Thread to complain bout stuff

[razark]

15 minutes ago, StrandedonEarth said:

Only under gaming loads, feeling hot?

No.  Under normal operations, such as internet browsing and local file operations.

Sometimes, it will lag between clicking on things and responding to it.  Click the volume control, and a minute later, the control appears.  Try to open a folder, and Explorer freezes for a couple minutes, with the "(Not Responding)" message on the window title.  Click the Steam icon on the task bar, and then a long wait before it actually opens.  Hit ctrl-alt-del, and there's a delay before it responds.  Then select "Task Manager", go brew a cup of coffee, make a sandwich, eat it, clean up the dishes, come back, and it might have opened.  Click on a different cell in Excel, and it takes a couple minutes to recognize it.  Browser tabs freeze, again with "(Not Responding)" on the title.  Pretty much makes the entire system unusable.

Then reboot, and it's acting fine.

[StrandedonEarth]

7 minutes ago, razark said:

Then reboot, and it's acting fine.

Yup. If at first you don't succeed, reboot.

BTW, a tip I just learned on this form, ctrl-shift-esc goes straight to task manager.

[razark]

21 minutes ago, StrandedonEarth said:

Yup. If at first you don't succeed, reboot.

Yeah, but it seems like it's a 50/50 shot if any time I boot it's going to work.

 

21 minutes ago, StrandedonEarth said:

BTW, a tip I just learned on this form, ctrl-shift-esc goes straight to task manager.

I was not aware.  I'll have to try and remember that one.

[YNM]

2 hours ago, razark said:

Yeah, but it seems like it's a 50/50 shot if any time I boot it's going to work.

Check under the running services in task manager. See if you think something is clearly going wrong.

Another possibility is due to build-up of dust or slacking connections.

[razark]

3 minutes ago, YNM said:

Check under the running services in task manager. See if you think something is clearly going wrong.

I haven't noticed anything during the times it's having issues.  There's nothing eating up CPU or memory.

 

4 minutes ago, YNM said:

Another possibility is due to build-up of dust or slacking connections.

That doesn't really fit the problem.  Like I said, I boot up, and it's acting up.  Reboot, and it's fine.  When it's fine, it'll run damn near anything I throw at it.  When it's acting up, it chokes on Notepad.

[YNM]

45 minutes ago, razark said:

That doesn't really fit the problem. 

You never knew what a slacking connection could do.

EDIT :

By services, I also mean DLLs and the likes. Not just EXEs.

Drivers could also be the cause.

Perhaps you're one of those who suffers performance limitation from the security updates on that "nasty" timing bugs or sonething ? (I forgot the name)

Edited April 9, 2018 by YNM

[p1t1o]

4 hours ago, razark said:

No.  Under normal operations, such as internet browsing and local file operations.

Sometimes, it will lag between clicking on things and responding to it.  Click the volume control, and a minute later, the control appears.  Try to open a folder, and Explorer freezes for a couple minutes, with the "(Not Responding)" message on the window title.  Click the Steam icon on the task bar, and then a long wait before it actually opens.  Hit ctrl-alt-del, and there's a delay before it responds.  Then select "Task Manager", go brew a cup of coffee, make a sandwich, eat it, clean up the dishes, come back, and it might have opened.  Click on a different cell in Excel, and it takes a couple minutes to recognize it.  Browser tabs freeze, again with "(Not Responding)" on the title.  Pretty much makes the entire system unusable.

Then reboot, and it's acting fine.

Im surprised nobody has suggested doing a virus/malware sweep.

 

 

[razark]

4 hours ago, p1t1o said:

Im surprised nobody has suggested doing a virus/malware sweep.

Nothing I've tried has found anything.  That was one of my first thoughts.

(Not ruling it out yet, though.)

Edited April 9, 2018 by razark

[adsii1970]

6 hours ago, razark said:

I haven't noticed anything during the times it's having issues.  There's nothing eating up CPU or memory.

That doesn't really fit the problem.  Like I said, I boot up, and it's acting up.  Reboot, and it's fine.  When it's fine, it'll run damn near anything I throw at it.  When it's acting up, it chokes on Notepad.

My laptop does this from time to time. And here's what I discovered... your system may be a bit different, but I am using Windows 10, 16 GB RAM...blah, blah, blah...

