Computer freezes breifly every 1-2 seconds

[Guest]

HP s3012n
AMD Athlon 64 3800+ 2.4GHz
Vista 32 bit
894 MB ram
NVIDIA GeForce 6150 LE

My computer has been working fine for a year but then this happens.
The problem only occur when watching videos or playing video games.
It is not a temperature problem and my cpu usage is fine. Any ideas on what it might be?

 

[unknown_13]

And the PSU? You didn't post that.

 

[aprillia99]

HP s3012n
AMD Athlon 64 3800+ 2.4GHz
Vista 32 bit
894 MB ram
NVIDIA GeForce 6150 LE

My computer has been working fine for a year but then this happens.
The problem only occur when watching videos or playing video games.
It is not a temperature problem and my cpu usage is fine. Any ideas on what it might be?

If im not mistaken the hp S series are slimline desktop riight? i know u said heats not the issue but are u monitoring it? or just assuming its prolly not cause the freezing but something to keep in mind. i would say is sounds like a buffer rate or FPS kinda prob have u tried playing games in less resolution? or turning down the quality?

 

[Twoboxer]

Assuming that you are watching essentially the same videos and playing the same games you were before, the only hardware issue I can think of would be a failing HD, and the pauses you experience are I/O recovery errors. But that would be unusual, so look at other factors.

Is your cpu utilization really OK? What is it during the "pauses", and what processes are using it?

Install any new software lately?

Is your HD near full? Defragged recently? Swap file the correct size? etc.

If your videos and games are on line, could your ISP be the problem?

 

[iam2thecrowe]

things to check
1 - are you simply running out of memory causing continuous loading from the HDD? 894mb ram is very low for vista. Maybe you have installed something recently that tipped memory useage over the edge. Disable some start up programs or add more ram - i would add more ram anyway.
2 - automatic updates can cause this, turn it off.
3 - Do you have an antivirus program running? disable on access scanning or scanning in background or remove it.
4 - check temperatures with hardwaremonitor or something - also monitor voltages under load, particularly 12V
5 - run full scandisk on your hard drive to check for bad sectors
6 - run memtest86+ to check ram for errors.
7 - if none of these fixes it its time to reinstall windows, then look at diagnosing further hardware faults (motherboard, psu etc.)

 

[Guest]

on task manager if right now its stays around 4-7% cpu usage and its not so much videos but more of a ingame problem.

every 2 seconds the gameplay and sounds freezes for a half second which makes it very unplayable.

this issue occured in the last couple of days. before that my gameplay was perfectly smooth.

i've searched everywhere on google but there isnt any clear answers.and i havnt downloaded anything recently.

and i know nothing is running in the background because i use gamebooster and checked my processes.

ive already updated my drivers and my computer but the problem persists.



heres my temperature readings:
HD0:118F
Temp1:104F
Core:135F


and is the only way to check the psu is to open up my computer?

thanks for the feedback

 

[Twoboxer]

57C isn't a bad temp, but its a terrible temp if cpu utilization is 4%-7%.

Please, I'm not interested in temps and utilization at idle - what are they in-game, when it stutters?

And I ask again, is your hard drive full? More specifically, what percent of your hard drive is "free"?

(Edited for typos).

 

[iam2thecrowe]

What you need to do is download HWMonitor here -> http://www.cpuid.com/softwares/hwmonitor.html

This will record the highest and lowest values for all your temps and voltages. Install that, run your game, or whatever causes the freezing, and get back to us with the results.

If your confident, you can remove the PSU and open it up to check for leaking/bulging capacitors. If you cant see any it does not mean your PSU is good, but if you do see them, you know what your problem is. I am actually going to do a write up on this soon, documenting (with pics) what to look for and how to replace the caps for, whoever is interested.