Get access to original

Backups can be corrupt

I didn't copy anything from the external drive at that time.

If that is not desired then run malware detection on external drive copy...

Good luck...many hrs I have spent computerin...

I searched the model number of your laptop. From the results, your machine appears to be a six-year old Dell, not an HP, and it came with a hard drive, not a SSD. Since you already re-installed Windows 10, and that didn't solve the problem, the next thing to do is to replace the hard drive, and install a fresh copy of Windows 10 from a USB flash drive. You can download that from Microsoft's website, but you'll need a working Windows computer to do that.

Hard drives get slower and slower as they age, and they can even struggle to boot up an operating system. While you upgrade the drive to a SSD, consider increasing the RAM as well at the same time.

I have a seven-year old Acer laptop that was running really, really slow. There were instances where the laptop would take 3-5 minutes just to boot up. I replaced the hard drive with a SSD, put in a fresh install of Windows 10, and now it runs much, much better and faster.

SSDs are now so inexpensive compared to what they cost even two years ago, it really makes no sense to use hard drives.

try to crank start his car. With each unsuccessful effort, Babbit felt his own frustration rise as he silently suffered all the anguish and dismay of his fellow man wrestling with uncompromising modern technology.

That was almost 100 years ago. Life hasn't changed all that much in the interim. Best of luck. Hope it goes well. My ulcer can't take too much of your frustrations.

Open the Computer icon, right click the C drive and select properties.

Go to the Tools tab, select Error Checking and hit the Check button.

You'll get a message about not being able to check while the disk is in use, do you want to check next reboot. Select yes and reboot, you may get an option to repair errors, say yes.

Sadly, my suggestions would run to electronic violence.

I have several hammers.

I still haven't fixed or replaced my old laptop so it is phone or desktop for me. Prefer the desktop but am not supposed to sit for very long, and the Internet addiction can cause me to lose track of time. LOL