Computer lag - Help please.

Hello,

Over the last month or so I've been having some irritating lag issues with my computer. After anywhere between 5 minutes to 1 hour of playing, my CPU usage spikes to 100% my game FPS drops to 5, and my entire computer is lagging; programs loading slowly, internet pages opening slowly etc. The lag seems to be a direct correlation with my CPU usage. I have checked my Task manager and its a variety of programs taking up the CPU usage, most of them taking up more than usual.

- GW.exe takes up about 50-60, while it usually take about 30-40

- ventrillo.exe takes up between 10-20

- Normal processes such as Sidebar.exe, taskmgr.exe etc take up between 5-7 each; they usually take up about 2 each.

- Then I found audiodg.exe which usually takes up about 5-10, but when I lagged used to take about 30. I searched this problem up and disabled all sound effects though Sound -> Playback -> Speakers -> Enhancements. Since doing this, audiodg.exe usually takes up about 5, and spikes to 15-20 while lagging.

So, in general, everything seems to be taking up more than normal.

I have done many things to try to solve the situation. I have cleared temp files etc, disabled a lot of unneeded startup programs and uninstalled anything I don't need, and done many virus checks with both Norton and Avast, nothing was thrown up by those.

The lag usually starts when I have about 3 of these 4 programs running:

Guild Wars (Either on lowest, or highest, graphics.)
Ventrillo
Google Chrome
Last.fm/ winamp etc.

And, I am running on a Acer Aspire 6920G laptop with:

Core 2 Duo 2Ghz Processor
4GB RAM
250GB HDD
Nvidia GeForce 9500M GS
The laptop is just over a year old, and I never had any problems with it apart from this, which started one month ago.

Sorry If I was unclear with any of my information, or missed anything out, and I would be very grateful for any help.

Thanks in advance.

maybe it's because your laptop is getting overheated? if it's over a year old it's possible there's a lot of dust in your fan. maybe you should try and clean it. (i've got a laptop too, and when it gets to hot, e.g. while playing far cry 2 or something, everything start lagging. That's also one of the main reasons why i bought a standard for my laptop, so there is a good circulation of air around it.)

i think dnbo pretty much nailed it. its probably dust id try cleaning it out making sure you got decent airflow while your running it. its possible your ram is going but id check for dust first and if that isnt your problem check your ram next

Thank you for the replies. Do you have any advice on how I would go about cleaning my laptop out?

I also got some advice in game from Ethan which was very helpful. I ran CCleaner scan, and registry cleaner and fixed all the problems thrown up by that, and also uninstalled norton, and reinstalled Avast! I also run everything as administrator. This currently means that I can run almost all the programs I want without any problems. I've tried up to the point of:

Guild Wars, Wimanp, Last.fm, Google Chrome, MSN messenger and speed fan.

It is not abnormal that I would want these programs running when playing normally, so I was pleased I can now do this. (CPU usage was around 50-70%, and Guild wars was running on constant 60 fps with full graphics.) However, after about 1 hour of this, I loaded up ventrillo, and my CPU usage went up to 100% immediately and my game FPS went down to 15, not changing greatly if I changed the graphics. I then closed Ventrillo and my FPS went up to 40-50 and CPU usage down to about 70.

So, I assume that it is some sort of sound problem, although I can run winamp / last.fm without any problems, so maybe it is iscolated to just ventrillo?

I have also recently noticed that ventrillo freezes for about 5 seconds when I load it up, and if I change server info, or change passwords, edit username info etc. This has been happening since I started lagging, but I didnt think much of it before.

Any additional help would be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

I'd ditch Winamp for foobar2000 personally. Since you dropped Norton run SymNRT too.

If you want to be sure your computer is clean please download my Anti-Malware Toolkit and get the package that matches your Operating System. Then follow the directions in the PC Cleanup guide. After that, please post a HijackThis log.

Thanks for your assistance Tarun. I ran all of the software recommended by your toolkit. Sorry for the late reply; some of the scans took an hour or two.

