[hypnotoed]

Hey guys,

I have a 1012 HD (high res screen, Broadcom Accelerator) with 1 GB of RAM and a TV tuner. My laptop constantly freezes every 5-10 minutes for a minute or so before going back to normal. It usually does this even when I'm just browsing or watching standard-def AVI files. What can I do to resolve this issue? Is it as simple as installing a "full" edition of Win 7 (Home Premium, Professional) or upgrading the RAM?

Thanks!

[rrfranczak3]

what processes are running in the background?

[hypnotoed]

Hey rrfranczak3,

I've attached an image of the processes currently running. The ones not included in the picture are:

- igfxtray.exe
- hkcmd.exe
- BTMeter.exe
- conhost.exe
- SynTPHelper.exe


Thanks!

[rrfranczak3]

1st of all why is chrome running 9x, I dont know too much about Google Chrome but I dont think that it should be running 9x, I personally run Firefox....I am still checking the rest of the processes will update...

you probably dont need the Dell Support Center and Dell Backup to run all the time either, you can start them on an as needed basis, basically I would try to shutdown some of this stuff and see what happens from there

NEEDED
- igfxtray.exe...for Intel Graphics
- hkcmd.exe...for Hotkey usage
- BTMeter.exe..for Dell Battery Meter
- conhost.exe..for Console Hosting
- SynTPHelper.exe..Synaptics pointing devices (trackpad)
- javaw.exe...for Java scripting
- explorer.exe...main desktop program
- csrss.exe...for Microsoft Client/Server Runtime Server Subsystem.
- WSED.exe...Dell wireless enable/disable
- capLKNotify.exe...Dell utility for showing user when caps are on/off
- winlogon.exe...Windows Login program
- RtHDVCpl.exe...Realtek Audio Control Panel
- dwm.exe...desktop window manager

CAN PROBABLY BE SHUTDOWN
- googletalkplus.exe...part of google chrome
- syncables.exe...used for syncing between computers
- toaster.exe...Notification Plugin from AOL part of WinAmp.
- DataSafeOnline...Dell utility
- STService.exe...part of Dell DataSafe
- sprtcmd.exe...part of Dell Support Center
- DSupd.exe..part of Dell DataSafe
- Wuauclt.exe is the AutoUpdate Client of Windows Update and is used to check for available updates

BOTTOM LINE
try shutting down Google Chrome and see what happens....also maybe Dell Support Center & Dell DataSafe

The more memory that you can free up the better off you will be to run VLC, these Minis do not have graphics cards only graphics processors which basically means that when the graphics processor needs more memory it is taken from the system memory leaving less there for other processes, by eliminating some of the other processes it makes more available for the graphics processor to use....make sense?..

Good Luck

[hypnotoed]

Hey rrfranczak3,

I had 4-5 tabs open on Chrome, but I'm not sure why it had 9 processes running. I've shut down all the processes you suggested, will post back on the results. Is there a permanent way to disable all these unnecessary processes so that I don't have to do it each time I turn on my Mini?

Thanks a lot for all your help!!

[rrfranczak3]

I believe that msconfig will do it...go to start,run and type in 'msconfig'..that will show you all the processes that start up a boot time, you can set them there


PS. upgrading the RAM to 2gb will certainly help you out also...there is no such thing as too much RAM

[hypnotoed]

Hey rrfranczak3,

I stopped all the unnecessary processes and started using Firefox, but my Dell Mini still freezes up (although slightly less frequently now). I will install 2GB of RAM sometime this coming week, but is there anything else I can do in the mean time?

Also, is this problem normal with the Mini 1012? I haven't really heard of this happening to anyone or in any of the reviews before.

[rrfranczak3]

it isnt normal..something is stealing the processor and causing the system to freeze..if the processor goes to 100% and stays there everything else on the system will stop momentarily

[reflex]

My first guess given your symptoms would be insufficient RAM for the amount of use (or a buggy process eating all the RAM). The system "freezes" as it swaps data to and from the page file to free RAM.

What do memory and RAM/page file usage look like during the freezes? (Leave TaskMan running, then switch to it after a freeze)

[hypnotoed]

Hey reflex,

I've attached two files: one immediately after the freeze, and one a minute or two after. What's interesting is that the memory usage increased by 100+ MB after the freeze and is consistently in the 700MB-800MB range now.

My Mini just froze again for a few seconds while typing this and I didn't even have too much going on in the background. Just 3 tabs in my browser, VLC (which was paused), Paint and Windows Explorer. Very strange stuff.