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Post by Chip on Aug 19, 2010 14:40:15 GMT -5
My home desktop acts very strange...
It's an e-Machines. A few years old. Got Windows XP, the standard stuff. 1GB DDR RAM
If I try to play a flash game (like Crush the Castle, or Restaurant City on Facebook)
and after a few mintues, it gets really slow...
then the computer freezes.
Freezes to the point I can't even Ctrl+Alt+Delete to restart. Everything just stops alltogether. The mouse arrow stays in one position.
Does anyone have any idea what this might be??
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Post by Mole on Aug 19, 2010 15:06:33 GMT -5
1) How long do you wait before determining that your computer has frozen?
2) What browser are you using?
3) Are you up to date on your browser, Flash, and Windows?
4) What's the last time you have defragged or cleaned your temp files?
5) Do you have anti-virus software? If so, what is it?
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Post by Chip on Aug 19, 2010 19:13:01 GMT -5
1) How long do you wait before determining that your computer has frozen? Eh it varies, but lets say when i start playing the game...it only takes 2-3 minutes before it freezes. I've let it sit for up to 15 minutes to see if it "rights" itself, but it doesn't. Everything just stops2) What browser are you using? I use IE8 primarily, but it's happened with Firefox too. Both browsers are auto-updated and completely up to date. 3) Are you up to date on your browser, Flash, and Windows? Yes, all are up to date, and i have auto-update on. 4) What's the last time you have defragged or cleaned your temp files? Defragging doesn't work...it freezes up near the end. Same thing happens when I try to burn a DVD. It'll get to 80% and freeze. Temp files are cleaned every time the browsers are closed. 5) Do you have anti-virus software? If so, what is it? I was using McAfee for a long time, it ran out and I switched to Ad-Aware. I don't do much "unsafe" browsing, and never any downloading. (This is my secondary PC) |
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Post by Mole on Aug 19, 2010 19:34:58 GMT -5
Ok, a couple suggestions. 1) Download FileHippo. It will scan your computer and make sure that everything is up to date. Not saying that I don't trust you, but it's really easy to get behind on Flash and stuff like that if there isn't something doing that for you. Make sure you download and install updates for any programs listed that you use regularly or are used automatically (Java, Flash, etc.) 2) Download, install and run CCleaner. Make sure when you're installing that you pay attention. If you just run through, it will install a Yahoo toolbar. Once you open it, have it analyze your computer, and it will find all of the junk files you have. I would uncheck cookies (and internet history if you want, but it's not as important) from whatever browsers you use often enough to care (so IE8 from what I can tell). Then run CCleaner. Afterwards, click the registry button. Have it "scan for issues." If you have to scroll down to see all of the errors, click "Fix selected issues." It will ask you if you want to back up your registry. MAKE SURE YOU BACK IT UP. Then, after it's done backing up, click on "Fix All Selected Issues" in the window that pops up. 3) Download, install, and run Defraggler. Keep in mind the same thing about CCleaner's installer, unless you want a Yahoo toolbar in IE. Have it analyze the C: drive, assuming that's what Windows is installed to. If the fragmentation is over 15%, click Defrag. Keep in mind that this is going to take a while, and your computer is old enough where you probably won't be able to do much on it during the de-fragmenting. If this fails to complete, let me know. After you've tried all of these, let me know if you've noticed any improvements. Something to keep in mind is that your computer is rather old. It might be too dusty in there, and Flash is an unnecessarily intense program and could be causing your computer to overheat. However, if that was the case, your computer would likely be blue-screening. |
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Post by Chip on Aug 20, 2010 8:49:21 GMT -5
Thanks a ton! I really appreciate it. I will try those things this weekend and see what happens.
I keep the tower as clean & free of dust as possible. I usually clean it every month. It never "blue screens" so I doubt it's an overheating thing.
I upgraded the RAM because I initially thought that it could be a case of not enough.
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Post by Mole on Aug 20, 2010 9:54:05 GMT -5
Thanks a ton! I really appreciate it. I will try those things this weekend and see what happens. I keep the tower as clean & free of dust as possible. I usually clean it every month. It never "blue screens" so I doubt it's an overheating thing. I upgraded the RAM because I initially thought that it could be a case of not enough. You upgraded it to 1 GB or more? 1 GB is still kinda small. Be careful when replacing RAM because if you pick the wrong type, it won't work. |
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Post by Chip on Aug 20, 2010 12:40:41 GMT -5
im pretty sure it's 1GB.
when i open my system details, it shows the memory amount I upgraded to
so that might be the issue then? not enough RAM to run the new flash, plus everything else?
