My laptop is very slow, almost dead. Out of nowhere. RAM and CPU appeared at normal usage. Closer inspection, CPU is throttled at 22% (per Maximum Frequency in the Resource Monitor). I have researched many websites and tried many solutions. So far no success at getting my laptop back to what it was yesterday. There are no reported temperature issues. HDD checks are all ok.
In the last 4 days I was travelling, and for the first time in a long time, my laptop ran on battery and hit power saving mode a few times as the battery almost ran out of power. That is the only irregularity in usage. Turned it on today, and it is incredibly slow.
https://www.wintips.org/fix-cpu-not-running-at-full-speed-in-windows-10/#4 lets the CPU Maximum Frequency be 100%.... but CPU usage is also at 100%, even with very few processes running. Lots of 'Not Responding' apps, including the Task Manager. It takes a few minutes just to start my PC. So that didn't work.
I have disconnected all external monitors. All updates are installed.
Acer Nitro 5 Spin NP515-51
It is a disaster. I cant even do my job. I am in big trouble.