It’s hard to send your kid off to school without a laptop, but a new computer is so expensive. Donna Ruko met with Data Doctor’s Ken Colburn to see if instead you could just salvage an older one you already own that is just sitting around collecting dust.

1.  Get a New Look

The good news with looks is that it has nothing to do with performance. However, one place appearance does matter is basic hygiene. You’ll feel like you have a brand new computer with a little bit of elbow grease.

2.  Make It Quick

How can we make an old computer faster?  Start with the operating system. You get rid of stuff you don't need that's just running in the background and that can have a huge impact on performance and make an old computer that you're just about to get rid of, act like it's brand new again."

3.  Get More Space

Upgrading your memory is the best bang for the buck when it comes to an upgrade. Then, hard drive upgrades which can actually be harvested from a state-of the art computer. You can put it into and old computer and suddenly you have a great computer.

Just remember that no more than fifty percent of the cost of a new computer generally makes sense. As long as the repairs are under that percentage it’s a good deal to upgrade.

If your child is into coding, programing, video editing, graphic design, any of those higher level functions, that's when the news becomes bad for mom and dad. That's probably when you're going to need to step-up and get a newer system.

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