I have been using my Windows laptop for the past few years, and recently I have noticed that the overall performance of the system has become significantly slower. Earlier the laptop used to start within a few seconds, but now it takes several minutes just to reach the desktop screen. Opening applications like browsers, Office programs, and other software also takes a lot of time compared to before.

The laptop configuration is not very old. It has an Intel processor, 8GB RAM, and a 512GB SSD. Despite this configuration, the system feels sluggish during normal daily tasks such as browsing the internet, opening multiple tabs, editing documents, or installing updates. Sometimes the system even freezes for a few seconds, which interrupts my work.

I have already tried a few basic troubleshooting steps. For example, I restarted the laptop multiple times, cleared temporary files, and checked the task manager to see if any application is consuming excessive CPU or memory resources. However, the problem still persists and I am not sure what exactly is causing the slowdown.

Another thing I noticed is that the laptop fan sometimes runs loudly even when I am not performing any heavy tasks. This makes me think that there might be some background processes running that I am not aware of. I also wonder whether malware or unwanted programs could be affecting the system performance.

Additionally, my laptop has accumulated many applications over time. Some of them I installed for temporary use and may not need anymore. I am not sure which programs are safe to remove and which ones are required for the system to function properly.

I would also like to know whether upgrading hardware components could help. For example, would increasing the RAM from 8GB to 16GB make a noticeable difference? Or is it better to perform a clean installation of Windows to remove unnecessary files and software that might be slowing down the system?

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