Periodically, every day and most often at night, my computer starts "thrashing". At first, it was when I was playing a game but now it's beginning to affect webpages that I bring up.

During a game, my cursor will start moving as if it's in glue and is extremely hard to control. The game itself slows down badly and the only thing I can do is close out, which isn't easy. The problem lasts for 15 to 20 minutes, goes away, then comes back at irregular but fairly close intervals. Then, for no reason I can see, the computer will work fine for some hours.

I'm not tech savvy and using Process Explorer tells me just about nothing. By accident, however, after I had used CCleaner a couple of times in fairly quick succession, I found out that things which it removes from the registry come back. They're not always the identical same things but mostly they are. Here's the last list that I removed. It's got to be a symptom of something, but what?

Invalid or empty file class .asf\OpenWithProgids\HPTSMSMVP.ASF HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FileExts\.asf\OpenWithProgids
Invalid or empty file class .avi\OpenWithProgids\HPTSMSMVP.AVI HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FileExts\.avi\OpenWithProgids
Invalid or empty file class .jpg\OpenWithProgids\HPTSMSMVP.JPG HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FileExts\.jpg\OpenWithProgids
Invalid or empty file class .mp3\OpenWithProgids\HPTSMSMVP.MP3 HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FileExts\.mp3\OpenWithProgids
Invalid or empty file class .mpeg\OpenWithProgids\HPTSMSMVP.MPEG HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FileExts\.mpeg\OpenWithProgids
Invalid or empty file class .mpg\OpenWithProgids\HPTSMSMVP.MPG HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FileExts\.mpg\OpenWithProgids
Invalid or empty file class .shtml\OpenWithProgids\shtmlfile HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FileExts\.shtml\OpenWithProgids
Invalid or empty file class .wav\OpenWithProgids\HPTSMSMVP.WAV HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FileExts\.wav\OpenWithProgids
Invalid or empty file class .wma\OpenWithProgids\HPTSMSMVP.WMA HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FileExts\.wma\OpenWithProgids
Invalid or empty file class .wmv\OpenWithProgids\HPTSMSMVP.WMV HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FileExts\.wmv\OpenWithProgids

If that tells any of you anything I'd really appreciate some help. Right now, I'm seriously thinking of reinstalling the factory settings. Either that or taking a shotgun to this thing.

Gil.

i can tell you that these appear to be tied in with the user,or logged in person ,and some are music or sound files - the .wav and mp3 ones . don't shoot it yet ,though.it almost looks to me like something is missing to run certain programs ...
one of the mods will help you straighten it out ,and they explain really well.

Okay, niteowl, I'll unload. <g> Don't know how much longer I can take this, though.

Gil.

traveler, can we assume you've updated and run your anti-virus software? Plus Malwarebytes if you have it? The double barrel is only a last resort!

Malwarebytes' protection module is enabled and my AV automatically updates. I have it set to do a deep scan every morning at 3 a.m. It did catch a Trojan a couple of days ago as I was on the net...startled me when it popped up with the warning because it usually takes care of everything silently...but this has been going on much longer than that.

I don't think the mpgs or jpegs have anything to do with this, just the files? that are supposedly supposed to open them (when I'm not opening them) trying to do it and being blocked. Makes no sense to me.

Gil.

How full is your hard drive? If it's too full, there won't be as much room for virtual memory on the hard drive and the computer will periodically stall while it clears out files from virtual memory that it thinks it isn't going to need in the near future.

I did a search for "OpenWithProgids" and found this site
***Specifying File Handlers for File Extensions***

The second yellow-highlighted paragraph says:


So maybe these keys are left over from installing a game meant for XP on a computer that uses Vista or Windows 7? Does your computer have XP or does it have Vista or Windows 7?

