Computer help forum: laptop eventually slows down playing video files

Thanks for the idea, but that's not it. The problem has no relation to how long the PC has been on, or what the ambient temperature is. Also, other applications like web browsers don't slow down. It's just the media players that bog down. And just restarting the media plays does not help either. The only solution is to reboot the computer.

It's old enough and my mom has a 2GB Vista laptop with a Centrino that I had to do this work. A reboot would cure it for the next run and I can see how folk could dismiss this area.

Let's say you are right. Reload the OS to the factory load and if it's not hardware like I suspect then it won't slow like it does now. Remember I'm making a big assumption it used to work fine.
Bob

I just don't see this as a heating issue. If it was, seems like every application running on my computer would go slow after CPU heated up. But that's not the case, it's just the media files. Sometimes the PC will do this if started up from cold, other times the PC has been on for hours. Anyway, I have tried running a fan across the laptop, and have even elevated the laptop off table onto laptop pad to improve air circ. Did not help. A reboot will cure the problem for awhile, so seems like some sort of buffering problem. Another piece of info. If the video file is low resolution, low fps, etc.. then it never hangs up. Only playing higher resolution files like 1080 x 740, or near high def seems to cause the issue. But the CPU seems to be able to keep up performance wise, otherwise why would it play fine at first at all, and why would it keep playing fine if I did not fast forward? Mysterious.

Again, I never read where it worked "until..." and the slowness could be a video graphics chip oddity. If you've been in the industry long you know to get the canned air out fast to remove the common and usual issues first before moving to reloading the OS.

Why I can't discuss anything besides the reload is there is no detail about what's different from the STOCK OS that came with the machine.

You could go get HIJACKTHIS and see what each item it lists is for and decide if there is anything bad or something that folk report to conflict and cause issues but as you have only so much detail to work with and the causes are so many I have to offer known cures such as cleaning and the reload.

To offer other possible fixes, you'll have to tell a lot more.
Bob

I don't think this problem is worth a OS reload. I have no indication the OS is corrupted, and if I reloaded it then I have to re-install everything. All virus scans etc... report no problem. I'm beginning to think it's either the video players themselves (not designed for repeated fast forwarding) or my Centrino dual core is not fast enough to keep up. Fast enough to keep up for awhile, but for unknown reasons gets lost later.

Also, I have tried cooling it and that does not seem to help. Haven't tried new heat compound, but have tried increased air flow. This laptop is 5 years old so at some point I just get a new machine rather than waste too much time trying to make an old dog into a greyhound. Thanks for the suggestions.

It's possible it's the old XP DMA issue but since this is Vista I'm thinking it can't be that as this appears to be a SATA drive and of course Vista.

Did you try a Live CD like Ubuntu and VLC PLAYER or the stock media player on that? It's my secret weapon when sniffing this issue out.

Remember I always get the canned air first then replace all heat sink compound on an old machine as we've seen this too often. Yes, the owner will dig in their heels and then we'll hand the unit back.

And the other shop secret? We'll swap in a shop HDD and load the OS for a test run. I think most consumers won't do that either.
Bob

PS. Too bad no other details are given. It would be a shame to find a known toxic combo.

I have no problem admitting when I was wrong

After nothing else worked, I decided to try to cool down laptop by means I hadn't already tried. But first I needed to make sure laptop was actually overheating. There are several free applications that one can download and run on your laptop which will display the Tj (junction temperature) of your CPU(s). I installed two, Speed Fan and Core Temp. Both showed that both CPUs in Centrino Duo chipset were within 2 or 3 degees of the max recommended core temperature, and sometimes maxing out! And this was without anything special running at all.

Next I researched how difficult it was to unscrew stuff and get access to the heatsink on my laptop, which was a Toshiba A135 Satellite. Turns out its a major pain to get to it. I opted to try something simpler, suggested by Robert. I got a can of compressed air and (with laptop off) squirted air through the fan hole on bottom of laptop, and also in the side vent of the laptop, next to heatsink. Lots of dust came flying out. When I powered the laptopback back up, there was a dramatic difference. The core temperatures dropped by about 35-40 degees C for each CPU core. The videos which previously stuttered and stopped after awhile now run flawlessly.

My theory is that this problem showed up on video playback first because these applications are very bandwidth intensive and any errors are very noticeable. You might not notice your browser or email slowing down if your CPU overheats, but you'll definitely notice it on videos. So, the lesson I have learned and you out there should learn is, if your computer hasn't been cleaned out for dust in awhile, do it NOW. Also, download and run the temperature monitor programs. They're free

Thanks for the suggestion Robert!

1. Since that much came out, use the canned air every month (try the 1st?) for a few months then move to every even month and then every 3 months and if you are OK after 6 months, every 6 months.

Your laptop will thank you by lasting longer.

2. If you hit 4 years, and you have the skills, replace the heatsink compound as it gives you a chance to do the deep cleaning.

Disassembly can be found in the top of the CNET Laptop Troubleshooting Forum and of course on the web. Figure cost to be at most 10 bucks for compound.
Bob