Computer slows to a halt with only 25% CPU usage and 30% RAM

atomicpropel

New Member
Hey all,

I've been having this weird problem with my Vista Home Premium SP1 64-bit system since I installed it. Pretty much, when I run cpu intensive programs like iTunes, the computer slows down significantly to the point where the mouse no longer moves smoothly (it jumps every so often). Furthermore, if iTunes is minimized while playing music and I maximize it, the music starts skipping and repeating itself for about a minute and then starts playing normally again. However, this only happens with a few programs, and I've run Prime95 (four instances to test an overclock) for 12 hours with no problems. During the torture test, my mouse moved fine and the cpu was at 100%. Furthermore, during the slowdown, my CPU is only at 25% usage and physical memory is at 30%. Any idea what could be causing this?

It also happens during the printing of a lightscribe label. While doing this, my cursor and the computer won't function properly until the label is finished printing, at which point it speeds up instantly. To give you an idea, when I pressed CTRL-ALT-DEL during the hangup, it took 23 seconds for the screen to change to the option menu compared to the usual time of less than a second.

By the way, here are my specs:

Intel Q9450 processor
Gigabyte Gigabyte - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia X48-DQ6 Motherboard
8 GB (4 x 2GB) Mushkin XP2-8500 RAM
500 GB WD Caviar HDD

Thank you for any and all help!!
 

My Computer

I've figured out a little more about my problem. I reformatted my computer to no avail. One of the things I noticed before was that when I opened up My Computer, my computer would hang up the same way described above, but for a shorter period of time. With my newly installed operating system (have not installed iTunes), I did not experience that problem at first, but am experiencing it now after installing several other programs.

Furthermore, according to Resource Monitor, my CPU maximum frequency hovers around 74%, but when I try to open My Computer, it shoots up to 100% and then after my computer moves returns to normal speed, drops back down to 74% again. So, I think the problem is with the CPU maximum frequency.

How can I solve this?

Thanks!
 

My Computer

well, let me ask you, what programs exactly cause you this issues? tell me so i can help you, i only experienced such thing wth very old programs at full screen, and maybe its your graphics card video uncompatible with those programs...
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    intel pentium 4-3.00 ghz
    Motherboard
    asrock
    Memory
    2 gbs
    Graphics Card(s)
    nvidia geforce 6200
    Hard Drives
    unknown manufacturer
    primary: 160 gbs
    secondary: 80 gbs
    usb: 2 gbs
I'm pretty sure the problem lies not with the programs, but with the OS. All I've installed is Office, Adobe, Avira, Comodo, and Firefox and they were all Vista-compatible new versions.
 

My Computer

Photoshop CS3 workes fine for me using 64bit. Try CCleaner that should fix your problem, if not post back. Download here: CCleaner - Download
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Home Build
    CPU
    AM2 Black
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte S-Series
    Memory
    4Gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    G/F 9600 GT
    Sound Card
    onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    22in LCDX2
    Hard Drives
    to many to list
    PSU
    Home Build
    Case
    God knows
    Cooling
    Fan
    Keyboard
    yes with Buttons
    Mouse
    yes got one and a Cat
    Internet Speed
    1.5mb
I have that EXACT same problem, but only im running on Windows XP Pro... its been happening for 2 years and i havent found a solution for it. Ive reinstalled Windows several times and nothing. I NEED HELP!
 

My Computer

I would look at testing and perhaps replacing your hard disk drive if you can. If it's got a patch that's 'iffy' - it can take several tries to read the data but succeed in the end. This shows as freezes that are not CPU based but IO based, as the system tries to get data off the disk.
 

My Computer

One thing I found and that is that a good graphics card is a must (Good for Desktop graphics)
Also a minimum of 2gb but 4gb of ram is much better. And making sure that it’s not protected by UAC. Plus manually checking the firewall. I also found that it’s better to install Photoshop before the antivirus/spyware software. After the install I don’t use it for at least 3 or 4 reboots.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Home Build
    CPU
    AM2 Black
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte S-Series
    Memory
    4Gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    G/F 9600 GT
    Sound Card
    onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    22in LCDX2
    Hard Drives
    to many to list
    PSU
    Home Build
    Case
    God knows
    Cooling
    Fan
    Keyboard
    yes with Buttons
    Mouse
    yes got one and a Cat
    Internet Speed
    1.5mb
Back
Top