Jerky motion

[Rich Pasco]

I have an XP computer about two years old. For the last several
months it's behaved in a very annoying way: Every second or so,
things which should be moving smoothly stop briefly, then continue.
These things include:

Mouse pointer movement - No matter how smoothly and evenly I move
the mouse, the pointer on the screen stops and jerks along its
way.

Video playback - Playing any video, the movement on the screen stops
every second or so, and then jerks to catch up. At first I thought
this was due to network delays, but it happens even with fully down-
loaded videos. This happens with any media play (WMP, Winamp, etc.)

This behavior is relatively new, but I can't recall when it first
started. The machine hasn't always behaved this way.

I monitor CPU activity with Windows Task Manager. The problem occurs
even when the CPU is only lightly loaded.

The duration of each stop (and hence the size of the jump needed to
catch up) seems to vary from day to day, but is never zero.

How can I diagnose what's causing this, and fix it? Ideas welcome.

- Rich

 

[R. McCarty]

A number of causes, one thing may be that your disk/volume is "Dirty".
Means there is an inconsistent state - Data not where it's supposed to
be or other improper conditions. It's like the machine is trying to find &
use a specific piece of data and cannot find it. Best thing to do is open
a command prompt window and invoke a Chkdsk C: . This is a Read
only test and if the drive/volume is dirty the Chkdsk will recommend a
/F or /R qualifier to repair the inconsistencies. Best to always have your
data backed up, as a Chkdsk with Fix or Repair can and does remove
data to resolve the issues.
Click Start, Run (type) Cmd [Enter]

Chkdsk C: [Enter]

Check the summary results for whether a /F or /R is called for.

 

[Rich Pasco]

Thank you.

I did already run CHKDSK /R before posting. It found and fixed a few
small things but this did not fix the jerky motion problem. I also
defragged the disk but this didn't fix it either.

I also ran thorough scans for viruses and spyware and it came up clean.

- Rich

A number of causes, one thing may be that your disk/volume is "Dirty".
Means there is an inconsistent state - Data not where it's supposed to
be or other improper conditions. It's like the machine is trying to find &
use a specific piece of data and cannot find it. Best thing to do is open
a command prompt window and invoke a Chkdsk C: . This is a Read
only test and if the drive/volume is dirty the Chkdsk will recommend a
/F or /R qualifier to repair the inconsistencies. Best to always have your
data backed up, as a Chkdsk with Fix or Repair can and does remove
data to resolve the issues.
Click Start, Run (type) Cmd [Enter]

Chkdsk C: [Enter]

Check the summary results for whether a /F or /R is called for.

I have an XP computer about two years old. For the last several
months it's behaved in a very annoying way: Every second or so,
things which should be moving smoothly stop briefly, then continue.
These things include:

Mouse pointer movement - No matter how smoothly and evenly I move
the mouse, the pointer on the screen stops and jerks along its
way.

Video playback - Playing any video, the movement on the screen stops
every second or so, and then jerks to catch up. At first I thought
this was due to network delays, but it happens even with fully down-
loaded videos. This happens with any media play (WMP, Winamp, etc.)

This behavior is relatively new, but I can't recall when it first
started. The machine hasn't always behaved this way.

I monitor CPU activity with Windows Task Manager. The problem occurs
even when the CPU is only lightly loaded.

The duration of each stop (and hence the size of the jump needed to
catch up) seems to vary from day to day, but is never zero.

How can I diagnose what's causing this, and fix it? Ideas welcome.

- Rich

 

[R. McCarty]

OK, Thanks - then you're probably dealing with a CPU spike that
is halting the normal time-slicing that applications & processes need.
This can be things like IRQ calls from hardware or a background
process that is "Hogging" the CPU. I'd probably start with a tool
called Process Explorer from SysInternals. It gives a more detailed
view of the system loading than TaskMgr. Also since this is a new
condition you may want to review recent driver or application type
changes on the PC.

Process Explorer download found here:
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb896653.aspx

Thank you.

I did already run CHKDSK /R before posting. It found and fixed a few
small things but this did not fix the jerky motion problem. I also
defragged the disk but this didn't fix it either.

I also ran thorough scans for viruses and spyware and it came up clean.

- Rich

A number of causes, one thing may be that your disk/volume is "Dirty".
Means there is an inconsistent state - Data not where it's supposed to
be or other improper conditions. It's like the machine is trying to find
&
use a specific piece of data and cannot find it. Best thing to do is open
a command prompt window and invoke a Chkdsk C: . This is a Read
only test and if the drive/volume is dirty the Chkdsk will recommend a
/F or /R qualifier to repair the inconsistencies. Best to always have
your
data backed up, as a Chkdsk with Fix or Repair can and does remove
data to resolve the issues.
Click Start, Run (type) Cmd [Enter]

Chkdsk C: [Enter]

Check the summary results for whether a /F or /R is called for.

