Solved Laptop experiencing weird freezes

KFCMug

New Member
Messages
17
I tried to search for solutions over the internet but I can't find anything that matches my situation.
All of a sudden, the screen and the cursor stops, and the audio sounds hanged (like a glitched buzzing sound) all in a short moment. The case is, this problem happens frequently. Also, restarting would cause the problem to disappear at first, but will start to appear sooner or later.

I haven't found the cause or the trigger when this problem arises, and I hope to find a solution with you all. Thank you :)


I'm using a Windows 8.1 64-bit OS
Intel Core i5-4200U
4.00 GB RAM
500 GB HDD Space
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
Thank you for posting your system specifications. The i5 has sufficient processing power for most tasks.

Using task manager, resource monitor and/or process explorer will show if a resource is being used up by a process. This is a good first step in narrowing down causes of a slow down.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Microsoft Windows 8.1 64 Bit
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Toshiba C55Dt-A5106
    CPU
    Processor AMD A6-5200 APU with Radeon(TM) HD Graphics, 2 Ghz, 4 Core(s), 4 Logical Processor(s)
    Motherboard
    Toshiba PSCFWU-02C031
    Memory
    4GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    AMD Radeon HD 8400
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Laptop and DELL E193FP
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768 1280x1024
    Hard Drives
    Toshiba MQ01ABD075
    DVD Writer TSSTcorp CDDVDW SU-208FB
    Keyboard
    Logitech Wave 2.4 Cordless or Laptop Standard PS/2 Keyboard Enhanced
    Mouse
    Logitech M1100 Performance Laser Cordless Combo or Logitech G500
    Internet Speed
    Upload/Download 91/11Mbps
    Browser
    IE 11
    Antivirus
    Norton
    Other Info
    Toshiba System Settings V1.1.2.32001
    BIOS Version Inside Corp., 1.60, 11/15/2013
    EC (Embedded Controller) Version 1.20
    Hardware Abstraction Layer 6.3.9600.16500
Is this something that just started happening or has it been happening for some time?

Does problem happen with certain activities like game playing or at random regardless of what you are doing on the PC?

Is there anything that coincides with this starting to happen like after updates, install new program, improper shutdown, power loss or anything out of the ordinary?

How old is PC?

Did it come with 8 or 8.1

How much free space on HDD

Are all updates up-to-date?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    windows 8.1 64, LT -Windows 10 Home 64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP 500-075 Desktop + HP 15-f018dx Laptop
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 3470 Ivy Bridge 3.2 GHz Quad Core/ LT - i3-4030U 1.9 GHz
    Motherboard
    Foxcon Joshua-H61-uATX
    Memory
    8 GB/ LT - 6GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel Graphics Media Accelerator HD (DX10.1)
    Sound Card
    Integrated IDT 92HD73E
    Hard Drives
    1T HDD, 16G Sandisk Cache Drive, 2T Seagate 3.0 External
    Keyboard
    Wireless
    Mouse
    Wireless
    Browser
    IE11
    Antivirus
    Norton 360
    Other Info
    CyberPower UPS, Macrium Backup, Revo Pro, Malwarebytes Premium
Thank you for posting your system specifications. The i5 has sufficient processing power for most tasks.

Using task manager, resource monitor and/or process explorer will show if a resource is being used up by a process. This is a good first step in narrowing down causes of a slow down.
What I've noted is that the CPU usage of System goes up from 0~2 to 10~16 for a short moment whenever the laptop 'freezes'.




Is this something that just started happening or has it been happening for some time?

Does problem happen with certain activities like game playing or at random regardless of what you are doing on the PC?

Is there anything that coincides with this starting to happen like after updates, install new program, improper shutdown, power loss or anything out of the ordinary?

How old is PC?

