# Can you solve this choppy performance mystery?



## confusedperson5 (Dec 29, 2017)

So....my computer is starting to slow down and I can’t figure out why. It runs smoothly for about four to five hours after I turn it on, but eventually the performance gets choppy. It’s most obvious when playing a YouTube video because the audio will stutter and freeze like crazy. The fix for this is restarting the computer; then everything is smooth for another four to five hours.

I have scanned for viruses and malware multiple times; there are none. I’ve brought up the Task Manager window and watched it like a hawk, but the only real difference is that when the issue is active, the CPU is spiking at 100% more frequently (if this helps, the spikes are the exact moments when the performance freezes up). All the programs act the same otherwise. I have installed extra RAM; it made my programs speedier but didn’t eliminate the problem. I upgraded to Windows 10; the issue remained afterward. It can’t be a hardware issue because it goes away when I restart the computer.

There's nothing different I do between the hours when the computer runs smoothly and when it runs choppily. In the background there are the usual Windows processes and ZoneAlarm as a firewall. There are currently 47 background processes, but the majority of them are constantly at 0%.

Firefox eats up a lot of memory when it's running, but it's not a problem with the extra RAM I have now. There have been times I've left the computer on all night with no programs running at all. Then when I return in the morning, the performance is so choppy trying to run anything that the cursor itself has jerky movement.

When the computer has been restarted, everything runs fine. Six hours later, everything makes it spike. That's part of what makes this so hard to diagnose. If the computer's been on all day and you've got nothing running, activity seems normal. But you try to run one big program and it chugs along.

What is the problem?? I can’t figure it out!!

Windows 10 -- 1 TB hard drive, 563 GB free
AMD Athlon II X4 640 Processor - 3.00 GHZ
12 GB RAM
64-bit operating system, x64-based processor


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## HyperHenry (Aug 1, 2017)

When it is showing 100% usage, click alt/ctrl/del button to bring up Task Manager. See what program is using the power and identify it or post a screenshot. Also please download and run Speccy. https://www.piriform.com/speccy/download/standard. When done click File/Publish Snapshot/ then copy the URL it provides and post it here. Thanks.


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## dmccoy (Oct 7, 2017)

Please provide the speccy information requested so we can see the hardware on your system. Have you monitored your CPU and GPU temps? It sounds like it may be overheating


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## confusedperson5 (Dec 29, 2017)

HyperHenry said:


> When it is showing 100% usage, click alt/ctrl/del button to bring up Task Manager. See what program is using the power and identify it or post a screenshot. Also please download and run Speccy. https://www.piriform.com/speccy/download/standard. When done click File/Publish Snapshot/ then copy the URL it provides and post it here. Thanks.


http://speccy.piriform.com/results/SHqiThvBq38qDljlyddKYu3
What is the normal temperature for the CPU? I just turned it on right now and it's running around 31 - 34 C. Guess I'll see what it says in six hours.


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## HyperHenry (Aug 1, 2017)

Right now your temps look great. Your bios is way out of date. There's probably a newer version available on the manufacturer's website. Could you check your bios and give me the voltage readings? Also what power supply are you using? Brand/model/wattage.


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## dmccoy (Oct 7, 2017)

I would recommend installing the following program to monitor your temps. If this doesn't show any issues then we can start troubleshooting. There are also know issues with the older AMD graphics cards drivers and Windows 10 so that would be worth checking as well.

https://www.cpuid.com/softwares/hwmonitor.html


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## confusedperson5 (Dec 29, 2017)

HyperHenry said:


> Right now your temps look great. Your bios is way out of date. There's probably a newer version available on the manufacturer's website. Could you check your bios and give me the voltage readings? Also what power supply are you using? Brand/model/wattage.


I would if I knew what a "BIOS" is. What am I looking for?

The issue is not with Windows 10 since I just upgraded last week and I was having the same issues under Windows 7.


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## dmccoy (Oct 7, 2017)

You can always try one of the following utilities to stress test your computer as well.

http://blog.logicalincrements.com/2015/12/the-best-programs-for-stress-testing-your-pc/


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## HyperHenry (Aug 1, 2017)

That's why I want to see the volt readings. If there's a problem with your PSU it will happen under any OS. Usually to get into the bios when you start up you continuously press F2 or del buttons.