I have an XP computer about two years old. For the last several
months it's behaved in a very annoying way: Every second or so,
things which should be moving smoothly stop briefly, then continue.
These things include:

Mouse pointer movement - No matter how smoothly and evenly I move
the mouse, the pointer on the screen stops and jerks along its
way.

Video playback - Playing any video, the movement on the screen stops
every second or so, and then jerks to catch up. At first I thought
this was due to network delays, but it happens even with fully down-
loaded videos. This happens with any media play (WMP, Winamp, etc.)

This behavior is relatively new, but I can't recall when it first
started. The machine hasn't always behaved this way.

I monitor CPU activity with Windows Task Manager. The problem occurs
even when the CPU is only lightly loaded.

The duration of each stop (and hence the size of the jump needed to
catch up) seems to vary from day to day, but is never zero.

How can I diagnose what's causing this, and fix it? Ideas welcome.

- Rich

 

[Rich Pasco]

Thank you for your continued help. I do have Process Explorer
installed, but I'm at a loss as to how find anything useful for
this problem in the tons of data it displays.

On its main screen there is a line "Hardware Interrupts" which
occasionally shows one or two percent of CPU, but since this
screen is only updated once per second it doesn't have the temporal
resolution necessary to see the spike.

I have no idea exactly when it started, maybe six months ago, and
couldn't tell you what drivers were installed about then. I do run
Windows Update and it installs new stuff all the time (as do several
of my applications).

- Rich

OK, Thanks - then you're probably dealing with a CPU spike that
is halting the normal time-slicing that applications & processes need.
This can be things like IRQ calls from hardware or a background
process that is "Hogging" the CPU. I'd probably start with a tool
called Process Explorer from SysInternals. It gives a more detailed
view of the system loading than TaskMgr. Also since this is a new
condition you may want to review recent driver or application type
changes on the PC.

Process Explorer download found here:
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb896653.aspx

Thank you.

I did already run CHKDSK /R before posting. It found and fixed a few
small things but this did not fix the jerky motion problem. I also
defragged the disk but this didn't fix it either.

I also ran thorough scans for viruses and spyware and it came up clean.

- Rich

A number of causes, one thing may be that your disk/volume is "Dirty".
Means there is an inconsistent state - Data not where it's supposed to
be or other improper conditions. It's like the machine is trying to find
&
use a specific piece of data and cannot find it. Best thing to do is open
a command prompt window and invoke a Chkdsk C: . This is a Read
only test and if the drive/volume is dirty the Chkdsk will recommend a
/F or /R qualifier to repair the inconsistencies. Best to always have
your
data backed up, as a Chkdsk with Fix or Repair can and does remove
data to resolve the issues.
Click Start, Run (type) Cmd [Enter]
Chkdsk C: [Enter]
Check the summary results for whether a /F or /R is called for.

I have an XP computer about two years old. For the last several
months it's behaved in a very annoying way: Every second or so,
things which should be moving smoothly stop briefly, then continue.
These things include:

Mouse pointer movement - No matter how smoothly and evenly I move
the mouse, the pointer on the screen stops and jerks along its
way.

Video playback - Playing any video, the movement on the screen stops
every second or so, and then jerks to catch up. At first I thought
this was due to network delays, but it happens even with fully down-
loaded videos. This happens with any media play (WMP, Winamp, etc.)

This behavior is relatively new, but I can't recall when it first
started. The machine hasn't always behaved this way.

I monitor CPU activity with Windows Task Manager. The problem occurs
even when the CPU is only lightly loaded.

The duration of each stop (and hence the size of the jump needed to
catch up) seems to vary from day to day, but is never zero.

How can I diagnose what's causing this, and fix it? Ideas welcome.

- Rich

 

[R. McCarty]

Difficult problem to isolate. Have you added any new hardware to the
PC ? Sometimes on older PCs with a single enhanced USB controller
you can end up with "Jerky" operation from an overloaded USB Hub.
This is especially true if your mouse is connected via USB or has a
Wireless receiver that connects thru a USB port.

Thank you for your continued help. I do have Process Explorer
installed, but I'm at a loss as to how find anything useful for
this problem in the tons of data it displays.

On its main screen there is a line "Hardware Interrupts" which
occasionally shows one or two percent of CPU, but since this
screen is only updated once per second it doesn't have the temporal
resolution necessary to see the spike.

I have no idea exactly when it started, maybe six months ago, and
couldn't tell you what drivers were installed about then. I do run
Windows Update and it installs new stuff all the time (as do several
of my applications).

- Rich

OK, Thanks - then you're probably dealing with a CPU spike that
is halting the normal time-slicing that applications & processes need.
This can be things like IRQ calls from hardware or a background
process that is "Hogging" the CPU. I'd probably start with a tool
called Process Explorer from SysInternals. It gives a more detailed
view of the system loading than TaskMgr. Also since this is a new
condition you may want to review recent driver or application type
changes on the PC.

