Forum Discussion

CMB62's avatar
CMB62
Copper Contributor
Mar 18, 2026

Please help - incredibly slow computer

First, let's start with the fact that I know nothing about computers despite having used them for 30 years for basic stuff like Word/Excel or browsing the internet.  I'm at my wits' end with my home ...
device management
JacksonRobinson's avatar
JacksonRobinson
Copper Contributor
Apr 07, 2026

Disable all non-essential startup items, uninstall any pre-installed third-party antivirus software, and then restart your computer.

  • CMB62's avatar
    CMB62
    Copper Contributor
    Apr 10, 2026

    I’ve already removed Norton Antivirus from the computer. When you say “Disable all non-essential startup items”, how am I supposed to know which items are essential and which are not?  This is all computer gibberish to me, I don’t know what any of these system files are or what they do. 

    And again, why would a brand new Dell desktop with almost a TB of memory and 8 GB of RAM take 20 minutes to fully boot up, or take 30 seconds to open a webpage in the Edge browser?  When no other programs are running?  What is going on behind the scenes in Windows to make it run just as slow as my 10-year-old HP desktop did?  The new Dell was supposed to solve that problem, but it didn’t - which is why it must be a Windows problem, correct?  

    Please note that I know NOTHING about how computers work, so please don’t ask me to look for this file or that file or disable something unless you can spell out EXACTLY what I need to do step by step. I don’t know what any of this computerese means. Thanks!