Computer slows down after a while of activity

Discussion in 'Windows 7' started by addicted2088, Dec 5, 2011.

  1. addicted2088

    addicted2088 MDL Novice

    Dec 5, 2011
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    #1 addicted2088, Dec 5, 2011
    Last edited: Dec 7, 2011
    Hi. My PC seems be slowing down a lot lately. Like after I finish playing a game, the computer will be slow in responding to usual stuff like bringing up the menu on right clicking on the desktop. Once or twice Windows has even told me that 'the computer is performing slowly and that I should disable Aero' (and this was while I was in the middle of a game), which I know is a bad sign. The mouse will also start skipping from one point to another for a second or two sometimes when I move it e.g when I try to open something while files are being transferred.

    Games also seem to stutter quite a lot in the beginning when I load up a level (though the stuttering/lag stops after a while)

    All this has just started happening over the last 4 weeks or so, wasn't the case before that.

    One thing I've noticed is that RAM slot temperature is around 60C (which I'm guessing is due to the proximity of either the RAM slot or the RAM temp sensor to the CPU, not sure though)

    This usually happens after a while of using the computer, and mostly after I close a game after playing it for a while. Restarting the PC makes it normal again.

    Also, when the PC boots up, it shows a black screen with the mouse first, then the blue Welcome screen comes up. Here, I first get 'Please Wait' for a second, then it seems to hang/stutter for a second as it changes to Welcome. I'm pretty sure this hang isn't supposed to happen. Actually, I don't think even the Please Wait message should come up in normal operation :p

    Here's what I've done till now to try and solve it:

    1. Formatted and re-installed Windows, on multiple HDDs. Didn't solve it.
    2. Updated drivers, updated Windows to SP1.
    3. Checked the temperatures, everything is normal. HDD goes up to 40-42C, CPU goes to a max of 73C (hangs around 36-45C in general usage), GPU temperatures are extremely normal as well. (except the RAM temp mentioned above)
    4. Reconnected all components etc.
    5. Installed a new GPU as well, so that rules out the possibility of a bad GPU (though i'm not sure if GPU was ever responsible for all this)

    So what can the problem be? Hardware or software. Help me out here guys, I'm really going nuts not being able to pinpoint the problem. :D


    Update: I ran Memtest for 15 passes, no errors found.

    My specs:

    Core i5-650 3.2 GHz
    4 GB 1333MHz RAM DDR3
    Asus P7H55-M LX Motherboard
    500 GB 32 MB Cache WDC Caviar Green HDD
    Geforce GTX560Ti
    600W PSU (585W total output)
    Windows 7 SP1 64-Bit
     
  2. addicted2088

    addicted2088 MDL Novice

    Dec 5, 2011
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    #2 addicted2088, Dec 5, 2011
    Last edited: Dec 5, 2011
    (OP)
    Yup, original MSDN ISO, not tweaked in any way. No OC either (only the CPU running at 3.3 GHz at full load instead of 3.2 due to Turbo Boost). The 73C is while gaming. Haven't run Prime95 yet.

    Mobo is an Asus P7H55-M LX

    RAM Info screenshots:
    1.JPG 2.JPG

    The fact is, it's started recently, was not the case till about 4 weeks back. Been using the same ISO for over a year for installing..
     
  3. addicted2088

    addicted2088 MDL Novice

    Dec 5, 2011
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    I would have kept the GPU as a suspect if I hadn't changed it just about a week and a half back, hehe.

    I suspected the mobo as well, but don't wanna change it right now, cos if I do, I'll be stuck with LGA1156. So I'm saving money for a new Sandy Bridge CPU and mobo right now. And a few other guys I asked also said it could be a cause of the mobo.

    I'll see if I can get a hold of another mobo to test my CPU and other hardware. Thanks for the help! Will let you know if I do find the solution.
     
  4. stayboogy

    stayboogy MDL Addicted

    May 1, 2011
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    have you started playing a new game or games lately, installed new ones? if so, maybe one of them has a process associated it with it that continues to run after the game is closed. either way, it basically just sounds like something is not being released from memory that is being used while playing.

    also, could be error reporting creating dumps or reports because something somewhere is not functioning properly--even though all might seem well. i'd check the performance and error logs and see if anything is there first.

    could be a possible mbr virus/infection of some kind.

    my most probable guess though is just that something is not getting released from memory for some reason or another, might be malevolent might just be something insignificant, might be something else completely. but if you've reinstalled your OS and you are still having the issue, well, might very well be something with one of your games.

    where do you get games? torrent sites, warez sites? shaddy net places? these most often have crap in them. you could just be infected with something...
     
  5. addicted2088

    addicted2088 MDL Novice

    Dec 5, 2011
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    Nope, started happening without installing any new games. I buy all my games, so it can't be a problem of that (unless the DRMs are a cause, hehe). I did buy around 5 new games in the last two weeks, but been happening since before that.

    Also, it's not always after a bit of gaming. Just usual use of a computer, like browsing for a while (and i'm almost always browsing) and then trying to copy some files, and it starts happening. I know the PC goes a little slow in responding during disk activity, but in my case it's quite a lot.

    Tried different HDDs, completely formatted, so I ruled out the possibility of viruses/MBR infections.

