Hey, by any chance your HP using Nvidia chips too? Maybe you can try the solution from this thread. https://forums.stardock.com/489233

Nope. My system is 100 percent all Intel. Except for the Western Digital hard drive. 

Hello,

Sorry to hear you are having issues.

I found this on my Win 10 causing a slow down and higher CPU usage " Sync Settings "

then shut it off and all work faster and better , check your settings might help.

AzDude
Stardock Community Assistant

That wouldn't be the issue. I don't have a Microsoft account, so all of the sync settings are grayed out. :/

Hello,

Please try the following .

-For Win8/10 Users: Open the Start Screen, and type 'cmd'. Right-click on the search result and select 'Run as administrator' from below.
For Win7 Users: click Start, in the start search field type 'cmd'. Right-click on the search result and select 'Run as administrator'.
-Type: sfc /scannow
-Wait for the scan to complete (this can take several minutes)

In addition, please also run the following command in the same elevated (Run as Admin) command prompt window:

dism.exe /online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth

The above command should assist with replacing any damaged or problematic system files. Please note, however, since it may require restoring certain files, this process can take some time and you will need to be patient until it has completed.

Please let me know whether this resolves your problem or if you have any additional questions.

AzDude
Stardock Community Assistant

Neither of those solutions fixed the issue. Both completed and said nothing was wrong. I still have the issue with long boot times and a sluggish PC when opening apps, using apps, or scrolling online via Chrome. 

Could memory be an issue?

Hello,

Sorry to hear you are having issues.

You might try this Program for your PC to help it run faster and better

Link https://www.stardock.com/products/winoptimizer/

Not knowing your full detailed specs. and loaded programs sounds

like there are conflicts at work here.

AzDude
Stardock Community Assistant

Have you tried to defrag. 

That's a possibility.  Windows Media Player has various services that run when connected to the internet, and if you have been disconnected for a while, those and other services may be running over-time to update themselves, etc.

What version of Windows are you running?   Also, do you notice any glitches at all?  I'm just wondering if it's a hard drive problem, rather than a software issue.

Does your Laptop have an SSD?   Is it getting full? 

If you rolled back to an earlier version of Win 10 and now have internet after a service break that is likely a suspect.

Have you checked start-up?  Do a disk cleanup and get rid of the old windows temporary files.  CCleaner is what I use, it works great.

I have also noticed Win 10 runs slower here when an update is left pending especially noticeable on my laptop.

Anyway, good luck sorting it out.

Here is what I have learned.

I don't hibernate or sleep a computer any more because things

get screwed up in the background. The new windows is a hybrid boot.

If you turn it off and on it is not a fresh boot. You have to select restart for a fresh full boot.

I do a full restart every six days and turn the computer off when not using it.

If your anti virus updated the whole program this could cause a slow incomplete boot.

The only way to test that is to totally uninstall the anti virus if it is other than Microsoft.

I only connect to the wifi manually because automatic can cause problems.

@ AzDude - Thanks for the advive about that program, but I use CCleaner and it works just fine.

@ admiralWillyWilber - No need. Windows 10 defrags the drive automatically.

@ Starkers - I do not use WMP, never have. I use iTunes mostly for MP3 playback. I'm running Windows version 1709. No gl;itches to report and HD health is fine according to 2 different diagnostic programs.

@ BigDogBigFeet - No SSD, it has a standard Western Digital 500 GB HD. I only allow 2 things for startup, Dropbox and Windows Defender.

Kona, I noticed in the last couple of days that my HP 2-in-1 was a bit sluggish after a recent Windows Update, so maybe you could investigate that as a possibility.  The fix was to do a System Restore to before the update.

Dunno if this helps but it wouldn't hurt to check it out.

Does malwarebytes have realtime protection on if that is true you are running two antivirus on defender, and malwarebytes that will slow down your computers.