Hey everyone, I'm in a bit of a panic here! My Windows key isn't working properly—when I click it on my desktop, it just highlights but doesn't open anything. Plus, my CPU usage is stuck around 56% while I'm on the home screen, and when I check Task Manager, it drops to about 8%. The real kicker is that Task Manager closes on its own after a few moments, and my CPU usage jumps back up to 50-60%. Navigating through my folders is super slow, and sometimes they don't even load at all. I'm running a Ryzen 7900x with a 4060 ti graphics card, and I'm currently on Windows 11. I'm really stressing out about this, so any guidance would be appreciated!
3 Answers
If the malware situation seems really bad, you might want to consider doing a clean install of Windows. Just follow the standard installation guide available online. Also, if you don't have a USB drive set up yet, you can use another computer to create one, especially if you're worried the malware might infect removable drives.
Another option you can try is booting into Safe Mode. You need to hold down the Shift key while you click on the Power icon in the Start Menu and choose Restart. After your computer starts back up, it will show some options. Select Troubleshoot > Advanced options > Startup Settings > Restart. Once it's restarted again, you'll see a list—press 4 or F4 to enter Basic Safe Mode. Once you're in, check for any suspicious apps in Settings and uninstall them. You can also look in the Control Panel for odd programs that don’t have names or logos. Don't forget to run an Offline Scan with Windows Defender while you're there!
It sounds like you might have a malware infection or a severe system corruption. Sometimes malware can make itself less visible when programs like Task Manager are running. I recommend running a Windows Defender Offline Scan. You can do this by going to Settings > Privacy & security > Windows Security > Virus & threat protection, then clicking on 'Scan options.' Choose the 'Microsoft Defender Offline scan' and hit 'Scan now.' After your PC restarts, it will perform the scan. If that doesn't clean it up, you should also consider using Malwarebytes for a full system scan, as it can help catch residual issues. Let me know if this works!
When I try the offline scan, I click 'Scan now', then hit ‘yes’ and allow, but it just takes me back to the settings screen without starting the scan. What should I do?