It sounds like something is missing. OpenWithProgids is short for open the program with Programmatic identifiers (ProgIDs) are friendly versions of ClassIDs that identify a version of an application or COM object. Every co-creatable object should have its own ProgID. You can read more here.

progid

Windows explorer file extensions are associated with a specific program so windows knows which program to use to open said extension. It may be your registry dropped the link and therefore cannot make the connection.

Can you open any of the type files listed such as jpg or mp3 does media player work?

Not much help I know but it appears something is missing in your registry preventing a program that is trying to open.

Jenny, I'll read that (though I doubt very much I'll understand what I read) but looking at the info on my computer, the hard disk has a capacity of 584GB and 507GB are free.

I suppose it's possible that those keys are left over from virtual XP but I uninstalled that a while ago when I found that it was useless for games and that they actually played, and played better, with Win7.

I read somewhere that thrashing was caused by incorrect settings on page files (forgive me if I got this wrong) but the settings are evidently correct. At least it looked like it when I finally stumbled through to them.

I'm just so over this.

Gil.

Thanks for answering, oldmariner. I checked. Media Player is working and so is my Faststone Image Viewer. So much for that.

Gil.

I will leave this to Jenny as she is far more knowledgeable than I. It sounds like a program is trying to open using progids. As reported those keys do not work in win 7. The error will likely reoccur until you locate the program and associate it with the command (open with) instead.

"Thanks for answering, oldmariner. I checked. Media Player is working and so is my Faststone Image Viewer. So much for that."

That indicates to me the error is program specific and not hampering your ability to open mp3 or wmv files etc. Yes something is trying to open using progid and as Jenny showed that won't work on win 7. The fact that the error reappears after ccleaner cleaned the registry means the program is presently running or it attempted to open again between cleanings. Most likely it is something running in the background.

I get a similar issue with one zone alarm key which keeps reappearing after cleaning. It happens because zonealarm is running and keeps replacing the key after it is wiped. Zone alarm tech support advised it is part of their antivirus program and will continue to do that. It is no big deal and does not cause any issues.

I suspect your errors are because the program if running in the background. Perhaps Jenny can help you figure that out because you likely have a good number of stuff running behind the scenes.

Hello,
1.Go to Start then run.Type in "dxdiag".Go to the display tab and check the date of the video drivers. If they are over 2 years old you should update them. Go through each tab and perform the tests offered and see if they pass.If they dont pass this will lead you to a problem. If they do pass step 2&3 are a bit more drastic.
2.Since you dont have too much on your hard drive perhaps you should start over with a clean slate.First purchase an external harddrive,(Which everyone should have anyway), and backup all important files. Examples would be your jpegs and documents.Go to my computer and right click on c-harddrive and do a disk cleanup.Go to tools in windows browser and use all cleanup utilities,remove cookies,remove browsing history,etc.If still no luck.....
3.Perform this step only if you have all your original disks.Insert your windows disk and reformat and reinstall windows new.Reinstall all drivers from original disks.You should only do step 3 after you have exhausted all other attempts.Reformating will remove any viruses or trojans your software couldnt find.

That sounds an awful lot like a background process kicking off - maybe Defrag or Auto Update?

Start the Task Manager (Ctl+Alt+Del) and press the process tab. Order the columns by pressing the heading. What processes are the highest CPU and Memory wise?

Edit -

BTW is this a wired or wireless mouse?

Geo, thank you. I've done 1 & 2. Three is looming.

Inland, many thanks to you, too. I can tell you without looking again. I've stared at that long enough. It's nearly always svchost.exe. And there seem to be a bundle of those in different forms.

Gil.

It's a wireless mouse.

To view the actual service - Start a command prompt and enter TASKLIST /SVC from that point you can select specific process Id's to see what it's running -

Here's a how-to -

A description of Svchost.exe in Windows XP Professional Edition

If you can narrow it down, it might help to understand what's going on.

Wouldn't you know I have to work. I'll get on it tonight, Inland, and see what I can find.

Does it matter if this is Win7 and not XP? As far as that description goes, I mean.