Check your program manager and look for these danged Windows files that run in memory even if you're not using them... for me, it was a combination of:

• Microsoft Store
• Games (this is Microsoft)
• Microsoft Phone (yes, even if you are using a PC)
• Antimalware Service Executable (Windows will not allow you to deactivate this one)
• Synchronization to receive asynchronous calls (yes, I kid you not)
• Calculator
• Cortana (you can't deactivate this, but through settings, you can make it less intrusive).
• Dropbox (I only let this run when I am actually using the program).
• Netflix (this is courtesy of Microsoft, even if you don't have a Netfllix account).
• Internet Explorer (this will run in the background, even though Microsoft claims it is no longer being supported).
• Outlook (yes, even though you may have closed your client window, it continues to run in the background)

With the exception of Cortana and the Antimalware Service Executable, you can simply highlight the process, then right click, and tell it to end it. No harm for any of these. Cortana won't allow you to do that with it.

And then there's the updates - such as Windows Defender (always updates on Tuesdays), Office 365 (always updates  on Monday and Thursday), and if you use Adobe (it updates on Thursday). There are other programs that update, such as Steam (whenever it wants to) and those can slow down your PC. In fact, on Thursday after 2 is when I quit using my laptop and desktop...

It could also be that you need to clean your hard drive and defrag it. Oh, and slimming your windows.ini file might help, too.

I'd recommend some freeware I have been using for years...

• Wise Disc Cleaner
• Wise Registry Cleaner

Hope this helps...

 

Edited April 9, 2018 by adsii1970

[p1t1o]

@razark Is it possible it could be overheating?

[razark]

@adsii1970:

I'll look into some of that, maybe later when I get home.  I'm not sure how much will apply, since I'm running Win7.

 

3 minutes ago, p1t1o said:

@razark Is it possible it could be overheating?

I doubt it.  From being off for several days, I turned it on yesterday and saw the problem simply trying to open Explorer (not IE... the file system thing) and run Firefox.  If it's going to occur, it starts happening immediately.

After I restarted, I was running Chrome, Firefox, Flight Simulator, and assorted other things for hours.  If that didn't overheat it and the previous load did, I would be extremely surprised.

I know if I run KSP, it get quite warm (Wait, I'm not supposed to use the exhaust air to brew tea?), but I haven't seen these issues previously.

 

What gets me is the inconsistent nature of the problem.

[p1t1o]

18 minutes ago, razark said:

I doubt it.  From being off for several days, I turned it on yesterday and saw the problem simply trying to open Explorer (not IE... the file system thing) and run Firefox.  If it's going to occur, it starts happening immediately.

After I restarted, I was running Chrome, Firefox, Flight Simulator, and assorted other things for hours.  If that didn't overheat it and the previous load did, I would be extremely surprised.

I know if I run KSP, it get quite warm (Wait, I'm not supposed to use the exhaust air to brew tea?), but I haven't seen these issues previously.

 

What gets me is the inconsistent nature of the problem.

You're right it doesnt sound like heat is the problem.

I hate to say it but I think you're approaching that point...

You know the point Im talking about: Save your data to an external medium and wipe that thing back to the stone age, its the only way to be sure.

The only choice you have left to make is whether to stick with Windows 7 or use the opportunity for an upgrade.

**edit***

oh oh, I thought of something else - how old is your hard disk?

Edited April 9, 2018 by p1t1o

[adsii1970]

40 minutes ago, razark said:

I'll look into some of that, maybe later when I get home.  I'm not sure how much will apply, since I'm running Win7.

Windows 7 doesn't have the Cortana issue. But the rest of them... yup. And don't worry, Microsoft has been sneaking elements of 10 into both Windows 7 and 8.

26 minutes ago, p1t1o said:

oh oh, I thought of something else - how old is your hard disk?

Good catch...

[razark]

31 minutes ago, p1t1o said:

I thought of something else - how old is your hard disk?

That's a good question.  The machine was a refurb, so I'm not actually sure.

[p1t1o]

1 minute ago, razark said:

That's a good question.  The machine was a refurb, so I'm not actually sure.

Back up your data now. If the HD is on its last legs, it may be close to failure, which can cause you to lose data.

If its not your HD, you havnt lost anything and its always good to backup every now and then.

[adsii1970]

12 minutes ago, razark said:

That's a good question.  The machine was a refurb, so I'm not actually sure.

Have you tried cleaning out the insides? A can of air or even using a vacuum against the ventilation holes... Dust and computers are mortal enemies.

[razark]

2 minutes ago, p1t1o said:

Back up your data now. If the HD is on its last legs, it may be close to failure, which can cause you to lose data.

