CPU lag after idle...

Greetings!

This is my first post here so please pardon me if I breach any site specific rules of etiquette, I'll learn quickly.

I have an:
M11x/R1 SU7300
4G RAM
320G HD

I use the computer mainly in high performance mode since I am seldom un-plugged.

The issue I am having seems strange to me because I've never run into anything like it before.

I have run most of the optimizations in the optimization thread to try to help the issue but nothing seems to be working.

After the computer sits idle for an extended period of time, when I resume using it, it lags severely. There is an average of 2-3 seconds between when I click an icon or even mouse over something and when the tool-tip or notification comes on-screen. In addition, the touch pad seems to lag just a little (it is barely noticeable).

The only programs I have running in the background are Trend Micro Internet Security and the Dell Datasafe backup (which seems to run no matter what I do). I have disabled auto-start on all other third party programs, except Microsoft one-note snipper tool, which, like Dell Datasafe Backup seems to run no matter what I do. The icon for the Nvidia hybrid graphics stays in the notification window but I haven't messed with that.

When I bring up the system monitor, CPU usage hovers at around 90-100% for a few seconds, then drops to around 80 for a few seconds and then hovers between 65 and 70. I looked to see what processes were using CPU but those numbers don't really add up. In general, I see about 60% from the CPU usage tab but still 90-100 on the graphical representation and the lag seems to agree with that.

I have tried restarting windows explorer, shutting down processes left over from whatever I was doing before I left the computer, etc. The only thing that seems to work so far is rebooting the computer. This works until I leave the computer for over an hour and then we're right back where we started.

Any ideas? If there are any dump-files I can post, I would love some recommendations but am not as learned as I perhaps should be.

Thank you in advance. I hope everyone has a great day.

Sincerely,

Art

 

Try running ThrottleStop and check the Log File option. With ThrottleStop and the log file running, let it sit idle for a few hours and when you come back to it see if it is lagging. If ThrottleStop is open on your screen, have a look at the two columns, CMod% and Chip% on the right hand side. Those should both be at 100.0% all the time. If your laptop has reduced either of those, it might have an issue with clock modulation throttling. This has been a problem for several Dell laptops.

Upload your ThrottleStopLog.txt file to somewhere like MediaFire and then post a link here so I can have a look. There must be something going on so this might help narrow it down.

 

Also, ensure your high performance power profile does not put the hard drive to sleep. A hard drive that has been sleeping for a bit and is "waking up" causes delays like you describe once the computer needs to access it again.

(although in re-reading your post, if the HD was asleep, the lag should not last until you reboot)