Computer experiencing micro-freezes or stuttering occasionally

OmegaStrife

Commendable
Jun 6, 2016
3
0
1,510
Howdy y'all,

My problem has been happening for about 6 months now. I have the following set-up:
XbvJEFi.jpg

As is noticed here, there were about 3-4 micro-freezes during this period of time with no visible/noticeable changes in memory, CPU...
YsZNSea.jpg


When my computer has been on for approximately two days consecutively or so, I start to experience micro-freezes, stuttering, however you want to call it. Essentially, the machine locks up for about 1-2 seconds, then starts speeding up the input to match what I was trying to do while it was frozen (like typing or using the mouse). I've tried a few things, including looking for corrupted software, sfc scannow, looking for Malware, chkdsk, and many other generic solutions to overanalyzed problems. The problem occurs when I have games open for a while, and continues from then on into basic activity, like when browsing Chrome. I'd thought that possibly there was a memory leak somewhere... I noticed another symptom of it is that if I have a game open that pushes my memory usage to ~90-100%, Windows processes start getting really slow, or the start menu/date and time boxes will not open while there is no memory left. Most recently, I have noticed that my memory always gets sucked into Systems and compressed memory and stays there, so I tried disabling Superfetch to see if not having that memory in that process helped the problem (arguably a bad solution, I know. It didn't help.) However, I have no idea if memory is actually the problem here. I'm on the latest graphics card drivers too. Basically, I'm completely out of ideas, and the problem is slightly annoying enough by now that I am trying to seek help. Does anyone have any ideas or leads I can use or go on?
 
Solution
Hey there again, @OmegaStrife!

Indeed, for best results, you definitely should run memtest with 1 stick of memory at a time! This is the best way to troubleshoot your RAM. If you want to do an extensive troubleshooting, you should test them in the different memory slots on the mobo as well.
Either way, unplug the WD drive that failed the Data LifeGuard Diagnostic tests and check how your system will behave afterwards. I'm sure you will be able to notice the performance difference.

Keep me posted. :)
SuperSoph_WD
Welcome to the community, OmegaStrife!

I'd suggest you troubleshoot your whole system, but first try resolving the issue by re-installing the games and software when the freezes occur. Hopefully, a fresh install of those will fix the issue.
If that doesn't help, start by running Memtest on your RAM. It will search for failures and inconsistencies within the memory on your PC.
Another thing you should check is the connections inside your rig. Make sure there are no loose screws and everything is properly mounted.
As for the HDD testing, I'd recommend you run WD's Data LifeGuard Diagnostic utility instead of Check Disk. This tool will help us determine the health and SMART status of your WD drives.

Keep me posted with the troubleshooting! Good luck! :)
SuperSoph_WD
 
Test Option: QUICK TEST
Model Number: WDC WD1001FALS-00Y6A0
Firmware Number: 05.01D05
Capacity: 1000.20 GB
SMART Status: PASS
Test Result: PASS
Test Time: 16:29:36, June 07, 2016

Test Option: QUICK TEST
Model Number: WDC WD1001FALS-00J7B1
Firmware Number: 05.00K05
Capacity: 1000.20 GB
SMART Status: PASS
Test Result: FAIL
Test Error Code: 06-Quick Test on drive 2 did not complete! Status code = 07 (Failed read test element), Failure Checkpoint = 97 (Unknown Test) SMART self-test did not complete on drive 2!
Test Time: 16:30:11, June 07, 2016

So far, I ran the WD Diagnostic and got this back for the C: and D: drives. I'm guessing this means there's a faulty sector in the D: drive? I'll run an extended test in the meantime to see if that sheds some light.

I'll test Memory later tonight while I sleep and also tool around with the hardware.

One thing I forgot to mention is that restarting the computer completely fixes the problem and it performs very quickly, as I'm used to. It's only after a long time of being on that it starts to get "laggy". Does this imply hardware problems over software? My computer was built to be "always on", and it has been that way for at least 5 years now.
 
Hey there again, OmegaStrife!

I'd strongly recommend you edit your post and delete the serial numbers of your WD drives. This is sensitive information that shouldn't be shared in public. It looks like your second drive is failing, I'd strongly recommend you consider replacing it. Just make sure you backup all the data you currently have on it and then check the warranty on our website.

If it's still covered, you should be able to send an RMA request to our Customer Support and get a replacement from them.

Failing the WD DLG tool tests is definitely something you should be concerned about.

Hope this helps. Keep me posted if you have more questions!
SuperSoph_WD
 
Okay, thanks for the tip. I'll check out the warranty on the drive.

In the meantime, I ran Memtest for about 16 hours. I don't really know how to parse the results, other than the fact that this is what I got, and it looks like there are a few errors. Not sure if it printed a log file anywhere I can use.
3T2HZXGh.jpg


I'm guessing the next step means I should test each stick of RAM individually and see where the errors occur?
 
Hey there again, @OmegaStrife!

Indeed, for best results, you definitely should run memtest with 1 stick of memory at a time! This is the best way to troubleshoot your RAM. If you want to do an extensive troubleshooting, you should test them in the different memory slots on the mobo as well.
Either way, unplug the WD drive that failed the Data LifeGuard Diagnostic tests and check how your system will behave afterwards. I'm sure you will be able to notice the performance difference.

Keep me posted. :)
SuperSoph_WD
 
Solution