I've had my Asus laptop for more than a year, and it was great at first for gaming, but things went downhill a few months in. Now it runs incredibly slow and can't even handle running games without overheating. These days, I mostly use it for YouTube because downloading anything is a no-go. It's worth noting that my storage is 58GB total, but I see that 56GB is consumed even though I only have Minecraft downloaded. I'm wondering if there's something wrong, perhaps malware? Should I run a virus scan, delete some files, factory reset the device, or just start saving for a new computer?
3 Answers
It sounds like you might be dealing with an EMMC storage issue, which has very limited space. When your storage gets full, it tends to slow everything down. Check to see if you can clean up some old files or temporary downloads. Also, make sure to clean out the fan and repaste your cooler—overheating can be a major issue!
Honestly, your storage is pretty tiny for running Windows, which is likely why you're experiencing crashes. Your computer's probably using the hard drive as some sort of temporary memory when RAM runs out, and with such limited space, that can cause a lot of problems. Have you considered getting a new laptop if a factory reset doesn't help?
Yeah, if you keep running into issues even after a reset, it might just be time to save up for something with better specs. Sometimes, it's not worth pouring more money into fixing an old machine.
Most of your storage is probably taken up by Windows and its updates. Windows can balloon in size, eating up your storage with features and components. Try clearing out some cache files or run a virus scan just in case, but it sounds like your storage issue is likely the main problem.
You're right about the EMMC! Those drives can fill up quickly. You might want to consider upgrading to an M.2 drive if your laptop has the slot for it. That will definitely give you more room!