That's almost what it seems like...it almost seems like the computer runs out of memory...because a program like DVD Shrink uses a ton when I'm burning a DVD
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Post by Mole on Aug 20, 2010 13:30:57 GMT -5
im pretty sure it's 1GB. when i open my system details, it shows the memory amount I upgraded to so that might be the issue then? not enough RAM to run the new flash, plus everything else? That's almost what it seems like...it almost seems like the computer runs out of memory...because a program like DVD Shrink uses a ton when I'm burning a DVD It's possible. Something you could do test it, would be to press ctrl+alt+del, run Task Manager, click the Processes tab, and make sure you can see it while you try to play your flash games. See if your RAM maxes out, it'll be an item at the bottom of the window saying Physical Memory Usage. |
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Post by Chip on Aug 20, 2010 22:07:32 GMT -5
alright so i downloaded and ran all 3 of those things.
i saved the registry backups.
the defrag still didn't work. i came in about 20 minutes later and the screensaver was frozen...the computer locked up. then i had trouble re-starting, where the windows screen froze and it kept re-starting during boot up.
do you think i should just load back the registry back ups? im wondering if the cleaner messed something up.
the computer froze again a little while ago when i was trying to copy files to a flash drive.
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Post by Chip on Aug 21, 2010 8:04:15 GMT -5
so i opened the task manager, then brought up Restaurant City on facebook...
the CPU usage went to 100% the entire time it was open...as soon as i went back to the home page it went back down to 16%, etc.
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Post by Mole on Aug 21, 2010 8:30:51 GMT -5
alright so i downloaded and ran all 3 of those things. i saved the registry backups. the defrag still didn't work. i came in about 20 minutes later and the screensaver was frozen...the computer locked up. then i had trouble re-starting, where the windows screen froze and it kept re-starting during boot up. do you think i should just load back the registry back ups? im wondering if the cleaner messed something up. the computer froze again a little while ago when i was trying to copy files to a flash drive. If you're still having issues, follow the steps at this link to restore you backup. support.microsoft.com/kb/322756so i opened the task manager, then brought up Restaurant City on facebook... the CPU usage went to 100% the entire time it was open...as soon as i went back to the home page it went back down to 16%, etc. Do you mean CPU or Physical Memory usage? Maxing out your CPU usage would certainly cause things to freeze, though. |
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Post by Chip on Aug 21, 2010 8:44:13 GMT -5
it was the CPU usage. goes all the way to 100%
physical memory(K) fluctuates but not extreme.
and it's not an e-machines...i dont know why i typed that.
its a gateway with AMD 64 3400+ 2.4 GHz and it says I have 704MB of RAM (that seems odd) I need to check the sticks
ive got a 512MB 400mhz & a a 256MB 300mhz RAM card. both DDR. which would be 768MB...i might be using the wrong kind of RAM then. Doing some research it looks like I need 400mhz.
computer seems to start up fine now. perhaps it was just a hiccup.
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Post by Mole on Aug 21, 2010 9:12:58 GMT -5
it was the CPU usage. goes all the way to 100% physical memory(K) fluctuates but not extreme. and it's not an e-machines...i dont know why i typed that. its a gateway with AMD 64 3400+ 2.4 GHz and it says I have 704MB of RAM (that seems odd) I need to check the sticks ive got a 512MB 400khz & a a 256MB 300khz RAM card. both DDR. which would be 768MB...i might be using the wrong kind of RAM then. computer seems to start up fine now. perhaps it was just a hiccup. Well, something to keep in mind is that, since your two RAM sticks are of different speeds, your PC will be defaulting to the lower speed. Also, having RAM at different speeds is generally ill advised. However, typical RAM issues of any sort would cause Blue-screens and abrupt shut-offs, now general system hangs. If your CPU usage is what's getting maxed, I have to wonder what else is running on your computer when you try to play the games. Also, since you're using IE, how many tabs do you have open? |
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Post by Chip on Aug 21, 2010 9:48:19 GMT -5
Well, something to keep in mind is that, since your two RAM sticks are of different speeds, your PC will be defaulting to the lower speed. Also, having RAM at different speeds is generally ill advised. However, typical RAM issues of any sort would cause Blue-screens and abrupt shut-offs, now general system hangs. If your CPU usage is what's getting maxed, I have to wonder what else is running on your computer when you try to play the games. Also, since you're using IE, how many tabs do you have open? that makes sense...im going to just get another 512 card with 400mhz and get rid of the 256. i rarely have more than 1 tab open with IE. espeically when doing something like that. i mean i could run down the list of processes, but that's just unnecessary. lol. fortunately this freezing thing only happens with flash related stuff & watching streaming videos. it's all stuff that doesn't run my life, it's just very annoying ya know? |
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Post by Mole on Aug 21, 2010 10:14:19 GMT -5
Something you could do, is maximize the task manager so all the processes show up, and print screen it. But you're not running any programs at the same time (music players or anything like that)?
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Post by Chip on Aug 21, 2010 14:58:52 GMT -5
Something you could do, is maximize the task manager so all the processes show up, and print screen it. But you're not running any programs at the same time (music players or anything like that)? nope, when it freezes im never actually running anything else. only IE, by itself. 1 tab. and whatever game. its a very puzzling thing to be honest. |
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Post by Mole on Aug 21, 2010 15:14:27 GMT -5
Something you could do, is maximize the task manager so all the processes show up, and print screen it. But you're not running any programs at the same time (music players or anything like that)? nope, when it freezes im never actually running anything else. only IE, by itself. 1 tab. and whatever game. its a very puzzling thing to be honest. You know what? I'd try uninstalling and reinstalling Flash. There's no reason why that alone should max your CPU. |
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