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## confusedperson5 (Dec 29, 2017)

HyperHenry said:


> That's why I want to see the volt readings. If there's a problem with your PSU it will happen under any OS. Usually to get into the bios when you start up you continuously press F2 or del buttons.


I still don't know what I'm looking for. These were the screens I got when I booted up BIOS; none mention anything about voltage.


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## confusedperson5 (Dec 29, 2017)

So....does anybody see anything there?

Looking into updating the BIOS....I don't think I can actually do it. HP lists a long, complicated series of steps on their website, which are direct enough to follow:
https://support.hp.com/us-en/document/c00007682

But the last step involves entering the product number into their search bar and I discovered that once you upgrade to Windows 10, HP essentially abandons you:



> HP PCs manufactured before August of 2013 might not have a complete set of hardware and/or drivers required to use all of the features in Windows 10.
> 
> HP is not testing or developing Windows 10 drivers for these PC products.
> If you choose to use Windows 10 some features, applications, and connected devices might not work as expected.


In addition, if I say I'm using Windows 7 anyway, the search only brings up two BIOS updates and neither of the names exactly match my specific motherboard model:
https://support.hp.com/us-en/driver...p6700-desktop-pc-series/5035348/model/5049551

So I'm guessing there's no BIOS update?


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## dmccoy (Oct 7, 2017)

Did you run the stress test or monitor the temps? Also perform the following to see if it shows any errors that might help

Event Viewer Tool by Vino Rosso
Please download and Run the Event Viewer Tool by Vino Rosso
http://images.malwar...om/vino/VEW.exe
1. Run program as Administrator
2.. Under Select log to query
3. select System
4. Under Select type to list
Select:
* Error
* Warning
Choose the Number of events as follows:
1. Click on Number of events
2. Type 20 in the box (1 to 20)
3. Click the Run button (Notepad will open the log)
4. Paste or upload to next reply
Rename the first log file or it will be overwritten 
Run this again 
Except at step 3. Select Application 
Paste or upload to next reply
Repeat but select Application. 
(Evert time you run this program it overwrites the log file so make sure to rename each log file before running)


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## confusedperson5 (Dec 29, 2017)

I have been monitoring the CPU temperature with Speccy. It's not a finished study yet. I have noticed a temperature increase as the hours build up, but I haven't made a measurement yet at the point where it's really bad.

Note that the first few errors say the system didn't shut down cleanly -- this is due to how Windows 10 installed. Whenever I boot up the system after it's shut off, there's no signal to the monitor. I have to hold down the power button until the tower turns off, then turn it on again, and THEN it works. No idea why.



> Vino's Event Viewer v01c run on Windows 7 in English
> Report run at 30/12/2017 6:21:24 PM
> 
> Note: All dates below are in the format dd/mm/yyyy
> ...





> Vino's Event Viewer v01c run on Windows 7 in English
> Report run at 30/12/2017 6:23:39 PM
> 
> Note: All dates below are in the format dd/mm/yyyy
> ...





> Vino's Event Viewer v01c run on Windows 7 in English
> Report run at 30/12/2017 6:26:32 PM
> 
> Note: All dates below are in the format dd/mm/yyyy
> ...


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## confusedperson5 (Dec 29, 2017)

All right, it's been on for a seven-hour stretch now. The cursor movement is starting to chop up, YouTube videos are chopping up, and the results are...inconclusive.

The CPU spikes happen but the causes vary. Sometimes it's Firefox, sometimes it's Task Manager, sometimes it's Zone Alarm and System at the same time (never separate). As for the temperature, I haven't seen anything drastic. It's chopping and spiking now with the CPU hovering around 42-47 C. It was running smoothly four hours ago at the same temperature!

What I know now is only what I knew when I came here. Everything runs smoother after I reboot the computer, then five or six hours later somehow everything is harder for the computer to do. Reset, repeat. Why?

Do the Event Viewer logs suggest anything?


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## HyperHenry (Aug 1, 2017)

These errors normally point to a failing PSU or bad RAM. I did notice that you have 2 sizes of RAM installed. Sometimes mismatched RAM can cause issues. For an easy way to start, I'd test one stick at a time.