    Disabling Aero seems to help, performance improves noticeable between Aero and Basic.
     
  6. stayboogy

    stayboogy MDL Addicted

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    #6 stayboogy, Dec 6, 2011
    Last edited: Dec 6, 2011
    well MBR viruses can survive a format if you don't do a low level format, or if you only format and / or delete your partition(s) that are on it. the only way to get rid of an MBR infection is to rewrite the MBR and this does not happen just because you format...

    i've had pesky little MBR infections in the past that survived over four or more complete formats and reinstalls when i was using XP. all it took to fix them though was the simple fixmbr command in the recovery console--of course at that time i didn't know any better... as a matter of fact i had one duplicate itself in such a way that it was attached to every partition, whether i deleted them, formatted them etc. it still managed to find its way back until i did a fixmbr...
     
  7. addicted2088

    addicted2088 MDL Novice

    Dec 5, 2011
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    Hmmm. I did try different drives too, but I'll try a low level format of one of the HDDs and try installing on that.
     
  8. addicted2088

    addicted2088 MDL Novice

    Dec 5, 2011
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    Okay, I'll try both the tool and the fixmbr command before going for the drastic low level format, hehe :D
     
  9. addicted2088

    addicted2088 MDL Novice

    Dec 5, 2011
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    I have half a mind to try Linux and see the behavior on it, check if slowdowns still occur.
     
  10. stayboogy

    stayboogy MDL Addicted

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    did you ever check your error and performance logs? check your "event viewer" and see if anything is showing. i had a startup issue not too long ago from just leaving my usb printer plugged in all the time--startups went from under a minute to over 5 minutes. wouldn't have figured it out without looking at the event viewer--even though it doesn't always give you the exact problem
     
  11. stayboogy

    stayboogy MDL Addicted

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    was this ever solved? did you have an MBR infection after all?
     
  12. addicted2088

    addicted2088 MDL Novice

    Dec 5, 2011
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    nope, no infections on mbr. checked event viewer as well, couldn't find anything out of the ordinary.
     
  13. stayboogy

    stayboogy MDL Addicted

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    maybe you should check out your RAM in CPU-Z. maybe you have a stick going bad / gone bad. idk anything else really that could be causing your problem other than all things i mentioned before.

    could also have always been there and now you are just noticing it more...
     
  14. addicted2088

    addicted2088 MDL Novice

    Dec 5, 2011
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    Like I said, the hangs, stutters started recently. Before that there were no such slowdowns. I'll test the RAM stick with MemTest tonight and see if there's a problem. Can the RAM be going bad even if I don't have any BSODs?
     
  15. stayboogy

    stayboogy MDL Addicted

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    i don't really know... could be something with the motherboard too, causing the voltage to drop. again, just guesses, i'm no expert when it comes to such things. maybe someone else will chime in here

    if not memory, i still say there's some process that's loaded into memory you just haven't put your finger on that is probably causing your troubles. could even be tracking cookies. i've known tracking cookies to cause many a slow down and unresponsiveness
     
  16. addicted2088

    addicted2088 MDL Novice

    Dec 5, 2011
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    I'm not sure if it's a file or a process, cos the PC seems to be slowing 5 minutes after I install and boot up Windows. Like the 1st step I did today was install it to a different HDD, installed Chrome, then directly started installing Service Pack 1. Even during the SP1 installation, Chrome was behaving erratic, like not selecting some text that I tried to select, hanging while opening a new tab, etc.

    RAM Usage and CPU usage is extremely normal when my PC is sitting idle (CPU at 0 and Physical memory usage at 21%)

    Also, my RAM says:
    RAM : 4096 MB DDR3 Single Channel
    DRAM Frequency: 666.8 MHz

    I'm guessing it says Single Channel and 666 MHz but is actually working at 1333 Mhz because DDR is dual data rate?
     
  17. stayboogy

    stayboogy MDL Addicted

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    one problem i notice right away, get an image with sp1 in it, because installing sp1 always seemed to amount to some sort of performance loss for me the first couple of times i installed 7. not saying this is the problem, but i would get the ultimate sp1 u image from the boards here, use eicfg tool and install which ever version you want.

    and your frequency is going to run at what the sticks are with your cpu, not what they are rated for, not what your max bus rate is, nor what the sticks' max bus rate is. you can have a 1333 bus rate, but be using a cpu that only goes to 633, or 800, and then your ram won't run at the max because your cpu isn't running that high... it's very complicated lol
     
  18. addicted2088

    addicted2088 MDL Novice

    Dec 5, 2011
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    Heh, I'll try the SP1 image, though problems existed with my original Win7 image as well.

    Yes, my CPU supports 1333MHz (BIOS also has the 1333 MHz option listed when I try to select DRAM frequency) :D Just found out that it becomes dual channel if I use another RAM stick with the same specs.
     
  19. forgetful

    forgetful MDL Novice

    Feb 7, 2010
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    I started experiencing the same thing around the same time, 3 or 4 weeks back. It was running fine before. I figured one of the Windows Updates was the culprit. But you mention that you did a fresh install. My question is, did you immediately run the updates? Or did it still act up even before a single update was installed? I'm going to do a reinstall hopefully soon.