I'm really struggling with my laptop's performance and would love some guidance. It's from 2019 but has always been incredibly slow, even though I've hardly used it. I only have a handful of files, like some old documents and a couple of videos. Whenever I check the task manager, the disk usage is always at 100%, and I don't recognize a lot of the processes running there. I did a malware scan, but nothing came up. I don't usually have many apps or tabs open, yet even loading Google takes about 5 minutes, and there's a noticeable lag when I type. Should I consider getting an external SSD or maybe do a factory reset? Any advice would be really appreciated!
Also, here are my laptop specs: it's an HP Pavilion with an Intel Core i3 processor, 8GB of RAM, and it's running Windows 10. Thanks in advance!
3 Answers
Before making any drastic moves, check your task manager for which programs are using the disk. If you click on the drive, it will show you the processes that are causing high usage. Sometimes, Windows services can spike disk activity. A quick restart can fix temporary slowdowns too! Also, make sure you're not running an old HDD; switching to an SSD can significantly boost performance if you don’t already have one.
First off, you should definitely specify your laptop's make and model, along with its specs, in as much detail as possible. It really helps in troubleshooting. Knowing your OS, processor, RAM, and storage type is crucial since each component impacts performance.
If you’ve only got 7 files, my suggestion would be to back them up on a USB and consider doing a factory reset. After that, run all the updates. If it still has issues post-reset, we can dive deeper into the specs for more help. But honestly, if it was sluggish in 2019, it might not age well as we head into 2025.
Good point! I updated my post with the specs.