What is Windows doing when it's not doing anything ?

[pmonett]

Hello everybody,

Could someone please explain to me what Windows is doing when it's 99% idle and yet remains totally unresponsive for five whole minutes ?

Let me explain, of course. I have an Intel Core i7 960, 12GB of Crucial DDR3 1600, terabytes of disk space on 6 disks (mixed HDD/SSD) running on a Gigabyte X58A-UDR3 under Windows 7 32bit (yes, I know I should install Win7 64bit and I will - soon).

The application that run are :

Avast
Boinc
Steam (in offline mode)
Lotus Notes
Firefox
Ultra Monitor
Logitech Setpoint and GamePanel
VirtualBox Service


Windows firewall and Security Center are disabled (I have a hardware firewall), Windows Update is set to Manual in the services list.

The issue that annoys me to no end is that, if I leave my computer idling for over an hour, when I get back and tap the keyboard to wake it up, it takes over five minutes to return control to me. It's gotten to the point where I type the Windows key and leave it until the Start menu is displayed. Doing anything before that will just result in a flurry of mad clicks all over the place when control does return.

I left the Task Manager on the Processes window once, sorted by CPU usage, and went to watch a film on TV. When I got back and tapped the Windows key, the Task Manager showed the System Idle process at 99% (I had cut Boinc). Yet it still took the system more than four minutes to return control to me - or to wake up, if you will.

So what the blazes is Windows doing that takes it so long to wake up ? I'd have thought that, at 99% idle, it was just begging to have something to do. Instead, it feels like it's quite happy being left alone and refuses to finish its coffee before getting back to work.

So what is going on ? Could someone please enlighten me ?

Thanks in advance,

Pascal.

I've got nothing to hide, and I'd very much like to keep that away from prying eyes.

 

[ChrisHirst]

12Gb of memory will NOT be helping as 32bit Windows can only address 4Gb at maximum, you could speed things up by having the other 8Gb as a "RAM Drive" and use that as your 'Swap file'.

But what's going on?
Ooh lots of stuff.

it feels like it's quite happy being left alone and refuses to finish its coffee before getting back to work.

Actually it is probably doing FAR more work when it is 'idle' that it is when you are typing.

There is;
disk fragmentation
memory to 'tidy up'
application memory and swap file to keep in sync.

etc
etc.

All the background processes that you, as the mere human being using the HIDs know nothing about.



Chris.

Indifference will be the downfall of mankind, but who cares?
Time flies like an arrow, however, fruit flies like a banana.
Webmaster Forum

 

[RichLee]

What is Windows doing when it's not doing anything ?

Probably working out how to crash next

 

[DrB0b]

Have you tried removing the extraneous hardware to see if anything it throwing it for a loop? Does it do the same in Safe Mode?

Learning - A never ending quest for knowledge usually attained by being thrown in a situation and told to fix it NOW.

 

[rclarke250]

I know on my system anytime I left it alone for 10 minutes, it wanted to start a backup, so I had to put in a schedule to only backup at 3am on Sunday. Otherwise Windows wanted to be running a backup all the time. Very annoying.

 

[linney]

Try Safe Mode and try another user in Normal Mode.

Can you pick out the process via Task Manager?

Windows Vista's Task Manager (or Windows 7): The harder-to-detect changes

http://articles.techrepublic.com.com/5100-10878_11-6161050.html

Can you eliminate (and isolate) the process via the clean boot procedure or in Safe Mode?

Advanced startup options (including safe mode)

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/Advanced-startup-options-including-safe-mode

How to troubleshoot a problem by performing a clean boot in Windows Vista or in Windows 7

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/929135

See what Performance Monitor can do for you.

Windows Performance Monitor

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc749249.aspx

Performance Monitoring Getting Started Guide

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd744567(v=ws.10).aspx

Best Windows 7 Gadgets for System Monitoring

http://pcsupport.about.com/od/toolsofthetrade/ig/Windows-Gadgets/

 

[dilettante]

Full of trojan horses?

