Windows busy circle

SimSportPlyr

Member
Member
Messages
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I get the 'windows busy circle' in some cases, as of earlier today.

I'm running Windows 8 on an HP P2-1310.

Examples where I see the windows busy circle:
1. I right-click on the recycle bin icon2. If I right-click on the recycle bin I get the busy icon. For a few minutes, I get the busy icon if I hover over the recycle bin. Eventually, things seem to go back to pre-busy state in that I don't get the busy icon, but the right-click menu never appears. I get a busy icon for the recycle bin even if I shut down browsers, etc.
2. right-click on the time and date in the lower-right portion of the screen, in an attempt to launch Task Manager. If instead I do CTRL-ALT-DEL I get launch Task manager immediately.

Maybe related: if I bring up Control Panel - System Properties - System Protection, the 'Protection Settings' table says:

"Available Devices
Searing"

forever.

The System Restore button is grayed out.

Occasionally, I get the busy icon in other cases, but I have yet to find it repeatable.

When I get the busy icon, it is only on the application mentioned, above. I can generally operate a (3rd party) browser with no problems.

Task Manager reports the sort of numbers I'm used to seeing when things are running normally:
1. ~50% CPU usage (due to browser).
2. ~25% memory usage
3. 25% disk usage
4. 0% network usage

I welcome any troubleshooting suggestions.

Thanks.

Additional note: I now have gotten things into a mode where the desktop is semi grayed out and shows the busy icon if I hover the mouse over the desktop. Also, I get the busy icon if I hover over the 3rd party Start button or any of the app buttons on the task bar (this is the bar just to the right of the Start button; I hope I'm using the right term).
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
Download Hiren's, do a GWscan on your hard drive... Mechanical hard drive or SSD? Run the first 2 tests in GWscan, see if there is any Read Element Failure, that will cause the aperture circle hang, even a system freeze. Does it ever lock up solid? Download link for Hiren's is below, HD testing Progs are all in Dos Programs when you boot to Hiren's
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 Pro with Media Center/Windows 7
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Asus M2N-MX SE Plus § DualCore AMD Athlon 64 X2, 2300 MHz (11.5 x 200) 4400+ § Corsair Value Select
    CPU
    AMD 4400+/4200+
    Motherboard
    Asus M2N-MX SE Plus/Asus A8M2N-LA (NodusM)
    Memory
    2 GB/3GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    GeForce 8400 GS/GeForce 210
    Sound Card
    nVIDIA GT218 - High Definition Audio Controller
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Hitachi 40" LCD HDTV
    Screen Resolution
    "1842 x 1036"
    Hard Drives
    WDC WD50 00AAKS-007AA SCSI Disk Device
    ST1000DL 002-9TT153 SCSI Disk Device
    WDC WD3200AAJB-00J3A0 ATA Device
    WDC WD32 WD-WCAPZ2942630 USB Device
    WD My Book 1140 USB Device
    PSU
    Works 550w
    Case
    MSI "M-Box"
    Cooling
    Water Cooled
    Keyboard
    Dell Keyboard
    Mouse
    Microsoft Intellimouse
    Internet Speed
    Cable Medium Speed
    Browser
    Chrome/IE 10
    Antivirus
    Eset NOD32 6.x/Win Defend
    Other Info
    Recently lost my Windows 8 on my main PC, had to go back to Windows 7.
Thanks for the reply.

I'll give Hiren's a try.

I have a mechanical HD.

When you ask if it 'locks up solid', I'm not sure what you mean. Do you mean:
1. No Windows activities works, including browsing; or
2. The specific icon that has the busy icon stays busy forever; or
3. other
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
You can use Imgburn to burn it or just burn it to Windows 8.

After you burn it, stick it in your system and boot to it. There will be a Menu, look for "Dos Programs", get into that and look for "Hard Drive Tools"

GWscan will be on the 3rd page. If GWscan will not detect your drive, you can use the tool from the manufacturer, it will be in the same area. GWscan can check a large number of manufacturers, except for Toshiba and possibly, Hitachi. There are Tools for those in there as well.

