Idling

[Synobun]

Whenever my computer idles and does nothing for at least 20 minutes or so, whenever I get back on everything decides to take an extremely long time to start up, and all applications begin to lag (MSN, Firefox, everything), up to the point where I have to restart the computer. What could be causing this?

 

[Cutlass]

is that slow only when you first go back to it? does it clear up after a few minutes?

 

[Synobun]

It continues throughout the whole time the computer remains on until I restart it.
I would've thought that too at first but it kept on slowing down until everything began to always crash.

 

[Cutlass]

Have you run virus scans and adware/spyware scans?

 

[Synobun]

Have you run virus scans and adware/spyware scans?

Yep, nothing wrong, even with a WinDoctor search.

 

[Cutlass]

You could try backing up all your files and then deleting and reinstalling programs. Could be a corrupted file causing a memory leak.

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

Do you have screensavers? I use the default Windows one and have not problem with it. if you got fancy screensavers, maybe memory leaks.

 

[Synobun]

Do you have screensavers? I use the default Windows one and have not problem with it. if you got fancy screensavers, maybe memory leaks.

Screensavers eh? Haven't used one since I was around 8. So can't be those.

For what it's worth, it doesn't seem to happen if I have say a webcam on during that time.

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

that's odd. do you have programs running in background? try turning them off one-by-one. then reinstall them or something. sorry my words mixing up, antipsychotics and all.

 

[Synobun]

that's odd. do you have programs running in background? try turning them off one-by-one. then reinstall them or something. sorry my words mixing up, antipsychotics and all.

Normally only the internet and anti-virus is running. Besides that, nothing. (Except MSN when the webcam is on during the idling, when the issue doesn't arise)

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

That's odd. Did you check your CPU/RAM useage?

 

[Synobun]

Yeah, it hovers around 8% the times I've checked.

 

[Quintillus]

Have you tried turning your anti-virus/firewall/other security software off and leaving your computer doing nothing for half an hour or so? Sometimes anti-virus programs, especially in conjunction with certain other programs, can cause enormous amounts of lag. One such example is Norton Anti-Virus 2006 and Zone Alarm Pro 2007. Put them together and you'll go nowhere for half an hour. So I'd try turning off your anti-virus, firewall, all the security software, completely, leaving it alone for an hour or so, and seeing if it still is really slow when you come back.

If the lag disappears, it's time to switch anti-virus and/or firewall.

Also, what's the hard drive light doing when it's running really slow and crashing? If the hard drive light is always on, that's another common cause of lag, and may well be caused by security software.

 

[Synobun]

Concerning the Anti-Virus, I use the latest AVG which has been working best for me lately. Before I never had this problem, but it suddenly arose one day, and I haven't installed anything new.

Whenever I come back and try to launch something (Mozilla, MSN, Photoshop, iTunes) the light of the hard drive seems to do nothing, but the second light at the bottom of the tower (My tower has a light in the restart button and flashes whenever it's loading) begins flashing quickly as if it's starting up a huge game for the first time in the day.

 

[Synobun]

After checking CPU Usage after idling, it hovers around 44%, and doesn't go any lower.

 

[Cutlass]

That's just not right. It's running some process it shouldn't be. Possibly something hidden. Check in the task manager to try to figure out which process it is.

 

[Synobun]

That's just not right. It's running some process it shouldn't be. Possibly something hidden. Check in the task manager to try to figure out which process it is.

I've tried doing so and it's actually made it worse :\

I'm pretty sure it isn't a virus/worm because I would've noticed it by now, WinDoctor and AVG, and personal observation...

 

[Cutlass]

It's possible that it's a legit program with a corrupted file. You need to take the time to track it down, or backup everything and start over.

 

[Shadylookin]

My guess is that it goes into hibernate or standby mode and because of incompatible hardware drivers it doesn't come out of it properly. I would suggest going into power management and turning off hibernation and standby modes.

 

[Synobun]

My guess is that it goes into hibernate or standby mode and because of incompatible hardware drivers it doesn't come out of it properly. I would suggest going into power management and turning off hibernation and standby modes.

I went into Power Options from the Control Panel, and turned off the "Turn Off Monitor after..." option. Everything else was already unchecked.

I'm not too clear upon the system tools considering how I never really had to use them, so maybe I'm doing something wrong. Instructions would be helpful.

Thanks.