 

[micker377]

Are any of those hard drives set to 'power down' when idle?
Is anything set to "Allow this device to shut down to conserve power"?

 

[harebrain]

Check the Logitech Web site to see if you really need those apps and driver. I have an older cordless mouse, and I installed the driver for it. Ran into performance issues similar to yours. Hidden away in the Logitech site was a notice that my mouse model was supported by the Windows 7 generic USB driver, and that I should remove all Logitech drivers and software because it would suck.

Boy, were they right on that count. And uninstalling the Logitech software did the trick.

 

[pmonett]

Well, thank you for all the suggestions.

To respond (more or less), I can say that my system, as far as I can determine, is clean. I have Avast doing regular checks, I do not use Outlook for mail and I surf the web with Firefox + NoScript + AdBlocker. Additionally, I am old enough to be able to refrain from clicking on any old "see <celebrity> nude pics here" or other such nonsense .

More seriously, I know my system is clean because I regularly go over all processes that are running with a paranoid toothpick. Anything I cannot immediately explain to myself, I check up on with Google. So far, I have found no process that cannot justify its presence.

The matter of Logitech drivers is new for me, however. Thank you for bringing that to my attention, I shall be looking into it. That said, given that my G700 is brand-spanking new, and that I really need the additional buttons, I would be quite sore if I had to stop using the driver.

I am aware of the power-saving issues and no, my magnetic storage is not set to power down when idle. I used to do that, back in the days when I left my PC on 24/7, but I have stopped doing so. If my PC is on, it's because I am supposed to be needing it, so nothing turns itself down anymore.

Concerning Windows backups and restore points and all that jazz, I have disabled them entirely. I use EaseUs Todo Backup, free version, and I am responsible enough to do my backups on my own, at a time of my choosing. I also use Smart Defrag, free program, because I have a long experience of Windows being unable to properly defrag a disk. Basically, I hate that part of Windows that deems me unable to manage my own PC, and I remove/disable anything like that as a reflex. So there shouldn't be any process deciding any household chores behind my back.

I have found another task manager program called Process Hacker. Neat little thing that has a page where you can see what networking calls are being made when they happen. I have noticed that, when I leave the PC alone with Process Hacker running on that page, the system remains immediately available at my return.

Funny, isn't it ?

In any case, thank you for your insights and remarks. I appreciated every one of them.

Oh, and I'm installing Win 7 64-bit this week-end

See you on the flip side !

Pascal.

I've got nothing to hide, and I'd very much like to keep that away from prying eyes.

 

[rclarke250]

Just as a note, I run the logitech setpoint drivers, with my G500 on windows x64, and have no issues at all, I really miss the page forward,page back buttons, when I have to use another computer.

 

[goombawaho]

I am old enough to be able to refrain from clicking on any old "see <celebrity> nude pics here" or other such nonsense

Had not realized age limit on this.

As said, Safe Mode Fast = software running in regular mode to blame

I would just run Process Explorer and keep an eye on memory usage and CPU to see what process is occupying the PC. Then use AutoRuns or MSConfig to start unchecking items with rebooting in between.

 

[flyboytim]

If you run Windows Task Manager (Processes) when the PC is unresponsive after waking up, you will probably see the (Image Name) svchost.exe| NETWORK (User Name) using a large proportion of the CPU cycles. If you select the process, press Delete, then Enter, the system may start to go faster, but the Process may restart, and you can delete it up to 4 times before it gives up altogether. You can go to Services.exe and stop some of the services that it invokes, and stop them from starting automatically.

Google svchost.exe NETWORK for lots of examples.

Windows 7 is a brilliant OS except for some elements of the networking system (and Search). HomeGroups, Workgroups, Wireless networking all have problems which are unlikely to be fully fixed now that Windows 8 is in the wings.