Bizarre problem - computer pauses every second

[joey_joe_joe]

I'm a tech support guy, and I've fixed hundreds of computers in my day, but I've got a problem on my own computer that even I can't figure out. Basically, every second (approx.) the entire computer pauses for a split second. The mouse cursor, any applications, any music or video, pretty much everything. Additionally, the computer clock loses a few minutes every hour, which I'm sure is related. So far, I'm positive that this isn't software related, because I reformatted the computer and before I installed anything, I was still having the problem.

So I'm pretty sure it's hardware related, but I'm not quite sure where to begin or how to troubleshoot. Any ideas would be appreciated. btw, it's a Dell e1705 laptop.

[UbinTook]

does it do this in safe mode?

[joey_joe_joe]

Yes

[funkyworms]

What OS are you running?

[joey_joe_joe]

Windows XP

[UbinTook]

Did it just start doing it? No changes were made, it just came on by itself?
Could be a heat issue( video/ram), could be a HHD going bad.
Is the HDD making any clicking noises?
Are the fans working normally?
any changes in LAN?
See if you can blow out any dust/debris with canned air.
Another thing could be lose or bad cable connections.

Can to take it apart to dust it and check connections?

[UbinTook]

http://altrixsoft.com/en/hddinsp_notebooks/

Try this and see what it tells you...

[joey_joe_joe]

Did it just start doing it? No changes were made, it just came on by itself?

Yes, completely random.

Could be a heat issue( video/ram), could be a HHD going bad.

Possible I suppose, although in my experience heat problems manifest themselves in other ways

Is the HDD making any clicking noises?

No

Are the fans working normally?

As far as I can tell

any changes in LAN?

No

See if you can blow out any dust/debris with canned air.
Another thing could be lose or bad cable connections.

Can to take it apart to dust it and check connections?

Yea, I didn't want to have to do that, but I will if I can't figure anything else out.



Hard Drive Inspector reports everything is fine.

[PantsOnFire]

Random thoughts in no particular order:

1. Back up your data.

2. Is there anything interesting in the event or security logs?

3. Does your bios have any test options?

4. Do you need to update your bios?

5. The problem might be a DMA problem. Try some HDD DMA tests.

6. Have you scanned your HDD for problems? Perhaps a deeper scan is needed.

7. Do you have an tools installed like Norton SystemWorks or something similar. Some of these are buggy and may do weird things.

8. If it's heat related, check your fan operation for the CPU, the case and the power supply. Blow away dust. Newer Bios has heat and other diagnostic information.

9. Is there a resource conflict?

10. Does this happen if you load a generic video driver?

11. What does your CPU usage say?

12. Are you doing anything with DirectX?

13. Back up your data.

[badab99]

dma or irq sharing sounds like the starting place after you clean it with some dustfree.

the good old days when you had the soundcard/modem that when activated would kill the mouse are gone or almost gone it seems.