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My 2 years old HP laptop is so slow and full of ghosts.

Lisette Swinnen 0 Reputation points
2026-06-03T17:47:04.6466667+00:00

Hi, I am just a normal housewife with a HP laptop. I started off with MSdos and floppies, so I am not new to the concept.

My HP : AMD Ryzen 5 7520U with Radeon Graphics (2.80 GHz), RAM : 16,0 Go (15,2 Go useable), AMD Radeon(TM) Graphics (486 Mo), hard disc : 117 GB of 477 GB used. I don't think it's a "weak" computer. I am not a gamer, My normal use is : googling things, Facebook, printing of photos, mail and watching movies in streaming. I have a Kaspersky anti virus and also VPN.

About the ghosts : I start the computer and it takes at least 1 min before I have my desktop photo. Then a whole minute later, the wifi comes on. I connect myself. I use Microsoft Edge to go on the internet, I have also Chrome and Opera.

On Facebook, messenger, when I type a text to someone, the first word appears, I have finished typing the whole sentence, afterwards, the rest of the sentence appears, which is very annoying. I tried it on Chrome and Opera, result is the same. For information, I only have 1 or 2 tabs open, not 10. I don't have any other programs running besides Microsoft Edge and the ones in the background.

I watch Youtube or tiktok. All of a sudden, I don't have any sound anymore. Troubleshooting doesn't find anything wrong. After restarting my pc, everything is normal again.

The wifi : it goes off and on all day. The trouble is in my pc, not the internet box, because I have a radio playing on wifi and that doesn't stop. Troubleshooting finds nothing most of the time, sometimes it says it has to reinstall the internet card.

When I watch a movie on streaming, I put an ethernet cable in and rely my pc with my tv with an HDMI. The sign of the ethernet replaces the wifi sign in the taskbar, but stays there days, after I am back on wifi. For my movies, I can chose 4K, 1080 or 720. My tv is old so on 4K I have sound but no image. On 1080 I have image, but the movie freezes all the time. On 720, I don't have problems.

Sometimes, my programmes on my taskbar don't work at all, except for windows start. I have to clic on a programme I want to open in windows start. Or restart my pc. After restarting everything is fine again for.... 5 min.

And the list goes on...and on...

I did a memory test : everything is fine. I ask Kaspersky to find errors, and he comes up with always the same ones

User's image

I am sorry, it's in Spanish because my brother pays Kaspersky for 5 computers and he lives in Spain. But you can understand what it is saying.

I contacted HP because my pc is still in warranty, but they say it's a software problem and they can't do anything about it except reinstall windows. I don't want to do that because, guess what, my previous computer had the same problems. It was an Asus that I kept for 6 years. In those 6 years, the computer was repaired twice, I reinstalled windows at least 10 times. But at the end I kept getting blue screens, so I replaced it with this one. My brother AND my neighbor have the same computer, they don't have any problems.

Thank you for reading everything. Do you see anything that can be the cause of all this? Something I do wrong? Maybe a solution?

Thank you in advance. I wish you a beautiful day.

Windows for home | Windows 11 | Performance and system failures
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  1. Igor Leyko 111.1K Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2026-06-04T23:38:03.0033333+00:00

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  2. Igor Leyko 111.1K Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2026-06-03T20:16:02.2+00:00

    I see nothing suspicious. Please show WiFi data.

    Do you experience problem working with local data (e.g., watching downloaded video), data from Internet or in both cases?

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  3. Igor Leyko 111.1K Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2026-06-03T18:30:30.6666667+00:00

    Please run Task manager, go to Performance tab and show screenshots of Memory and Disk C: data.

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  4. Igor Leyko 111.1K Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2026-06-03T20:04:50.5866667+00:00

    Sorry, I do not see pictures.

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  5. AI answer

    2026-06-03T17:47:43.3166667+00:00

    The hardware is strong enough for the described tasks, so the symptoms are consistent with a heavily loaded or misconfigured Windows installation rather than a weak PC.

    To improve performance and stability on Windows 11, apply these steps in order:

    1. Install all Windows and driver updates
      • Select Start > Settings > Windows Update > Check for updates.
      • Install everything offered, including Optional updates (especially drivers). Restart if requested.
    2. Run a full malware scan
      • Select Start > Settings > Privacy & security > Windows Security > Virus & threat protection.
      • Select Quick scan first; if problems persist, run a full scan. Restart if requested.
    3. Free disk space (the system drive is quite full) Low free space can make Windows very slow and cause freezes.
      • Select Start > Settings > System > Storage.
      • Turn on Storage Sense, then choose Configure Storage Sense or run it now and under Free up space now select Clean now.
      • Still in Storage, select Temporary files, select all items that can be removed, then Remove files.
      • Optionally run Disk Cleanup: select Start, type Disk Cleanup, open it, choose the system drive, and clean the suggested categories.
      • Aim to keep at least 20–25% of the disk free.
    4. Remove unused apps and background software Extra security tools, VPNs, and utilities can slow the system and interfere with networking and sound.
      • Select Start > Settings > Apps > Installed apps.
      • Uninstall apps that are not needed, especially trial utilities or old software.
      • For apps that must stay, open their settings and turn off features that start with Windows or run in the background.
    5. Disable startup apps
      • Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager.
      • Select Startup apps.
      • For apps that are not essential (messaging tools, updaters, etc.), right‑click and select Disable.
      • This reduces the delay after sign‑in and can help with the “ghost” lag when typing.
    6. Turn off background permissions for non‑essential apps
      • Select Start > Settings > Apps > Installed apps.
      • For chat, media, or vendor tools that do not need to run all the time, select More options (…) > Advanced options.
      • Under Background app permissions, set Let this app run in the background to Never.
    7. Optimize visual effects and power mode
      • Select Start, type Adjust the appearance and performance of Windows, open it, and on Visual Effects choose Adjust for best performance.
      • Then select Start > Settings > System > Power & battery and set Power mode to Best performance when plugged in. This helps responsiveness but will use more power.
    8. Check disk optimization
      • Select Start, type Defragment and Optimize Drives, open it.
      • Select the system drive and choose Optimize.
    9. Monitor resource usage when problems appear
      • When typing lags, sound stops, or Wi‑Fi drops, press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager.
      • On Processes, sort by CPU and Memory to see if any app (browser, antivirus, or other) is using very high resources. Close or uninstall problematic apps.
    10. Close unused apps and restart regularly
    • Keep only the browser and the apps actually in use open.
    • If the system feels slow or parts of the taskbar stop responding, select Start > Power > Restart. After restart, open only the needed apps.

    If, after applying these steps and freeing disk space, the same issues continue, the remaining options are:

    • Use the Microsoft PC Manager app (from Microsoft Store) to perform additional cleanup and startup optimization.
    • As HP suggested, perform a clean Windows installation or reset, which often resolves deep software issues that survive normal troubleshooting.

    References:

    AI-generated content may be incorrect. Read our transparency notes for more information.

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