Windows 7 - Frequent "Not Responding" Problem

For the last 3 days I started getting frozen screens. It first happened while I was playing Team Fortress 2. Screen froze for a minute and then everything turned back to normal. After that I started getting "not responding" where programs of all sorts stop responding for about a minute. It happened in IE, Chrome, Media Player, Security Essentials so far and I keep getting them. Specifically the program would suddenly freeze -with mouse still visible and I can move it- and then it comes back as if nothing happened. In Media Player the song would stop playing and after about a minute would either continue from where it froze or skip the time in between. It occasionally happens consecutively to the same program and lasts a bit shorter.

I should also mention that I ran a full scan with Security Essentials which took over 4 hours with all the freezing happening countless times. No viruses found. I also got Norton 360 running but haven't scanned with it yet

My computer is not new and I have been using it the way I did for over 5 months now since I changed the HDD (Current one is 150 GB) . Specs:

Windows 7 64-bit SP1

Intel Core 2duo 8400

2 GB RAM

ATI Radeon 4850

My first post so sorry if I haven't been clear or missing details. Thanks.

EDIT: I should also mention an overall performance drop on my PC.

Hi

What you are experiencing is the TDR (Timeout Detection and Recovery) component in Winfdows 7. When a process takes too long to respond, the system will stop and restart that process to recover. In the past this would would require the system to shut down and restart.

This particular timing issue can be difficult to track down and resolve, but is usually associated with the Graphics device and driver.

It's been my experience that the most common causes of the TDR problem are the following.

(In no particular order)

Startup programs: A program that is set to start at boot that is either corrupt or otherwise using a large amount of system resources. (Remove any unneeded programs from the the Startup)

Overclocking: This is one of the most common. (Set all of the hardware back to the defaults)

Too many graphic intensive programs running at the same time. (try running ewer programs at the same time)

Gaming programs that have 'mods' and try to use more graphic resources than the installed device can supply. (Remove the mods)

You can try extending the TDR value as described in the following article?

Display driver stopped responding and has recovered Error message in Windows Vista or Windows 7:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2665946/

Check for updated drivers for the installed graphics device.

Let us know what you find.

Regards

Hi,

Use the Clean Boot and other methods to try to determine the cause of and/or eliminate the issues.

---

References to Vista also apply to Windows 7.

What antivirus/antispyware/security products do you have on machine? Include any you have EVER

had on this machine including those you uninstalled (they leave remnants behind which can cause

strange issues).

---

Do these :

Try these to clear corruption and repair/replace damaged/missing system files.

Start - type this in Search Box ->  COMMAND   find at top and RIGHT CLICK  -  RUN AS ADMIN

Enter this at the prompt - sfc /scannow

How to Repair Windows 7 System Files with System File Checker

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/1538-sfc-scannow-command-system-file-checker.html

How to analyze the log file entries that the Microsoft Windows Resource Checker (SFC.exe) program

generates in Windows Vista cbs.log

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/928228

Also run CheckDisk so we can rule out corruption as much as possible.

How to Run Disk Check in Windows 7

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/433-disk-check.html

==========================================

After the above :

How to troubleshoot a problem by performing a clean boot in Windows Vista orWindows 7

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929135

Use Advanced Tools to Troubleshoot Performance Problems in Windows 7

http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/6152/use-advanced-tools-to-troubleshoot-performance-problems-in-windows-7/

Problems with overall system speed and performance

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/gp/slow_windows_performance?p=1

How to troubleshoot performance issues in Windows Vista

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/950685

Optimizing Microsoft Windows Vista Performance

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/959062

To see all that is loading bootup - wait a few minutes without doing anything - then Right Click

TaskBar - Task Manager - take a look at Appplications - Processes - Services - this is a quick

reference (if you have a little box on Lower Left - Show for All Users then check that).

How to Change, Add, or Remove Startup Programs in Windows 7http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/1401-startup-programs-change.html

A quick check to see which are loading is Method 2 there - using MSCONFIG then post a list of

those here.

---

Tools that should help :

Process Explorer - Free - Find out what files, registry keys and other objects processes have open,

which DLLs they have loaded, and more. This uniquely powerful utility will even show you who owns

each process.

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb896653.aspx

Autoruns - Free - See what programs are configured to startup automatically when your system boots

and you login. Autoruns also shows you the full list of Registry and file locations where applications can

configure auto-start settings.

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb963902.aspx

Process Monitor - Free - Monitor file system, Registry, process, thread and DLL activity in real-time.

