Troubleshoot Sporadic system unresponsiveness

[shmu26]

Maybe this is just how Windows is, but every hour or so, whether I am in Chrome, or MS Word, or another app, the system sort of freezes for a couple seconds. I can't input, and the open window looks funny. Then everything goes back to normal.

I am not running heavy apps or tasks, just basic stuff like browser, word processor, music player, PDF reader. I have plenty of RAM, and a modern CPU.
When it happens, I can't open Task Manager to see what's going on. Then it's over.
This minor annoyance has been plaguing me for years, on many computers.

 

[Winter Soldier]

Perhaps it is due to Windows background processes, mysterious and equally unmanageable.

 

[Ink]

Are you using a mains-powered or battery-powered system?

 

[shmu26]

Are you using a mains-powered or battery-powered system?

It is a desktop, plugged into a UPS, which is connected to the regular electric lines of my home.

 

[BoraMurdar]

It is a desktop, plugged into a UPS, which is connected to the regular electric lines of my home.

I would check the power supply first, this type of freezes usually comes from variable electrical input.

 

[SHvFl]

You are saying many computers so it can't be hardware. The possibility is that it's something you use on those computers. Have you ever tried not installing anything except a browser on a pc and see if it happens again?

Also open resource monitor and leave it open. When it unfreezes immediately switch to that and try and see if any usage skyrocketed.

 

[Winter Soldier]

I would check the power supply first, this type of freezes usually comes from variable electrical input.

He said that the problem happened also on different PCs, then maybe it could be a problem with the UPS or with home electrical line?

 

[_CyberGhosT_]

Homeland Security is all up in there, who did you make angry ?
I agree with Bora sounds like your PSU needs a look at, pay close attention
to your error logs, at least I would. Good Luck.
@Winter Soldier
Could be Winter, maybe a bad or failing breaker ?

 

[BoraMurdar]

You are saying many computers so it can't be hardware. The possibility is that it's something you use on those computers.

He said that the problem happened also on different PCs, then maybe it could be a problem with the UPS or with home electrical line?

I totally missed the last sentence If it happens on other computers also, then it's even more mysterious

 

[Amelith Nargothrond]

The symptoms are also similar to very high DPCs/IRPs. If these are way to high, it may also freeze your mouse/keyboard strokes.

I would check them with Resplendence Software - LatencyMon: suitability checker for real-time audio and other tasks
I would also check the PSU as the others have already suggested, no matter the results of LatencyMon.

 

[shmu26]

Thanks to all, for the good ideas. I will have to try them, one by one...

 

[Winter Soldier]

If the problem persists on different PCs, then I really think on something related to the electrical line or electrical socket that supplies power to the PC.
@shmu26 do you have a laptop in battery mode to check out, really strange problem.

 

[askmark]

It is a desktop, plugged into a UPS, which is connected to the regular electric lines of my home.

If this problem has been affecting different PC's with different OS, and different Applications, and no common hardware between them, then it would suggest to me a problem with your environment. In this case the quality of your electrical supply or interference from something else electrical in your home.

Does your UPS have any line monitoring capabilities to show when conditions to your incoming supply have changed?

 

[askmark]

The symptoms are also similar to very high DPCs/IRPs. If these are way to high, it may also freeze your mouse/keyboard strokes.

I would check them with Resplendence Software - LatencyMon: suitability checker for real-time audio and other tasks
I would also check the PSU as the others have already suggested, no matter the results of LatencyMon.

I had a problem with DPC on my PC affecting video playback - Kodi would randomly freeze and audio would become stuttery.
I eventually tracked the problem down to high DPC values when Malwarebytes Anti Malwares's web protection was enabled. Disabling the feature resulted in no more issues.

 

[Amelith Nargothrond]

Some hints if your problems include high DPCs/IRPs:

• update BIOS and drivers/firmwares provided by the manufacturer of your motherboard / different components
• disable all power management features of your system from BIOS and Windows (CPU, network adapter, whatever is possible to disable) and also switch to "High Performance" power profile; this is temporary, just for testing if your problems are still reproducible

 

[Amelith Nargothrond]

I had a problem with DPC on my PC affecting video playback - Kodi would randomly freeze and audio would become stuttery.
I eventually tracked the problem down to high DPC values when Malwarebytes Anti Malwares's web protection was enabled. Disabling the feature resulted in no more issues.

Could be, as Malwarebytes probably uses a driver for that as well, which affects the network adapter's driver, which affects ndis as so forth
They are really hard to track down (the direct root cause), bust in most of the times are driver and power management related.

 

[shmu26]

The symptoms are also similar to very high DPCs/IRPs. If these are way to high, it may also freeze your mouse/keyboard strokes.

I would check them with Resplendence Software - LatencyMon: suitability checker for real-time audio and other tasks
I would also check the PSU as the others have already suggested, no matter the results of LatencyMon.

My system passed the LatencyMon test.

But I do have a noticeably irregular electric supply in my home. Sometimes I can see the lights dimming or flickering, and every once in a while it dips enough to trigger the UPS, or just blacks out altogether.
That's probably it.
Either that, or Homeland Security has finally caught up with me for my rebellious youth, as The Ghost suggested.

 

[Amelith Nargothrond]

My system passed the LatencyMon test.

But I do have a noticeably irregular electric supply in my home. Sometimes I can see the lights dimming or flickering, and every once in a while it dips enough to trigger the UPS, or just blacks out altogether.
That's probably it.
Either that, or Homeland Security has finally caught up with me for my rebellious youth, as The Ghost suggested.

For a good test, open a longer youtube movie and mute the sound, open a downloaded full hd movie and don't mute the sound (you should not hear any irregularities), and download a bigger torrent, all at the same time. You can try this if you want, it's a very good DPC test

 

[XhenEd]

Do you still use Process Lasso?

 

[shmu26]

Do you still use Process Lasso?

No