Windows 7 Random applications starting to lag on new computer

I would flash the bios also.

But have you run HDD diags?
Memory Diags?

If not,,, you need to run mem diags for no less than 4 to 6 hours.
I recommend Windows Memory Diags,,,, just hit "t" when they start to run extended tests.

Just cause they are new, doesn't mean they aren't bad.
 
Hi DragoonEX and welcome to the forum :)

I must admit, it's bit of a mystery, have you checked your HDD over? Like do you defrag it regular? Or even run a chkdsk to see if there are any bad sectors (don't forget to check the fix broken sector box)....

I left chkdsk to run overnight and oddly enough the lag spikes seem to have gone away (for now anyways). I'm not quite sure yet if the problem is actually fixed, because sometimes the lag spikes go away for a few days but then return. If they do come back I'll report back. Thanks for your help and friendly welcome! :)
 
Ok... I reread your post from the beginning... Let's sort out the first thing and then move on to the second..


You wrote that your drivers were installed off the cd that came with the motherboard.. These are nearly always old and so it might be worth chasing down the new versions..
I see that your current bios should be F9 with the next version still in beta..

When you first installed 7, was it a fresh install or an upgrade?

Actually I already have F9 installed, which is why I had mentioned before that I have all the latest drivers. The other reason that I'm relatively confident of that fact is that I constantly check my manufacturer's sites for updates, just last week I installed my new ATI drivers which fixed an array of problems, and I constantly check for others, I don't like staying in the dark when it comes to my computer and hardware, which is also why this thing is such a mystery to me.

I joined just because of this, but I believe I can share some more information about this problem since I am experiencing it too.

I am using Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit on an HP Pavillion dv6976ca laptop, specs are as follows:

2.00 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T5750
4 GB of DDR2 RAM
NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS (256MB dedicated)
320 GB Harddrive

I've been using Windows 7 ever since May and have never experienced any major problems with it. Around the end of August I decided to reformat my computer so it would be clean for school and it worked fine for a few days. Around the beginning of September however, I began to notice some lag spikes just like the original poster. The problem has crept up and now my computer is almost unusable.

I originally suspected a virus, so I installed AVG but alas couldn't find any. I then tried to update my graphics card drivers to newer versions (tried 3 different versions in total) and that did not fix it. I then reverted the graphics card drivers to the ones I had back in May, that also did not fix it. Since I couldn't use my computer for any serious work, I reformatted my computer again 2 days ago, but the problem has returned.

I'm at the end of my wits here and I'de rather not go back to using Windows Vista since Windows 7 has been a great experience up until now. I hope this extra information may help.

Thanks.

It sucks that you're having these problems, I know mine are just aimed at certain applications, but the way you explained it, it sounds like yours is all around, which is probably really annoying.

Hopefully we can work this out soon, because I have a feeling it's getting worse as the days go by.


PS. On a side note, my OpenGL now works in After effects (I might have not mentioned it before, but it was always a problem), with the install of ATI's new drivers, which I'm really happy about.


UPDATE: I just ran a checkdisk, and it didn't find any problems up until the last stage, which was when I had to leave at about the 20% mark, when I came back windows was loaded, and I had no pop-ups or messages; so I don't think that it found any problems with disk check.

As for the memory and HDD diags, what happens if I find out that problem lies with them, though I highly doubt that it does, what course of action do I take after that? I don't have the time or the money to replace them or send them for warranty.

I'm a student and I use my computer for my programming classes often, and I can't have it gone for more than a couple days at the most.
 
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I left chkdsk to run overnight and oddly enough the lag spikes seem to have gone away (for now anyways). I'm not quite sure yet if the problem is actually fixed, because sometimes the lag spikes go away for a few days but then return. If they do come back I'll report back. Thanks for your help and friendly welcome! :)

Great! Fingers crossed your problems won't return.
As Tepid say's chkdsk will (if you checked the box) repair broken sectors. If you missed the on screen action the event viewer will contain the chkdsk logs.
 
sina12345... Don't worry mate. Do the scans and we'll cross whatever bridge we need to when the time comes..
 
Sina

If you do find a problem with the scans,,, there are no other options.

replace them or send them for warranty repair

If it's a bad HDD,,, then you need to get your data off ASAP , (not joking)
If the memory is bad, you need to replace it ASAP cause bad memory can cause mass data corruption

Either way, run the scans, if either are bad, you need to know. Neither is a good thing to go un-noticed or un-repaired.

