[aciid]

Here are my laptop specs:


Current speed test:


Skype current version 5.5.0.119 installs flawlessly every time. I have tried downgrading to 4.2 and still have the same issues.

Problem:
After a while of calling on skype the application becomes slow and almost unresponsive. It takes 10-15 seconds to register the mouse and any clicks. These are just free calls between 2-5 skype users. When not calling skype runs fine, a temp solution is to restart the program every 10-15 minutes but.. you get the point.

I've tried reinstalling with no luck. Memory usage is around 150mb after 10 mins and climbs to 700mb~ sometimes after a few hours. During calls skype.exe CPU usage is around 23-30% so constantly using an entire core. I am a little low on hd space (10%/25gb free) but dont see why that would be a problem. I defrag weekly and run all the usual maintenance & virus scans.

I am very tech savvy, bit ennoyed at myself for not being able to figure out the issue. Could anybody help?

[aciid]

Also the skype call works fine it's just the program is unresponsive making it very difficult to type or read/click other's links, etc.

[aciid]

Any thoughts on what might be the problem, anyone?

[aciid]

Bumping in hope of reply. Can upload video if that would help.

[Elvandil]

What processes are using the most CPU when the machine slows down?

Is it just the mouse or do apps also slow down?

[Shane1022]

have you tried installing new graphics drivers?

[aciid]

Originally Posted by Elvandil

What processes are using the most CPU when the machine slows down?

Is it just the mouse or do apps also slow down?

Nothing uses the cpu more than skype, firefox at it's worst when it's stuck ina loop can just about match it.. no other apps slow down it is just skype! The UI becomes really slow, and it takes ages for typed text to appear in the box (though I dont usually have to wait for written text to appear, I just type, hit enter, change to whatever I was doing and people in the chat get the message 20~ secs later..)

Originally Posted by Shane1022

have you tried installing new graphics drivers?

All drivers up to date, I've just checked manually, after checking with driver genius.

[aciid]

Bump?

[aciid]

OK I have noticed skype's cpu usage creeps up to around 20-25% after idling for 6+ hours..

[aciid]

Still non the wiser

[aciid]

Still having same problem if anyone could help

[DVOM]

What anti-virus are you using?

And, if this was my problem, I'd try more than one of the "older" versions:

http://www.oldapps.com/skype.php

[Elvandil]

Automatic driver updaters can lead to many problems, including the wrong drivers or incorrect versions. Don't use them. Drivers never need updating unless there is a specific problem.

Skype has always used a lot of CPU on my machines. The slowdown is almost always noticeable on all 3 of the machines I have it on. It's just a junky piece of software that we have to live with.

An older version is a very good idea for something to try. Also, be sure that the other versions are completely removed before trying to install a different version.

Try shutting down Firefox when using it, too. FF is full of security holes and all the efforts to patch that sinking ship have made it slow and bulky and it often monopolizes the connection so that other processes need to raise CPU usage to stay connected. Japan's main browser company, Sleipnir, has stopped using Firefox's Gecko engine in its browsers due to the likelihood that their users' personal information will be compromized by all its security holes. It's "plugin-container.exe", basically a front for Flash, is often the culprit. There are lots of other good browsers, even among Mozilla's, like K-Meleon or SeaMonkey. But see if shutting it down makes any difference to Skype.

You could also try reducing the amount of RAM. With more RAM, many things become much slower, like booting and hibernation. But some boards also use an alternatve addressing system for RAM over 4 GB's that is slower in execution. Also, Skype may be designed to use caching in a way that increases CPU usage with more RAM. You don't need to physically remove any - just use msconfig to set the usage to 4 GB's and reboot to see if that makes any difference. I doubt your machine uss much over 2.5 GB's anyway, possibly 3, if you look in Task Manager.

Make sure that your page file is large enough (it has to be at least as large as RAM to create memory dumps on error). Did this problem start when you increased RAM?

[aciid]

Originally Posted by DVOM

What anti-virus are you using?

And, if this was my problem, I'd try more than one of the "older" versions:

http://www.oldapps.com/skype.php

I use Avast 5, and I will try older versions.

Originally Posted by Elvandil

Automatic driver updaters can lead to many problems, including the wrong drivers or incorrect versions. Don't use them. Drivers never need updating unless there is a specific problem.

As I said I did check drivers manually, but using updaters it is much easier to find which may be out of date. I then go to the manufacturers site and get the proper drivers. I have also noticed driver genius isn't 100% accurate but imo the method I use is the best way to go about updating drivers.

Originally Posted by Elvandil

Skype has always used a lot of CPU on my machines. The slowdown is almost always noticeable on all 3 of the machines I have it on. It's just a junky piece of software that we have to live with.

An older version is a very good idea for something to try. Also, be sure that the other versions are completely removed before trying to install a different version.

Try shutting down Firefox when using it, too. FF is full of security holes and all the efforts to patch that sinking ship have made it slow and bulky and it often monopolizes the connection so that other processes need to raise CPU usage to stay connected. Japan's main browser company, Sleipnir, has stopped using Firefox's Gecko engine in its browsers due to the likelihood that their users' personal information will be compromized by all its security holes. It's "plugin-container.exe", basically a front for Flash, is often the culprit. There are lots of other good browsers, even among Mozilla's, like K-Meleon or SeaMonkey. But see if shutting it down makes any difference to Skype.

I will be trying older versions of skype, but sorry there's absolutely no chance of me getting rid of FF!

Originally Posted by Elvandil

You could also try reducing the amount of RAM. With more RAM, many things become much slower, like booting and hibernation. But some boards also use an alternatve addressing system for RAM over 4 GB's that is slower in execution. Also, Skype may be designed to use caching in a way that increases CPU usage with more RAM. You don't need to physically remove any - just use msconfig to set the usage to 4 GB's and reboot to see if that makes any difference. I doubt your machine uss much over 2.5 GB's anyway, possibly 3, if you look in Task Manager.

Make sure that your page file is large enough (it has to be at least as large as RAM to create memory dumps on error). Did this problem start when you increased RAM?

No the problem has been here since I got my laptop @ 3gb RAM. I had problems then with plenty of BSOD's because it was dirt cheap no-name RAM until I upgraded to crucial 4x4gb and since then not a single crash.

I do utilize the majority of my RAM so don't really want to get rid of any.. I don't quite understand how "too much" RAM could cause a slowdown, especially for only one application (skype) and to such extremes. Also slowdown only really happens during calls, not text chats. Also my pagefile is set fine.

[Elvandil]

Is your page file set to the size of RAM or greater? Most applications have paging built into their code, so even with a lot of RAM, a page file is needed for them to run normally. It doesn't need to be as large as RAM if you don't care about getting memory dumps for analysis of blue screens.

Look at other things you have installed and/or running, too. There might be something that is competing for a particular resource. You might try turning off your AV, too, and see if that has any affect. Do you have anything running that is supposed to protect you from the internet by filtering incoming packets? More than one firewall (one in addition to the built-in Windows firewall)?