Let's talk about fixing a sluggish computer.

[Major Xarzu]

Let's talk about fixing a sluggish computer. It is my work computer. But I am going to take it upon myself and, if possible, I am out to find what it is making the computer freeze once in a while. It is annoying when writing code or writing documentation. It is worth it to me to open a topic on this and see what sort of advice I can.

First things first, what tools should I download to acquire details about my system?

Maybe it is the wireless keyboard batteries failing. Is there a way to test for that?

They gave me a DELL Windows 10 home edition. I thought there is a way to upgrade to Windows Pro That does not cost anything.

 

[Major Xarzu]

Well, our IT guy just came by and said that he thought that what the problem might be is that my keyboard and mouse dongle were plugged into the docking station instead of the side of the laptop.

That seems to have fixed the sluggishness.

I will update this if anything changes. But, as the saying goes, if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it.

 

[Couriant]

Considering that this is a work machine, I would advise not to change the OS in case there is a reason for you to use Home edition. In any case, any free paths to an upgrade appears to have been discontinued. To change from Home to Pro, you will need a retail Pro product key.

It looks like the freezing you were experiencing was with typing? Did you have freezing with audio/video media? If the issue returns if you connect it back to the dock, then the dock would need to be looked at.

To add to the other information, slowness can come from variety of causes, from older hard drives (mechanical RPM drives) and minimal RAM, to too many items loaded at startup which will use the RAM, and to malware. Sometimes a good ol fresh install of Windows would help.