Laptop Freezes Up for A Bit

Dell Inspiron 9300.

While using 1 application(internet explorer/itunes) it sometimes freezes up while switching pages and then unfreezes. For example, i go from wells fargo site to aol for mail. It will freeze while switching pages and then come up. Sometimes it happens and sometimes it doesnt

Another thing I notice happening, is that when moving the mouse across the screen it will move with me, pause and then play catch up soon after. This is when im not even doing anything. So im guessing its a physical memory problem.

Also experience slow down when working with 2 different applications. For example, im typing this out right now and listening to Itunes. Sometimes the music will pause or act like its cutting in and out. Or I try and pull up the Itunes library and it taked quite a few seconds.

I never used to have this problem so im confused as to what would cause this. Ive got all the programs(spybot,adaware, ccleaner, mcafee) to check for viruses and it cleans up a bunch of stuff but it hasnt changed.

The laptop is going on 2 years old now so does ROM only last so long? Ive got 512 right now and will be upgrading to 2gb. Will this probably fix my problem or does it sound like its something else?

Ive got 2 internet applications up right now and my CPU usage is staying at a steady 65-80% with 73 processes running.

 

oops meant ram...

 

Anyone

 

whats your cpu usage at? and what on earth do you have running? 73 processes is a lot..... you need to do some start up management and use msconfig and get rid of all those freaking processes

 

My CPU Usage is all over the place. Ranges from 2 to 95%. I consistantly use no more than 5-7 apps a day. Regularly I use AOL explorer for dail browsing. Internet Explorer for the office website and thats usually it during the day, Maybe Itunes for some music.

I sit here and wait between 30 seconds and 1 minute just for aol explorer to open sometimes. I know it has its own bugs but it used to take no more than 5 seconds to open.

heres some screen shots(back when I was using firefox, but ff seemed to use more memory than aol explorer):

http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u32/Roush03/Clipboard01-1.jpg

http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u32/Roush03/Clipboard01-2.jpg

 

And right now it says im using 79 processes. Im only using AOL Explorer. It took over a minute to open the program let alone get to this website.

 

give us a list of all those 79 processes

and also go to start->run->msconfig->startup and tell us everything that is in the start up tab.... you probably have way too much stuff running that doesn't need to be there

 

Here you go:


http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u32/Roush03/Clipboard01-5.jpg

http://i164.photobucket.com/albums/u32/Roush03/Clipboard02.jpg

 

Im just about ready to throw the laptop against a concrete wall. Which of those items can I get rid of and make sure they dont run again? Why is svchost in there 4 times?

 

ok.... as for the start up tab you can uncheck qttask,AdobeUpdateManager, Adobe Reader Spe..., Bluetooth Manger (unless you actually use bluetooth everytime you use your computer), msmsgs (unless you use windows messanger), aim6 unless you use aim, wcescomm, digstream..... So uncheck those if you want and then you'll have to restart your comp....

As for the processes you can google them and decide if you want to get rid of them or not.....

 

Wow! you've got a lot of processes running. rolleyes

 

Check out my reply in http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=129311

XP Free Ram Pro will show you how much free ram you have.
I am guessing that with only 512 megs and all those processes running it will be a small figure.

Upgrade at least to 1 gig, 2gigs may suit you better as you are a heavier PC user than I am. Bazza

 

Im ordering the 2gb tonight. I went to crucial.com and saw what they recommended. I also spoke with a tech guy and he said the lower the CL rating on the RAM the better.

Crucial recommends this: http://www.crucial.com/store/mpartspecs.aspx?mtbpoid=FFBA603AA5CA7304

He said I could find better, but it would cost more. If I find RAM with a CL rating of 3 or 2, is it really gonna be that much difference? I dont have a problem spending $90 on RAM but anymore and im kinda like....meh....

 

that looks good.... but you should still do the stuff i said about the msconfig statup stuff..... it will also reduce you're start time and thats always a plus!

 

Yep I did the majority of that stuff as well. How do I completely get rid of AOL? I cant find an uninstall file or anything. Ive deleted all the programs and its not listed in my Add/Remove Programs, so is it gone?

 

You could try CCleaner. Open it up and click on Tools.

http://majorgeeks.com/CCleaner_Slim_No_Yahoo_Toolbar_English_d4191.html

:cool

But nevertheless, 79 processes is a lot. I hope your extra RAM solves your issues.

You could also check out newegg.com for RAM. Probably cheapest place, plus customers give reviews.