Boo !!
You are an I.T literate type aren't you classic.
Is this Windows 8 to be avoided at all costs ?
I ask as I think our very old & slow craptop is reaching the end of it's life & being an I.T numpty will want to avoid the frustration when I can afford a new one.
Whose 'Popped Off' so far ? (Choo Choo La Rue) any others.
I wouldn't say I'm IT literate, but thanks for the compliment. Different people like different Operating Systems. I'd a Vista based laptop that worked OK.
Can reinstall Windows 95D(first USB supported OS from Windows) if need be.
You "right clicked" on the hard drive disc and run disc cleanup? It'll clear out all old files that may be slowing the computer down. Then Disc Defragmenter a number of times until its almost instantaneous.
Try a download of AVG to help clear out old files/registry entries no longer in use. There's a 30 day free trial that will allow you to do all this.