lag when using laptop screen / good perf when using external monitor

Dear all,

I have a Dell Precision laptop (M4800) with 16 GB RAM and a big SSD.

I have been struggling for ages with this bleeping w10 and have got to a stage where it does actually run very well ... if the comp is using a docking port and external monitor (in this case a Dell U3011, 30-inch).

But when I run the laptop using the laptop screen (no port, no external monitor) it is laggy... it takes an appreciable time for Windows Explorer to come up when I got Win+E, and when it does I actually see the screen components being painted; various other hotkeys are slow too (seconds to display the window).

I assumed this might have something to do with the resolution settings... but nothing changes it.

My graphics card is an NVidia Quadro K2100M...

Any ideas?

Hi, and welcome to tenforums!

Do you have any other peripherals attached to docking port? USB drives or network connection?

I would check two things at first: remove any links to files or folders in Quick Access in Explorer window, that can be removed or dead, secondly check shell extensions.
You can try shell extension viewer and remove them one by one. There are some threads on this forum already. Nvidia shell extension is known to cause some problems.

thanks for the quick reply.

I don't have anything else attached... and the problem is that the lag occurs when using the *laptop screen*, i.e. the laptop alone: when using the docking port and external monitor performance is good!

I have just discovered something else: when the laptop is operating on battery this lag does NOT occur. It is only when the power cable is plugged into the laptop. So I spent some time just now going to "advanced power settings", making all settings for "plugged in" exactly the same as for "battery": unfortunately this did not work: with power cable plugged in, and using the laptop screen, there is the lag.

It is as if plugging in the power cable and using the laptop screen slows down the video processes... very frustrating. Of course one "solution" is to use the laptop screen without the power cable plugged in... and just wait for the battery to run down! But I'd prefer to solve the problem.

Oh, this is mad... I really hope my experience helps at least one person.

It turns out that I was using the wrong power adapter... i.e. the power adapter from my previous machine, a Dell Precision M4700... The minute I plugged in the new adapter (which came with the M4800) the problem went away!

Knowing very little about electricity I have no idea what the issue was: impedance, power rating, ... or what? I'd have thought one adapter would be much like another...

mrodent said:

Oh, this is mad... I really hope my experience helps at least one person.

It turns out that I was using the wrong power adapter... i.e. the power adapter from my previous machine, a Dell Precision M4700... The minute I plugged in the new adapter (which came with the M4800) the problem went away!

Knowing very little about electricity I have no idea what the issue was: impedance, power rating, ... or what? I'd have thought one adapter would be much like another...

As long as you figure it out, doesn't matter what the problem was!
This one is new to me also.

Power supply problems have mysterious consequences. Many power supplies can have 10-20% variance from their quoted output, and only stabilize under the correct load. When the capacitors fail, and many do, the supply can often keep on going without the user knowing anything is wrong. Until, for instance, they do something new, like trying to install Windows 10, which exercises the system in new ways, and a previously working machine inexplicably fails.

I have the same problem I need help