Whenever I'm running a high-demand 3-D application, such as "the sims 2" or "microsoft flight simulator", it runs smoothly for 5 minutes, then all of a sudden, there is severe lagging for 3 minutes, then runs smoothly again for another 5 minutes, only to experience another bout of severe lagging for 3 minutes, in an endless cycle.

Getting 2 gigs of ram solved it for a short while (8 months), but now this sh** has started up again, and is really aggravating. :aargh: :aargh: :aargh: :aargh:

Even updating my graphics drivers didn't work.

Can anyone please help?

Sounds like you've got some process stealing the CPU. Maybe a virus scanner or firewall? Hopefully nothing more sinister.

Start up Task Manager next time before playing by hitting Ctrl+Shift+Esc. Leave it up while playing, and when you hit the lag Alt+Tab to Task Manager and see which processes are taking up CPU and, if there's almost none left, memory (under the Processes tab). If it's not Flight Simulator or The Sims, list it here and someone ought to be able to figure out what it is.

ok, this is after leaving Celestia (link to it in my sig, a high-demand program) running over-night. And surprise, surprise, it's lagging when I get up. :rolleyes: :mad:

http://img211.imageshack.us/img211/7272/tskmngr1fb9.jpg
http://img78.imageshack.us/img78/8015/tskmngr2sk3.jpg
http://img73.imageshack.us/img73/9529/tskmngr3qy2.jpg

(note: celestia wasn't running when I took these screenies)

and that "svchost.exe" thing likes to duplicate itself for some reason. When I first start up the computer, there's just one "svchost.exe" process running. After a while though, there's a million duplicates running.

"svchost.exe" is Windows' service host or something like that. It's a part of the system so you better leave it there.

Apparently firefox is eating the most of your memory, make sure you don't have it runnung while you're playing the game.

Do you have any firewall or an antivirus program? That isafe process look it could be something like that, but I don't know.

Why exactly do you have notepad and MSPaint open? :hmm:

I use notepad to make planetery systems in celestia. mspaint was open so I could post those screenshots i gave you.

and yeah, firefox was already closed when I started up my high-demand 3d program. still lags.

Is your hard drive nearly full? If it is that can slow down your system. And try defragmenting it.

defragging doesn't help. at all. I've tried.

As for hd space, there is 11.3 gigs of free space left on a 55.8 gig hd.

id try updating your windows.
its a current update that causes slow response times from the PCs.
there is a later patch taht fixes it.

also try clearing out any temp files.

also another idea, is check your VIRTUAL MEMORY.
you can raise it, and that should help too.
(control panel > system > advanced > performance [settings tab] >
either check the "adjust for best performance" or select advanced > and change VirtualMem.

id try updating your windows.
its a current update that causes slow response times from the PCs.
there is a later patch taht fixes it.

also try clearing out any temp files.

also another idea, is check your VIRTUAL MEMORY.
you can raise it, and that should help too.
(control panel > system > advanced > performance [settings tab] >
either check the "adjust for best performance" or select advanced > and change VirtualMem.
nope. doesn't work.

Try getting rid of some programs that you haven't used in a very long time.

Try getting rid of some programs that you haven't used in a very long time.
And how the hell would that work?

Nobody has suggested yet that something might be overheating. Could be that your CPU overheats slowly to critical temp during ~5 minutes. It throttles ~3 minutes while cooling down. Again it takes it ~5 minutes to overheat and ~3 minutes to cool. It's a slim possibility, but a possibility nevertheless.

well, the cooling fan that came with the laptop hasn't worked at all for the past few years....

well, the cooling fan that came with the laptop hasn't worked at all for the past few years....
there you have it.
and while at it, put in a bigger one.
they only cost 10$.

there you have it.
and while at it, put in a bigger one.
they only cost 10$.
How do I know what fan will work for this LAPTOP? How 'bout the ones listed at bestbuy.com?

You'll have hard time finding a fan that'll fit your laptop. Not many shops carry fans small enough to fit. You'd need to open the thing, get the broken fan out and use it as an example when looking for a replacement. In the worst case the fan could be specifically designed and manufactured just for that model and the only way to get a replacement is to vandalize a similar laptop.

well, i took the fan out once a few years ago, to discover a crap-load of dust in the laptop. and from the looks of the fan, it seems to be the worst case scenario you just described. :(

well, i took the fan out once a few years ago, to discover a crap-load of dust in the laptop. and from the looks of the fan, it seems to be the worst case scenario you just described. :(

If you open a laptop from less than 3 years ago you will have a hard time getting everything back in again (except the HD and RAM and battery are in openable panels usually) as it is packed in so tight and shops usually charge €50 to just open it before they fix anything.