Question PC slow returning from holidays after 3 weeks

[JUSTICA]

[Mod edit: OP, please message a moderator if you need this thread reopened.]

Greetings,

I apology for the mistakes I'll do, my english isn't perfect, but I actually thought I could get better answers here.

So, I've been on holidays for 3 weeks, I haven't touched my laptop during these 3 weeks. I unplugled the charger from the electrical outlet when I left. My PC wasn't really fast already before going on holidays, but when I came back, it had like stuttering ? I felt like the performances, not only in games, on my desktop too, were being capped, restricted or something. I couldn't watch youtube videos, every action was really slow, every noise sounded like it was made by a robot etc.. So I decided to format my laptop completely. But sadly this same thing happens, it's really slow, but randomly starts working fine again for a bunch of minutes and then slow again. I have no clue where the problem is coming, I've thouhgt about it being a virus, a malware but I don't know how I could have one if I didn't use the PC, or if it would really stay on my laptop after formating it, or maybe a component not working well but once again I haven't used the laptop :/ I would be grateful to someone that could have an idea, thank you !

 

[Oussebon]

Define "format my laptop completely"

Did you just do a factory / Windows reset rather than a full clean install, deleting all pre-existing partitions? What was the exact process you used to 'format' the laptop?

The most obvious cause of the slowdown would be that the laptop was trying to do various updates for Windows and possibly other software that were released while you were away. If you did a 'reset' - or frankly even if you did a clean install - it will probably still be trying to download a load of updates.

If you use Task Manager, what does it show for CPU usage, Disk Usage, RAM usage and GPU usage?

What's the full spec of your laptop?

 

[DXCHASE]

What are the specs on the labtop youre using? Im not an expert on labtops but im thinking something overheated while you were gone, does it get extremely hot?

 

[JUSTICA]

The way I reset my laptop was :

https://imgur.com/a/r2AkOvg

So I think that as it is written in the reset option, it uninstalled everything on the disk and cleaned the disk I guess ?

I've checked the usage of these but I honestly don't know if there is something strange :

https://imgur.com/a/QUzaKlU

And for my full spec, tell me if you need more than that so I'll get the official link from my laptop

https://imgur.com/a/wVedLS3

And my laptop is connected to a second monitor, if it is useful to know that

But it is true that the Windows updates can be the problem, but it would be strange that they don't naturally update when I shutdown my laptop ?

 

[JUSTICA]

What are the specs on the labtop youre using? Im not an expert on labtops but im thinking something overheated while you were gone, does it get extremely hot?

For the laptop specs, I've posted them on the reply above I think, and no I don't think the laptop is overheating, the ROG gaming center me indicates ~50°C for both CPU and GPU what is really low for the components I think ?

 

[JUSTICA]

Define "format my laptop completely"

Did you just do a factory / Windows reset rather than a full clean install, deleting all pre-existing partitions? What was the exact process you used to 'format' the laptop?

The most obvious cause of the slowdown would be that the laptop was trying to do various updates for Windows and possibly other software that were released while you were away. If you did a 'reset' - or frankly even if you did a clean install - it will probably still be trying to download a load of updates.

If you use Task Manager, what does it show for CPU usage, Disk Usage, RAM usage and GPU usage?

What's the full spec of your laptop?

I replied to the message, but independently, so i thought you wouldn't get the notification if I didn't poked you here

 

[Oussebon]

What version of Windows 10 are you on? If you open the Start Menu, type winver, and hit enter, it will tell you e.g. Version 1909, version 2004, etc

In your Windows update history, does it list any updates that happened during or since you returned? In particular an Feature Update to version 2004?

I've checked the usage of these but I honestly don't know if there is something strange :

Those readings were taken while the PC was being very slow, yes?

So I think that as it is written in the reset option, it uninstalled everything on the disk and cleaned the disk I guess ?

That's not a 'format' that's just a reset. It's the OS trying to repair itself. But if the OS isn't working properly, it might not repair itself properly, or it might somehow still miss the fault.

If you've checked thermals and they're fine, and you want to try something to just rule out as many possibilities as possible in one go, you could try a clean install:

How to Perform a Clean Install of Windows 10

A while ago we showed you how to get a Windows 10 ISO for a clean install. Today we'll show how to clean install Windows 10 from beginning to end.

www.groovypost.com

Make sure to back up any files you need first as otherwise you'll lose them.

