Speed up an old Windows laptop without spending a penny

Is buying a new laptop the only way to get speed? – No, you can often recover performance for free We see the mistake a lot: people assume the only fix for a sluggish Windows notebook is to splash out on a new machine. The reality is that most of the lag comes from software clutter, mis‑configured settings, or a dust‑filled fan – none of which need a fresh purchase. What can we actually change without buying hardware? Trim startup programmes . Open Task Manager (Ctrl+Shift+Esc) → Startup tab and disable anything you don’t need. We often spot Adobe Reader, OneDrive or third‑party updaters hogging boot time. Disabling them can shave 10‑20 seconds off launch. Uninstall unnecessary apps . Head to Settings → Apps → Apps & features. Remove trial software, old games, or pre‑installed bloatware. It frees disk space and reduces background services. Cost: £0. Run Disk Cleanup and, if you have a HDD, defragment . Search ‘Disk Cleanup’, tick Temporary files, Recycle Bin and previous Windows installations. For HDDs, open Defragment and Optimize Drives and run it. This can improve read speeds noticeably. Cost: £0. Adjust power settings . In Control Panel → Power Options choose “Balanced” or create a custom plan that keeps the CPU at 100 % when plugged in. Many laptops sit on the “Power saver” plan by default, throttling performance. Update Windows and drivers . Run Settings → Update & Security → Windows Update. Then visit the laptop maker’s support site for chipset and graphics drivers – t