Solved! Why can't I get out of Windows, go to the OS, and simply

[terryliciareed]

… type in something like "Locate *.exe" .... and then delete the ones I didn't want!? It used to be SO easy! Now, we're stuck with this overlay called Windows, which I DO appreciate, but wow, it makes it so difficult to complete SUCH totally simple tasks!! Hundreds of names of for things we don't even need to run at all UNLESS we're using them at the moment. In the mean time, they drag the computer down to utter uselessness. HELP!

WHY is my computer dragging so badly and if it's my POS hard drive (which is NOT SS), then … what could it be? And, how do I fix it? I've taken apart computers, including laptops, and fixed them … never really knowing WHAT I was doing, but figuring out the problem was "this" or "that" and then, just fixing it! CAN I DO THAT NOWADAY

 

[Ralston18]

Have you gone into Task Manager and to the Startup tab?

Likely you will be able to find and identify a number of apps that do not need to be started at boot up.

Just be sure about what you are disabling before doing so.

And you can use Task Manager and Resource Monitor to identify what resources are being used by any given app. May be useful in deciding what to disable or uninstall completely.

Again be careful about what you do. Strongly suggest that you have verified backups, a drive clone or image, and recovery media on hand.