Once you've done a clean install, don't install any software. Not even a separate antivirus (windows defender is fine). Run the Windows updater until it can't find anything new to install. Use the included browser to watch a video on Youtube. See if it behaves. Try some word processing, listening to music, or whatever other basic tasks you can do without installing extra software. If it's fine, try installing Steam and 1 game to test.

 

[JUSTICA]

What version of Windows 10 are you on? If you open the Start Menu, type winver, and hit enter, it will tell you e.g. Version 1909, version 2004, etc

In your Windows update history, does it list any updates that happened during or since you returned? In particular an Feature Update to version 2004?

Those readings were taken while the PC was being very slow, yes?



That's not a 'format' that's just a reset. It's the OS trying to repair itself. But if the OS isn't working properly, it might not repair itself properly, or it might somehow still miss the fault.

If you've checked thermals and they're fine, and you want to try something to just rule out as many possibilities as possible in one go, you could try a clean install:

How to Perform a Clean Install of Windows 10

A while ago we showed you how to get a Windows 10 ISO for a clean install. Today we'll show how to clean install Windows 10 from beginning to end.

www.groovypost.com

Make sure to back up any files you need first as otherwise you'll lose them.

Once you've done a clean install, don't install any software. Not even a separate antivirus (windows defender is fine). Run the Windows updater until it can't find anything new to install. Use the included browser to watch a video on Youtube. See if it behaves. Try some word processing, listening to music, or whatever other basic tasks you can do without installing extra software. If it's fine, try installing Steam and 1 game to test.

For the version of Windows I'm on, it says Version 1903, version of the exploitation system 18362.1016
And for the Windows updates, I've searched in the update history, but It don't show anything, empty list, possibly because of the reset or maybe because I haven't installed any windows update yet. But I've been looking around and saw this :

https://imgur.com/a/jV3WATc

It's showing me windows updates available, ready to be downloaded, "Fonctionalities update to Windows 10, version 1909" ready to be downloaded and installed.

That's totally true, I've not thought about, I thought that this would correctly install everything as it was factory new even with errors etc...
And thank you a lot for the link, if you think that it is better to try these windows updates I've talked about above and that it can possibly solve the problem, maybe I don't even need to entirely clean the laptop, what do you think ?

 

[Oussebon]

On the basis of that I'd recommend a clean install

'upgrades in place' i.e. where Windows upgrades itself from one version to another e.g version 1903 to 1909 can themselves cause problems. Often it's fine, but sometimes it's not.

Given that you 1) are having problems with the laptop and 2) will soon be downloading and installing 1909 anyway, I'd suggest making a fresh installation media and doing a clean install.

 

[JUSTICA]

On the basis of that I'd recommend a clean install

'upgrades in place' i.e. where Windows upgrades itself from one version to another e.g version 1903 to 1909 can themselves cause problems. Often it's fine, but sometimes it's not.

Given that you 1) are having problems with the laptop and 2) will soon be downloading and installing 1909 anyway, I'd suggest making a fresh installation media and doing a clean install.

Understood ! I've got only 2 questions before doing that then, the files I need to keep you were talking about, is it files like pictures, important things I have on the computer, or you were talking about system files etc... ( I don't think it is system files but you know only to be sure xd ) and second question, do I need a key to install Windows on the laptop with this tutorial, or it will install by itself with the last version, or I'll maybe need to do it manually ?

 

[Oussebon]

Have a read of the article I linked. As part of the process, you delete the partitions on the system drive.

Your laptop has drives C and D. I assume C is an SSD and D is an HDD? In which case you would delete all partitions on the SSD.

If you delete the partitions on a drive, everything on that drive goes. OS files, games, photos, word documents, everything. This is why it's called a 'clean' install. Therefore, any personal files you don't want to lose - pictures, saved games, documents - need to be backed up.

You wouldn't need to back up system files are you are reinstalling Windows. You may want to back up game files if you don't want to have to redownload the games. You'll probably need to redownload some software e.g. Microsoft Office if you have that.

You'll also want to back up any important files on the HDD as well, in case you accidentally click the wrong buttons and delete the partitions on that too...

