Whole PC being very laggy and slow despite being entirely up-to-date.

I—nor anyone who isn't a computer-engineer—have the time to painstakingly sift through thousands of lines of CSV error-messages I've never seen before for this man. This laptop is only one years-old, made by more-or-less the most reputable computer manufacturer in the world for Windows; I even clean-installed it six-months ago, and I have taken nothing but the utmost care of it in every way since the day I bought it. In a society that isn't doomed to degeneracy and collapse, that should be far far more than enough work on the user's part to ensure that their computer works all the time perfectly. A society that requires everyone to build their own computer, to build their own operating-system, to build their own car and house, to cook all their own food, to make all their own paper, is not a society that gets very far at all: i.e., you've asked too much of the user in that last reply of yours—if I give over buckets and buckets of time to getting a computer-science degree in order to be able to understand those thousands of lines of CSV then society does not get to have whatever it is I would otherwise contribute to it. If everyone has to be a computer-engineer in order to use computers, then there is no society: there are no farmers and cooks and factory-workers to make the computer-engineers' food etc., there are no film-makers nor animators nor game-developers nor authors to entertain the computer-engineers, there are no tailors and fabric-weavers to clothe and keep warm the computer-engineers, there are no doctors to care for the computer-engineers when they fall ill, and, ironically, there are then no computers for the computer-engineers to work on because we all get kicked-back to a pre-industrialised state in such a case because all anyone knows how to do is engineer PCs.

I'll take the instructions on how to set-up a Performance Monitor programme to monitor CPU and memory-usage etc., as you suggested, in-case the thing happens again, and leave it at that. So please instruct me in-detail in that regard, as selecting "choose from template" gave me options I didn't understand.

Otherwise, if it happens again, I'm switching to Apple and to hell with it all.

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Hi ,

Here’s how to proceed with analyzing the data:

1.	Event Viewer CSV Files:  
•	Focus on Errors and Warnings: Given the volume of data, you should look for significant errors or warnings related to system performance, disk issues, or application failures. Look for recurring patterns or timestamps that match the slow performance period.  
2.	Shutdowns and Start-Ups:  
•	Look for any warnings or errors right before the shutdown or startup that might indicate issues. If you often hear a notification bell sound, check for events that could be related to system notifications or errors at shutdown.  
3.	Windows Defender Activity:  
•	For a history of Windows Defender activity, you can check the Windows Defender Event Logs.  
•	Open Event Viewer.  
•	Navigate to Applications and Services Logs > Microsoft > Windows > Windows Defender.  
•	Check the Operational log for entries related to scans or updates.  

If you prefer to check log files directly, the Support folder you mentioned should contain relevant logs. Look for files named MpLog-*.log or similar, which are related to Windows Defender’s operations.
4. Task Manager History:
• Windows Task Manager doesn’t keep historical data, but you can use Performance Monitor to create logs:
• Open Performance Monitor by searching for it in the Start Menu.
• Go to Data Collector Sets > User Defined.
• Right-click and choose New > Data Collector Set.
• Follow the wizard to create a set that logs CPU, memory, and disk usage.
• You can then review the logs in the Performance Monitor for trends.

If you need more specific help analyzing the CSV files or the logs, you can share relevant excerpts or details from those files, and I can help you interpret them.

Hi, thanks for that information.

Ok, to start I have CSV files for Application and System (the sections of Event Viewer you directed me to), and also for Shutdows and Start-Ups, I have these for today and yesterday. I filtered for everything except for "information", so all "warnings" etc. Each file is several-hundred lines long, so please say how much of this would be useful to you to help me analyse it. **** The Shutdowns and Start-Ups one might be useful because often when I shut-down via Command-Prompt a notification bell sfx is heard right before it shuts-down, and I don't know what that's about.

I'd like to see a history of Windows Defender's activity for today, as maybe that's what caused it. I know that there are some files in

*C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows Defender\Support*

but I don't know what to look for there.

A history of Task Manager for today and yesterday would be useful, but I don't know how to get that.

My antivirus is Windows Defender, and I have the free version of Malwarebytes for manual scans now and then.

Hi

Thank you for reaching out to the Microsoft Community ,
I'll be glad to assist you today.

To debug the slowness, here’s a structured approach using Task Manager and Event Viewer, which are key tools for understanding performance issues.

1. Task Manager: • Processes Tab:
   • Check if any process is using an unusually high amount of CPU, Memory, or Disk.
   • Look at Disk Usage specifically. If it’s spiking close to 100%, a background process could be causing the lag (e.g., Windows updates, indexing services, or antivirus scanning).
   • Performance Tab:
   • Monitor CPU, memory, disk, and network usage. Any of these hitting high percentages could be causing the slowdown.
   • Check if the SSD is being heavily used, especially during startup.
   • Startup Tab:
   • Look for any applications with a high startup impact. If any unnecessary apps are listed with a high impact, disabling them could improve boot times and initial system performance.
2. Event Viewer: • Go to Event Viewer > Windows Logs > System and Application logs.
   • Filter for Errors and Warnings during the time the lag occurred.
   • Look for any errors or warnings related to disk I/O errors, driver issues, or background services. These entries can provide clues about what was happening behind the scenes.
3. Other Considerations: • Antivirus Scanning: Real-time antivirus scanning, especially if it runs at startup, can slow down your system. Consider checking if your antivirus was running a scan during the slow period.
   • Thermal Issues: As your SSD has previously caused temperature concerns, thermal throttling could have contributed to the lag. Check SSD and CPU temperatures using a monitoring tool (e.g., HWMonitor) to rule this out.
   • Disk Health: Use a tool like CrystalDiskInfo to check the SMART status of your SSD and verify there aren’t any disk health issues causing the slowdown.

Would you like me to guide you through any of these steps or help you analyze specific logs or data from Task Manager or Event Viewer?