Memory Diags should run for no less than 4 to 6 hours.
If you use Microsoft Memory Diags (recommended), when it starts, hit 't' to run extended
let it run for no less than what I said, if there are no errors by then, then memory should be fine

Run Manufacturers HDD Diags. no one else, unless it's a Toshiba drive, then you could try Western Digital WDDiags or Seagate Seatools. Toshiba sucks.
 
I think my lag spikes have gone away after the check disk as well, but I'm still not 100% sure.
I think Divx still lags (not nearly as much as the others, which I suspect might be the cause of ANOTHER seperate problem in itself), but chrome and msn don't seem to be lagging anymore, which is great.

Now the only problem that remains is why I have around 50GB missing from my HD.

Do you think I should still do the memory diags? Also, I'm not exactly sure how to do it, I know kemical put up a link, but I couldn't really figure it out.

Thanks again guys.
 
Hi Sina,
if you checkout the memtest page, full instructions are given on how to use the app.

As for your missing 50GB.. I wonder if it's in your system restore section.... Try checking the configure page
(see screenshots which show you how to get there and then the actual dialogue box)
 
I think a few posts back you posted screenshots of this as well, and I have it down to the minimum already.
Thanks though.
 
Oops...sorry about that Sina..

I did a little googling and found this link Solved: Missing Hard Drive Free Space (50GB worth) - Tech Support Guy Forums

Now I don't think it has an actual solution but it might offer some clues as to what might be causing this issue..

Unfortunantly about 2 months ago when I first noticed this problem I came across that same forum thread, and I couldn't use it for anything.

So far I've brought down my system restore space down to the minimum, erased all my previous system restores, I have no back up files on my computer or a system image or anything. And the weird thing is that My Computer only shows 595 GB worth of space.

The first day my new computer came in, and I put all the parts together, and popped in the Windows 7 DVD, the format screen only showed 595GB worth of space; while PC Wizard clearly sees that I have a 640GB hardrive.
 
LOL..... I just realised where your missing GB's are...

It's all to to with 'Gigabytes and Gibibytes'...

When you buy a drive, you look at the size which is given in Gigabytes. The pc/os however see's HDD sizes in Gibibytes.

Gibibyte - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A 'Gibibyte is 1024 'Mebibytes' and when you convert 640 Gigabytes to Gibibytes the figure is 596 or there abouts..

data storage size conversions online

I did a conversion for you and is in the screenshot..

Thats why whenever you buy a drive it always appears smaller when attached to your machine..

I hope this clears it up for you...:)
 
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LOL..... I just realised where your missing GB's are...

It's all to to with 'Gigabytes and Gibibytes'...

When you buy a drive, you look at the size which is given in Gigabytes. The pc/os however see's HDD sizes in Gibibytes.

Gibibyte - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A 'Gibibyte is 1024 'Mebibytes' and when you convert 640 Gigabytes to Gibibytes the figure is 596 or there abouts..

data storage size conversions online

I did a conversion for you and is in the screenshot..

Thats why whenever you buy a drive it always appears smaller when attached to your machine..

I hope this clears it up for you...:)


Oooooooh!!! haha, well that clears THAT up. Last thursday my comp. science teacher was talking about how HDD manufacterers don't put the proper units, I didn't quite understand what he meant, but now I see it!

Thanks for all your help! Couldn't have done it without you guys.
It still remains a mystery though as to why my Divx lags when I play movies or videos, both on the web and in the player.
I usually have to save the divx videos, open them in WM11, and THEN i can properly play the video.
I don't suppose anyone has any idea as to why that happens do they?
 
So your saying that the movies play ok when you save them to your HDD but if you watch them straight off the net you get lags and stutter?
If that is the case then your download speed might not be enough to properly stream movies ect...
 
No, if I'm watching anything on Divx player, be it on the internet or on my desktop, it stutters every so often.
It plays smoothly with WM11.
It doesn't have anything to do with my internet for a number of reasons:
1. I have a 10Mbps connection, which 90% of the time gets used to full potential (which is around 1.1MB/s)
2. I usually let it stream till the end
3. If i don't let it stream to the end, the buffer bar is always miles ahead of where I'm watching.

In this problem I can assure you my internet connection is working properly, this only happens with Divx player, and occasionally Quicktime player.
Before my new computer I had a really crappy 4-5 year old PC, which was as loud as a vacuum, even that computer could handle Divx to near perfection, which is why I'm baffled why my new rig with Windows 7 64-bit is having problems.
 
Yea Divx 7, is the one I have, I checked yesterday for a newer version but nothing.
It's odd, Divx hasn't even done a small update or patch in months..
 
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