Windows 10 Laggy
Windows 10 Laggy
I have a recurring problem that happens consistently each day (perhaps occasionally). The issue: during startup, circular dots appear. On a normal boot, their rotation varies between half and 1.5 turns and proceeds smoothly. If this happens, everything is fine. However, when it's problematic, the dots become slow and choppy, causing FPS drops. It usually takes 2 to 3 spins before reaching the next screen (login). After logging in, everything feels sluggish and lacks smooth graphics. Another sign of lag is when I click the Power button—it opens a pop-up offering Shutdown, Reboot, or Sleep. If it's laggy, the response takes a few seconds; if not, it feels quick and smooth. Any suggestions? My setup: Motherboard – Gigabyte Z97 MX-Gaming 5 Rev 1 | All Gigabyte drivers installed and updated to the latest, including audio, LAN, Intel engine management, BIOS updates. CPU – 4790K (not overclocked), paired with an AIO 240mm water cooler. RAM – 32GB GPU – EVGA ACX 2.0 980Ti; drivers updated to version 417.35, released on 12/12/2018. Storage – Samsung Evo 500GB via PCI-E x4 (this is where Windows 10 is installed). OS – Windows 10 64-bit Enterprise version 10.0.17763, Build 17763. I’ve experienced this lag before, even before joining the Windows Insiders preview. I tried running SFC /SCANNOW but only fixed it when the system was stable. When it’s slow, disk read activity spikes, though I can’t pinpoint the exact process. I remember seeing a Windows process listed as high in System Interrupts, but I couldn’t end it. I also tried ending tasks, but none worked. It’s frustrating since I work in IT and this only affects me, not a server.
If you're looking at Power Options > System Settings, enable the fast startup option. This speeds up your PC after shutdown without affecting restarts. I've experimented with both enabled and disabled settings, but results weren't consistent. I'm testing it now with the disabled option. Currently, my system feels sluggish, mainly Windows Explorer and system interrupts are the biggest bottlenecks. When I restart the Explorer process, its CPU usage spikes to 49%, and even simple typing feels delayed—typing ten words can take several seconds.
I promise this didn’t happen to me, but I overlooked that Samsung 960 Evos support firmware updates. I proceeded with the update and will check its performance, sharing results and offering assistance later.