Windows 11 is lagging: I tried all the fixes and nothing worked

Tony S 0 Reputation points
2026-09-11T14:38:17.9966667+00:00

Hello:

During the week of August 31, my Windows 11 started lagging. It took a long time to open folders, and when right clicking on files it took a very long time for the pull down menus to come up. Everything lagged so badly that I could not efficiently use any of my productivity software (Word, Revit, Excel, etc.).

I am using a one year old HP Victus laptop with i7 Intel processor and Nvidia RTX graphics card and 1TB drive. This setup worked OK for about year up until the week of Aug 31. I made no changes prior to the problems, and there has been no physical damage to the laptop.

On Sept. 8 and 9 I went through and did all of the diagnostics and repairs: DSIM scan, DSIM repair, sfc/ scannow…etc. None of this helped. So…

I did a complete reinstall of windows on Sept. 10. After this, I only re-installed two key outside pieces of software: Dropbox and Revit LT 2017. The problems are still there:

  • It takes about 2 minutes to start up
  • 20-30 seconds to open word, excel files, and edge
  • 30 seconds for task manager to start and show live performance
  • 90 seconds to open Dropox
  • 9 minutes to open Revit
  • There is intermittent flashing when apps open, when I navigate between apps, and sometimes they just blink suddenly onto the screen; it’s not the smooth transition that I would normally expect

I went through the entire list of recommended fixes:

  • confirmed that drivers and windows updates are up to date
  • ran a quick virus scan using Defender (no viruses)
  • there is lots of disk space, about 800 gigs
  • all startup apps have been disabled
  • all background activity that could be turned off has been turned off
  • power mode is set to best performance
  • task manager shows edge, search, explorer, and antimalware are the primary users. 9% CPU and 35% memory usage indicated

Any other ideas? Is my relatively new computer just cursed?

Windows for home | Windows 11 | Performance and system failures
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  1. Spigolo 136.1K Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
    2026-09-11T15:41:13.84+00:00

    Hi Tony S

    When you reinstalled Windows, you excluded damage of the OS.
    The most reasonable cause is an hardware issue. Ask support from HP technicians.

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  2. Bulldog 4,385 Reputation points
    2026-09-11T15:02:04.44+00:00

    A computer moves slowly because it has been given too much work to do for the available CPU, memory and storage resources.

    Many people try to remedy this situation by buying more RAM or upgrading their processor, but that masks the underlying problem.

    Either you or someone else (see below) is using up your computer's resources. Open Task Manager to see what is taking up your CPU, memory and disk resources. If the processes are something you initiated, you need to close something down.

    If those processes are not coming from you, it's possible that your computer was successfully attacked (in a way that is not detected by antivirus software) and is now part of a botnet, where it's doing work for someone else, possibly on the other side of the world.

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  3. AI answer

    2026-09-11T14:38:46.64+00:00

    Since a full Windows reinstall did not fix it, the next most likely causes in this scenario are a driver/display issue, an incompatible app, or a recent Windows change that introduced a compatibility problem.

    1. Check whether the flicker points to the display driver or an app.
      • Open Task Manager with Ctrl + Shift + Esc.
      • If Task Manager also flickers, the display driver is the likely cause.
      • If Task Manager does not flicker while the rest of the screen does, an incompatible app is the likely cause.
    2. Reset the graphics driver once to test for a display stack issue.
      • Press Windows logo key + Ctrl + Shift + B.
      • If that does not help, restart the PC.
    3. If Task Manager flickers, focus on the display driver path.
      • Open Device Manager from the Start button.
      • Look for any device with an exclamation mark.
      • For affected devices, select Update driver.
      • If a recent driver change triggered the issue, disabling or uninstalling the device is also listed as a troubleshooting step.
    4. If Task Manager does not flicker, test for an incompatible app.
      • Since the issue remained after reinstalling Windows and only a small number of apps were added back, test those first.
      • Go to Start > Settings > Apps > Installed apps.
      • Uninstall Dropbox first, restart, and test file opening, right-click menus, and app launches.
      • If the issue remains, uninstall Revit LT 2017, restart, and test again.
      • This is especially relevant because the symptoms include screen flashing and slow app transitions, which Microsoft documents as a possible sign of an incompatible app.
    5. Check for stop-code style instability basics even if there is no blue screen.
      • Remove any newly attached hardware if present.
      • Make sure there is still sufficient free disk space; 10% to 15% free space is a good target, and the current free space already exceeds that.
      • Install the latest Windows updates from Start > Settings > Windows Update.
    6. If the slowdown started suddenly in the week of Aug. 31 and everything was normal before that, use System Restore if a restore point exists.
      • Microsoft Q&A guidance for similar post-update slow startup cases recommends restoring the PC to a point when it was working properly.
      • Microsoft’s Windows troubleshooting guidance also lists restoring Windows 11 with a restore point as a next step when basic troubleshooting does not resolve the issue.
    7. If Windows Update itself seems suspect, advanced reset steps exist, but they are higher risk and require admin command-line work.
      • Microsoft warns these steps are only for users comfortable with the command line.
      • They include stopping Windows Update services, renaming the SoftwareDistribution and Catroot2 folders, then restarting the services.
      • Use this only if update-related corruption is strongly suspected.
    8. If the machine is running hot during these delays, let it cool and test while plugged in.
      • Surface guidance specifically notes overheating and memory-intensive apps can cause major slowdowns; the same basic check is still useful here.

    Given the details provided, the best next end-to-end path is:

    1. Use Task Manager flicker behavior to separate driver vs app.
    2. Reset the graphics driver with Win + Ctrl + Shift + B.
    3. In Device Manager, check for warning icons and update or remove the affected display device if present.
    4. Uninstall Dropbox and test.
    5. If still slow, uninstall Revit LT 2017 and test.
    6. If the issue began after a Windows change and restore points exist, run System Restore.

    References:

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