Process Explorer download found here:
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb896653.aspx

Thank you.

I did already run CHKDSK /R before posting. It found and fixed a few
small things but this did not fix the jerky motion problem. I also
defragged the disk but this didn't fix it either.

I also ran thorough scans for viruses and spyware and it came up clean.

- Rich

R. McCarty wrote:

A number of causes, one thing may be that your disk/volume is "Dirty".
Means there is an inconsistent state - Data not where it's supposed to
be or other improper conditions. It's like the machine is trying to
find
&
use a specific piece of data and cannot find it. Best thing to do is
open
a command prompt window and invoke a Chkdsk C: . This is a Read
only test and if the drive/volume is dirty the Chkdsk will recommend a
/F or /R qualifier to repair the inconsistencies. Best to always have
your
data backed up, as a Chkdsk with Fix or Repair can and does remove
data to resolve the issues.
Click Start, Run (type) Cmd [Enter]
Chkdsk C: [Enter]
Check the summary results for whether a /F or /R is called for.

I have an XP computer about two years old. For the last several
months it's behaved in a very annoying way: Every second or so,
things which should be moving smoothly stop briefly, then continue.
These things include:

Mouse pointer movement - No matter how smoothly and evenly I move
the mouse, the pointer on the screen stops and jerks along its
way.

Video playback - Playing any video, the movement on the screen stops
every second or so, and then jerks to catch up. At first I thought
this was due to network delays, but it happens even with fully
down-
loaded videos. This happens with any media play (WMP, Winamp,
etc.)

This behavior is relatively new, but I can't recall when it first
started. The machine hasn't always behaved this way.

I monitor CPU activity with Windows Task Manager. The problem occurs
even when the CPU is only lightly loaded.

The duration of each stop (and hence the size of the jump needed to
catch up) seems to vary from day to day, but is never zero.

How can I diagnose what's causing this, and fix it? Ideas welcome.

- Rich

 

[Rich Pasco]

Thanks, well, Process Explorer did solve one mystery, but I don't know
if it's related: Sometimes Task Manager shows the CPU as 80-90% busy
but when I look at task list it shows most of the CPU time being taken
by System Idle Process, so how could it be so busy if idle? Process
Explorer shows this time going to Hardware Interrupts. But this is only
occasionally, and the jerky motion is every second.

I did add a USB hub about six months ago but the only thing connected
to it is a printer (that's not printing anything, when the jerkiness
continues). I'll experiment with removing it and post back.

- Rich

 

[R. McCarty]

System Idle Process is a computer's way of "Drumming it's fingers"
( Bored, nothing to do ).

 

[Rich Pasco]

System Idle Process is a computer's way of "Drumming it's fingers"
( Bored, nothing to do ).

Yes, I know that.

What I was saying was that there is an apparent discrepancy between
two presentations of Task Manager: the graphical CPU Usage chart on
the "Performance" tab, and the CPU column in the task list on the
"Processes" tab. I had expected that the chart would show the total
of all tasks other than System Idle. But I noticed that sometimes the
chart would show the CPU as 80% busy, whereas the task list would show
the CPU 70% in System Idle Process. Since 70% + 80% = 150% I wondered
how that could be.

With the aid of Process Explorer, which further subdivides the time in
System Idle Process into hardware interrupt services, I inferred that
the Task Manager chart shows as "busy" the CPU time spent in interrupt
service, although the task list includes this in System Idle Process.

In the above example then, the breakdown which would account for the
explanation is:
30% Software tasks
50% Hardware interrupts
20% System truly idle

The chart would include the first two in its "80% busy", and the Task
List would include the last two in its "70% System Idle Process".

Have I figured this out correctly?

- Rich

 

[Rich Pasco]

I disconnected my USB hub from the PC, but it made no difference in
the "Jerky Motion" problem. I reconnected it but the PC couldn't
communicate with any of the peripherals on it until I rebooted the PC,
after which the "Jerky Motion" problem seemed to be reduced just a
little, but not solved. I installed the SP3 upgrade and it made no
difference.

Here's what I see in Device Manager:

Universal Serial Bus controllers
- Generic USB Hub
- Intel 82801FB/FBM USB Universal Host Controller - 2658
- Intel 82801FB/FBM USB Universal Host Controller - 2650
- Intel 82801FB/FBM USB Universal Host Controller - 265A
- Intel 82801FB/FBM USB Universal Host Controller - 265B
- Intel 82801FB/FBM USB2 Enhanced Host Controller - 265C
- USB Printing Support
- USB Root Hub
- USB Root Hub
- USB Root Hub
- USB Root Hub
- USB Root Hub

What does this look like, in reference to your comment about an
overloaded USB Hub? My WiFi receiver connects to the system board
directly, not via USB.

- Rich

 

[Unknown]

Have you tried cleaning out your startup folder? Run msconfig and edit
startup till you locate the causing program.
Shut down all virus programs first.