why didn't your computer have a mask on? smh your computer got the rona

What I do.....1)Hitman pro/Malwarebytes
2) boot up with safe mode
3)a thorough scan

@jasonmon its incredibly slow when opening any program and at startup/logging in there's just a lot of stalling. When launching a program, especially Mozilla I have to wait about 2-4 minutes before anything starts and once launched many programs will show the "not responding" prompt, it also takes a solid 5-7 seconds for my searchbar and windows button to pop their menus up. It feels like my computer is using all its thinking power doing something else and then eventually getting to my tasks. And I know it's not to do with space as my C drive has 391 GB free space [though my D/recovery drive only has 1.61 GB of 13.5 GB free, so I'm not sure what that might mean]
On an unrelated note my audio jack doesn't work and if I connect headphones via bluetooth the sound is distorted and crackly [when linked to my phone its crisp and clear so it's not the headphones that are bust]

It could be dust? But I highly doubt that since it's a laptop and it definitely doesn't feel like its overheating

Thanks for that info! What is the brand and, for extra credit, the model number of your laptop?

I’ve had a similar problem but that stemmed from Mozilla itself. I suggest checking task manager for any programs using unwanted CPU or RAM and correct any programs in startup. Mozilla used up 50% of my CPU when it wasn’t even running and that caused a lot of problems

It's an HP with an Intel core i3. The model number is 14-bs020ni

Yeah I might have to change from Mozilla. I'm still looking for a browser I like

I’d suggest opera. It has built in everything from ad blocker to vpn

Thanks, Ms. Savage. That computer was released in 2017 and had about a two year lifespan, in my experience. You can do things to extend it, but I'm right about 100% sure this is a hardware problem and not a software (eg virus) problem.
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You might just need a stick of RAM. Yours uses DDR4 PC2133 sticks, and your only have 4gb right now. You can get 8gb or even 16gb for pretty cheap.
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The more annoying and more likely problem is your hard drive. You have a mechanical drive with lots of moving parts. They live fast and die like crazy. HP used a cr*ppy brand in yours (Hitachi, iirc). I'll tell you how to check your drive in a sec. If the drive is bad, you can get a solid state drive for pretty cheap and, with the RAM, it'll extend the life of your machine for a couple more years.
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To check your drive, hold down the windows key and tap the R key. In the box that appears, type 'eventvwr.msc'. In that window, click System, on the left pane. Expand the window so it's not so crowded and...

...then click Source. It'll take a minute to sorry the events by their source. Look for 'disk' or 'ntfs' or 'System' errors. The first two are indicative of a failing hard drive. The last will list all the blue screens your computer has experienced. Those can help diagnose what's really happening, if it isn't the disk.
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If this makes no sense, show it to a nerd and they'll know what to do haha
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I hope that helps! I would soundly discourage you from installing and/or running any anti-virus or anti-malware scans while before you know if your drive is okay. Those scans could push your drive over the edge, which then makes it more expensive to fix.
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Please let me know if I can help you more!

Well shit... I've already had it for about 4 years now so that's just dandy. I'll check the drive quickly and let you know

soo, a fuckton of warnings on disk, none on ntfs and when sorting "Source" alphabetically there was no 'System' logged. [if you'd like a look i could always screenshare on discord but i recon the diagnosis is pretty clear lol]

Yeah, I think we found out why your computer is slow haha. You should probably get those upgrades.
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I have no idea about costs in SA, but if that computer was at my shop, my cost of parts would be maybe $100-$120USD and I would charge someone a total, including parts, of around maybe $290-$330USD to install them and get it running again. That's still a bit cheaper than getting a brand new one, maybe? To be fair, I charge quite a bit more than anyone in my area, so the work might be cheaper where you are!

Thank you!! My bf has recently gotten my love of gaming to ignite so I'm saving up to build myself a half decent pc instead. I have no idea where to start or what to get but yeah.
Thank you so much for all your help. I really appreciate it. It's great to at least know what the problem is now

Hey @savage_demmigod if you wanna buy a pc my human's boss is selling a fucking amazing gaming pc for 6k. We'd have bought it but then my MRI and Xrays cost 20k so we're broke AF

Oh shit wow. Thanks so much! I have absolutely no money at the moment either but Christmas and my birthday are coming up soon so perhaps I could wrangle something

Are you on dischord maybe I could get their deets?

I am, same name :3

Okay cool!