Forum Home
Press F1
Thread ID: 22323	2002-07-17 23:04:00	Deep Breathing Computer	Elwin Way (229)	Press F1

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
63241	2002-07-17 23:04:00	Hi all, I am running a Compaq Presario 1240 laptop. Lessee - P 233 / 32Mb / 4Gb / 98SE I don't usually run a lot at once ( I can't anyway) but even during normal operations, like net surfing or email or freecell, it seems to stop everything on a regular basis to take a deep breath before carrying on. It hasn't caused any problems just really annoying when Im typing something and then I look at the screen and have to type it again cos it hasn't come up. What could it be? CPU overheating? (fan is broked) And how to do I stop it? Is this thing poked? The pause lasts for 3 - 5 seconds. Happens randomly. Cheers :D	Elwin Way (229)
63242	2002-07-17 23:10:00	Sounds like a program running. Do you have Office Find Fast running if so disable and check out what else may be running by giving it the three fingered salute.(Ctrl-Alt-Del)	mikebartnz (21)
63243	2002-07-17 23:11:00	In a word - memory. 32 megs is just enough to get by. Get another 64 or 128 meg. You could always change your swap file size, and/or run scandisk/defrag. Just write back if that means nothing to you.	Peter Johnson (650)
63244	2002-07-17 23:22:00	Heh, Yea I know memory is lacking, but since I use the original software (well okay, I run Opera 6.4, Eudora latest, and McAffee) I presume it should be okay. I run Norton 2000's scandisk and defrag regularly. I switch Mcaffee Av off when running some heavier stuff like Photochop and Dreamweaver etc BTW you don't know where I can get a laptop stick of memory for cheap? I mean very cheap cos I aint rich... cool that would mean I could finally get my Linux on it too. Did have Linux, (Mandrake 6.2) but went wayytoo slooow.	Elwin Way (229)
63245	2002-07-17 23:25:00	Oh yea, I always keep my laptop in pristine condition. I never scuff it by installing M$ stuff... (ducks) Would it matter that I'm running external monitor? cos the laptop screen is broked...	Elwin Way (229)
63246	2002-07-18 03:44:00	It could be "recalibrating" the disk . For a while, as disk sizes were creeping up, tracks were being squeezed closer together . The tracking of the heads became more critical, so periodically the disk would take a few seconds off and make sure that the servo head positioning circuitry knew where the tracks were . This caused a few problems (like to people wanting uninterrupted data for CD writing and viewing movies) so they produced special "AV" disks for those fussy buggers . We don't hear about it now, so maybe they don't do it any more . But if you've got an "older" laptop, that could be your "problem" . It doesn't happen on my laptop --- it has a 60 MB disk and 4 MB of ram . . . ;-)	Graham L (2)
63247	2002-07-18 04:33:00	Maybe the same thing that regularly interrupts a defrag, even when there is nothing else (to the owner's knowledge) running in the machine. The most innocent explanation I've heard for this is "Windows is building an index". And I have been on to every ISP and telco I have ever dealt with asking "please tell me why all internet activity on my computer ceases on the hour for a minute or two (by my visible PC clock). Not every hour, but enough times in a day to be annoying. I'm always asked "is there something in your PC programmed to run every hour?" No, not to my knowledge. Everything automatic I KNOW about on this machine runs once a day or less. "Is there an alarm system also attached to your cable that is polling?" NO, and I'd have to have been pretty dim not to have thought of that if there was. In any case, when I rest/misset my clock it still happens when the clock says :00, not on the actual hour. The upshot is, there is more running in the typical PC than the user knows about. It may be "indexing"; it may be adware and spyware; or it may be something so deeply buried it's out of reach of all the clean-up utilities like AdAware and the virus/Trojan cleaners. I've had all of them through this machine and previous machines, and it still takes a deep breath a lot of times, exactly when the "big hand" hits the 12. But in my case, only with internet activity. And I'd still love to know why I can't run a defrag without it restsarting at least three times. Steve B.	Steve Bell (1009)
63248	2002-07-18 04:57:00	The recalibrate wouldn't stop a defrag, it would just tell the cpu that it is busy. It's an intentional thing, and implemented with care. Noone noticed until people realised that it wasn't always bad software and hardware which was to blame for failed CD writes. ;-)	Graham L (2)
63249	2002-07-18 06:45:00	Interesting. I can burn and defrag sweet as. Pauses are now up to 10 secs. Might shutdown for awhile and let her cool off. See if that helps.	Elwin Way (229)
63250	2002-07-18 11:42:00	Maybe you could try doing everything in safe mode. ]:) Seems to work for other things ...	*Sparky* (311)
1 2