Slow laptop question

[shenkty5]

I have a question about my laptop. It has been getting progressively slower in terms of booting, opening and loading files, and even browsing the internet. I know that this is not the best laptop and that it is old.
My question is whether I can do any upgrades to speed it up. Would a new hard drive speed things up? Or any other options? I am not in any position to buy a new computer, but just looking for some kind of quick fix if possible.
Here are the specs:
Compaq Presario CQ60
CPU: AMD Athlon Dual-Core QL-62, 2000 MHz
HDD: Hitachi HTS543225L9A300 ATA Device
SATA/300 - 5400 rpm - 8 MB Buffer - 2.5"
GPU: Nvidia Geforce 8200M G
OS: Windows Vista

Thank you for any advice.

 

[k1114]

Have you tried reformatting the hdd?

 

[shenkty5]

Sorry, I guess I should have included what I have done already.

I scan for viruses and spyware regularly. I run CCleaner on a regular basis along with defrag. I have already tweaked Vista to limit what I don't need as well as tweaking my startup files and services.
I have also reformatted the hard drive and saw no change in speed. In fact, it seems to be getting slower, which is why I'm hoping I could just get a newer faster HDD and that would suffice. I should add that this is my laptop that I use when I'm not on my desktop.

 

[hang-the-9]

Unless the hard drive is going bad, the system should not be getting slower especially after you re-installed the OS. So a drive upgrade to a 7200 rpm or an SSD may be a good move.

 

[shenkty5]

Thanks, I am hoping that upgrading the drive will make this computer much more tolerable.

 

[shenkty5]

I was told to select the best answer. I've only gotten 2 answers and I suppose one was good, but I was hoping for more feedback than 2 people. I will not be selecting a best answer because of the fact that there are only 2 answers here.

 

[dabspalalabs]

Try to check the temps of your laptop... If it gets too hot then try to clean it out. Clean the vents, apply new thermal paste etc...