Computer probs

My computer is so messed up. Its slow performance is just about driving me crazy. I did everything like cleaning the hard drives, scanning the viruse and uninstall some files i don't need but still the performance is just the same. It might be getting old or perhaps, i needed a new one but God knows i can't afford to have a newer laptop right now. I plan on doing the system recovery but i'm too hesitant because of some pictures i have stored. If it won't get better i don't have a choice. This is just so frustrating, i can't live without my computer.