My Computer Stutters/Freezes randomly
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Hello technicians of FAKKU.
I have found in the last few weeks my computer has been very slow, but not in a way that I am used to. Whenever I use certain applications, rather than responding instantly to any input I give, whether it is by keyoard or mouse, my computer frequently pauses/freezes for a second or 2 before continuing to run the application. For example, I may be playing chess and as I move my piece to the next square, it may freeze the piece in the middle of the move for a few seconds before continuing and completing the move.
1. During the "freezing period" I also notice that any input I give during this time gets read by the computer and applied after the "stutter" is over. For example, I may be typing a word quickly, then look up to notice that halfway through the word the computer froze, yet after a few seconds when it has resumed it goes ahead and writes the rest of the word that i had been typing during the stutter
2. The freezing can occur at any time. Its pretty random.
3. I noticed that whenever the computer is starting to stutter/freeze, the computer makes weird "Zapping" noises. I do not know how to describe the sound further :( so I will upload a video that has the sound in it later if I figure out how to upload it.
4. One day, I came up with this bubble at the right bottom corner that said something about "virtual memory is low...".
I thought it was because of faulty or low motherboard battery. I've had this computer for over 3 years, and it's possible that the battery is out or almost out. Although I'm not sure this is the case, because the computer's clock is always showing the right time.
2. Power Supply
Because whenever my computer stutters or freezes, the computer makes little "zapping" sounds. :S I do not know how to make the description of the sound clearer... If you want to hear the sound, I'll upload it as soon as I find out how to upload it.
3. RAM
Once on the computer, this bubble came up on the right bottom of the computer saying the "virtual memory" is very low. blah blah...
NOTE: I know it's not a virus because the stuttering happened about a couple of weeks after I installed Windows XP. And I have ran various virus checks with Norton and some other stuff and nothing was found.
What the heck is wrong with my computer!! :'(
Please help
I have found in the last few weeks my computer has been very slow, but not in a way that I am used to. Whenever I use certain applications, rather than responding instantly to any input I give, whether it is by keyoard or mouse, my computer frequently pauses/freezes for a second or 2 before continuing to run the application. For example, I may be playing chess and as I move my piece to the next square, it may freeze the piece in the middle of the move for a few seconds before continuing and completing the move.
1. During the "freezing period" I also notice that any input I give during this time gets read by the computer and applied after the "stutter" is over. For example, I may be typing a word quickly, then look up to notice that halfway through the word the computer froze, yet after a few seconds when it has resumed it goes ahead and writes the rest of the word that i had been typing during the stutter
2. The freezing can occur at any time. Its pretty random.
3. I noticed that whenever the computer is starting to stutter/freeze, the computer makes weird "Zapping" noises. I do not know how to describe the sound further :( so I will upload a video that has the sound in it later if I figure out how to upload it.
4. One day, I came up with this bubble at the right bottom corner that said something about "virtual memory is low...".
I thought it was because of faulty or low motherboard battery. I've had this computer for over 3 years, and it's possible that the battery is out or almost out. Although I'm not sure this is the case, because the computer's clock is always showing the right time.
2. Power Supply
Because whenever my computer stutters or freezes, the computer makes little "zapping" sounds. :S I do not know how to make the description of the sound clearer... If you want to hear the sound, I'll upload it as soon as I find out how to upload it.
3. RAM
Once on the computer, this bubble came up on the right bottom of the computer saying the "virtual memory" is very low. blah blah...
NOTE: I know it's not a virus because the stuttering happened about a couple of weeks after I installed Windows XP. And I have ran various virus checks with Norton and some other stuff and nothing was found.
What the heck is wrong with my computer!! :'(
Please help
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Kaimax
Best Master-San
from the looks of it, you maybe need to upgrade your computer abit.
Mind telling the specs of your computer?
Mind telling the specs of your computer?
0
Kaimax wrote...
from the looks of it, you maybe need to upgrade your computer abit.Mind telling the specs of your computer?
I'm bad with computers, but I still know there's some information about the computer provided in the DirectX Diagnostic Tool (Start > Run > "dxdiag")
Operating System: Microsoft Windows XP Professional (5.1, Build 2600)
Language: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: Compaq Presario 061
BIOS: Phoenix - AwardBIOS v6.00PG
Processor: AMD Athlon(tm) 64 Processor 3500+, MMX, 3DNow, ~2.2GHz
Memory: 958MB RAM
Page file: 1019MB used, 1294MB available
DirectX Version: DirectX 9.0c (4.09.0000.0904)
If there is any more information you need please reply with a how-to. Thank you for your help!
(...Why is my processor speed less than my laptop.. :'()
2
First it has nothing to do with the battery on your motherboard.
Second, if your power supply makes any other sound than the sound of the cooling fan, then you should replace it immediately since it does not take much to fry a PC.
Third, from the limited information you give, then it sounds like it can be one of two cases:
1. You have one or more programs running which preempts the OS resources, without regard to other programs. This can happen if some programs are using allot of cpu time and the OS thinks the programs are important.
2. This is more likely, especially due to the "lack of virtual memory" message you got. You have to many programs open and are using more memory than you have, so the OS starts to save data on the hard drive and swapping it in and out continuously when needed, and since the hard drive is quite slow compared to the rest of the system, your system will freeze.
You should look out for lots of hard drive activity when your computer starts freezing, if there is allot of activity then option 2 is almost certain.
btw, I am guessing you have an Intel laptop, and you cannot compare the clock speed on Intel and AMD
Good luck :)
Second, if your power supply makes any other sound than the sound of the cooling fan, then you should replace it immediately since it does not take much to fry a PC.
