bitcoin-qt won’t run even after 4 hours

I recently decided to run a full node because I wanted to import my keys to a new wallet. However, the program does not open while running full node.

Synchronization started yesterday morning and has been synchronized until 2018. I closed the programs, turned off the computer, and went to sleep. I woke up today, turned on my computer and opened a program. It’s been 4 hours and the software is stuck on the initial screen “Checking blocks, press Q to close”. I noticed that it didn’t open all day because the “Confirmation” step was only at 20%, so I ended the process.

It will take longer to sync while cleaning up, but the program will open in seconds. Why does this happen? In 2020, I remember it took 30 minutes to open a full node, so I switched to pruning. But 4 hours? How can I avoid the initial “validation”?

I am using EVO 870 SSD and my processor is i5 8400 with 32GB RAM.