Did it come with 8 or 8.1

How much free space on HDD

Are all updates up-to-date?
It usually happens when I'm playing a game, although it also occurs some times regardless of what I'm doing.
I believe there's nothing coinciding with this starting to happen.
It has been happening for some time already.
I've bought this brand new 7 months ago, and it came with Windows 8.1.
My Computer says that I have 212 GB free on my HDD.
Yes, I'm running Windows Updates daily.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
Is the disk activity spiking?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Microsoft Windows 8.1 64 Bit
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Toshiba C55Dt-A5106
    CPU
    Processor AMD A6-5200 APU with Radeon(TM) HD Graphics, 2 Ghz, 4 Core(s), 4 Logical Processor(s)
    Motherboard
    Toshiba PSCFWU-02C031
    Memory
    4GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    AMD Radeon HD 8400
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Laptop and DELL E193FP
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768 1280x1024
    Hard Drives
    Toshiba MQ01ABD075
    DVD Writer TSSTcorp CDDVDW SU-208FB
    Keyboard
    Logitech Wave 2.4 Cordless or Laptop Standard PS/2 Keyboard Enhanced
    Mouse
    Logitech M1100 Performance Laser Cordless Combo or Logitech G500
    Internet Speed
    Upload/Download 91/11Mbps
    Browser
    IE 11
    Antivirus
    Norton
    Other Info
    Toshiba System Settings V1.1.2.32001
    BIOS Version Inside Corp., 1.60, 11/15/2013
    EC (Embedded Controller) Version 1.20
    Hardware Abstraction Layer 6.3.9600.16500
It would be helpful to know what programs are loading at startup and how much RAM they are using. 4 GB RAM is kind of at the low limit these days. After startup and everything has loaded check Task Mgr, Memory Tab, how much memory is in use? Your model i5 is a good processor but definitely not a speed demon and it could be memory starved especially at high demand. Can you post a screenshot of your program startup list?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    windows 8.1 64, LT -Windows 10 Home 64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP 500-075 Desktop + HP 15-f018dx Laptop
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 3470 Ivy Bridge 3.2 GHz Quad Core/ LT - i3-4030U 1.9 GHz
    Motherboard
    Foxcon Joshua-H61-uATX
    Memory
    8 GB/ LT - 6GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel Graphics Media Accelerator HD (DX10.1)
    Sound Card
    Integrated IDT 92HD73E
    Hard Drives
    1T HDD, 16G Sandisk Cache Drive, 2T Seagate 3.0 External
    Keyboard
    Wireless
    Mouse
    Wireless
    Browser
    IE11
    Antivirus
    Norton 360
    Other Info
    CyberPower UPS, Macrium Backup, Revo Pro, Malwarebytes Premium
Is the disk activity spiking?
Nothing happens with disk activity.

It would be helpful to know what programs are loading at startup and how much RAM they are using. 4 GB RAM is kind of at the low limit these days. After startup and everything has loaded check Task Mgr, Memory Tab, how much memory is in use? Your model i5 is a good processor but definitely not a speed demon and it could be memory starved especially at high demand. Can you post a screenshot of your program startup list?
Screenshot by Lightshot
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
Thanks for the screenshot.

I by no means profess to know everything here but that seems to be an awful lot in the startup list especially with only 4 GB RAM and your particular processor and remember the HDD's in laptops are generally slower than those installed in desktop. 5400 vs 7200 RPM's. Five of the items are listed as High Impact. I wouldn't think you need your Daemon Imaging Tools to be loaded at startup or CCleaner. There are likely several items that don't need to be loaded at startup. I have no familiarity with Lenovo PC's and I am not exactly certain which of the other items could be disabled at startup without causing a problem but I would bet there are several more that could be disabled at startup that would not cause any issues but would improve your performance significantly. Maybe someone will add to this thread with some additional suggestions as to what you don't need to have loaded for optimal performance. I am fairly certain that this is the source of your performance issues or at least a large part of it

With all these items loaded check Task Manager/Performance Tab, highlight Memory and at the bottom, how much memory is available?

Also, I don't think you need your Adobe CS5 at startup.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    windows 8.1 64, LT -Windows 10 Home 64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP 500-075 Desktop + HP 15-f018dx Laptop
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 3470 Ivy Bridge 3.2 GHz Quad Core/ LT - i3-4030U 1.9 GHz
    Motherboard
    Foxcon Joshua-H61-uATX
    Memory
    8 GB/ LT - 6GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel Graphics Media Accelerator HD (DX10.1)
    Sound Card
    Integrated IDT 92HD73E
    Hard Drives
    1T HDD, 16G Sandisk Cache Drive, 2T Seagate 3.0 External
    Keyboard
    Wireless
    Mouse
    Wireless
    Browser
    IE11
    Antivirus
    Norton 360
    Other Info
    CyberPower UPS, Macrium Backup, Revo Pro, Malwarebytes Premium
Open Task Manager, click 'more details' at lower L, click CPU tab under Processes to sort by processes using most CPU and take a screenshot. Do same with a sort by clicking Memory so we can see what resources are being used.