What I mean by "Lock up solid", is, does the system freeze so no mouse moves, or maybe the mouse moves, but nothing can be clicked? Anyway, there is a good chance your drive has developed a few read errors, and GWscan can fix a limited number of these - If the program tells you there are too many errors to fix, then you can use Vivard to do a smart remap of the whole drive. I was able to repair a Drive that came up "FAIL" in the Toshiba program, after I ran smart remap, if came up "Good".
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 Pro with Media Center/Windows 7
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Asus M2N-MX SE Plus § DualCore AMD Athlon 64 X2, 2300 MHz (11.5 x 200) 4400+ § Corsair Value Select
    CPU
    AMD 4400+/4200+
    Motherboard
    Asus M2N-MX SE Plus/Asus A8M2N-LA (NodusM)
    Memory
    2 GB/3GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    GeForce 8400 GS/GeForce 210
    Sound Card
    nVIDIA GT218 - High Definition Audio Controller
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Hitachi 40" LCD HDTV
    Screen Resolution
    "1842 x 1036"
    Hard Drives
    WDC WD50 00AAKS-007AA SCSI Disk Device
    ST1000DL 002-9TT153 SCSI Disk Device
    WDC WD3200AAJB-00J3A0 ATA Device
    WDC WD32 WD-WCAPZ2942630 USB Device
    WD My Book 1140 USB Device
    PSU
    Works 550w
    Case
    MSI "M-Box"
    Cooling
    Water Cooled
    Keyboard
    Dell Keyboard
    Mouse
    Microsoft Intellimouse
    Internet Speed
    Cable Medium Speed
    Browser
    Chrome/IE 10
    Antivirus
    Eset NOD32 6.x/Win Defend
    Other Info
    Recently lost my Windows 8 on my main PC, had to go back to Windows 7.
You can use Imgburn to burn it or just burn it to Windows 8.

After you burn it, stick it in your system and boot to it. There will be a Menu, look for "Dos Programs", get into that and look for "Hard Drive Tools"

GWscan will be on the 3rd page. If GWscan will not detect your drive, you can use the tool from the manufacturer, it will be in the same area. GWscan can check a large number of manufacturers, except for Toshiba and possibly, Hitachi. There are Tools for those in there as well.

What I mean by "Lock up solid", is, does the system freeze so no mouse moves, or maybe the mouse moves, but nothing can be clicked? Anyway, there is a good chance your drive has developed a few read errors, and GWscan can fix a limited number of these - If the program tells you there are too many errors to fix, then you can use Vivard to do a smart remap of the whole drive. I was able to repair a Drive that came up "FAIL" in the Toshiba program, after I ran smart remap, if came up "Good".

Sorry for the dumb question, but what does 'burn it to Windows 8' mean?

No, it has never locked up solid. The problem seems specific to an app.

Actually, I got an interesting clue a few minutes ago. I ran TreeSize scan and got the error:

"An "access denied" error occurred when accessing "C:\$RECYCLE.BIN\S-1-5-21-4196889071-104744417..\". Would you like to restart all scans as administrator?"

I answered Yes and it's scanning, although it hasn't finished yet.

Thanks for your ongoing help and answers!
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
Just right click on the ISO image and Windows 8 will offer to either mount it for you or burn it to a CD for you, - As a matter of fact I don't use IMGburn anymore to burn and I don't use UltraISO or Magicdisc to mount. It's all built in. But I'm using Pro, I don't know if that feature is missing in lesser versions. I don't see why it would not be in regular "Home" versions.