If its not your HD, you havnt lost anything and its always good to backup every now and then.

I'm not extremely worried about data loss.  There's very little on the machine that doesn't exist elsewhere, and none of it is really critical. 

But yeah.  Backup might be good to do, if only for convenience.

 

2 minutes ago, adsii1970 said:

Have you tried cleaning out the insides? A can of air or even using a vacuum against the ventilation holes... Dust and computers are mortal enemies.

Not recently, but I try and remember to do it every so often.

[p1t1o]

2 minutes ago, razark said:

I'm not extremely worried about data loss.  There's very little on the machine that doesn't exist elsewhere, and none of it is really critical. 

I mean at least your savegames and KSP gamedata folder

Its a good time to upgrade to SSDs, plus they have a huge effect on KSP loading times.

 

[razark]

Alright, another batch of complaints:

Over the last month or so, it's become apparent to me that I have lost several skills over the last couple decades.

• How to find an apartment.
• How to select a lawyer.
• How to shop for groceries.
• How to cook for less than four people.
• Seriously.  I only know how to cook in large quantities anymore.  I fear the day (and month(s) following) I have to deal with the 20 lb. turkey in the freezer!

[TheKosanianMethod]

On 4/9/2018 at 11:22 AM, p1t1o said:

I mean at least your savegames and KSP gamedata folder

Its a good time to upgrade to SSDs, plus they have a huge effect on KSP loading times.

 

I recently got a new computer with an HDD and SSD and put my games on the SSD. KSP loads in less than a minute. 

[Kernel Kraken]

I used to think I had some sort of Isomnia, but I recently discovered I'm just really into introspection. Once a month, give or take, I can't get to sleep until like 03:00 AM because I'm just thinking, random stuff about life and physics until I exaust my brain enough. Most of my opinions and philosophies are based on this, and I love it, as I didn't just see what my parents said and believe that and I have my own opinions, but the artificial isomnia sucks too. On the bright side I can give an opinion on almost anything.. but reminding myself of this has reminded me of the idea that we might be in a simulation and the world could be fake and I could be an AI on some computer and... 

That's my train of thoughts on sleepless nights.

Edited April 14, 2018 by TheMadKraken2297

[LordFerret]

On 4/11/2018 at 11:24 PM, razark said:

Alright, another batch of complaints:

Over the last month or so, it's become apparent to me that I have lost several skills over the last couple decades.

• How to find an apartment.
• How to select a lawyer.
• How to shop for groceries.
• How to cook for less than four people.
• Seriously.  I only know how to cook in large quantities anymore.  I fear the day (and month(s) following) I have to deal with the 20 lb. turkey in the freezer!

This sounds like a recent divorce.

As for the cooking; The hell with it, cook for 4, freeze 3 meals individually... look at them later as 'tv dinners'. Works best when you own a microwave.

 

 

Other things; Not that I'm complaining, nor you (yet), but this might surely torment someone's day...
https://www.kongregate.com/games/mastermax/planet-platformer

[Kernel Kraken]

I have a complaint about this thread: if I like a complaint does that mean I enjoy their struggles, have empathy for them, or just like the post? If it's the first one it probably says something about my personality.

[Delay]

After being stuck for 4 more years than even Microsoft recommended, I'm finally leaving WIndows XP behind and get Windows 7. Yes, 7. Not Windows Spyware Edition 10.

Taking the opportunity I decided I want to format all of my hard drives and start completely new. I had this computer for a long time already (< 2011) and there's a lot of stuff I don't use anymore that still takes up space.

The problem is that Windows Incompetent XP is not able to successfully complete the formatting. A (almost) 1TB hard drive! Completely unusable right now!

Edited April 16, 2018 by Delay
Added a euphemism. As if this text isn't already full of them.

[Geonovast]

7 hours ago, Delay said:

After being stuck for 4 more years than even Microsoft recommended, I'm finally leaving WIndows XP behind and get Windows 7. Yes, 7. Not Windows Spyware Edition 10.

Taking the opportunity I decided I want to format all of my hard drives and start completely new. I had this computer for a long time already (< 2011) and there's a lot of stuff I don't use anymore that still takes up space.

The problem is that Windows Incompetent XP is not able to successfully complete the formatting. A (almost) 1TB hard drive! Completely unusable right now!

Liiiinnuuuuxxx

Barring that, if you're still set on 7, burn yourself a live CD of GParted.  Then you can format whatever however you want, and it doesn't matter what OS is installed.