Here is my HiJackThis log:

Logfile of Trend Micro HijackThis v2.0.2
Scan saved at 15:44:01, on 30/06/2009
Platform: Windows Vista SP1 (WinNT 6.00.1905)
MSIE: Internet Explorer v7.00 (7.00.6001.18248)
Boot mode: Normal

Running processes:
C:\Windows\system32\Dwm.exe
C:\Windows\system32\taskeng.exe
C:\Windows\Explorer.EXE
C:\Program Files\Windows Defender\MSASCui.exe
C:\Program Files\Acer\Empowering Technology\ePower\ePower_DMC.exe
C:\Program Files\Acer\Empowering Technology\eDataSecurity\x86\eDSLoader.exe
C:\Program Files\Acer\Empowering Technology\eAudio\eAudio.exe
C:\Program Files\NewTech Infosystems\NTI Backup Now 5\BkupTray.exe
C:\Program Files\Intel\Intel Matrix Storage Manager\IAAnotif.exe
C:\Program Files\Acer\Acer Bio Protection\PdtWzd.exe
C:\Windows\PLFSetI.exe
C:\Program Files\Java\jre6\bin\jusched.exe
C:\Windows\System32\rundll32.exe
C:\Program Files\Alwil Software\Avast4\ashDisp.exe
C:\Program Files\Kontiki\KHost.exe
C:\Users\Matthew\AppData\Local\Google\Update\Googl eUpdate.exe
C:\Program Files\Acer\Acer VCM\AcerVCM.exe
C:\Program Files\WIDCOMM\Bluetooth Software\BTTray.exe
C:\Windows\system32\wbem\unsecapp.exe
C:\Program Files\Acer\Acer Bio Protection\PwdBank.exe
C:\Program Files\Windows Media Player\wmpnscfg.exe
C:\Program Files\Acer\Acer VCM\acp2HID.exe
C:\Windows\system32\Taskmgr.exe
C:\Users\Matthew\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\Appli cation\chrome.exe
C:\Users\Matthew\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\Appli cation\chrome.exe
C:\Windows\system32\wuauclt.exe
C:\Program Files\Trend Micro\HijackThis\HijackThis.exe
C:\Windows\system32\NOTEPAD.EXE
C:\Users\Matthew\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\Appli cation\chrome.exe
C:\Users\Matthew\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\Appli cation\chrome.exe

