Slow computer, no one that I have talked to has a common answer

[Loowaywis]

My laptop is slow. Has been for the past year or two, and this screen is what I have narrowed it down to. Whenever I startup my computer or open an app, my hard drive freaks out and goes to 100%. Until the hard drive line goes back down  to around 0% I can't do anything cause my computer is frozen.

I have called multiple computer shops and talked to brother in-laws about it and no one seems to know why my computer does this.

Also when I use multiple apps without restarting, little spikes appear on the same task manager hard drive screen and the audio clips out when I am on Zoom or listening to music. 

 

I don't know all the specs of my computer, but:

~2016 Dell Inspiron 15 2 in 1 7348

i7-5500U 

8GB ram DDR3

hard drive Toshiba MQ01ABF050 SSD 500GB

Intel HD Graphics 5500 (integrated)

 

I have ran the Creative Suite and Solidworks (CAD Modeling) and currently Python on Spyder on this computer, and it is my school laptop so I use it everyday all day. I turn off the computer at night and I have factory reset it about 2 times during it's lifetime. I am in BS ME engineering so my computer is my life.

 

Does this mean that if I replace the hard drive, that my computer will work like new? And will it fix the audio issue?

What can I do to make this computer work better and keep it running till I graduate in 3 years?

And if I replace a hard drive or something, What should I do in the future to prevent this from happening?

Also, in the future, can I run CAD software, or is that what killed my computer? 

I like learning so teach me what you know. :)

 

[Electronics Wizardy]

5 minutes ago, Loowaywis said:

hard drive Toshiba MQ01ABF050 SSD 500GB

thats your problem, get a ssd. They will make your computer so much faster.

[TheInfinityBacon]

6 minutes ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

thats your problem, get a ssd. They will make your computer so much faster.

 

Yeah, go with an SSD. Even super beefy PC can feel slow when using a HDD as the boot drive. Replace those spinning platters for speedy-solid-state-splendidness, and you will never look back.

[Loowaywis]

So is the HDD failing? If it isn't failing, what would be causing it to go slow?

[narrdarr]

Yes an SSD will crush a hdd you will notice a huge gain from it. However you should find this video very helpful