Occassion 4 to 7 second freezes while typing/editing

My system is occasionally freezing for 4 or 5 or 7 seconds (approximately) while I'm typing. I believe it has always been web browsers I've been typing in, including Firefox, Chrome, and an application which is built on the Electron platform (it's Visual Studio Code: it's a Windows application but runs on a web browser underneath the hood). Of course, maybe it's just coincidence that it has always been a web browser since I do most of my typing into web browsers.

I'm assuming the advice I will be given will include "update your drivers," but I'm be curious which drivers would be the most likely culprits. (motherboard? Disk drive?)

I can also include more detailed system information and logs if requested. I have done this in the past but can't find the link with the explanation how to do it.

Windows version: Win 10, 21H2

Regards,
Mike

In the Search box,type ---dxdiag ---and in the Display page,note the version and date of the driver in use in the right hand box.
Also check the Input page for any reports.
Go to the driver maker's site only and download that driver or a later version if available.
If possible,use Display Driver Uninstaller [DDU] to uninstall the current driver,then install the new one. [Device Manager>Display Adapter ]
Also check Reliability History for any relevant reports.
Go to ---settings>update & security>troubleshoot>additional troubleshooters ---which might assist.

joeandmarg0 said:

In the Search box,type ---dxdiag ---and in the Display page,note the version and date of the driver in use in the right hand box.

In your reply you mostly stick to the display driver. Do you think the display driver would cause freezing of input? Seems unlikely to me, as the mouse still moves.

Mike

The Display Adapter is the funnel for screen inputs and the driver is frequently at fault.
I most certainly do not "mostly stick to the display driver."
If you care to fully expand the "Input" page,you will find a comprehensive report on the Mouse and keyboard.
Same with Reliability History and it;s reports.
Likewise "additional troubleshooters."

joeandmarg0 said:

The Display Adapter is the funnel for screen inputs and the driver is frequently at fault.
I most certainly do not "mostly stick to the display driver."
If you care to fully expand the "Input" page,you will find a comprehensive report on the Mouse and keyboard.
Same with Reliability History and it;s reports.
Likewise "additional troubleshooters."

Okay thank you.

Usually a driver of some sort is the cause to delayed typing like you're seeing. Something could be eating up your CPU cycles...

Are you using a wireless keyboard and its software? If so, ditch the proprietary software and just let Windows install a generic keyboard driver.

ProcessHacker or Process Explorer can help. The program WhySoSlow might as well.

To test the display theory, fire up the On-Screen keyboard and hit some keys. Same issue?


A bad RF (Radio Frequency) environment could do it too if the keyboard is wireless.

F22 Simpilot said:

Usually a driver of some sort is the cause to delayed typing like you're seeing. Something could be eating up your CPU cycles...

I'll check, but it's a gaming computer with a 6-core CPU and I'm running relatively little software and nothing demanding. So it would be something behind the scenes most likely. I'll check Task Manager.

Are you using a wireless keyboard and its software? If so, ditch the proprietary software and just let Windows install a generic keyboard driver.

No, it's a wired keyboard. I should have noted that it's delayed typing, in the sense that the computer catches up when it unfreezes with everything I had typed during the freeze. So it seems unlikely to be a keyboard issue or hardware issue, likewise with RF environment (had it been a wireless keyboard). The computer is getting the keystrokes.

ProcessHacker or Process Explorer can help. The program WhySoSlow might as well.

I'll check them out.

To test the display theory, fire up the On-Screen keyboard and hit some keys. Same issue?

I should have said it's very intermittent. It only happens once every 20 minutes or so and then it's gone.

Mike

Doubtful but this is a tell tail sign of a keylogger. Just throwing that out there for the very remote possibility. Do check the keyboard plugin though.