such as CCleaner will scan your computer and tell you if you have temporary files that can be deleted easily.
3. Add memory. If you open multiple applications and your computer slows, that may be a sign you need more RAM. Generally, upgrading from 4 gigabytes (GB) to 8GB will do the job for about $40.
You can add memory by yourself, but it involves opening up the computer, which you can’t do with Apple products. Taking your computer to a repair shop should cost about $40 for labor.
4. Go extreme. “A clean wipe of the hard drive and a fresh installation of the operating system will breathe new life into the system almost immediately,” Matos says.
This is an extreme option because it will wipe information off your computer. You’ll need to back up data first and reload it later.
The new operating system can be downloaded off the web. You can search for online tutorials.
Next time, consider a desktop
This bit of advice is offered with the obvious caveat: You must be OK with always using your computer at the same location. Typically, desktops last longer than laptops because their components aren’t so jammed together.
“Desktops have a lot of breathability in them, which really helps the life span, because there is so much space for the power supply and the hard drive,” says Alexe Proctor, a former sales manager with Staples.
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