That's your recycle bin, maybe your recycle bin has gotten corrupted, but it could be part of a larger problem with read errors on the Drive, which is why I suggested running GWscan.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 Pro with Media Center/Windows 7
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Asus M2N-MX SE Plus § DualCore AMD Athlon 64 X2, 2300 MHz (11.5 x 200) 4400+ § Corsair Value Select
    CPU
    AMD 4400+/4200+
    Motherboard
    Asus M2N-MX SE Plus/Asus A8M2N-LA (NodusM)
    Memory
    2 GB/3GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    GeForce 8400 GS/GeForce 210
    Sound Card
    nVIDIA GT218 - High Definition Audio Controller
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Hitachi 40" LCD HDTV
    Screen Resolution
    "1842 x 1036"
    Hard Drives
    WDC WD50 00AAKS-007AA SCSI Disk Device
    ST1000DL 002-9TT153 SCSI Disk Device
    WDC WD3200AAJB-00J3A0 ATA Device
    WDC WD32 WD-WCAPZ2942630 USB Device
    WD My Book 1140 USB Device
    PSU
    Works 550w
    Case
    MSI "M-Box"
    Cooling
    Water Cooled
    Keyboard
    Dell Keyboard
    Mouse
    Microsoft Intellimouse
    Internet Speed
    Cable Medium Speed
    Browser
    Chrome/IE 10
    Antivirus
    Eset NOD32 6.x/Win Defend
    Other Info
    Recently lost my Windows 8 on my main PC, had to go back to Windows 7.
I get the 'windows busy circle' in some cases, as of earlier today.

I'm running Windows 8 on an HP P2-1310.

Examples where I see the windows busy circle:
1. I right-click on the recycle bin icon2. If I right-click on the recycle bin I get the busy icon. For a few minutes, I get the busy icon if I hover over the recycle bin. Eventually, things seem to go back to pre-busy state in that I don't get the busy icon, but the right-click menu never appears. I get a busy icon for the recycle bin even if I shut down browsers, etc.
2. right-click on the time and date in the lower-right portion of the screen, in an attempt to launch Task Manager. If instead I do CTRL-ALT-DEL I get launch Task manager immediately.

Maybe related: if I bring up Control Panel - System Properties - System Protection, the 'Protection Settings' table says:

"Available Devices
Searing"

forever.

The System Restore button is grayed out.

Occasionally, I get the busy icon in other cases, but I have yet to find it repeatable.

When I get the busy icon, it is only on the application mentioned, above. I can generally operate a (3rd party) browser with no problems.

Task Manager reports the sort of numbers I'm used to seeing when things are running normally:
1. ~50% CPU usage (due to browser).
2. ~25% memory usage
3. 25% disk usage
4. 0% network usage

I welcome any troubleshooting suggestions.

Thanks.

Additional note: I now have gotten things into a mode where the desktop is semi grayed out and shows the busy icon if I hover the mouse over the desktop. Also, I get the busy icon if I hover over the 3rd party Start button or any of the app buttons on the task bar (this is the bar just to the right of the Start button; I hope I'm using the right term).

Disable all startup programs and retest. I don't consider 50% CPU usage as normal when just the background processes are running. If this fixes your issue, start re-enabling your startup programs one at a time until your issue returns.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 Pro Windows 8.1 Preview
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
But run GWscan first before you get into doing all that. If GWscan reports no errors, then maybe you do have a startup item that is sucking up your resources. But I don't like those "Greyed Out Areas" - Could be a virus. Start from the disk scan and move up from there.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 Pro with Media Center/Windows 7
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Asus M2N-MX SE Plus § DualCore AMD Athlon 64 X2, 2300 MHz (11.5 x 200) 4400+ § Corsair Value Select
    CPU
    AMD 4400+/4200+
    Motherboard
    Asus M2N-MX SE Plus/Asus A8M2N-LA (NodusM)
    Memory
    2 GB/3GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    GeForce 8400 GS/GeForce 210
    Sound Card
    nVIDIA GT218 - High Definition Audio Controller
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Hitachi 40" LCD HDTV
    Screen Resolution
    "1842 x 1036"
    Hard Drives
    WDC WD50 00AAKS-007AA SCSI Disk Device
    ST1000DL 002-9TT153 SCSI Disk Device
    WDC WD3200AAJB-00J3A0 ATA Device
    WDC WD32 WD-WCAPZ2942630 USB Device
    WD My Book 1140 USB Device
    PSU
    Works 550w
    Case
    MSI "M-Box"
    Cooling
    Water Cooled
    Keyboard
    Dell Keyboard
    Mouse
    Microsoft Intellimouse
    Internet Speed
    Cable Medium Speed
    Browser
    Chrome/IE 10
    Antivirus
    Eset NOD32 6.x/Win Defend
    Other Info
    Recently lost my Windows 8 on my main PC, had to go back to Windows 7.
Thanks again for the help, guys. I'll be away from my PC (tower) for a few days, but I'll report back once I've been able to do some troubleshooting. P.S. Regarding the 'normal' 50% cpu usage, it is usually due to a particular web site driving up cup usage for the browser. Sometimes, it's finance.yahoo.com . Usually, when I close the tab the cpu usage drops to a low value. [the forum isn't allowing me to put the 'ps' on a new paragraph....]
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
Just my observation thus far but it seems like it was assumed that the OP had the inherent knowledge of how to download and burn the Hiren's CD and make it bootable. However, I guess that is not the case here so hopefully someone will provide the OP with a step by step on how to do that so the OP doesn't have to keep inquiring as he encounters bumps in the road. With that said, I would be happy to provide that information in a compact and easy to understand step by step for the OP; however, since that was not my recommendation, we'll see if anyone else might be up to that task.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 Pro Windows 8.1 Preview
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
Seems like he figured it out, it was my bad for assuming everyone knows that Win 8 has built in disk burner and mounting apparatus.

