Clean install on a 10 year old Dell Optiplex - night and day difference

I had this dusty old Optiplex 3020 sitting in the back of the shop for months. Customer brought it in last week, said it was slower than a wet week. I finally got around to it on Tuesday, popped in a cheap SSD and did a fresh Windows 10 install. Took maybe 45 minutes total including cloning the old drive just in case. Boot time went from like 4 minutes down to about 15 seconds. Programs that used to hang for 20 seconds now open instantly. Honestly I forgot how much a clean OS can transform even junk hardware. Anyone else still get surprised by how big the difference is after a fresh install on old machines?

3 comments

3 Comments

mila_murphy214d ago

I read somewhere that newer OS updates are just so bloated, wiping the slate clean is basically the only way to fix a machine that's had years of junk piled on. It's wild how a cheap SSD and a fresh install can make a ten year old dinosaur feel brand new again.

jamesf414d ago

Kind of like cleaning out a cluttered garage, you forget how much space you actually had until you clear the junk out.

torres.grant4d ago

Feels like clearing out a junk drawer. Clutter just builds up everywhere.