R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Search Page = http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=54896
R0 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Start Page = http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=69157
R1 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Default_Page_URL = http://en.uk.acer.yahoo.com
R1 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Default_Search_URL = http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=54896
R1 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Search Page = http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=54896
R0 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Start Page = http://en.uk.acer.yahoo.com
R0 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Search,SearchAssistant =
R0 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Search,CustomizeSearch =
R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Int ernet Settings,ProxyOverride = *.local
R0 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Toolbar,LinksFolderName =
R3 - URLSearchHook: Winamp Search Class - {57BCA5FA-5DBB-45a2-B558-1755C3F6253B} - C:\Program Files\Winamp Toolbar\winamptb.dll
O1 - Hosts: ::1 localhost
O2 - BHO: &Yahoo! Toolbar Helper - {02478D38-C3F9-4efb-9B51-7695ECA05670} - C:\Program Files\Yahoo!\Companion\Installs\cpn\yt.dll
O2 - BHO: Adobe PDF Reader Link Helper - {06849E9F-C8D7-4D59-B87D-784B7D6BE0B3} - C:\Program Files\Common Files\Adobe\Acrobat\ActiveX\AcroIEHelper.dll
O2 - BHO: Winamp Toolbar Loader - {25CEE8EC-5730-41bc-8B58-22DDC8AB8C20} - C:\Program Files\Winamp Toolbar\winamptb.dll
O2 - BHO: Spybot-S&D IE Protection - {53707962-6F74-2D53-2644-206D7942484F} - C:\PROGRA~1\SPYBOT~1\SDHelper.dll
O2 - BHO: Java(tm) Plug-In SSV Helper - {761497BB-D6F0-462C-B6EB-D4DAF1D92D43} - C:\Program Files\Java\jre6\bin\ssv.dll
O2 - BHO: (no name) - {7E853D72-626A-48EC-A868-BA8D5E23E045} - (no file)
O2 - BHO: ShowBarObj Class - {83A2F9B1-01A2-4AA5-87D1-45B6B8505E96} - C:\Program Files\Acer\Empowering Technology\eDataSecurity\x86\ActiveToolBand.dll
O2 - BHO: Java(tm) Plug-In 2 SSV Helper - {DBC80044-A445-435b-BC74-9C25C1C588A9} - C:\Program Files\Java\jre6\bin\jp2ssv.dll
O3 - Toolbar: Acer eDataSecurity Management - {5CBE3B7C-1E47-477e-A7DD-396DB0476E29} - C:\Program Files\Acer\Empowering Technology\eDataSecurity\x86\eDStoolbar.dll
O3 - Toolbar: Yahoo! Toolbar - {EF99BD32-C1FB-11D2-892F-0090271D4F88} - C:\Program Files\Yahoo!\Companion\Installs\cpn\yt.dll
O3 - Toolbar: Winamp Toolbar - {EBF2BA02-9094-4c5a-858B-BB198F3D8DE2} - C:\Program Files\Winamp Toolbar\winamptb.dll
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [Windows Defender] %ProgramFiles%\Windows Defender\MSASCui.exe -hide
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [ePower_DMC] C:\Program Files\Acer\Empowering Technology\ePower\ePower_DMC.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [eDataSecurity Loader] C:\Program Files\Acer\Empowering Technology\eDataSecurity\x86\eDSloader.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [eAudio] "C:\Program Files\Acer\Empowering Technology\eAudio\eAudio.exe"
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [BkupTray] "C:\Program Files\NewTech Infosystems\NTI Backup Now 5\BkupTray.exe"
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [IAAnotif] C:\Program Files\Intel\Intel Matrix Storage Manager\iaanotif.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [ZPdtWzdVitaKey MC3000] "C:\Program Files\Acer\Acer Bio Protection\PdtWzd.exe" show
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [PLFSetI] C:\Windows\PLFSetI.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [SunJavaUpdateSched] "C:\Program Files\Java\jre6\bin\jusched.exe"
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [NvSvc] RUNDLL32.EXE C:\Windows\system32\nvsvc.dll,nvsvcStart
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [NvCplDaemon] RUNDLL32.EXE C:\Windows\system32\NvCpl.dll,NvStartup
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [NvMediaCenter] RUNDLL32.EXE C:\Windows\system32\NvMcTray.dll,NvTaskbarInit
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [WheelMouse] C:\ADVANC~1\wh_exec.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [avast!] C:\PROGRA~1\ALWILS~1\Avast4\ashDisp.exe
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [kdx] C:\Program Files\Kontiki\KHost.exe -all
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [Google Update] "C:\Users\Matthew\AppData\Local\Google\Update\Goog leUpdate.exe" /c
O4 - HKUS\S-1-5-19\..\Run: [Sidebar] %ProgramFiles%\Windows Sidebar\Sidebar.exe /detectMem (User 'LOCAL SERVICE')
O4 - HKUS\S-1-5-19\..\Run: [WindowsWelcomeCenter] rundll32.exe oobefldr.dll,ShowWelcomeCenter (User 'LOCAL SERVICE')
O4 - HKUS\S-1-5-20\..\Run: [Sidebar] %ProgramFiles%\Windows Sidebar\Sidebar.exe /detectMem (User 'NETWORK SERVICE')
O4 - Global Startup: Acer VCM.lnk = ?
O4 - Global Startup: Bluetooth.lnk = ?
O8 - Extra context menu item: &Winamp Search - C:\ProgramData\Winamp Toolbar\ieToolbar\resources\en-US\local\search.html
O8 - Extra context menu item: E&xport to Microsoft Excel - res://C:\PROGRA~1\MICROS~2\Office12\EXCEL.EXE/3000
O8 - Extra context menu item: Send image to &Bluetooth Device... - C:\Program Files\WIDCOMM\Bluetooth Software\btsendto_ie_ctx.htm
O8 - Extra context menu item: Send page to &Bluetooth Device... - C:\Program Files\WIDCOMM\Bluetooth Software\btsendto_ie.htm
O9 - Extra button: Quick-Launching Area - {10954C80-4F0F-11d3-B17C-00C0DFE39736} - C:\Program Files\Acer\Acer Bio Protection\PwdBank.exe
O9 - Extra 'Tools' menuitem: Quick-Launching Area - {10954C80-4F0F-11d3-B17C-00C0DFE39736} - C:\Program Files\Acer\Acer Bio Protection\PwdBank.exe
O9 - Extra button: Send to OneNote - {2670000A-7350-4f3c-8081-5663EE0C6C49} - C:\PROGRA~1\MICROS~2\Office12\ONBttnIE.dll
O9 - Extra 'Tools' menuitem: S&end to OneNote - {2670000A-7350-4f3c-8081-5663EE0C6C49} - C:\PROGRA~1\MICROS~2\Office12\ONBttnIE.dll
O9 - Extra button: Research - {92780B25-18CC-41C8-B9BE-3C9C571A8263} - C:\PROGRA~1\MICROS~2\Office12\REFIEBAR.DLL
O9 - Extra button: @btrez.dll,-4015 - {CCA281CA-C863-46ef-9331-5C8D4460577F} - C:\Program Files\WIDCOMM\Bluetooth Software\btsendto_ie.htm
O9 - Extra 'Tools' menuitem: @btrez.dll,-12650 - {CCA281CA-C863-46ef-9331-5C8D4460577F} - C:\Program Files\WIDCOMM\Bluetooth Software\btsendto_ie.htm
O9 - Extra button: (no name) - {DFB852A3-47F8-48C4-A200-58CAB36FD2A2} - C:\PROGRA~1\SPYBOT~1\SDHelper.dll
O9 - Extra 'Tools' menuitem: Spybot - Search & Destroy Configuration - {DFB852A3-47F8-48C4-A200-58CAB36FD2A2} - C:\PROGRA~1\SPYBOT~1\SDHelper.dll
O13 - Gopher Prefix:
O16 - DPF: {20A60F0D-9AFA-4515-A0FD-83BD84642501} (Checkers Class) - http://messenger.zone.msn.com/binary...r.cab56986.cab
O16 - DPF: {5D6F45B3-9043-443D-A792-115447494D24} (UnoCtrl Class) - http://messenger.zone.msn.com/EN-GB/.../GAME_UNO1.cab
O16 - DPF: {7530BFB8-7293-4D34-9923-61A11451AFC5} - http://download.eset.com/special/eos/OnlineScanner.cab
O16 - DPF: {B8BE5E93-A60C-4D26-A2DC-220313175592} (MSN Games - Installer) - http://messenger.zone.msn.com/binary...o.cab56649.cab
O16 - DPF: {C3F79A2B-B9B4-4A66-B012-3EE46475B072} (MessengerStatsClient Class) - http://messenger.zone.msn.com/binary...t.cab56907.cab
O16 - DPF: {F8C5C0F1-D884-43EB-A5A0-9E1C4A102FA8} (GoPetsWeb Control) - http://secure.gopetslive.com/dev/GoPetsWeb.cab
O20 - Winlogon Notify: !SASWinLogon - C:\Program Files\SUPERAntiSpyware\SASWINLO.dll
O20 - Winlogon Notify: AWinNotifyVitaKey MC3000 - C:\Program Files\Acer\Acer Bio Protection\WinNotify.dll
O23 - Service: Agere Modem Call Progress Audio (AgereModemAudio) - Agere Systems - C:\Windows\system32\agrsmsvc.exe
O23 - Service: Apple Mobile Device - Apple Inc. - C:\Program Files\Common Files\Apple\Mobile Device Support\bin\AppleMobileDeviceService.exe
O23 - Service: avast! iAVS4 Control Service (aswUpdSv) - ALWIL Software - C:\Program Files\Alwil Software\Avast4\aswUpdSv.exe
O23 - Service: avast! Antivirus - ALWIL Software - C:\Program Files\Alwil Software\Avast4\ashServ.exe
O23 - Service: avast! Mail Scanner - ALWIL Software - C:\Program Files\Alwil Software\Avast4\ashMaiSv.exe
O23 - Service: avast! Web Scanner - ALWIL Software - C:\Program Files\Alwil Software\Avast4\ashWebSv.exe
O23 - Service: Bonjour Service - Apple Inc. - C:\Program Files\Bonjour\mDNSResponder.exe
O23 - Service: NTI Backup Now 5 Agent Service (BUNAgentSvc) - NewTech Infosystems, Inc. - C:\Program Files\NewTech Infosystems\NTI Backup Now 5\Client\Agentsvc.exe
O23 - Service: eDataSecurity Service - Egis Incorporated - C:\Program Files\Acer\Empowering Technology\eDataSecurity\x86\eDSService.exe
O23 - Service: Empowering Technology Service (ETService) - Unknown owner - C:\Program Files\Acer\Empowering Technology\Service\ETService.exe
O23 - Service: FLEXnet Licensing Service - Macrovision Europe Ltd. - C:\Program Files\Common Files\Macrovision Shared\FLEXnet Publisher\FNPLicensingService.exe
O23 - Service: Intel(R) Matrix Storage Event Monitor (IAANTMON) - Intel Corporation - C:\Program Files\Intel\Intel Matrix Storage Manager\IAANTMon.exe
O23 - Service: iPod Service - Apple Inc. - C:\Program Files\iPod\bin\iPodService.exe
O23 - Service: KService - Kontiki Inc. - C:\Program Files\Kontiki\KService.exe
O23 - Service: LightScribeService Direct Disc Labeling Service (LightScribeService) - Hewlett-Packard Company - C:\Program Files\Common Files\LightScribe\LSSrvc.exe
O23 - Service: MobilityService - Unknown owner - C:\Acer\Mobility Center\MobilityService.exe
O23 - Service: NTI Backup Now 5 Backup Service (NTIBackupSvc) - NewTech InfoSystems, Inc. - C:\Program Files\NewTech Infosystems\NTI Backup Now 5\BackupSvc.exe
O23 - Service: NTI Backup Now 5 Scheduler Service (NTISchedulerSvc) - Unknown owner - C:\Program Files\NewTech Infosystems\NTI Backup Now 5\SchedulerSvc.exe
O23 - Service: NVIDIA Display Driver Service (nvsvc) - NVIDIA Corporation - C:\Windows\system32\nvvsvc.exe
O23 - Service: PnkBstrA - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\PnkBstrA.exe
O23 - Service: PnkBstrB - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\PnkBstrB.exe
O23 - Service: Remote Packet Capture Protocol v.0 (experimental) (rpcapd) - CACE Technologies, Inc. - C:\Program Files\WinPcap\rpcapd.exe
O23 - Service: Raw Socket Service (RS_Service) - Acer Incorporated - C:\Program Files\Acer\Acer VCM\RS_Service.exe
O23 - Service: SBSD Security Center Service (SBSDWSCService) - Safer Networking Ltd. - C:\Program Files\Spybot - Search & Destroy\SDWinSec.exe
O23 - Service: Steam Client Service - Valve Corporation - C:\Program Files\Common Files\Steam\SteamService.exe
O23 - Service: Validity Fingerprint Service (vfsFPService) - Validity Sensors, Inc. - C:\Windows\system32\vfsFPService.exe

--
End of file - 11958 bytes

Your log is clean, though I would recommend uninstalling all toolbars installed.

I highly recommend you update to IE8 and SP2.

Thanks for the advice, my computers been running a little quicker than before, although still some lag issues.

Do I still need to upgrade my Internet Explore even though I never use it?

Thanks for the help Tarun.

yes you should do the upgrades to both to check for dust look at your airvents on the bottom see if you have dust there and if you do blow as much dust out as possible and another thing id do a memtest dont know if that was included in taruns pc clean up guide or not but it cant hurt

You can get a can of compressed air. I've had many laptops, I ran into heating problems most notably with my Toshiba laptops, I've had three Toshiba laptops, all of them had a heating problem. I used compressed air to clean out the vents.

i recently cleaned out my friend's 2.5 year old laptop because it was overheating. there was so much dust, that we took it apart, blew out all the dust, and applied new thermal grease for his cpu and gpu. it no longer overheat.... it actually runs surprisingly cool now.