Anyway, I'm not averse to suggesting other things, but I always want them to do a GWscan or other full disk scan to get it out of the way, I've been right 9 times out of 10 in here with freezing problems. As a matter of fact all of the freezing problems I've had all the way back to Windows 2000 have been related to a bad hard drive. Because when I look at how the system is behaving, it's on a GLOBAL scale, not on an individual program scale.

Once I get them to do a disk scan, if it does not work, then we move on to other things. But basically it is this: System locks up? Aperture Circle takes a long time? Programs take a long time to start, if ever? Hard Drive problem, lets check it.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 Pro with Media Center/Windows 7
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Asus M2N-MX SE Plus § DualCore AMD Athlon 64 X2, 2300 MHz (11.5 x 200) 4400+ § Corsair Value Select
    CPU
    AMD 4400+/4200+
    Motherboard
    Asus M2N-MX SE Plus/Asus A8M2N-LA (NodusM)
    Memory
    2 GB/3GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    GeForce 8400 GS/GeForce 210
    Sound Card
    nVIDIA GT218 - High Definition Audio Controller
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Hitachi 40" LCD HDTV
    Screen Resolution
    "1842 x 1036"
    Hard Drives
    WDC WD50 00AAKS-007AA SCSI Disk Device
    ST1000DL 002-9TT153 SCSI Disk Device
    WDC WD3200AAJB-00J3A0 ATA Device
    WDC WD32 WD-WCAPZ2942630 USB Device
    WD My Book 1140 USB Device
    PSU
    Works 550w
    Case
    MSI "M-Box"
    Cooling
    Water Cooled
    Keyboard
    Dell Keyboard
    Mouse
    Microsoft Intellimouse
    Internet Speed
    Cable Medium Speed
    Browser
    Chrome/IE 10
    Antivirus
    Eset NOD32 6.x/Win Defend
    Other Info
    Recently lost my Windows 8 on my main PC, had to go back to Windows 7.
Seems like he figured it out, it was my bad for assuming everyone knows that Win 8 has built in disk burner and mounting apparatus.

Anyway, I'm not averse to suggesting other things, but I always want them to do a GWscan or other full disk scan to get it out of the way, I've been right 9 times out of 10 in here with freezing problems. As a matter of fact all of the freezing problems I've had all the way back to Windows 2000 have been related to a bad hard drive. Because when I look at how the system is behaving, it's on a GLOBAL scale, not on an individual program scale.

Once I get them to do a disk scan, if it does not work, then we move on to other things. But basically it is this: System locks up? Aperture Circle takes a long time? Programs take a long time to start, if ever? Hard Drive problem, lets check it.