Windows key + prt sc will take a full screen and save it in your Pictures folder under Screenshots or use Snipping tool
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
Thanks for the screenshot.

I by no means profess to know everything here but that seems to be an awful lot in the startup list especially with only 4 GB RAM and your particular processor and remember the HDD's in laptops are generally slower than those installed in desktop. 5400 vs 7200 RPM's. Five of the items are listed as High Impact. I wouldn't think you need your Daemon Imaging Tools to be loaded at startup or CCleaner. There are likely several items that don't need to be loaded at startup. I have no familiarity with Lenovo PC's and I am not exactly certain which of the other items could be disabled at startup without causing a problem but I would bet there are several more that could be disabled at startup that would not cause any issues but would improve your performance significantly. Maybe someone will add to this thread with some additional suggestions as to what you don't need to have loaded for optimal performance. I am fairly certain that this is the source of your performance issues or at least a large part of it

With all these items loaded check Task Manager/Performance Tab, highlight Memory and at the bottom, how much memory is available?

Also, I don't think you need your Adobe CS5 at startup.
I've disabled most of the startup programs that look unnecessary for the system.
I've got around 2.5 GB memory left.
I checked my processes and there's alot of them that I don't recognize... I can't determine which processes are being used by the system and which are not.
Screenshot by Lightshot

Open Task Manager, click 'more details' at lower L, click CPU tab under Processes to sort by processes using most CPU and take a screenshot. Do same with a sort by clicking Memory so we can see what resources are being used.

Windows key + prt sc will take a full screen and save it in your Pictures folder under Screenshots or use Snipping tool
For CPU: Screenshot by Lightshot
For Memory: Screenshot by Lightshot
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
I've disabled most of the startup programs that look unnecessary for the system.
I've got around 2.5 GB memory left.
I checked my processes and there's alot of them that I don't recognize... I can't determine which processes are being used by the system and which are not.
Did you just take these actions tonight? If so, has there been any improvement in performance?

I don't understand why there are so many instances of Google Chrome running in the Task Manager
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    windows 8.1 64, LT -Windows 10 Home 64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP 500-075 Desktop + HP 15-f018dx Laptop
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 3470 Ivy Bridge 3.2 GHz Quad Core/ LT - i3-4030U 1.9 GHz
    Motherboard
    Foxcon Joshua-H61-uATX
    Memory
    8 GB/ LT - 6GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel Graphics Media Accelerator HD (DX10.1)
    Sound Card
    Integrated IDT 92HD73E
    Hard Drives
    1T HDD, 16G Sandisk Cache Drive, 2T Seagate 3.0 External
    Keyboard
    Wireless
    Mouse
    Wireless
    Browser
    IE11
    Antivirus
    Norton 360
    Other Info
    CyberPower UPS, Macrium Backup, Revo Pro, Malwarebytes Premium
I've disabled most of the startup programs that look unnecessary for the system.
I've got around 2.5 GB memory left.
I checked my processes and there's alot of them that I don't recognize... I can't determine which processes are being used by the system and which are not.
Did you just take these actions tonight? If so, has there been any improvement in performance?

I don't understand why there are so many instances of Google Chrome running in the Task Manager
Yes, I just took these actions right before I posted that reply.
My problem doesn't appear always so I'm not sure if this fixed the problem I'm experiencing. Since the problem occurs randomly, I'll probably wait for it to occur again. Or would it be better to download a software that stresses my CPU and RAM in order to check if the problem will still arise?
About the Google Chrome process, I only have one browser open with three tabs. I don't know either why there are many instances of it. My previous laptop also shows several processes of Google Chrome and it works fine. I think the processes of Google Chrome doesn't have anything to do with my laptop 'stuttering' or 'freezing'.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
At this point I suggest you use the PC a little bit and play one of your games to see if anything has changed. As for running a program to test the system under load, I think you may have been doing that already with the heavy dose of startup items and such. You might consider checking to see what % your HDD might be fragmented as that can also cause some congestion issues. I agree that the number of open instances of Chrome is not the root of your problem but it just caught my eye and wondered about the possibility that some other program was opening the browser for it's own purposes.

