System hangs (possibly when ram is used much?)

[knownsqashed]

Hello community!

I have had an intermittent issue with my first custom built computer going on over 6 months now, and it's exceedingly frustrating. The operating system (both audio and video, including mouse) hang for just a split second at a time. I have tried everything I can think of. Since the issue first began, I have a new video card (now running nVidia 660, I believe), and a replacement mobo. I have installed new cooling for the cpu, and I still have the same problem. I ran memtest, and was returned with an error, so I checked the ram sticks (I'm running 3 different 4 gig sticks of corsair vengeance), and one was loose. After fixing that, memtest ran fine, but the issue persisted. The only possible other thing I can think of, is maybe RAM timing, which I know absolutely nothing about. I have found an option to alter the timings through the msi "control center" software, but I don't know what I'm doing, so I thought I would get advice first.

Thanks in advance!

 

[constepatdyak]

I used to have this issue as well, and I fixed it by turning windows to high performance (search 'appearance') in start menu,the Adjust appearance and performance of windows). I had 16gb of Corsair Ram 1600m/2500k@4.7GHZ/and gtx 570, so i was pretty sure it wasn't Ram or CPU. See if it works for you, if not then sorry

 

[szaboaz]

Have you thought of software causing this? Any spikes in processor usage? Have you reinstalled your operating system after the motherboard change?

 

[knownsqashed]

I used to have this issue as well, and I fixed it by turning windows to high performance (search 'appearance') in start menu,the Adjust appearance and performance of windows). I had 16gb of Corsair Ram 1600m/2500k@4.7GHZ/and gtx 570, so i was pretty sure it wasn't Ram or CPU. See if it works for you, if not then sorry

I found the "performance options" dialog box. Which tab should I be looking under? The choices are "Visual affects", "Advanced", and "Data Execution prevention". I see an option to "adjust for best performance", but I don't think that's what you're talking about - It makes it look like I'm running windows 98. =O

Please clarify? Thanks!

 

[knownsqashed]

Have you thought of software causing this? Any spikes in processor usage? Have you reinstalled your operating system after the motherboard change?

I have had the same thought - about it likely being software related. I'm at a loss as to what it could be, though. This issue has happened ever since the very first time I installed the OS. I have been monitoring the "Resource Monitor", at times when it is hanging frequently, and have noticed a couple of things. In the overview tab, the "Page Fault (100)" graph peaks usually coincide with a system hang, though it often hangs when the fault graph doesn't even move. And also, on the same overview tab, the Disk usage graph is all over the place during those times when it hangs often. I will upload two images, and link the urls so anyone who might know what they're looking at can see the graphs I'm mentioning.

http://postimage.org/image/bbz1mbng1/
http://postimage.org/image/rpwtap7q5/

I did reinstall the operating system once since the initial install in an attempt to resolve this issue (months ago, now), but have not done so since I installed the new motherboard, but the new motherboard is the exact same model - should I reinstall again if it didn't help the first time?

 

[knownsqashed]

Also, I checked - there are no corresponding errors in the event viewer.

 

[szaboaz]

If the mobo is the same model, then, I agree, that shouldn't make it necessary to reinstall. I don't know about those page fault peaks any more than you. But disk usage + pause could indicate bad sector, run a disk check if you haven't done so yet.

I happened to glance at the "SearchIndexer" line, and it just came to me, what about disabling this for a while, to see if it has anything to do with it. Also, disabling the antivirus, restart, see if anything changes... no other idea this time.

 

[knownsqashed]

I ran a disk check multiple times, and it found no errors. I'm wondering if maybe a faulty cable connecting to the hard drive might cause this? I've also had someone suggest that inconsistent voltages coming from the power strip/wall outlet might cause this issue... Does anyone know about this?


I am unsure what you mean by "disabling this", can you clarify?

 

[szaboaz]

I ment disabling the SearchIndexer service.
I didn't think it would cause the lags by itself, but maybe together with bad sectors. But no bad sectors, I see... If the checkdisk went down without errors, then I don't think it has anything to do with the disk cables. Well, I let others to weigh in now.