Why has my laptop PC SUDDENLY become so SLOW & unresponsive?

[Guest]

Hello everyone. I have an HP-D017TU laptop PC with the following specifications:-

CPU: Intel® Core™ i3-3110M CPU @ 2.40 GHz (2 Cores; 4 Threads; 3MB L3 Cache)
RAM: 2 GB DDR3 RAM @ 1600MHz (1X2GB; Single-Channel Mode)
GPU: Intel® HD Graphics 4000 (DirectX 11.0; Shader 5.0; OpenGL 4.0)
HDD: 500 GB SATA Hard Disk Drive (HDD) @ 5400RPM (Brand: Hitachi)
CHIPSET: Mobile Intel® HM76 Express Chipset (Intel® BD82HM76PCH)
O.S.: Microsoft Windows® 7 Ultimate 64-Bit (non-SP1)

I had purchased my laptop during September 2014. It has been working SMOOTHLY and FLAWLESSLY since the past 8 months. Suddenly, since the past week, my laptop PC has become EXTREMELY slow & laggy, with SEVERE loading issues & unresponsiveness, creating IMMENSE time wastage.

Here are some of the issues that I have been facing with my laptop PC:-

-> It takes LOTS of times (several minutes) to open simple document files, image files, video files, audio files, etc, such as those like DOCX, DOC, PDF, XPS, MP4, MP3, JPG, JPEG, & so on.

-> I cannot even navigate within the hard disks properly. Whenever I browse through the folders & files in Windows explorer, lots of GREEN LOADING BARS and BLUE CIRCLES appear on the screen, on the Windows path areas & on the center of the screen, with HUGE lags, crashes, etc.

-> Booting time is still reasonably quick, although immediately after booting, whenever I try to open EVEN SIMPLE files, folders, control panels, internet browsers, small applications, hard disk drives, etc, my system lags, hangs, loads, takes LOTS of times, sometimes crashes, and so on.

Now, here are some VERY IMPORTANT things to note, that I have ALREADY done & checked:-

-> Although I have a weak GPU & less RAM, my PC was STILL running VERY SMOOTHLY since the past 8 months! I could play semi-demanding PC games, multitask with ease, browse the internet properly, handle HUGE data & document files, watch videos, listen to music, etc, WITHOUT ANY TYPES of issues, problems, hangs, lags, crashes, and so on.

-> I have been REGULARLY cleaning my registries, temporary files, junk files, etc, through softwares such as CCleaner, etc, and I also keep deleting unnecessary & large waste files.

-> I have been REGULARLY defragging my hard disk drives also, via Piriform Defraggler software. I also maintain my systems, keep them fresh, keep cleaning them up, and so on.

-> ALL my drivers of basic PC system components are up-to-date. BUT, my Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit OS is NOT SP1; my Hard Disk Drive is NOT of a good brand (Hitachi); and I HAVE NOT been using ANY anti-virus softwares on my computer, for the past few months.

Q. IS MY HARD DISK DRIVE GOING TO STOP WORKING OR FAIL?
Q. IS THERE A HIDDEN VIRUS OR TROJAN IN MY COMPUTER?
Q. SHOULD I UPDATE MY WINDOWS-7-64-BIT O.S. TO SERVICE PACK 1?

Please help. I URGENTLY need solutions to these issues. Thanks.

 

[D_Know_WD]

Hi there QNgm305,

The best thing you can do is to back up the data that is stored on the drive until you sort the issue out.
After that, you can just test the drive with a brand specific(or a third party one) HDD testing tool. The results will show you whether there is something wrong with it.
In case there is something wrong with it, it may be a good idea to contact the laptop's manufacturer and eventually RMA it if still under warranty.

Apart from that, it is always a good idea to run some antivirus/malware scans.

Cheers,
D_Know_WD

 

[velo3100]

I have a feeling that it is the hard drive more than anything else as the loading times will depend on the speed that the hdd can access the data. Also there could be a virus on your pc. Always use one as a virus can be transported so easily.