I do think your PC could be taxed for RAM considering everything you want to do with it. Adding RAM is probably the single best thing you can do for PC to improve performance. I can related a little as to what kind of PC speed you have with your LT as my new HP Laptop has a fairly high performance i3 (has a benchmark score = to your i5) but I have 6GB RAM. My Desktop on the other hand is much faster with relatively high performance i5 ( twice the Benchmark score of your i5) plus my desktop has 8GB RAM as well as a 16GB SSD cache drive so I am spoiled with it's speed but I have a good comparison of performance just between my two PC's.

There are likely additional items you could delete from your startup list and I will look at the list again today. Running some additional diagnostics wouldn't hurt either like running sfc /scannow. If you are not familiar with the sfc and Dism commands I can give you some simple steps as it is very easy to do.
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    windows 8.1 64, LT -Windows 10 Home 64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP 500-075 Desktop + HP 15-f018dx Laptop
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 3470 Ivy Bridge 3.2 GHz Quad Core/ LT - i3-4030U 1.9 GHz
    Motherboard
    Foxcon Joshua-H61-uATX
    Memory
    8 GB/ LT - 6GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel Graphics Media Accelerator HD (DX10.1)
    Sound Card
    Integrated IDT 92HD73E
    Hard Drives
    1T HDD, 16G Sandisk Cache Drive, 2T Seagate 3.0 External
    Keyboard
    Wireless
    Mouse
    Wireless
    Browser
    IE11
    Antivirus
    Norton 360
    Other Info
    CyberPower UPS, Macrium Backup, Revo Pro, Malwarebytes Premium
Screenshot by Lightshot
Here's the screenshot of the list of which startup programs I've disabled. I run disk defragmenter regularly so my drive is 0% fragmented as of the moment. I'll use my LT for a bit and update this thread if the problem will still arise, although right now, my laptop still works perfect after leaving it turned on overnight with Minecraft open (which really uses alot of Memory after being open for a while).

Right now, I'm running sfc /scannow and I will update this thread after the scan finishes.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
"About the Google Chrome process, I only have one browser open with three tabs. I don't know either why there are many instances of it. "
That is normal. Firefox consolidates all the processes into one while Chrome uses separate, smaller ones. Here's mine with 3 tabs open in each browser to show you. There is nothing from either of your Task Manager screens that I see out of the ordinary compared to mine, other than I have 6 gb RAM. Disabling the startup programs may speed up loading OS but has little to do with causing a freeze afterwards. If you have any doubt as to what a process is doing or what it is attached to, use CC Cleaner and you'll clearly see, before you disable something essential to normal operations. I would try to remem
ber what was open and what you were doing when the computer freezes, short of a refresh. Good Luck


Capture.JPG
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
"Disabling the startup programs may speed up loading OS but has little to do with causing a freeze afterwards. If you have any doubt as to what a process is doing or what it is attached to, use CC Cleaner and you'll clearly see, before you disable something essential to normal operations. I would try to remember what was open and what you were doing when the computer freezes, short of a refresh. Good Luck
Well, most of the time, the computer 'freezes' while playing a game, or opening msword.
Just for clarification, the computer doesn't hang or any of the sort that needs restarting it for it to start functioning again. When it is 'freezing', the computer is still fully functional except that the sudden freezes become annoying, especially when playing a game, playing a music, or watching a video. I don't think this is normal for every computer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocKfYNV-xHo
I don't own this video or any of the sort. I found this video that could somehow describe what happens to my computer. When my laptop starts stuttering, even after I close all of my applications leaving only a simple desktop screen open, the stuttering or freezing still continues. Putting the computer to sleep, or restarting is only a temporary fix for this.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
Screenshot by Lightshot
Here's the screenshot of the list of which startup programs I've disabled. I run disk defragmenter regularly so my drive is 0% fragmented as of the moment. I'll use my LT for a bit and update this thread if the problem will still arise, although right now, my laptop still works perfect after leaving it turned on overnight with Minecraft open (which really uses alot of Memory after being open for a while).

