Running very slow

[AC1971]

HP Slim Desktop S01-aF1005t, Windows 11 Home, Intel® Pentium®, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD, 1TB HDD

My desktop is running very slow ...anything I can try? 

[Garp_senchau]

@AC1971, Welcome to HP Support Community,

Thank you for posting your query; I’m here to help by guiding you through steps to resolve this issue

If your desktop is running slow, here are several steps you can take to potentially improve its performance:

Open the Task Manager to see what applications are consuming your system resources.

• Right-click the taskbar and select "Task Manager," then navigate to the "Processes" tab. Identify and close any non-essential applications that are consuming high CPU, memory, or disk usage.

Update Your System:

• Ensure your operating system, drivers, and software are up to date. Use tools like HP Support Assistant to keep your system current.
• Run HP Support Assistant and allow it to update all drivers and software. This application can keep your machine running with the latest updates.

Clear Unnecessary Files:

• Use Disk Cleanup to remove temporary files, system cache, and other unnecessary files that may be slowing down your system.
• Open Disk Cleanup tool by typing "Disk Cleanup" in the Windows search bar and selecting the drive you wish to clean.

Defrag Your Hard Drive:

• Regularly defragmenting your HDD can help improve performance (Note: This step is important only for traditional hard drives, not SSDs).
• Open the Defragment and Optimize Drives tool by typing "Defragment" in the search bar and choosing the drive to optimize.

Check for Malware:

• Run a full system antivirus scan to check if any malicious software is affecting your system performance.
• Use a reliable antivirus program to perform a full system scan.

Manage Startup Programs:

• Disable unnecessary programs from starting up with Windows to reduce the load and speed up boot times.
• In Task Manager, navigate to the "Startup" tab, and disable unnecessary applications from the startup list.

Reference: Slow Laptop? 15 Fixes to Speed Up Your PC

I hope this helps.

Please feel free to reply here if you have any questions or if you need further clarification on any of the steps. 

Take care and have a good day. 

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Regards,