As for installing Windows, the tutorial talks about it briefly at the start but the article it links to is a bit out of date. In short, you can go here:

Télécharger Windows 10

Click the section that says "Utilisation de l’outil pour créer vos supports d’installation (clé USB, DVD ou fichier ISO) afin d’installer Windows 10 sur un autre PC"

and that explains how you create an 'installation media' for Windows. There's a lot of text but it's really super simple.

 

[JUSTICA]

Have a read of the article I linked. As part of the process, you delete the partitions on the system drive.

Your laptop has drives C and D. I assume C is an SSD and D is an HDD? In which case you would delete all partitions on the SSD.

If you delete the partitions on a drive, everything on that drive goes. OS files, games, photos, word documents, everything. This is why it's called a 'clean' install. Therefore, any personal files you don't want to lose - pictures, saved games, documents - need to be backed up.

You wouldn't need to back up system files are you are reinstalling Windows. You may want to back up game files if you don't want to have to redownload the games. You'll probably need to redownload some software e.g. Microsoft Office if you have that.

You'll also want to back up any important files on the HDD as well, in case you accidentally click the wrong buttons and delete the partitions on that too...

As for installing Windows, the tutorial talks about it briefly at the start but the article it links to is a bit out of date. In short, you can go here:

Télécharger Windows 10

Click the section that says "Utilisation de l’outil pour créer vos supports d’installation (clé USB, DVD ou fichier ISO) afin d’installer Windows 10 sur un autre PC"

and that explains how you create an 'installation media' for Windows. There's a lot of text but it's really super simple.

Thank you a lot !
So if I understood everything correctly, I have to download Windows on a USB key following the steps of this link, then simply do as the tutorial you've sent before say, following every step, and it'll clean both SSD, and Disk (D then selecting I want Windows on the SSD (C then it'll start installing by itself ( That's a very quick summary but I guess it is the idea ! xd )

 

[JUSTICA]

Have a read of the article I linked. As part of the process, you delete the partitions on the system drive.

Your laptop has drives C and D. I assume C is an SSD and D is an HDD? In which case you would delete all partitions on the SSD.

If you delete the partitions on a drive, everything on that drive goes. OS files, games, photos, word documents, everything. This is why it's called a 'clean' install. Therefore, any personal files you don't want to lose - pictures, saved games, documents - need to be backed up.

You wouldn't need to back up system files are you are reinstalling Windows. You may want to back up game files if you don't want to have to redownload the games. You'll probably need to redownload some software e.g. Microsoft Office if you have that.

You'll also want to back up any important files on the HDD as well, in case you accidentally click the wrong buttons and delete the partitions on that too...

As for installing Windows, the tutorial talks about it briefly at the start but the article it links to is a bit out of date. In short, you can go here:

Télécharger Windows 10

Click the section that says "Utilisation de l’outil pour créer vos supports d’installation (clé USB, DVD ou fichier ISO) afin d’installer Windows 10 sur un autre PC"

and that explains how you create an 'installation media' for Windows. There's a lot of text but it's really super simple.

Soooo,

I've been doing everything that was told in the tutorials, it's been like 8 hours straight trying to fix this xD
I've tried to clean the laptop completely once, done all the windows updates ( I think, it told me I was up to date at least ) but I realised that a lot of drivers were missing, like for the GPU etc... so I tried to google some driver updaters/installer, but felt I really download a virus or something, so I cleaned it asap a second time and here I am. I've been doing all the Windows Updates it's telling me I'm up to date

https://imgur.com/a/5hKmLXj

So I tried doing some basic tasks as you said with the default browser, microsoft edge, but it was still really slow, it played the musics and videos correctly but the browser was slow, so I've tried with a decent one (Firefox), and I feel like it is working a little better ? Using the laptop menus maybe a little faster too, but I still feel that it is pretty slow for something supposed to be "new" after cleaning it. So I've downloaded and installed the Nvidia drivers and Geforce, installe League Of Legends so I can quickly try the performances, and sadly they are still pretty horrible, not as bad as before, but far from as good as before the holidays or even yesterday during a couple hours. And bonus this time I see that it didn't recognized my Disk ( D: ) xd

https://imgur.com/a/evRxEVR

The usage didn't really changed I think, maybe a little better with RAM that is less used.
I feel like we're not far from the problem, that this solved a part of it but not totally. I'm starting to wonder if it isn't like dust inside the laptop, maybe I should open it and clean it physically, I don't really know what to do if even completely cleaning everything in the laptop doesn't work...