Right now, I'm running sfc /scannow and I will update this thread after the scan finishes.
I think you have reached your limit with disabling startup programs. If your PC is memory starved during periods of high demand this should help. When a program starts during startup it takes up valuable memory. No, it doesn't take up processor resources but regardless of whether you use the program or not it still takes up memory. Whenever you call up that program it may take a little longer because it has to load first but with limited memory that is a trade off. From my experience, memory starved performance issues do not result in a total lockup or crash and frequently do not result in errors but a general slowdown to a crawl. A lot of available memory enhances performance and vice versa and performance is speed.

It will be interesting to know if anything has changed.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    windows 8.1 64, LT -Windows 10 Home 64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP 500-075 Desktop + HP 15-f018dx Laptop
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 3470 Ivy Bridge 3.2 GHz Quad Core/ LT - i3-4030U 1.9 GHz
    Motherboard
    Foxcon Joshua-H61-uATX
    Memory
    8 GB/ LT - 6GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel Graphics Media Accelerator HD (DX10.1)
    Sound Card
    Integrated IDT 92HD73E
    Hard Drives
    1T HDD, 16G Sandisk Cache Drive, 2T Seagate 3.0 External
    Keyboard
    Wireless
    Mouse
    Wireless
    Browser
    IE11
    Antivirus
    Norton 360
    Other Info
    CyberPower UPS, Macrium Backup, Revo Pro, Malwarebytes Premium
Not unusual.

Run with Adm Command Prompt

Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth

When finished restart and run sfc / scannow again

When dism finishes hopefully it will say that all problems have been fixed.

If you do not get a clean report after running sfc again I would do another Restart and run it again. Some say if that doesn't work try in Safe Mode. You may need to post the cbs log but I would hold off for now.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    windows 8.1 64, LT -Windows 10 Home 64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP 500-075 Desktop + HP 15-f018dx Laptop
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 3470 Ivy Bridge 3.2 GHz Quad Core/ LT - i3-4030U 1.9 GHz
    Motherboard
    Foxcon Joshua-H61-uATX
    Memory
    8 GB/ LT - 6GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel Graphics Media Accelerator HD (DX10.1)
    Sound Card
    Integrated IDT 92HD73E
    Hard Drives
    1T HDD, 16G Sandisk Cache Drive, 2T Seagate 3.0 External
    Keyboard
    Wireless
    Mouse
    Wireless
    Browser
    IE11
    Antivirus
    Norton 360
    Other Info
    CyberPower UPS, Macrium Backup, Revo Pro, Malwarebytes Premium
After 2 hours of PowerPoint this morning my PC keyboard and mouse froze. ctrl-alt-del did not bring up options and the cursor remained in the same spot. A few seconds after unplugging the keyboard and mouse wireless receiver, the screen went black, then the image came back, and the laptop unfroze.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Microsoft Windows 8.1 64 Bit
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Toshiba C55Dt-A5106
    CPU
    Processor AMD A6-5200 APU with Radeon(TM) HD Graphics, 2 Ghz, 4 Core(s), 4 Logical Processor(s)
    Motherboard
    Toshiba PSCFWU-02C031
    Memory
    4GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    AMD Radeon HD 8400
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Laptop and DELL E193FP
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768 1280x1024
    Hard Drives
    Toshiba MQ01ABD075
    DVD Writer TSSTcorp CDDVDW SU-208FB
    Keyboard
    Logitech Wave 2.4 Cordless or Laptop Standard PS/2 Keyboard Enhanced
    Mouse
    Logitech M1100 Performance Laser Cordless Combo or Logitech G500
    Internet Speed
    Upload/Download 91/11Mbps
    Browser
    IE 11
    Antivirus
    Norton
    Other Info
    Toshiba System Settings V1.1.2.32001
    BIOS Version Inside Corp., 1.60, 11/15/2013
    EC (Embedded Controller) Version 1.20
    Hardware Abstraction Layer 6.3.9600.16500
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