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Is your slow laptop acting up?

Is your slow laptop acting up?

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TeeKay10
Member
51
08-29-2026, 11:23 PM
#1
So my sister gave me this really old laptop when she got a new one. I changed the battery so it only works now that the charger is plugged in; that fixed that problem. I also bought more memory (RAM) and installed it, but everything still feels very slow? The computer takes forever to start up, then it's super slow to load onto my main screen. Even after getting Windows on the screen, opening Chrome or apps takes a long time too. Sometimes when I try to open an app, the loading circle shows up for a while and then all those apps just freeze completely. At the same time, my sound cracksle because nothing is working well. What could be going wrong? I am pretty sure I even did a free Windows install too. Is this just because it's so old, or can I change something to make it go fast again? It is an HP laptop with the model number 15-ac-120na.
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TeeKay10
08-29-2026, 11:23 PM #1

So my sister gave me this really old laptop when she got a new one. I changed the battery so it only works now that the charger is plugged in; that fixed that problem. I also bought more memory (RAM) and installed it, but everything still feels very slow? The computer takes forever to start up, then it's super slow to load onto my main screen. Even after getting Windows on the screen, opening Chrome or apps takes a long time too. Sometimes when I try to open an app, the loading circle shows up for a while and then all those apps just freeze completely. At the same time, my sound cracksle because nothing is working well. What could be going wrong? I am pretty sure I even did a free Windows install too. Is this just because it's so old, or can I change something to make it go fast again? It is an HP laptop with the model number 15-ac-120na.

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Sacha101
Junior Member
15
08-30-2026, 11:30 AM
#2
It might be wise to stick with just this machine for now, but you could swap out the hard drive later if needed. My only advice is to get an extra SSD and have low expectations about how things will work. This thing has two cores running at 1.9 speed. It won't run fast or even quickly before it's done.
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Sacha101
08-30-2026, 11:30 AM #2

It might be wise to stick with just this machine for now, but you could swap out the hard drive later if needed. My only advice is to get an extra SSD and have low expectations about how things will work. This thing has two cores running at 1.9 speed. It won't run fast or even quickly before it's done.

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Zmondy
Senior Member
405
08-30-2026, 06:19 PM
#3
Should I switch my old hard drive to a fast one like an SSD? What about your thoughts on a brand new laptop? Something that works okay for games and normal daily tasks.
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Zmondy
08-30-2026, 06:19 PM #3

Should I switch my old hard drive to a fast one like an SSD? What about your thoughts on a brand new laptop? Something that works okay for games and normal daily tasks.

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Bahezz
Member
201
08-31-2026, 02:25 AM
#4
Besides games, just go to Newegg and search for laptops from three or four generations ago. If you don't need fancy features, finding an old i5 or r5 model used for around $200 isn't that hard. Honestly, if you have a modern phone, it might actually be more powerful than the laptop specs say.
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Bahezz
08-31-2026, 02:25 AM #4

Besides games, just go to Newegg and search for laptops from three or four generations ago. If you don't need fancy features, finding an old i5 or r5 model used for around $200 isn't that hard. Honestly, if you have a modern phone, it might actually be more powerful than the laptop specs say.

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dpbigbear10
Member
162
08-31-2026, 11:20 AM
#5
Replacing an SSD with a new hard drive (HDD) in a laptop is going to make it run much faster. You can find lots of YouTube videos showing how to do this physically yourself.
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dpbigbear10
08-31-2026, 11:20 AM #5

Replacing an SSD with a new hard drive (HDD) in a laptop is going to make it run much faster. You can find lots of YouTube videos showing how to do this physically yourself.