11 cheap or free ways to make your old PC run faster

There’s a reason that unboxing videos and the phrase “new car smell” are firmly ensconced in the public groupmind. New stuff is exciting! New stuff is (theoretically) better! New stuff is just plain cool.

But new stuff also costs an arm and a leg—at least if you’re talking about a new PC. And you might not even truly need a new PC to accomplish what you’re looking to do, because most everyday tasks don’t require much processing power, especially now that so many services have moved onto the web.

Fortunately, there are a slew of ways to breathe new life into an older PC that’s starting to feel a little pokey. Even better: Most are outright free, a couple of (still low-cost) hardware upgrades aside. Sure, these tweaks and tips aren’t as thrilling as booting up a brand-new PC for the first time—but they’ll let you continue to get the job done with the gear you already have. Try them before you invest in a new laptop.

1. STREAMLINE YOUR STARTUP

Let’s start with the simpler things first. If your computer is chugging, too in Windows 7 and opening its Startup tab.