Third, from the limited information you give, then it sounds like it can be one of two cases:
1. You have one or more programs running which preempts the OS resources, without regard to other programs. This can happen if some programs are using allot of cpu time and the OS thinks the programs are important.
2. This is more likely, especially due to the "lack of virtual memory" message you got. You have to many programs open and are using more memory than you have, so the OS starts to save data on the hard drive and swapping it in and out continuously when needed, and since the hard drive is quite slow compared to the rest of the system, your system will freeze.
You should look out for lots of hard drive activity when your computer starts freezing, if there is allot of activity then option 2 is almost certain.
btw, I am guessing you have an Intel laptop, and you cannot compare the clock speed on Intel and AMD
Good luck :)
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When my computer was dying it let off a loud pitched ring. I think the PSI was dying or the tower was located in a bad spot where it wasn't getting enough ventilation or something. Maybe both. This was like in '06, I'm a bit hazy.
1
Like jenslyn said, its probably a lack of memory issue. If I were you, I would click start -> run then type in there msconfig and when that opens up go to startup tab and uncheck any unnecessary apps (leave your antivirus and graphics stuff - if you're not sure use google). Also go to the services tab and at the bottom check hide all microsoft services and do the same as you did with the startup tab. You have to restart the computer to see the effect. If something doesn't work right you can go back in and turn it on later.
You should also set a static size for your pagefile (virtual memory) so that windows isn't constantly resizing it which could slow your computer down. To do that right-click "my computer" and hit properties. In the system properties window go to the advanced tab and under performance hit settings. Go to that advanced tab and under virtual memory click change. Here you can set a custom size for your pagefile. For you I would set either 2 gigs (2048) or 3 gigs (3072) if you have enough hard drive space. Make the initial size and the maximum size the same. You have to restart the computer for it to take effect.
One more thing you can do is to defragment your pagefile and registry. I suggest using a program called Ultradefrag to do this. Your computer should boot faster and be faster to respond to your actions.
You could also get more memory for your computer and most memory places will even tell you what to buy for your specific computer. For instance, www.memory.com has a configurator tool on the left side that will tell you what to get. Check out Kingston, Crucial, Corsair, and G.Skill and shop around until you find the best value. I would suggest you do this option because when your memory is full it will go to virtual memory which runs off the hard drive and is extremely slow. Memory responds within nanoseconds. Virtual memory responds in hundreds of milliseconds. The zapping sound is probably your hard drive spinning up.
One other thing you could do is get a spray can of compressed air from a hardware shop and blow all the dust out. Excess dust can cause your computer to overheat which may make these symptoms appear that you are having.
You should also set a static size for your pagefile (virtual memory) so that windows isn't constantly resizing it which could slow your computer down. To do that right-click "my computer" and hit properties. In the system properties window go to the advanced tab and under performance hit settings. Go to that advanced tab and under virtual memory click change. Here you can set a custom size for your pagefile. For you I would set either 2 gigs (2048) or 3 gigs (3072) if you have enough hard drive space. Make the initial size and the maximum size the same. You have to restart the computer for it to take effect.
One more thing you can do is to defragment your pagefile and registry. I suggest using a program called Ultradefrag to do this. Your computer should boot faster and be faster to respond to your actions.
You could also get more memory for your computer and most memory places will even tell you what to buy for your specific computer. For instance, www.memory.com has a configurator tool on the left side that will tell you what to get. Check out Kingston, Crucial, Corsair, and G.Skill and shop around until you find the best value. I would suggest you do this option because when your memory is full it will go to virtual memory which runs off the hard drive and is extremely slow. Memory responds within nanoseconds. Virtual memory responds in hundreds of milliseconds. The zapping sound is probably your hard drive spinning up.
One other thing you could do is get a spray can of compressed air from a hardware shop and blow all the dust out. Excess dust can cause your computer to overheat which may make these symptoms appear that you are having.
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First off, Thank you all for trying to help me with my problem.
Go to that advanced tab and under virtual memory click change. Here you can set a custom size for your pagefile. For you I would set either 2 gigs (2048) or 3 gigs (3072) if you have enough hard drive space. Make the initial size and the maximum size the same. You have to restart the computer for it to take effect.
I do not know how to set it to either 2 gigs or 3 gigs.
This is the info I get on the Virtual Memory
Nachbar wrote...
Go to that advanced tab and under virtual memory click change. Here you can set a custom size for your pagefile. For you I would set either 2 gigs (2048) or 3 gigs (3072) if you have enough hard drive space. Make the initial size and the maximum size the same. You have to restart the computer for it to take effect.
I do not know how to set it to either 2 gigs or 3 gigs.
This is the info I get on the Virtual Memory
Drive: C:
Space available: 200713 MB
Custom size:
Initial size (MB): [1440]
Maximum size (MB): [2880]
.
.
.
Total paging file size for all drives
Minimum allowed: 2MB
Recommended: 1437MB
Currently allocated: 1440MB
Space available: 200713 MB
Custom size:
Initial size (MB): [1440]
Maximum size (MB): [2880]
.
.
.
Total paging file size for all drives
Minimum allowed: 2MB
Recommended: 1437MB
Currently allocated: 1440MB
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Nachbar wrote...
right-click "my computer" and hit properties. In the system properties window go to the advanced tab and under performance hit settings. Go to that advanced tab and under virtual memory click change. Here you can set a custom size for your pagefile. For you I would set either 2 gigs (2048) or 3 gigs (3072) if you have enough hard drive space. Make the initial size and the maximum size the same. You have to restart the computer for it to take effect.I am not sure it is really necessary (It could help a tiny bit), but if you do as Nachbar directs, it should look like this. just press change button that I have marked in a red box.