Gil.

Gil, here's something that might help, svchost.exe.

It tells you what svchost.exe is, what to look for and how to disable those that aren't really needed. Hope this helps.

Tasklist /svc works in Windows 7. That's the nice thing about using the command line -- most things are the same between Windows versions.

It's even easier under Windows 7 - Right click the process and select Go to Services.

Edit -

Here's a how-to (make sure you press Show Processes from all Users.)

Determining the services running under a SVCHOST.EXE process in Windows Vista and Windows 7

You can also try another approach (which I've used several times in the past) - Start a Command Prompt and enter the following command (while you're experiencing the issue) -

perfmon /report


It will collect data over a 1 minute interval and produce a System Health Report...

Well, I had to start somewhere, Inland, so I chose your second approach. I started a game and when it began acting up, I hit the Windows tab and went to command prompt and typed in perfmon/report. The computer passed all the basic system checks but here's what it said up at the top.
-----------------------------------------------

Informational
Symptom: Missing Events in Event Log
Details: Investigate why 49% (14,124) events were lost during data collection. The settings for Event Tracing for Windows (ETW) maximum buffers and buffer size may not be optimal depending on which data sets are being collected.
Related: Event Tracing for Windows


Informational

Symptom:
The Security Center has not recorded an anti-virus product.
Cause: The Security Center is unable to identify an active anti-virus application. Either there is no anti-virus product installed or it is not recognized.
Resolution: 1. Verify that an anti-virus product is installed.
2. If an anti-virus product is installed and functioning configure Security Center to stop monitoring anti-virus status.
------------------------------------------------

I have no idea what to do about No. 1.

As for No. 2, my computer is well aware that I have Sunbelt Vipre installed and working and told me so. I opened Action Center>Change Action Center Settings but now I don't know which section to uncheck. One says Spyware and related protection, the other says Virus protection. Should I uncheck one or both?

Gil.

If they both scan in real time, uncheck both before trying the game.

I found ***this*** about your other problem, but they had no solution in that thread.

I'm not sure, but I think the setting he's looking at is simply to either enable or disable error messages concerning the anti-virus or spyware.

If you're looking at something like ***this***, I guess you'd only uncheck the message for the antivirus. That's the one that's giving you the "Informational" error message. But you could uncheck the spyware one too if you wanted, since you already know you have anti-spyware.

I found ***Adjusting Buffer Settings for Event Tracing for Windows (ETW)***.

That's an odd one - I checked the registry settings in Jenny's link, and they don't exist (at least on my PC).

From MSDN most references point to the log file size specified in Event Viewer. Try allocating a larger size and rerun PERFMON.

Click Start - enter "event viewer" (without the quotes) in Search. Start the viewer and peruse to Windows Logs. Expand the group and Right Click the Application key (select Properties).

1.) Ensure Overwrite Events is enabled
2.) Increase the Maximum Log size to 40960

You can manually clear the log as well.

Sorry to be so slow getting back. I've tried nearly everything recommended and it hasn't worked. Just by chance, I decided to download Speccy and I think I've found part of my answer, though not the part about ProgIDs.

My CPU temps are fine (I think...in the upper 20's) but my integrated graphics card is burning up. It's at 50 degrees C when I turn on the computer and climbs to over a hundred. So, I cleaned the computer 'again' and it didn't do a darned thing. I have no idea what part of the motherboard the graphics card occupies and even if I knew, I wouldn't know what to do to or about it. Should I open the case and see if the fans are running while the computer is on?

Rapidly passing nuts,

Gil.

Your system seems to be overheating. That could certainly be a reason why the mouse starts to act glued to the screen and why normal system operations don't go to completion.

If you feel secure about opening your computer, by all means do so and make sure all heat sinks are clean and all fans are operational. Look for any heat sinks that might have become detached from the IC they are trying to cool.

If there is nothing visually obvious, consider getting professional service before there is permanent damage.