Solved Computer freezes/Hangs mouse still moves

[webby048]

Hi all,
not sure if this is a Windows 10 or hardware problem.
Symptoms:
Been happening a few months now, at times computer will just hang but I still have control of the mouse.
Computer is unresponsive to Control Alt Delete - usually have to wait between 90 seconds to sometimes 4 minutes before system presents Task Manager/reset screen.
Mouse still operative but cannot select shut down or restart.
Am able to do the the "all else fails" switch off.

Situation: Home PC purchased 2016 only used for PC operations not gaming or publishing.

The problem can be any time but trying to narrow down using my limited computer knowledge it is usually when I am selecting multiple webpages or conducting two or three operations at once.
This has never been a problem in the past but having a squiz at other forums out there note that there are others experiencing the same problem.

The only things that I can think of is; that it might be a local Broadband issue (providers are always carrying out some maintenance or other) or just may be the CPU is now an old fart like me!
What really has me beat is that Control Alt Delete doesn't stop everything - I thought that this was the original big re-set because it instantly interrupted the CPU

I have reinstalled Windows 10, reinstalled all my system drivers and the software for my Printer Scanner.

So am beholding to all out there that may have had the same or similar problem.
Regards,
Geoff







;-

 

[lunarlander]

Having bought it in 2016 allows us to guess at the hardware but we need more info. Please download tsginfo : https://static.techguy.org/download/tsginfo.exe Run it and copy paste the results to your next reply.

Doing 2 or 3 operations at once generally shouldn't been a problem, but that largely depends on what exactly what those operations are. Please clarify.

 

[webby048]

Hi Lunarlandar,

by 2 or 3 operations I meant: having on-line sales webpage open whilst looking at other legit websites.
You get the feel that somehow it is struggling to handle the load after Clicking on an item.
I also have Avast Internet Security protecting my system.
Thinking it might be a firewall compatibility issue I tried switching my default Browser eg. - had a few days of Chrome, Opera and Microsoft Edge - the problem is with them all.
System info as requested below:
Tech Support Guy System Info Utility version 1.0.0.9
OS Version: Microsoft Windows 10 Home, 64 bit, Build 19042, Installed 20201016182335.000000+660
Processor: AMD FX(tm)-8350 Eight-Core Processor, AMD64 Family 21 Model 2 Stepping 0, CPU Count: 8
Total Physical RAM: 16 GB
Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 750 Ti
Hard Drives: C: 465 GB (405 GB Free); D: 1862 GB (1852 GB Free);
Motherboard: ASRock 990FX Killer, s/n M80-61004300624
System: American Megatrends Inc., ver ALASKA - 1072009, s/n To Be Filled By O.E.M.
Antivirus: Windows Defender, Disabled

Happy to try anything or provide more info.
Regards, Geoff

 

[lunarlander]

It is difficult to measure system performance with web page response times. There's the variability of the internet that makes it difficult. Some times pages just get routed to a slow router or a heavily loaded router at the moment. But ctrl-alt-del not responding speedily is strange but I have experienced ctrl-alt-del being slower at times. It depends how actively the software is checking for keystrokes. And you have tested with several browsers. Your CPU is not that old. Something else is running in the background. Windows 10 has problems with 3rd party antivirus programs. They have problems catching up with Windows 10's bi-yearly upgrades. Try uninstalling Avast and use Windows Defender only and repeating your browser tests to see if there is any improvement.

 

[webby048]

Had the issue only moments ago, - after viewing webpage and closing down I could not select anything else,
mouse moves but unresponsive to left or right click although cntrl alt del was only 15 seconds this time.
I can disable all my Avast products so will give it a try when I get back this afternoon. Thanks for your patience.

 

[lunarlander]

Well, you can try disabling it, but that is not quite the same as an uninstall. Don;t worry, Windows Defender is quite good according to recent tests. You can go to av-comparatives for a look. Also virus bulletin.

 

[webby048]

Thanks for the tip - Uninstalled all my Avast products and disabled a heap of peripheral background Apps.
System is now stripped right down and noticeably faster. Have only had one hiccup where it appeared that a page I was viewing took rather a long time to leave after clicking "close" at, r/h top of screen before it went into freeze mode. After this, Cntrl Alt Delete only took 5 seconds - which in itself is an improvement.
I suppose this will now be a "suck it and see" phase so will stick with Chrome to see if there is any marked differences.

 

[lunarlander]

Glad it improved things.

 

[texasbullet]

I also have the same problem once I upgraded to W10 2009. I also have to click on control/alt/delete and click on the cancel button twice to make it to work. I am not sure if making a fresh install of Windows 10 (20H2) or whatever version is called to see if that may solve the problem. The bad part is that I will have to install all programs I have in my computer too.

 

[webby048]

Still hanging in there - had a freeze this morning, logged in ok, checked outlook mail ok., then selected Chrome then Ebay. Went to Ebay webpage - no worries, but but froze on selecting "login"
I have long suspected the whole shemozzle might be a Browser or Broadband issue so have re-installed Chrome ('bout the only thing I haven't re-installed) and will give this a try.
Hi texasbullet, - you are right, it is a pain in the ass re-installing everything but am prepared to give anything a go to put it right.

 

[webby048]

Same problem today - cannot figure it out as my system is stripped down to its bare bones yet It still freezes.
I have narrowed it down to working within web pages eg: I select Walmart on-line no probs, but when I click "my account" on the page I get the little rotating blue circle top left of page for what seems forever then it fades into freeze mode. It is not good old Walmart's account it is the same with other reputable websites too!
I am beholding to your knowledge out there as to what is actually happening in the process I described.
If it is my humble cpu selecting which page to go to and assuming that the page link is the correct path, what is slowing it or perhaps what is loading it down?
Could it be that the NBN connection or structure is bad?
Chatting with people around our area finds that they have also experienced similar problems.
One neighbor after trying everything eventually came up with a work around by using a Tablet linked through their iphone to a WiFi hotspot.
I don't really know how that works but they have have freeze free and connection trouble free operations on all their accounts ever since.
If it is in the router or broadband how can I isolate and prove where at the actual problem is?

 

[webby048]

Same today - occasional freezes.
Probably nothing but this morning, when accessing Tech Support Guy, it went to my page and hung there for a while with a process statement (Lower left hand of page) "waiting for cache" - I have not noticed this before.
I am resigned to the belief that it really is a crook Motherboard.
What would be the most cost effective conclusion ? - repair, new motherboard or complete new system?

 

[lunarlander]

I am assuming the the cache referred to is a disk cache. Go right click Command prompt select Run as Admin. Then type in "Chkdsk /F". Restart the PC to start the checking of your hard drive.

 

[webby048]

Thanks lunarlander - nearly at the give up stage and your tip is definitely refreshing.
I believe chkdsk can take a fair bit of time and assume it is chugging away in the background somewhere.
On re-start I did not get the cmd screen back - does it pop up after chkdsk or do I have to go looking for it in a few hours to see if it has passed the check process?

 

[lunarlander]

After you type in Chkdsk /F you will need to restart your computer. Then it will run while starting up. It does not run in the background. I have a 600 GB hard drive and it took 3 mins to run. But that depends if it finds any errors. Anyways, it doesn't take a long time like half an hour.