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## confusedperson5 (Dec 29, 2017)

HyperHenry said:


> These errors normally point to a failing PSU or bad RAM. I did notice that you have 2 sizes of RAM installed. Sometimes mismatched RAM can cause issues. For an easy way to start, I'd test one stick at a time.


The problem started before I installed the RAM; the RAM was one attempt to fix it.

If it's the PSU, then how come the problem temporarily fixes itself when I reboot the computer? I had written off all hardware issues because of that.

Also someone told me Windows decays in performance over the years and a clean install might fix the problem. No one here has mentioned that as a possibility though.


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## HyperHenry (Aug 1, 2017)

Because that's always the last resort. I'm going to let someone else weigh in at this point.


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## onemc4you (Mar 17, 2017)

HyperHenry said:


> Because that's always the last resort. I'm going to let someone else weigh in at this point.


I see you have Netbios listening.. meaning its enabled. Try turning off netbios in network card properties. You should not need it. Also i would turn off powersaver for hard drive. Some programs might not wait for hard drive to spin up. Also turn on diagnostic sceen on boot up in the bios settings. This will force hardware to scan for memory errors or changes on bootup. Also turn on windows defender and disable antivirus temporarily to see if its the antivirus program.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## dmccoy (Oct 7, 2017)

The next time you see the spikes try to perform the following

Download Process Explorer
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/process-explorer

1. Save it to your desktop then run it. Right Click and Select Run As Administrator
2. Select View Menu Click Select Columns
3. In the Select Columns Window Check Verified Signer and Click OK
4. Select Options Menu and Check Verify Image Signatures
5. Click twice on the CPU column to sort by highest CPU usage 
6. Wait approximately a minute
7. Select Save or Save As from the File Menu and save to Desktop
8. Upload the file or Copy and Paste the text to your Reply


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## confusedperson5 (Dec 29, 2017)

dckeks said:


> The next time you see the spikes try to perform the following
> 
> Download Process Explorer
> https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/process-explorer
> ...


All right, here you go:



> Process CPU Private Bytes Working Set PID Description Company Name Verified Signer
> System Idle Process 77.98 52 K 8 K 0
> vsmon.exe 12.93 189,576 K 242,380 K 2792 ZoneAlarm Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (Verified) Check Point Software Technologies Ltd.
> Interrupts 2.33 0 K 0 K n/a Hardware Interrupts and DPCs
> ...


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## dmccoy (Oct 7, 2017)

Please upload the file if possible it is much easier to read


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## dmccoy (Oct 7, 2017)

Please run the following Utilities. Then save and upload the files

Please download MiniToolBox by Farbar and save it to your desktop.


Right-click on icon and select Run as Administrator to start the tool.

In the main window please checkmark the following checkboxes:
List last 10 Event Viewer log;
List Installed Programs;
List Devices (Only problems);
List Users, Partitions and Memory size;
List Minidump Files.

Click Go and wait patiently.
Upon completion (a reboot may be needed) a file called Result.txt will be saved on your desktop.
Please upload the file in your next reply.

Event Viewer Tool by Vino Rosso
Please download and Run the Event Viewer Tool by Vino Rosso
http://images.malwar...om/vino/VEW.exe
1. Run program as Administrator
2.. Under Select log to query
3. select System
4. Under Select type to list
Select:
* Error
* Warning
Choose the Number of events as follows:
1. Click on Number of events
2. Type 20 in the box (1 to 20)
3. Click the Run button (Notepad will open the log)
4. Paste or upload to next reply
Rename the first log file or it will be overwritten 
Run this again 
Except at step 3. Select Application 
Paste or upload to next reply
Repeat but select Application. 
(Evert time you run this program it overwrites the log file so make sure to rename each log file before running)


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## confusedperson5 (Dec 29, 2017)

dckeks said:


> Please run the following Utilities. Then save and upload the files
> 
> Please download MiniToolBox by Farbar and save it to your desktop.
> 
> ...


OK, here are the results from MiniToolBox. I already ran Event Viewer Tool earlier in the thread.


