How often do you replace your laptop computer?

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Kern Dog

Build your car to handle.
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The one that I use is a Hewlett Packard and about 4 years old. Restarts don't seem to help, clearing cookies doesn't either. The wife thinks that laptops wear out and need periodic replacement and since she works for a software corporation, I would tend to believe that.
Being a car guy though, I look at symptoms and try to make sense of it.
It sometimes freezes when I'm checking email. One other car forum I'm on is really slow to load. Clicking on threads, loading pictures, back click functions are really slow.
The FABO/FBBO sites are usually fine but lately even here it acts up a bit.
Everything was fine for years but over the past few months, there are two sites that started to act slow when I accessed them, now others seem to be slowly heading the same way.
I don't like replacing things that can be fixed. How do you know when your computer is ready to replace?
 
My Apple lasted 11 years... My current IBM format Samsung is two years old & has more issues than the Apple ever did till the final catastrophic failure.. Couldn't justify the cost of a new Apple but maybe I should have..
 
I've had a Chromebook for a few years now and really like it. If all you do is surf the net like forums, ebay and such it's perfect.
 
If a computer has an odometer or something like it, it would show that I've used it a LOT since I retired in November 2022.
 
If a computer has an odometer or something like it, it would show that I've used it a LOT since I retired in November 2022.
Mine shows wear only on the keyboard. The scroll down key has broken because of scrolling through the forum, Facebook and news sources. I glued it back on though and it works fine.
 
Your wife is 'sorta correct' ONLY in the sense that software requirements constantly go up, they don't exactly "wear out"... they do garbage up though. So you have apps that take more resources over time and apps and OS updates that install more CRAP to run at the same. time. That you say things are SLOW but still work (no BSOD) I suspect its a disk pace and/OR available memory issue, or a browser issue.

if you are primarily just doing internet things and office apps, it REALLY doesn't take a lot to run well. That said the issues you are describing is almost always WHAT else is running that you don't care about vs. the thing you do, from what you wrote, that thing is your browser. e.g. you need have the computer do LESS at the same time. uninstall, disable, prevent apps from starting, uninstall/disable browser extensions etc...

to directly answer your question, I have no idea when to replace a laptop but IMO when its not supported by the OS or when adding memory, disk or repairs are prohibitively expensive.

Im a vsphere/citrix/horizon app and vdi engineer. my entire job is making the most of limited resources... and then deal with complaints just like yours ;-)
 
Make sure your new one has a ssd. (Solid state drive) They don't go bad. They are just memory chips and no motor driven hard disc drive.
 
I have thousands of pictures stored on this computer. 90% of them are car stuff. I do back them up on another hard drive.
I don't store or post as many memes as I used to but that used to be part of it all.
 
My current laptop and home computer were both bought new in 2010.

I strip out old history regularly and run AVG antivirus on both of them. I've also had them both in at a local computer shop for a more thorough cleaning a few times over the last 14 years. Both units are running Windows 7, both units still work fine. However several months ago Amazon Prime changed their software and now I can't watch any movies on them unless I upgrade my browser to Window 10 or higher.

So how long will a laptop last? I suppose a long time if you maintain the software. Might be time to take your's in to a computer shop for a tuneup.

Tom
 
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I have thousands of pictures stored on this computer. 90% of them are car stuff. I do back them up on another hard drive.
I don't store or post as many memes as I used to but that used to be part of it all.
most problem are from unused stuff, copies, downloads and histories. Google for cleaning memories on the hard drive and how to make your pc faster.
Or go the hardway and make all new.
I have older pc, but i run them offline for automotive diagnostic. They still run great offline.
If you want a new one, dont buy the cheapest one, most of the time they run out of power after a year because the have small and inefficient drives. Ask a good buddy or seller.
 
Your old hard drive is loosing RPM, like an old wore out starter.

Time for a brand new replacement hard drive, a good computer tech can clone over your old drive to a new one.

Back up to speed without the headache of moving your data off and back on.

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I take old computers and put in Solid State Drives, make sure they have at least 2 gb RAM random access memory, and install the Open Source Linux Mint operating system.

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A fresh install of windows would make it a night and day difference. It's all the extra stuff that gets installed over time that slows it down. My desktop is pushing 18 years, and every 5 or so I have wiped it clean and reinstalled the minimum amount of stuff I need and it's like a new computer each time. My laptop I going on 2 years and it's about the same speed as when I got it, but I noticed the hard drive is almost full, so I might reset this one soon too.
 
A fresh install of windows would make it a night and day difference. It's all the extra stuff that gets installed over time that slows it down. My desktop is pushing 18 years, and every 5 or so I have wiped it clean and reinstalled the minimum amount of stuff I need and it's like a new computer each time. My laptop I going on 2 years and it's about the same speed as when I got it, but I noticed the hard drive is almost full, so I might reset this one soon too.
Desktop? I love it. So retro. LOL I really want another one myself.
 
Both the wife's desktop and my laptop have Windows 10 and will soon no longer be supported by Microsoft. Her desktop is about 7-8 years old and my laptop is about 7 years old. We are in the process of shopping and upgrading both of ours.
 
I have thousands of pictures stored on this computer. 90% of them are car stuff. I do back them up on another hard drive.
I don't store or post as many memes as I used to but that used to be part of it all.
And all your ****. :poke: :rofl: :thumbsup:
 
I thought they gave you a free upgrade to Windows 11? My old machines have all been upgraded to 11 on their own. I think my desktop went from Windows 7 to 8 to 10 to 11 all through Windows updates. My laptop went from 10 to 11 on its own as well.
 
Your old hard drive is loosing RPM, like an old wore out starter.

Time for a brand new replacement hard drive, a good computer tech can clone over your old drive to a new one.

Back up to speed without the headache of moving your data off and back on.

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Your data is stored in the hard drive. Hopefully your old hard drive still works so you can capture the info and photos to get loaded on that new drive.
 
It's Win-Rot, the Windows' program slowly gets deteriorated over time. Reinstalling the operation system will help, and having a solid-state drive is really a big plus. Store your pictures on a thumb drive via USB port or if your laptop has a burner store your pictures on a disc.
Having a good antivirus program like PCmatic is a must have.
 

It's Win-Rot, the Windows' program slowly gets deteriorated over time. Reinstalling the operation system will help, and having a solid-state drive is really a big plus. Store your pictures on a thumb drive via USB port or if your laptop has a burner store your pictures on a disc.
Having a good antivirus program like PCmatic is a must have.
It really doesn't deteriorate, it just get's plugged up and slow with other programs that boot and run with Windows. If you know what you are doing, you can delete those programs. It's like a reset on your phone. It starts at the beginning with a fresh clean OS.
 
So do all of the new desktop computers now have solid state hard drives?
 
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