Computer hanging intermittently

[Gordon]

I am having another problem with my new homebuilt computer. For
the most part it works very well but yesterday it started hanging
intermittently. The mouse pointer can't be moved while this hang
is in effect, but when it releases in a few seconds later, or
over a minute later, sometimes, everything works normally for a
while. These "seizures" happen about once every 10 to 15 minutes
and last for anywhere from a few seconds to upward of two
minutes.

This is happening on the new desktop computer I built a couple of
months ago, using a Gigabyte S-series GA-P35-DS3L/S3L motherboard
with an Intel Core 2 Duo processor, two 1 MB memory sticks and a
500 GB WD hard drive. I am using an ACER 22 inch flat-screen
monitor. For the most part, this computer works very well and
seems very stable. I am using Windows XP Pro, SP 2, MS Office
2007, Pizzicato music software and Adobe Photo Shop.

Does anyone have any suggestions as to what might be causing
this? It isn't the result of my having installed some new
software. I haven't installed anything new since shortly after
building this computer, and it has been working very well until
the past two or three days.

I haven't lost any data, yet. When it comes out of its seizure it
seems to be all okay except that if I try to key in something
while it is catatonic the keystrokes will all be there, and
sometimes in the wrong place.

I ran my defrag software and the hard drives all check out fine.
There is no problem with lack of drive space. I'm using only
about 35% of my 500 GB hard drive.

I ran my Ad-Aware SE Professional, Build 1.05 software and it
removed a few parasite files that seemed to have been put on my
hard disk, by web sites I've visited.

Any ideas, anyone?

Thanks, Gordon

 

[DonC]

I am having another problem with my new homebuilt computer. For
the most part it works very well but yesterday it started hanging
intermittently. The mouse pointer can't be moved while this hang
is in effect, but when it releases in a few seconds later, or
over a minute later, sometimes, everything works normally for a
while. These "seizures" happen about once every 10 to 15 minutes
and last for anywhere from a few seconds to upward of two
minutes.

This is happening on the new desktop computer I built a couple of
months ago, using a Gigabyte S-series GA-P35-DS3L/S3L motherboard
with an Intel Core 2 Duo processor, two 1 MB memory sticks and a
500 GB WD hard drive. I am using an ACER 22 inch flat-screen
monitor. For the most part, this computer works very well and
seems very stable. I am using Windows XP Pro, SP 2, MS Office
2007, Pizzicato music software and Adobe Photo Shop.

Does anyone have any suggestions as to what might be causing
this? It isn't the result of my having installed some new
software. I haven't installed anything new since shortly after
building this computer, and it has been working very well until
the past two or three days.

I haven't lost any data, yet. When it comes out of its seizure it
seems to be all okay except that if I try to key in something
while it is catatonic the keystrokes will all be there, and
sometimes in the wrong place.

I ran my defrag software and the hard drives all check out fine.
There is no problem with lack of drive space. I'm using only
about 35% of my 500 GB hard drive.

I ran my Ad-Aware SE Professional, Build 1.05 software and it
removed a few parasite files that seemed to have been put on my
hard disk, by web sites I've visited.

Any ideas, anyone?

Thanks, Gordon

My neighbor had a similar problem on her computer last week. It's a two or
three year old Dell.

I ran WhatsRunning (http://tinyurl.com/2drss9) shareware on it and
discovered that Norton utilities was hogging 25% to 97% of cpu --
unscientifically averaging about 50%.

I ran msconfig and unmarked all symantec applications. Rebooted and all was
well. Why was Norton so piggish? Don't know. All she wanted Norton for
was basic virus protection so I installed AVG75. She hasn't stopped
smiling. Later I turned off Norton's Auto-Protect permanaently following
instructions on their website.

Afterwards she told me that her step-daughter would be visiting in a few
weeks and wouldn't be happy about what I did. Turns out she's been updating
Norton every year : )

FWIW

 

[Ed Cregger]

My neighbor had a similar problem on her computer last
week. It's a two or three year old Dell.

I ran WhatsRunning (http://tinyurl.com/2drss9) shareware
on it and discovered that Norton utilities was hogging 25%
to 97% of cpu -- unscientifically averaging about 50%.

I ran msconfig and unmarked all symantec applications.
Rebooted and all was well. Why was Norton so piggish?
Don't know. All she wanted Norton for was basic virus
protection so I installed AVG75. She hasn't stopped
smiling. Later I turned off Norton's Auto-Protect
permanaently following instructions on their website.

