I appreciate for the steps attempted to resolve the issue. Since the Operating system reinstallation did not resolve the issue, I request you to run diagnostics on the hardware components of the system and also extended test on memory. Memory test will take a long time depending on the size of the memory.
Please reply to this post in case of any error message. Also check the system performance with one memory at a time. Please find the link below for the service manual:
If it is a software issue, reinstalling the Operating system will resolve the issue. In case it is a hardware failure, the issue may persist. Hence I recommend you to run an extended test on the memory.
If the test memory test passes, then you may consider Operating system reinstallation.
I know this is an old thread, but I thought I'd post an answer because this seems a common problem.
My Precision M4300, Windows 7 64-bit, 4gb memory, was pretty quick most of the time, but would periodically slow to a crawl. Using Task Manager didn't reveal anything out of the ordinary, except Firefox using massive amounts of memory (big surprise!). Restarting Firefox helped, but I still had the periodic slow-to-a-crawl. And -- most annoying -- if I was watching HD videos, the video would frequently start "stuttering" about halfway through playback.
Then I downloaded (from CNet) and installed a free little utility called Moo0 System Monitor. It displays a window that shows the temperature and overall load on your CPU, GPU (graphics card) and hard drive (as in when the CPU is accessing the hard drive). It also has a "botlleneck" sensor that flashes a bright red when one of those functions is "burdening" the computer, and says what the burden is -- all in real time.
So when I used Explorer, for example, there'd be a brief flash of red when the contents of a window were being generated, or there'd be red flashes when AVG was doing its thing in the background (a lot). But then I was playing a video and got a red flash that GPU hardware was burdening the computer, and then I noticed that the GPU temperature was 86 degrees C -- really, really hot.
So what happened was that when the GPU was working, it ran too hot, and the board then slowed down its own performance as a safety measure.
The solution was to clean the fan(s) and heat sink, which I did (without opening the case) using compressed air -- though supposedly using a vacuum cleaner to suck instead of blow will also work. I got a satisfying burst of dust out of the notebook when I did this.
Now my GPU idles around 58 degrees and peaks at about 62 -- more than 20 degrees C below its previous peak. And I haven't seen a red "GPU burden" flash since that happened, nor have I noticed any bizarre slowdowns. So I'm pretty sure an overheating video board was the problem.
(As a matter of interest, my dual-core CPU runs cooler -- 45-50 -- so it either generates less heat or has better cooling.)
Finally, my cooling fan(s) -- I don't know how many I have -- run slower and quieter. Previously, they were always running on high in an effort to cool the board.
So if you haven't blown out the dust in your notebook for a while, give it a try.
While researching my problem, I also noticed that for some Dell notebooks, people said different versions of their BIOS had different algorithms for fan operation. I updated my BIOS first (two generations), but it made no difference. However, if my fix doesn't work, you might try that.
adamfilip
5 Posts
0
August 7th, 2013 20:00
Will updating to WIndows 8 help?
DELL-Sujatha K
Community Manager
•
3.3K Posts
0
August 7th, 2013 20:00
Hi adamfilip,
I appreciate for the steps attempted to resolve the issue. Since the Operating system reinstallation did not resolve the issue, I request you to run diagnostics on the hardware components of the system and also extended test on memory. Memory test will take a long time depending on the size of the memory.
Refer to the following link for assistance.
http://dell.to/OUGnqT
Please reply to this post in case of any error message.
Also check the system performance with one memory at a time. Please find the link below for the service manual:
http://bit.ly/16ZnDMy
Reply with the status.
DELL-Sujatha K
Community Manager
•
3.3K Posts
0
August 8th, 2013 22:00
Hi adamfilip,
If it is a software issue, reinstalling the Operating system will resolve the issue. In case it is a hardware failure, the issue may persist. Hence I recommend you to run an extended test on the memory.
If the test memory test passes, then you may consider Operating system reinstallation.
adamfilip
5 Posts
1
August 8th, 2013 22:00
why is the answer to any problem always end up being an OS reinstall. cant we just narrow down the issue
reinstalling an OS with all the apps is a big pain :)
DELL-Sujatha K
Community Manager
•
3.3K Posts
0
August 8th, 2013 23:00
Hi adamfilip,
To isolate if it is a software/hardware issue, I requested you to run extended test on the memory.
Since the issue is persisting in spite of all the possible trouble shooting steps tried, as a last resort I suggested Operating system reinstallation.
tryumph12
1 Rookie
•
10 Posts
2
January 4th, 2014 12:00
I know this is an old thread, but I thought I'd post an answer because this seems a common problem.
My Precision M4300, Windows 7 64-bit, 4gb memory, was pretty quick most of the time, but would periodically slow to a crawl. Using Task Manager didn't reveal anything out of the ordinary, except Firefox using massive amounts of memory (big surprise!). Restarting Firefox helped, but I still had the periodic slow-to-a-crawl. And -- most annoying -- if I was watching HD videos, the video would frequently start "stuttering" about halfway through playback.
Then I downloaded (from CNet) and installed a free little utility called Moo0 System Monitor. It displays a window that shows the temperature and overall load on your CPU, GPU (graphics card) and hard drive (as in when the CPU is accessing the hard drive). It also has a "botlleneck" sensor that flashes a bright red when one of those functions is "burdening" the computer, and says what the burden is -- all in real time.
So when I used Explorer, for example, there'd be a brief flash of red when the contents of a window were being generated, or there'd be red flashes when AVG was doing its thing in the background (a lot). But then I was playing a video and got a red flash that GPU hardware was burdening the computer, and then I noticed that the GPU temperature was 86 degrees C -- really, really hot.
So what happened was that when the GPU was working, it ran too hot, and the board then slowed down its own performance as a safety measure.
The solution was to clean the fan(s) and heat sink, which I did (without opening the case) using compressed air -- though supposedly using a vacuum cleaner to suck instead of blow will also work. I got a satisfying burst of dust out of the notebook when I did this.
Now my GPU idles around 58 degrees and peaks at about 62 -- more than 20 degrees C below its previous peak. And I haven't seen a red "GPU burden" flash since that happened, nor have I noticed any bizarre slowdowns. So I'm pretty sure an overheating video board was the problem.
(As a matter of interest, my dual-core CPU runs cooler -- 45-50 -- so it either generates less heat or has better cooling.)
Finally, my cooling fan(s) -- I don't know how many I have -- run slower and quieter. Previously, they were always running on high in an effort to cool the board.
So if you haven't blown out the dust in your notebook for a while, give it a try.
While researching my problem, I also noticed that for some Dell notebooks, people said different versions of their BIOS had different algorithms for fan operation. I updated my BIOS first (two generations), but it made no difference. However, if my fix doesn't work, you might try that.
Regards to all.
CharlesIsWorking
2 Intern
•
167 Posts
0
December 1st, 2017 10:00
That's not the case for me. I wonder if it solved the OP's issue.
CharlesIsWorking
2 Intern
•
167 Posts
0
December 1st, 2017 13:00
Did you try reducing your page file size?