Repairs
Slow computer speed-up in Leeds
A slow computer is not the same as a dying one, and it is nearly always one specific thing dragging the whole machine down. The trouble is that every cause looks the same from where you sit, a spinning wheel and a lot of waiting. So before anybody talks about money, we measure what is actually holding yours back, for free, and then tell you plainly what a fix will realistically achieve and what it will not. Sometimes it is a cheap afternoon that makes an old machine feel new. Sometimes the honest answer is to put the money towards a new one, and we will say so.
- No fix, no fee
- We come to you
- The diagnosis is always free
- A real person who does the work, not a call centre
Does this sound like yours?
The faults we see most
- It takes minutes to reach the desktop, and minutes more before you can actually click anything
- The spinning wheel or the circle turns up at everything, even opening a folder
- You can hear the drive working away and the machine sits there unresponsive
- It was quick when you got it and has got slower every year since
- A few browser tabs and one other program and it grinds to a halt
- The not responding banner appears and you sit there hoping it comes back
- It says the disk is full, you have deleted all you can bear to, and it is still full
- The fans wind up hard just from scrolling a web page, and the machine is hot
- It came loaded with software you never asked for, much of it starting itself at switch-on
- It slowed down suddenly rather than gradually, and there are pop-ups or odd behaviour alongside it
Not on the list? Call anyway and describe it. The diagnosis is free either way.
What we do
Name the fault, then the fix, then the price
- Tell us on the phone what the machine is, roughly how old it is, and what you actually use it for, because the honest answer for someone running a browser and email is different from someone editing photos or video
- We come to you across Leeds, at home or at work. There is no sense unplugging a whole desk to be told what is slowing it down
- We measure the bottleneck instead of guessing at it: what the drive really is and whether it is healthy, how much memory the machine has and whether it is running out, what is loading itself at startup, whether the disk is full, and whether it is overheating and throttling itself
- If there is still a spinning hard disk inside, that is almost always the whole story. Moving to an SSD is the single change most people feel the most, and we clone your setup across where we can so it comes back as your machine, only quick
- If the machine is genuinely short of memory for what you do, we check what your board will actually take, because on plenty of slim laptops it is soldered down and cannot be added to at any price, and we will tell you that rather than take the work
- Startup clutter and bloatware: we cut down what launches with the machine and strip out what the maker left on and what has piled up since. We do not install a PC optimiser or sell you a subscription to one
- If it slowed down suddenly and there are pop-ups or odd behaviour with it, that points at malware rather than age, and that is a clean-up rather than a speed-up. We will tell you which of the two you are actually dealing with
- Heat is the cause people never think of: a machine choking on dust slows itself down on purpose to stay safe, and a proper clean with fresh thermal paste can cost less than parts and do more
- Then a straight recommendation: what to change, what not to bother with, and whether the honest answer is to spend nothing here and keep the money towards a new machine. One fixed quote before any work starts
How long it takes
An honest answer, not a booking slot
The check itself is usually done while we are with you, and often that is the whole answer. Clearing startup clutter and a tidy-up is frequently sorted inside the visit. Moving you to an SSD takes as long as your data takes to copy across, which can be the same day once we have the machine in hand. A memory or drive part ordered in for your exact model is usually a few days. A clean install, where the setup has been through years of software and picking at it will not save it, is slower still, because putting your files and programs back is the part not worth rushing. You will know which of these yours is at the point we quote.
What it costs
The diagnosis is free, then you get a fixed quote
We do not publish a price list, because a price list for this work would be a fiction: the same fault costs different money on different machines. What we can do is tell you what moves the number, then give you one fixed quote before any work starts. If we cannot fix it, there is nothing to pay.
What drives the price
- What is actually slowing it, since clearing startup clutter is a short job and moving to a new drive with your setup cloned across is a longer one
- Whether any parts are genuinely needed, which is often fewer than people expect and occasionally none at all
- The kind and size of drive or memory your machine takes, because an older laptop and a newer board do not use the same parts or the same money
- How the machine is built, since a tower opens in seconds while some laptops have to be almost entirely stripped to reach the drive
- Whether it turns out to be malware rather than age, in which case it is a clean-up and a different answer
- Whether the dust and thermal paste want dealing with while it is open, which is often the cheapest speed you will buy
Where we work
We come to you across Leeds
Home or work, Monday to Saturday, 9am to 7pm. There is no walk-in shop, so we come to the machine, or you can arrange to drop it to us. Start at computer repair in Leeds, or pick your area.
Questions
The things people ask
Will a speed-up actually make my old computer quick again, or am I wasting money?
It depends entirely on what is slowing it, which is why we measure before we recommend. If your machine still has a spinning hard disk, moving to an SSD makes the single biggest difference most people ever feel from one change, and an old machine can genuinely feel new. If the processor was slow to begin with and everything else is fine, there is less to gain and we will tell you so. The measuring is free precisely so you are not spending money to find that out.
Is my computer slow because it has a virus?
Usually not, and this is worth saving you money on. A machine that has got gradually worse over years is far more likely to have an ageing hard disk, too little memory, or a pile of software starting itself at switch-on. None of that is an infection and a clean-up will not fix it. Malware slowness tends to look different: it comes on suddenly, the machine is busy while you do nothing, and there are usually other signs alongside such as pop-ups. We will tell you which of the two you have at no charge, and only do the job you actually need.
My disk is full and I have deleted everything I can. What now?
A drive that is almost full slows the whole machine down, so this is worth sorting properly rather than deleting things you would rather keep. Often a lot of the space has gone to temporary files, old updates, duplicate downloads and caches that can be cleared safely without losing anything of yours. If after that you genuinely need more room, a larger drive is the answer, and we would clone your setup across so nothing is lost. We work out which of those it is before anything is bought.
Should I buy one of those PC cleaner or speed booster programs?
No, and we will not install one or sell you one. Most charge a subscription for tidying the machine already does by itself, several make things worse by loading more into the background, and a few are the reason a computer got slow in the first place. Real speed comes from the drive, the memory, what is starting with the machine, and whether it is cool enough to run properly. There is no program you can buy that stands in for those.
How much does a speed-up cost?
We do not publish a figure, because clearing startup clutter and moving a machine to a new drive are not the same job, and the same slowness costs different money on different computers. You get a free check, we work out what is actually holding yours back, and then one fixed quote before any work begins. If the honest answer is that it is not worth spending on, we will tell you that at no charge rather than sell you parts that will not change how it feels.
Is your work guaranteed after the repair?
Yes. We stand behind the repairs we carry out. If the same fault we fixed returns within a reasonable period as a result of our work, get in touch and we will put it right. That does not cover new or unrelated faults, accidental damage, liquid damage, or problems caused by other work carried out after ours, and nothing in it affects your statutory rights.
Worth reading first
A plain-English guide before you spend anything
Related repairs
You might also need
Computer upgrades and speed-ups
An SSD, more memory, and a proper clean-up can make an old machine feel new. We measure what is actually holding yours back before you spend anything.
Virus and malware removal
Pop-ups, fake warnings, a hijacked browser, or a ransom note? We find out what is genuinely on there, clean it safely, and leave your files where they are.
PC and desktop repair
Dead tower, black screen, random restarts, roaring fans, or Windows that will not start? Free diagnosis, fixed quote, no fix no fee.
Data recovery
Deleted files, a failing drive, or a laptop that will not start. We tell you what can honestly be recovered before you spend anything, and what cannot.
Tell us what is wrong.
Call and describe the fault. We will diagnose it for free, give you a fixed quote before any work, and if we cannot fix it there is nothing to pay. A real person who does the work, not a call centre.