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## dmccoy (Oct 7, 2017)

Please upload the event view file as well


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## dmccoy (Oct 7, 2017)

Please see below for possible issues and fixes

Disable these Services
- TabletServicePen
- Bonjour Service

Remove the following programs while we troubleshoot and you can reinstall after if prefer. It is recommended to only use one Antivirus program at a time and to use Windows 10 Defender unless you have a paid program. I recommend using Revouninstaller to remove programs.

https://www.revouninstaller.com/revo_uninstaller_free_download.html

µTorrent
AVG Security Toolbar
Bing Bar
Bing Rewards
ZoneAlarm Antivirus
ZoneAlarm Firewall
ZoneAlarm Free Antivirus + Firewall
ZoneAlarm LTD Toolbar
ZoneAlarm Security

Please perform these steps again after removing these programs

Download Process Explorer
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/process-explorer

1. Save it to your desktop then run it. Right Click and Select Run As Administrator
2. Select View Menu Click Select Columns
3. In the Select Columns Window Check Verified Signer and Click OK
4. Select Options Menu and Check Verify Image Signatures
5. Click twice on the CPU column to sort by highest CPU usage
6. Wait approximately a minute
7. Select Save or Save As from the File Menu and save to Desktop
8. Upload the file or Copy and Paste the text to your Reply


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## dmccoy (Oct 7, 2017)

I still think your main issue is the Graphics driver. I would recommend uninstalling cleanly and reinstalling using the method below. Let me know if any questions and how it works for you.

You have multiple versions of this installed in several languages. You should only have one.

Catalyst Control Center Next Localization BR
Catalyst Control Center Next Localization CHS, etc

*Display Driver Uninstall Utility*

Important: Pay attention to the warnings DDU gives you. If you end up hosing your system somehow, you're on your own -- They are not responsible for your goofs and will not help you fix it. Honestly this shouldn't ever be an issue but some of you folks run on pretty janky setups.

Download the latest version of Display Driver Uninstaller (DDU for short)
Download the latest driver package from your GPU manufacturer. Be careful to select the correct model and operating system. Avoid beta driver packages unless you know what you're doing.

NVIDIA
AMD
Intel

Extract DDU and Run Display Driver Uninstaller.exe.
Follow the prompts to reboot into Safe Mode.
Once in Safe Mode, DDU will launch itself automatically and you can begin the driver removal process
Select the appropriate driver type
click the "Clean and restart" button
After DDU is finished and you're back in normal Windows, things probably look pretty crappy! Install the GPU driver package you downloaded earlier.
Once the driver installation process is complete, reboot one last time.
Test to see if the issue you were experiencing has been resolved.

<https://obsproject.com/forum/resources/performing-a-clean-gpu-driver-installation.65/>

The older Graphic card series drivers have a lot of known issues with Windows 10. If the latest driver doesn't work then try the following older driver - Version: 8.970.100.9001 [01/13/2015]. Several people have had good experience with it. I have also seen removing the Catalyst control center software and using Microsoft drivers work as well.

*Article Number: *GPU-624
ATI Radeon™ HD 4000/ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD 4000, ATI Radeon™ HD 3000/ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD 3000, and ATI Radeon™ HD 2000/ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD 2000 Series Graphics reached peak performance optimization in October, 2013.

No additional driver releases are planned for these products.

The last operating system supported using the AMD drivers was Microsoft Windows® 8 with the AMD Catalyst 13.1 driver package, which can be downloaded from the AMD Driver page : http://support.amd.com/en-us/download

for more information:
http://support.amd.com/en-us/kb-art...-4000,-HD-3000,-HD-2000-and-older-Series.aspx


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## confusedperson5 (Dec 29, 2017)

An update.....

I took every step dckeks suggested in order, but thankfully I did not have to go so far as to mess with the display driver. When i removed ZoneAlarm the choppy behavior vanished.
I had to wait a few days to confirm this, since I've "solved" this problem before and had it come back. But this time I appear to have nailed the specific issue.

I don't feel exactly safe relying on Windows Defender, though, even though you guys claim it's fine. Are things different now than they were ten years ago?


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## dmccoy (Oct 7, 2017)

Good to hear. Yes, Windows Defender for Win 10 is completely different and what most of us on the forums and others recommend now. If you want more protection add a paid version of Malwarebytes and use good ad blocker like ublock on browsers.


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