Laptop slows down for regular 5 minute periods, really annoying!

Metaliver

Hi there, my dell laptop which i've had for a little while seems to have a problem, i assume its a virus but not sure. After i've been on it for a little while, 10 minutes maybe, it will start running very slowly for 5 minutes, i cant do anything whilst its slow, as the computer is basically frozen, and programs stop responding and i cant close anything. I've got microsoft security essentials and clamwin antivirus. Both of them have fun full scans and cant find anything, what should i do?
thanks in advance x

totalsolutions

Hard drive failing ?

Browntoa

overheating ??

do the fans kick in when it happens ??

Metaliver

Yer the fan is actually on pretty constantly from start up, i usually prop it up on a book so theres a clear passage under the laptop. And how could i know if the harddrive was failing?

andrewsmith24

you can use process xp so that if you have doubt of virus or process consuming cpu storage then u can kill them.

weegie.geek

I think browntoa is probably spot on. Vents etc clogged with dust and fluff, cpu overheats and throttles itself in an attempt to cool down.

Both the Dells I've had recently have run very hot. I got the nozzle of the hoover and sucked as much dust out of it, through the air vents, as I could. You'll probably find it'll run a lot quieter because the fan won't need to be constantly trying to get the cpu down to a sensible temperature.

If you feel comfortable opening it up you'll be able to clean it better, but some laptops are an absolute pain to strip down, and if it's still in warranty I'd probably avoid doing that.

Metaliver

ok thanks very much, i'll get henry out and see if he can help .

phxweb

have a look at the system logs > Control Panel > Administrator Tools > Event Logs, and have a look at the System and application logs. Are there any RED issues ?

Also i assume you have an anti virus ? If so which and is it up to date

One final thing > Ctrl Alt Del > Processes Tab and sort the list 'CPU' Press twice and the applications using the most processor time will be at the top, have a look at this when the machine is running slow and post back what is running in the first couple of spaces.

closed

operating system, installed ram?

scan with malwarebytes.

spud17

I've got microsoft security essentials and clamwin antivirus

If Clamwin is running 'real time protection' then here's your problem?

Only one AV at a time.