1 min plus lag time when clicking on links

We have     Aspire AX 3400G-U4802

                   Athlon II  X2 255

                   DDR3 4GB

 Win 10       22H2   19045.3570

We upgraded to win 10 about 2 years ago, it was slowish but seemed ok. After a while it would seem to pause after clicking a link, no reaction at all that you could tell. It has been slowly getting worse to the point where you will wait for over a minute most of the time you click a link (there are times when it acts normally).

I have looked at task manager and there is no reaction of the CPU while waiting. The memory use is usually somewhere between 50 - 70% 

Sometimes the computer will just freeze up and nothing happens, and we have to do a hard restart. Twice at least we had to unplug the computer because it wouldn't restart it just stopped in the middle of restarting.  I have looked for answers, but maybe didn't know what to ask.

Thank You,

I would definitely upgrade your RAM to 8Gig and thats all you can do and get an SSD.

Can I ask, do you use this machine every day or do you use it less frequently?

What happens if you just turn it on, log in and leave it for 30 mins before trying to do anything useful with it?

I hate to say this but it looks like the machine is getting on a bit. Before attempting upgrades to memory etc think carefully.

One thing you must do before anything else is to back up all of your data. You can do this if you have cloud storage or you can back up to an external drive.

..............................pause after clicking a link, no reaction at all that you could tell. ...............................wait for over a minute most of the time you click a link.......................................

 

What link? In your email program or a webpage link in your browser? If it's the latter, then for testing purposes, try a different browser and let me know whether links open quicker or not.