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Slow Startup and running of apps

FYI, my laptop is Asus, cpu is intel core i7-6500u.

I recently installed the KB4540673 update yesterday. My laptop was working fine for around 1 day but today, apps started crashing and it takes forever to open one. 

So, I thought it is because of the update because it is the only thing that was different for my pc, I did not install or modify anything else.

However, after I uninstalled the update, things are still as bad and maybe even worse.  For a start, everything still loads slowly. I restarted the pc again and I got an error message telling me they will find the error and restart the pc for me again. 

After the restart, everything is stull terribly slow. What do I do in this situation? troubleshoot? It suddenly became super slow for no apparent reason after 1 day of working fine. At this point, i even have trouble opening settings.

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Hello,

I'm your Independent Advisor for today. I know this can be frustrating, but don't worry. I'm here to figure this out for you.

Please start the PC in a clean boot state to check if there are other background apps which might be causing the issue:

1. Right-click the Windows button > Select Run
2. Type in "msconfig" without the quotes, then click OK.
3. On the General tab, select Selective Startup. Then untick "Load startup items".
4. On the Services tab, click "Hide all Microsoft services".
5. Click "Disable all".
6. On the Startup tab, click "Open Task Manager". A Task Manager window should open.
7. Disable all startup items. You can also choose which startup items to disable, as certain devices might now work properly if the startup item related to it is disabled.
8. Go back to your System Configuration window.
9. Click Apply > OK
10. Click "Restart" when prompted.

Once the PC goes back up, check if it will resolve the problem you're experiencing.

Please reply whatever the results.

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Thanks for helping.

However, it did not work, everything is still running so slowly. After logging in, there is this black screen whereby I can see my cursor before everything is displayed.

Btw, I forgot to mention, but I also get runtimebrooker error, something similar to 'apps not in right group' when I tried to open some apps, especially settings I think. But I was able to open after clicking multiple times.

Now it is taking a long time to run on the start up screen: ASUS. After that, it shows a black screen and after few minutes, it said please wait.  Blue loading screen for another few mins then it finally ask for pw. 

Also, could I enable the apps on startup since it doesn't seem to be the problem?

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To answer your question: Yes, you can. But maybe we can try starting the PC in safe mode with networking to check if it will be responsive there:

1. On the sign in screen, press and hold down Shift and click the Power button > Select Restart. Don't let go of the Shift key until you see "Choose an option".
2. On the "Choose an option" screen, select Troubleshoot > Advanced Options > Startup Settings
3. Click Restart.
4. Press 5 or F5 to boot in safe mode with networking
5. Sign in to the PC using the password associated to the account.

Once logged in, check if the PC is responsive. If so, try the steps above to do a clean boot. Then restart the PC. If it is responsive, then startup apps are causing the problem. You'll need to determine which app is taking up a lot of the PC's resources and either disable it or remove it all together.

You can also check if the PC has enough disk space, as that may cause it to be sluggish and unresponsive. Deleting junk files and uninstalling apps you no longer need can help improve performance.

Please reply whatever the results.

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So, I have been sitting here for 10 mins, holding the shift button...but the screen is stuck on "Getting windows ready. Don't turn off your computer". Is that normal? Do I hold on for a while longer?

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I don't think so. I think it's best to force the PC in recovery mode:

1, Turn off the PC if it isn't already.
2. Turn on the PC. When you see the Windows/manufacturer logo and the spinning dots, turn it off right away using the power button on the laptop/tower.
3. Repeat Step 2 until you see a "Preparing automatic repair" message.
4. On the "Automatic repair" screen, click Advanced options.
5. On the "Choose an option" screen, select Troubleshoot > Advanced Options > Startup Settings
6. Click Restart.
7. Press 5 or F5 to boot in safe mode with networking
8. Sign in to the PC using the password associated to the account.

Please tell me if it goes to safe mode.

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It just went into safe mode. Everything is still very slow. It took me this long to get into safe mode. Should I still do the clean boot?

btw, I don't think it is my disk space that is causing problem. There is still 30% disk space or is that not enough? but it was working well up until one day ago with the same amount of space.

Now, I am getting a bit scared though. I am prepared to get a new pc if nothing works. Is it possible the hard disk crashed? Maybe this happens just because the pc is quite old ard 4-5 years I think. But is there a way to extract all my data fast in this slow state before this pc refuses to even boot?

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I really don't think clean boot will help us if it's still sluggish in safe mode. I bet it will still be sluggish if we reinstalled Windows.

I agree with you about the hard drive: One of the indicator that the hard drive might already be failing is if the PC is becoming too sluggish and unresponsive. The hard disk hasn't crashed, but it's getting to the point when it's becoming too worn.

File transfers from the drive might take a while, and I recommend starting the backup as soon as possible. It's best to backup the important files instead of backing up everything.

About disk space: I think that's enough to keep the PC running.

I recommend getting a new PC once you have your files backed up so you can restore them to that machine when you get it.

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Not seeing this on any of my 5 Windows 10 machines.
Windows 11 Pro Beta Channel

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Yeah, thanks for your help, I will back up asap. 

Probably is the hard drive problem then, just a coincidence thing that I recently installed windows update. 

Funny how it worked perfectly fine and just suddenly becoming slow like going at high speed to a sudden stop. That is just normal behaviour for machines I guess.

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Yeah it is probably just my hard disk then. Just a coincidence I recently installed a windows update.

Well, I am gonna go get a new pc. 

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Last updated February 4, 2025 Views 41,605 Applies to: