Skipping/Freezing Problem - Computer

[Knave]

So basically over the past few months I've noticed a problem with my computer.

At random intervals (every few seconds to a minute or so) video/audio on my computer will freeze or skip for a fraction of a second. I believe my mouse also freezes meaning the computer locks up completely but because it 'fixes' itself so fast it's hard to be 100% sure. Sometimes the computer does work fine or maybe I don't notice it all the time.

It's enough to notice and be annoying but the computer still works fine aside from that.

Anyone with some troubleshooting ideas?

I haven't cleaned the inside of the computer so I imagine it's dusty - would cleaning it out potentially solve the problem?

I'll run a checkdisk and check health, I'll defrag and try other stuff.

Second last option will be re-install Windows clean.

Last option is get a new computer.

Anything I'm missing? I've looked around and most people have similar problems but they talk about a buzzing that lasts long enough for them to discern. For me it's like it freezes there's no major buzzing or screen flash. It's almost like someone pausing and unpausing really quickly but without the pause icon to tell you that's what the person is doing.

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[LickTheEnvelope]

Without more information it could be a lot of things...

Bad CPU, bad PSU, bad GPU, disk space full (though it usually tells you), bad RAM, RAM being used up.... could just be a virus.

I'd first recommend running an Anti-Virus and making sure it's not a virus. If it's not then you may want to format the whole thing. If then it's STILL having the issues it's likely hardware related.

 

[Devourers]

I noticed the last week or so FireFox was hogging up memory again like crazy, ludicrous amounts just for being open in the background with a couple tabs, but now I updated it so hopefully it fixes it. It was making my comp run like crap when I'd leave it open for x hours.

 

[Osprey]

Are you talking about video and audio as in movies, songs, YouTube videos and the like? If so, here are the steps that I would take:

1. Update your video and audio drivers.

2. Install K-Lite Codec Pack. It's just a pack of the latest codecs for decoding audio & video files (MP4s, MP3s, AVIs, etc.). It often solves these types of problems. I suggest just going with the Basic version.

3. Install and run the free version of CCleaner to clean up your Windows.

4. Install and run the free version of Malwarebytes, just in case you have malware that's slowing things down.

5. If you have Windows 10, try a "reset" before you do a complete re-installation. I don't mean a reboot. I mean go into Settings->Update & recovery->Recovery->Reset this PC. That's like a clean installation, except that it allows you to keep your files and settings.

 

[Knave]

Yeah it happens when playing audio/video files like lets say Superman or Thor either downloaded on the computer from iTunes (or standard mp4s using VLC to play) or streaming it from Microsoft. I think it might have been for games too but I haven't played enough games recently to actually check that.

I ran CCleaner and MalwareBytes. I had a bunch of useless/outdated system files that got cleaned out, I think MalwareBytes found 9 potentially suspicious things in temp files and I deleted them all to be safe.

I took a compressed air can to the inside of the computer just to see if that would help and man there was a ton of dust. I'm thinking maybe I should have taken it out to the patio to do it. Probably not a good thing for my health and I definitely will take it outside next time.

Anyways when I tried it all last night it seemed to be working smoothly. Hopefully it's a sign 1 of the 3 things I did fixed it and it's not another day where everything works fine for no apparent reason.

I just want this computer to last another year or two tops and then I'll replace it.

 

[Devourers]

CCleaner is legit. My buddy was getting blue screens in W10 and we looked up the codes in event viewer, googled them, tried numerous different things to fix them none of which were working. We were on the verge of a format/reinstall to w7 Then I decided maybe I'll just run CCleaner and see what happens. It's been helpful for me in the past so why not?

No more blue screens. That software is a godsend. The makers of it should get a nobel prize As for Malwarebytes, it's saved my ass on more than one occasion back in the day when I had clients having serious problems.