Afterwards she told me that her step-daughter would be
visiting in a few weeks and wouldn't be happy about what I
did. Turns out she's been updating Norton every year : )

FWIW

-------------------


Thanks for publishing the tiny URL to WhatsRunning. Many
folks don't realize that thousands of folks other than the
OP benefit from answers such as yours, but never say a word.
I'm sayin'. <G>

Ed Cregger

 

[DonC]

-------------------


Thanks for publishing the tiny URL to WhatsRunning. Many folks don't
realize that thousands of folks other than the OP benefit from answers
such as yours, but never say a word. I'm sayin'. <G>

Ed Cregger

Thanks, Ed. I'm sure I discovered Whatsrunning from somebody else's post
: )

 

[sandy58]

I am having another problem with my new homebuilt computer. For
the most part it works very well but yesterday it started hanging
intermittently. The mouse pointer can't be moved while this hang
is in effect, but when it releases in a few seconds later, or
over a minute later, sometimes, everything works normally for a
while. These "seizures" happen about once every 10 to 15 minutes
and last for anywhere from a few seconds to upward of two
minutes.

This is happening on the new desktop computer I built a couple of
months ago, using a Gigabyte S-series GA-P35-DS3L/S3L motherboard
with an Intel Core 2 Duo processor, two 1 MB memory sticks and a
500 GB WD hard drive. I am using an ACER 22 inch flat-screen
monitor. For the most part, this computer works very well and
seems very stable. I am using Windows XP Pro, SP 2, MS Office
2007, Pizzicato music software and Adobe Photo Shop.

Does anyone have any suggestions as to what might be causing
this? It isn't the result of my having installed some new
software. I haven't installed anything new since shortly after
building this computer, and it has been working very well until
the past two or three days.

I haven't lost any data, yet. When it comes out of its seizure it
seems to be all okay except that if I try to key in something
while it is catatonic the keystrokes will all be there, and
sometimes in the wrong place.

I ran my defrag software and the hard drives all check out fine.
There is no problem with lack of drive space. I'm using only
about 35% of my 500 GB hard drive.

I ran my Ad-Aware SE Professional, Build 1.05 software and it
removed a few parasite files that seemed to have been put on my
hard disk, by web sites I've visited.

Any ideas, anyone?

Thanks, Gordon

Re-install your chipset drivers.

 

[Gordon]

My neighbor had a similar problem on her computer last week. It's a two or
three year old Dell.

I ran WhatsRunning (http://tinyurl.com/2drss9) shareware on it and
discovered that Norton utilities was hogging 25% to 97% of cpu --
unscientifically averaging about 50%.

I ran msconfig and unmarked all symantec applications. Rebooted and all was
well. Why was Norton so piggish? Don't know. All she wanted Norton for
was basic virus protection so I installed AVG75. She hasn't stopped
smiling. Later I turned off Norton's Auto-Protect permanaently following
instructions on their website.

Afterwards she told me that her step-daughter would be visiting in a few
weeks and wouldn't be happy about what I did. Turns out she's been updating
Norton every year : )

FWIW

Thanks, Don. I downloaded the WhatsRunning and the
VerstionTracker software but I still haven't figured out what is
causing the problem. I couldn't find anything that looked
imprudent on the WhatsRunning display. Version Tracker did show
some out of date software/drivers, etc. but I have no way of
determining which, if any of these are the root of the problem.

To top this all off, another problem has cropped up. My spell
checker has lost its memory and can't do a spell check, now. It
indicates an incorrect spelling for every word in my Outlook
Express messages. It seems to be working okay in MS Word, but not
in my e-mail client.

Should I download the VersionTracker registry cleaner and run it?
I've been repeatedly advised to not do ANY registry cleaning
processes, with ANY software, so I'm a bit edgy, here.

 

[Gordon]

My neighbor had a similar problem on her computer last week. It's a two or
three year old Dell.

I ran WhatsRunning (http://tinyurl.com/2drss9) shareware on it and
discovered that Norton utilities was hogging 25% to 97% of cpu --
unscientifically averaging about 50%.

I ran msconfig and unmarked all symantec applications. Rebooted and all was
well. Why was Norton so piggish? Don't know. All she wanted Norton for
was basic virus protection so I installed AVG75. She hasn't stopped
smiling. Later I turned off Norton's Auto-Protect permanaently following
instructions on their website.

Afterwards she told me that her step-daughter would be visiting in a few
weeks and wouldn't be happy about what I did. Turns out she's been updating
Norton every year : )

FWIW

Can someone please give me their opinion(s) as to the functional
capabilities and problems associated with Uniblue Version Tracker
Pro and Registry Booster software. My computer's motherboard CD
came with a trial version of Uniblue's registry maintenance
software but I did not order the full version. I did run this
trial version and got a reading that indicated no serious
problems.