Even if the OP has figured it out I would appreciate you posting a step by step here for future reference. That way, there wouldn't have to be any repetitive effort in doing so when helping others. The forum member assisting could simply post a link to your procedure here. And since you have a 9 out of 10 success ratio, and you are very familiar with the procedure, why not share your "know how" with others right here in this thread. Hopefully you'll take me up on that request and I look forward to being able to link to it for future reference.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 Pro Windows 8.1 Preview
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
Update. A fairly new USB HD died and I replaced it today. This happened before I got around to running the Hiren's diagnostic. It's too early to say if this fixed the problem (it was intermittent), but I'll report back later. P.S. Anyone besides me get a lot of 'expired token' and 'Your submission could not be processed because you have logged in since the previous page was loaded.' failures when trying to post?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
That happens when you waited too long to post, if you type up something and forget to hit "Post" - It takes about half an hour. Happens to me all the time, just copy what you posted on th the clipboard and bake a new reply.

Anyway, before anyone else gets you on some complicated step by step goosechase that may not fix your problem, the simplest thing is to download Hiren's and run the tests I suggest. Sometimes, its something else causing the Aperture Circle to roll around, but usually it's hard drive failure. So I always say, check the drive FIRST.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 Pro with Media Center/Windows 7
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Asus M2N-MX SE Plus § DualCore AMD Athlon 64 X2, 2300 MHz (11.5 x 200) 4400+ § Corsair Value Select
    CPU
    AMD 4400+/4200+
    Motherboard
    Asus M2N-MX SE Plus/Asus A8M2N-LA (NodusM)
    Memory
    2 GB/3GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    GeForce 8400 GS/GeForce 210
    Sound Card
    nVIDIA GT218 - High Definition Audio Controller
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Hitachi 40" LCD HDTV
    Screen Resolution
    "1842 x 1036"
    Hard Drives
    WDC WD50 00AAKS-007AA SCSI Disk Device
    ST1000DL 002-9TT153 SCSI Disk Device
    WDC WD3200AAJB-00J3A0 ATA Device
    WDC WD32 WD-WCAPZ2942630 USB Device
    WD My Book 1140 USB Device
    PSU
    Works 550w
    Case
    MSI "M-Box"
    Cooling
    Water Cooled
    Keyboard
    Dell Keyboard
    Mouse
    Microsoft Intellimouse
    Internet Speed
    Cable Medium Speed
    Browser
    Chrome/IE 10
    Antivirus
    Eset NOD32 6.x/Win Defend
    Other Info
    Recently lost my Windows 8 on my main PC, had to go back to Windows 7.
You give great advice,XweAponX. Many thanks! WRT to the forum posting issue, I've been trying to hit Post within a couple minutes after starting to write the reply, and I get the error. Puzzling...
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
That's odd, it is not supposed to do that so fast, it does it to me when I waited over half an hour. Try using cCleaner on your Browser Caches.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 Pro with Media Center/Windows 7
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Asus M2N-MX SE Plus § DualCore AMD Athlon 64 X2, 2300 MHz (11.5 x 200) 4400+ § Corsair Value Select
    CPU
    AMD 4400+/4200+
    Motherboard
    Asus M2N-MX SE Plus/Asus A8M2N-LA (NodusM)
    Memory
    2 GB/3GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    GeForce 8400 GS/GeForce 210
    Sound Card
    nVIDIA GT218 - High Definition Audio Controller
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Hitachi 40" LCD HDTV
    Screen Resolution
    "1842 x 1036"
    Hard Drives
    WDC WD50 00AAKS-007AA SCSI Disk Device
    ST1000DL 002-9TT153 SCSI Disk Device
    WDC WD3200AAJB-00J3A0 ATA Device
    WDC WD32 WD-WCAPZ2942630 USB Device
    WD My Book 1140 USB Device
    PSU
    Works 550w
    Case
    MSI "M-Box"
    Cooling
    Water Cooled
    Keyboard
    Dell Keyboard
    Mouse
    Microsoft Intellimouse
    Internet Speed
    Cable Medium Speed
    Browser
    Chrome/IE 10
    Antivirus
    Eset NOD32 6.x/Win Defend
    Other Info
    Recently lost my Windows 8 on my main PC, had to go back to Windows 7.
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