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb896645.aspx

There are many excellent free tools at Sysinternals

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/default.aspx

WhatsInStartUP - Free - This utility displays the list of all applications that are loaded automatically

when Windows starts up. For each application, the following information is displayed: Startup Type (Registry/Startup Folder), Command -Line String, Product Name, File Version, Company Name,

Location in the Registry or file system, and more. It allows you to easily disable or delete unwanted

programs that runs in your Windows startup.

http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/what\_run\_in\_startup.html

There are many excellent free tools at NirSoft

http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/index.html

Window Watcher - Free - Do you know what's running on your computer? Maybe not. The Window

Watcher tells all, reporting every window created by every running program, whether the window

is visible or not.

http://www.karenware.com/powertools/ptwinwatch.asp

Many excellent free tools and an excellent newsletter at Karenware

http://www.karenware.com/

===========================================

Consider this an absolute must - manually updating your drivers.

Vista and Windows 7 love updated drivers so here is how to update the major ones.

This is my generic how to for proper driver updates :

This utility makes it easy to see which versions are loaded :

DriverView - Free - utility displays the list of all device drivers currently loaded on your system.

For each driver in the list, additional useful information is displayed: load address of the driver,

description, version, product name, company that created the driver, and more.

http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/driverview.html

For Drivers check System Maker as fallbacks and Device Maker's which are the most current.

Control Panel - Device Manager - Display Adapter - write down the make and complete model

of your video adapter - double click - Driver's tab - write down the version info. Now click UPdate

Driver (this may not do anything as MS is far behind certifying drivers) - then Right Click -

Uninstall - REBOOT this will refresh the driver stack.

Repeat that for Network - Network Card (NIC), Wifi, Sound, Mouse and Keyboard if 3rd party

with their own software and drivers and any other major device drivers you have.

Now go to System Maker's site (Dell, HP, Toshiba as examples) (as rollback) and then Device

Maker's site (Realtek, Intel, Nvidia, ATI as examples) and get their latest versions. (Look for

BIOS, Chipset and software updates at System Maker's site while there.)

Download - SAVE - go to where you put them - Right Click - RUN AD ADMIN - REBOOT after

each installation.

Always check in Device Manager - Drivers tab to be sure the version you are installing actually

shows up. This is because some drivers rollback before the latest is installed (sound drivers

particularly do this) so install a driver - reboot - check to be sure it is installed and repeat as

needed.

Repeat at Device Makers - BTW at Device Makers DO NOT RUN THEIR SCANNER - check

manually by model.

Manually look at manufacturer's sites for drivers - and Device Maker's sites.

http://pcsupport.about.com/od/driverssupport/ht/driverdlmfgr.htm

Installing and updating drivers in Windows 7 (updating drivers manually using the methods

above is preferred to ensure the latest drivers from System maker and Device makers are

found)

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/43216-installing-updating-drivers-7-a.html

If you update drivers manually then it is a good idea to disable Driver Installations in Windows

Updates, this leaves Windows Updates ON however it will not install drivers which will usually be

older and cause issues. If Updates suggests a new driver then HIDE it (Right Click on it) and then

go look for new ones manually if you wish.

Stop Windows 7 from Automatically Installing Device Drivers

http://helpdeskgeek.com/windows-7/stop-windows-7-from-automatically-installing-device-drivers/

How To Disable Automatic Driver Installation In Windows 7 / Vista

http://www.addictivetips.com/windows-tips/how-to-disable-automatic-driver-installation-in-windows-vista/

Disable Windows Update Device Driver Search Prompt In Windows 7 / Vista (for Professional,

Ultimate, and Enterprise)

http://www.addictivetips.com/windows-tips/disable-windows-update-device-driver-search-prompt/

===========================================

Refer to these threads for many more excellent tips however be sure to check your antivirus

programs, update major drivers and BIOS, and also troubleshoot with the cleanboot method

first.

Problems with overall system speed and performance

http://support.microsoft.com/gp/slow\_windows\_performance/en-us

Performance and Maintenance tips

http://social.answers.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/w7performance/thread/19e5d6c3-bf07-49ac-a2fa-6718c988f125

Windows Explorer has stopped working

http://social.answers.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/w7performance/thread/6ab02526-5071-4dcc-895f-d90202bad8b3

Hope this helps.

---

Rob Brown - Microsoft MVP <- profile - Windows Expert - Consumer : Bicycle - Mark Twain said it right.