I get conflicting opinions as to how much or IF one should use
any such software to clean and organize the registry. Is this
really an area that I should stay out of?

Gordon

 

[DonC]

1) Create a restore point IF you do decide to run a registry cleaner. I've
periodically used them and have NEVER had a problem.

2) Now it sounds like you could have a hard drive problem. Loss of your
spell
checker dictionary could indicate a file corruption situation. Do a full
disk scan.

3) The are also some signs of the possibility of an undersized power supply.
I had two hard drives fail over the period of only two months. I solved the
problem when I put them on different power cables. When I did my latest
rebuild in December/January I realized I had a 380W power supply which was
marginal at best. You should monitor you voltages closely to see if you're
experiencing any lows or dips.

 

[Bob M]

I am having another problem with my new homebuilt computer. For
the most part it works very well but yesterday it started hanging
intermittently. The mouse pointer can't be moved while this hang
is in effect, but when it releases in a few seconds later, or
over a minute later, sometimes, everything works normally for a
while. These "seizures" happen about once every 10 to 15 minutes
and last for anywhere from a few seconds to upward of two
minutes.

This is happening on the new desktop computer I built a couple of
months ago, using a Gigabyte S-series GA-P35-DS3L/S3L motherboard
with an Intel Core 2 Duo processor, two 1 MB memory sticks and a
500 GB WD hard drive. I am using an ACER 22 inch flat-screen
monitor. For the most part, this computer works very well and
seems very stable. I am using Windows XP Pro, SP 2, MS Office
2007, Pizzicato music software and Adobe Photo Shop.

Does anyone have any suggestions as to what might be causing
this? It isn't the result of my having installed some new
software. I haven't installed anything new since shortly after
building this computer, and it has been working very well until
the past two or three days.

I haven't lost any data, yet. When it comes out of its seizure it
seems to be all okay except that if I try to key in something
while it is catatonic the keystrokes will all be there, and
sometimes in the wrong place.

I ran my defrag software and the hard drives all check out fine.
There is no problem with lack of drive space. I'm using only
about 35% of my 500 GB hard drive.

I ran my Ad-Aware SE Professional, Build 1.05 software and it
removed a few parasite files that seemed to have been put on my
hard disk, by web sites I've visited.

Any ideas, anyone?

Thanks, Gordon

Go to the WD site and download the free hard drive checker. Make sure
your hard drive is not failing. Also download Memtest 86 and test your
memory.

Bob

 

[Gordon]

1) Create a restore point IF you do decide to run a registry cleaner. I've
periodically used them and have NEVER had a problem.

2) Now it sounds like you could have a hard drive problem. Loss of your
spell
checker dictionary could indicate a file corruption situation. Do a full
disk scan.

3) The are also some signs of the possibility of an undersized power supply.
I had two hard drives fail over the period of only two months. I solved the
problem when I put them on different power cables. When I did my latest
rebuild in December/January I realized I had a 380W power supply which was
marginal at best. You should monitor you voltages closely to see if you're
experiencing any lows or dips.

The spell checker still works as it should in MS Word and other
software clients that use the common spell checker dictionary.
For some reason Outlook Express has lost the link to this spell
checker dictionary. I had planned to re-install MS Office
Professional 2007 but this installs Outlook, not Outlook Express.
I tried to re-install Windows XP Pro 2002 to get Outlook Express
re-installed. But my Service Pack 2 updates makes my CD version
obsolete and it won't install.

I removed the PCI multi I/O serial port card that I had installed
a few weeks ago but had never gotten to work right. This seems to
have resolved the problem of momentary hang-ups. I don't know how
this could have been linked to this problem, but since removing
that PCI card I've not had one hang-up, and that has been about 5
hours.

I still have that one yellow ? in Device Manager > Other devices

SM Bus Controller. From what I've found on the internet, this

is a very common problem with Gigagbyte motherboards. The chipset
files don't seem to support the Small Bus and it just shows up in
Device Manager as not having the driver installed (Error 28).

Gordon

 

[Gordon]

Go to the WD site and download the free hard drive checker. Make sure
your hard drive is not failing. Also download Memtest 86 and test your
memory.

Bob

Thanks, Bob, I may do this if the problem crops up again. I did
run my defrag and scandisk and no problems were found.

I am now reasonably convinced that the hang-up problem was being
caused by the PCI serial port card. It didn't have the right
drivers Error 28, and this seems to have been interfering with
other things a lot. Since I removed that card I've had no more
problems.

Well, that's nor entirely true. My Outlook Express e-mail client
still can't find the spell check dictionary. All the other
programs, including this newsreader can do a spell check okay but
Outlook Express has only those words that I've added. That is, it
can't find the main dictionary.

Gordon