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Question

Audio/video lags on Windows 7 machine

Mar 19, 2015 7:29PM PDT

Hi! Please go easy on me - I'm not computer illiterate by any means, but I don't have very extensive knowledge on the subject.

I have a Lenovo G560 laptop running Windows 7 that was purchased probably some time in 2010 or 2011. I had issues with the physical case - the screen hinges falling apart, the touchpad, etc. No issues with the actual functioning of the internal components. However, I bought a Chromebook in 2012 or 2013 and shelved this computer.

I'm bringing it back out now to use as a secondary computer. I have it hooked to an external monitor and mouse and keyboard. I want it primarily for streaming video online, watching DVDs, playing music, and playing some (not at all demanding CPU-wise) games. However, it doesn't run as well as it used to. Generally it is quite slow. I can deal with this, except for a major problem...

The issue I've encountered is where it will be playing some audio or audio+video (and it happens just the same whether it's streaming over the internet or playing a DVD or playing a file from the hard drive) and it will lag, with this horrible grinding/stuttering sound! The sound is clearly coming from the speakers, not the physical computer. Sometimes I can tell it's looping a tiny bit of sound. It's really loud and unpleasant. It lasts maybe 2-4 seconds. If video is playing, that lags as well. It happens at random intervals, sometimes every 8-10 minutes, sometimes not for a half hour or longer.

If I check my CPU usage while this happens, I can see a huge spike. Somewhere I heard that I should try a DPC Latency Checker (http://www.thesycon.de/deu/latency_check.shtml) so I did, and it always tells me "some device drivers on this machine behave badly and will probably cause drop-outs in real-time audio and/or video streams." I have responded by updating every driver I can think to. Definitely my BIOS, chipset, and graphics and audio drivers are up-to-date.

Updating all the drivers seems like it reduced the problem, and it happens less frequently now. However, it's definitely still happening to the point where it's hard to use. And everything generally still runs quite slow.

My hard drive is basically empty and I have defragged the system (though it was barely fragmented). I've run virus scans which have found nothing malicious. I've hit the end of what I can think to do, and of any advice I was able to find online.

If necessary I could try to get a video of the noise/lag happening? But it would be tricky because it's impossible to predict.

Also, if necessary, I could wipe the whole computer. I keep all my files on an external drive or in the cloud so it wouldn't be the end of the world. But it would be a huge pain, and at this point I don't know if I have any idea where my OS software is any more. So I'm hoping there's a solution that doesn't require that.

A final plea - please help! I'm in this situation because my fiance walked out on me, taking his desktop, which we used as our primary computer, TV, game system, etc. The only laptop I'm left with is a Chromebook and thus no good for playing DVDs, games, or running any kind of software. The breakup has put me in a bad financial bind and I can't afford to buy another computer, probably not for a long time... So getting this old POS laptop to function again would be a life saver!!

Thanks in advance for your time!

System info:

OS Name Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium
Version 6.1.7601 Service Pack 1 Build 7601
OS Manufacturer Microsoft Corporation
System Manufacturer LENOVO
System Model 0679
System Type x64-based PC
Processor Intel(R) Core(TM) i5 CPU M 480 @ 2.67GHz, 2667 Mhz, 2 Core(s), 4 Logical Processor(s)
BIOS Version/Date LENOVO 29CN40WW(V2.17), 4/13/2011
SMBIOS Version 2.6

Discussion is locked

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Answer
I'd try one thing prior to the reload.
Mar 20, 2015 2:06AM PDT

I didn't read about canned air cleaning. It's something makers don't tell but to keep the machine clean we do that every season and if it was never done we start with monthly use of the canned air.

There is no instant cure given the story but I'd get the canned air routine going and then scan with Grif's help at
http://forums.cnet.com/7726-6122_102-5509131.html?tag=posts;msg5509131

If the machine had sat for that long, maybe those files can go away? As to OS CDs the Lenovo had me create my own. That routine varies with each model.
Bob

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Answer
Could be?
Mar 20, 2015 12:16PM PDT

The old answer is always, "could be anything" goes here as well.
If you don't care about the data on the machine I'd say, "Sure kill it with the mfg. >factory new< system restore"
Else:
Usually there is an equally demanding device requesting superior service, requiring equal time and grudgingly letting go of the CPU that causes this, thus the driver preemption of the running task.
So you may try this. First there are a lot of buggy resource monitors out there displaying drive, CPU, etc. usage.
Then there are internet access devices or background apps like bad antivirus and malware that also hog resources.
Try Ctl+alt+delete and run the process manager. Look for obvious non-microsoft apps running in the background.
Kill each one at a time and see if the problem persists. When it goes away you probably have hit it. Disable it and restart the machine to bring the rest back and check once more.
Make sure your anti-virus is only checking files on load and not continuously checking ram. It will cut into any process and do its thing.
Lastly, check and see if your DVD playing software has a cache setting you can increase. Sometimes it helps but usually it only "just helps".