Hiccup in my system —SOLVED!

[jhansman]

FIrst of all, I'm posting this here because of the nature of the problem, I'm not sure which forum is the most appropriate. So, a bit of history: rebuilt my system recently with the components shown in my sig. From the get go, I have been having a glitch that causes my system to, for lack of a better term, "hiccup." That is, about every 15 seconds or so, the keyboard will lag and the lighting in its switches will blink. If I am streaming music, it will drop out just for a split sec. While I am typing, I'll hit a key and the last letter I typed will repeat until I stop it by backspacing. All of this is really bugging me, and I'm not sure how to track it down. If these symptoms sound familiar to you, please offer any suggestion you have for a way to rid myself of it. I am prepared to format my boot drive and start from scratch with a new install of Windows. For hardware, I'm not sure what to try other than a single stick of RAM and just my boot drive connected. So, if anyone can offer a suggestion, I'm game. I'm past the point of returning any hardware, not knowing if any one component is the villain, or if it's the OS, or what. Thanks for any help you can lend.

 

[UsandThem]

Have you looked in the Windows reliability history to see if any issues are showing up there?
https://windowsreport.com/reliability-history-windows-10/

FIrst of all, I'm posting this here because of the nature of the problem, I'm not sure which forum is the most appropriate. So, a bit of history: rebuilt my system recently with the components shown in my sig. From the get go, I have been having a glitch that causes my system to, for lack of a better term, "hiccup." That is, about every 15 seconds or so, the keyboard will lag and the lighting in its switches will blink. If I am streaming music, it will drop out just for a split sec. While I am typing, I'll hit a key and the last letter I typed will repeat until I stop it by backspacing.

Also, you can run CrystalDiskInfo (or Samsung Magician) to check your SSDs health. Are you on the latest BIOS? Do you have any motherboard utilities installed (or software for the keyboard)? Finally, I know from another thread you reused an older Antec power supply, so that would be something to look into as a possible cause.

 

[jhansman]

Not on the latest BIOS, but I have that version downloaded, so I reckon I should flash it. The only mobo uitls I have are Asrock's A-Tuning uitl, which does not run in the background; no software for the keyboard. I have installed AMD's chipset drivers and the latest Radeon drivers. I am willing to bet this is all hardware related and I have an urge to backup my C: drive, format it and do a fresh install of Win10, if only to see at that point if the symptom recurs. If so, then I reckon I have no choice but to swap in a new PSU, if only to eliminate it as a source of the glitch. Thanks for the suggestions. If I solve this, I will report back with my solution. Until then, I gladly welcome any and all ideas. Many thanks!

 

[UsandThem]

Not on the latest BIOS, but I have that version downloaded, so I reckon I should flash it.

If you are on 3.40, definitely update to a newer one.

The only mobo uitls I have are Asrock's A-Tuning uitl, which does not run in the background; no software for the keyboard.

From my experience, many of the motherboard utilities cause more problems than they are worth, so I avoid installing any of them.

I am willing to bet this is all hardware related and I have an urge to backup my C: drive, format it and do a fresh install of Win10, if only to see at that point if the symptom recurs.

It could very well be hardware related, but when troubleshooting an issue like you are experiencing, you start with the simple stuff (looking at health of SSDs, or using the system with only one stick of RAM (or run a utility like MemTest) to see if your RAM is throwing errors).

If so, then I reckon I have no choice but to swap in a new PSU, if only to eliminate it as a source of the glitch.

While it could not be the source of your issue, the majority of power supplies do not suddenly die, and instead slowly begin not being able to provide constant, stable power output. That's why I recommend either testing the unit's output with a power supply tester (or multi-meter), or trying another unit if possible.

 

[jhansman]

My new PSU arrives tomorrow (Corsair RM650), so on Sunday I am dismantling the whole setup and replacing the graphics card, CPU cooler, PSU, and adding a second M.2 drive, or as I like to call it, building a new system. I will update the BIOS tonight, and just leave one stick of RAM and just the boot drive in when I fire it back up upon reassembly. I want to suspect the USB port(s), as I keep getting the keyboard errors, but about all I can do there is just use another port for the KB. I really don't want to have to reinstall Win10, as getting the activation key from MS was a hassle and I'm not sure it will work on a reinstall. These kind of glitches are really a PITA. Not completely debilitating, but downright annoying and persistent.

 

[jhansman]

Well, I'm a little embarrassed to say I cured my case of the hiccups. Turned out to be a faulty USB 2.0 port is all. I just swapped my keyboard (which also holds my wireless mouse's receiver) over to a 3.1 port and poof! Just like that the problem vanished. I still have stress testing to do to make sure everything else is sound, but at least I can put that on to rest. Thanks to those who took an interest and replied. Next time, I'll try the simplest (and, erm, most obvious) solution.