Win 10 started to get very sluggish and takes a while to do anything

My win 10 installation has become very sluggish.
Everything takes forever to accomplish.
If I click on an icon on the desktop like file explore, it takes about 15-20 seconds to open. or when I click on my taskbar to open chrome, it takes the same amount of time to open, and when it does it goes to a blank page for 10 seconds before my webpage displays.
I thought it was after the update so I uninstalled it but it is still the same.
Also, when I first startup the computer I used to get the MS background that changes everytime and where it has the available links to click and now I just get the standard background pic.
How do I reset everything back to the way it was before without losing all my settings and software that I have installed?
I looked for a restore point, but there aren't any.
I would like to get this fixed before I entertain the thought of doing a completely new install like I usually do after about 5-7 years, just to flush out the system.
Yes, there is plenty of space available on my SSD (312gb used out of 959gb available).
I ran virus and malware scans.
I ran the optimize app.
I trimmed the startup apps to only what I use..
I ran sfc /scannow.
I tried the Microsoft Support and Recovery Assistant.
I created a backup of my main drive using easeus todo backup just in case I have to do a reinstall.

Any ideas?
Thanx in advance

The Fishman.
Ed. Win 10 Pro for workstations
Ver. 22H2
OS Build 19045.3086
Exp. Windows Feature Experience Pack 1000.19041.1000.0

Thanx. I tried that and still the same.

yes. thank you

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C:\WINDOWS\system32>chkdsk c: /f
The type of the file system is NTFS.
Cannot lock current drive.

Chkdsk cannot run because the volume is in use by another
process. Would you like to schedule this volume to be
checked the next time the system restarts? (Y/N)

ok, did that.
it ran for about 20 minutes before I could log in to the computer and it is still the same.
does this actually work on SSD drives?