Random Cursor Freeze - New Toshiba Laptop - Windows 8.1 x64

Is the system still under warranty? If so, I would suggest contacting the manufacturer, especially in light of the fact that you have had this issue since day 1 and reinstalling Windows had zero positive effect.

Are you using an external mouse or the laptop's mousepad?

Hello jcgriff2,

Laptop's touchpad...

Limitied Warranty...as I'm sure you're aware, Toshiba will very likely state there is nothing wrong with the unit and by the time I ship it to and from, plus whatever additional fees they would charge...I don't think it is worth it at this point for a $300 laptop...

Thanks,

hjlbx
 
Hi. . .

Please run SysInternals AutoRuns and produce an ARN file.

SysInternals AutoRuns from Microsoft TechNet - http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb963902

Direct AutoRuns EXE download - http://live.sysinternals.com/autoruns.exe

Download autoruns.exe; save to Desktop.

RIGHT-click on autoruns.exe; give it a few moments to scan (status -- bottom-left of A/R screen).

Save as an ARN file (file ext) - FILE | SAVE

Also, I'd like a fresh DirectX Kernel Diagnostics Report (text file) - https://www.sysnative.com/forums/wi...dxdiag-windows-8-1-8-7-and-windows-vista.html

I'm not sure any of this will help, but I'd like to see what drivers (if any, besides Microsoft Windows legacy HID drivers) are loading for your mouse.

Please zip up the ARN + TXT files and attach to your next post.

Regards. .

jcgriff2
 
Hello jcgriff2,

Reports:

Autoruns
DirectX Diagnostic

NOTE: In the Autoruns report you will see (3) missing drivers; Comodo Tray Icon, Comodo Internet Security startup, and one is for Comodo Cleaning Essentials. I've deleted the registry entries and the images were uninstalled.

Thanks,

hjlbx

View attachment Drivers.zip
 
Correction:

I deleted the (3) registry traces left behind. Comodo Internet Security was uninstalled weeks ago.

Thanks,

hjlbx
 
Hi -

Thank you for AutoRuns + DXDiag.

Bring AutoRuns back up, go to "Boot Execute" and un-check Glarysoft boot defrag.

A few odd things I noticed & don't know what to make of them at the moment:

DirectX is reporting incorrect dates for your Realtek audio drivers. I don't know what the cause is or if it matters (i.e., is it a possible indication of a larger issue..?; not sure) -
Read More:
Read More:

Driver Query shows it as current:
Code:
IntcAzAudAdd          Service for Realtek HD R
unning    OK         [COLOR=#ff0000]5/6/2014[/COLOR] 9:14:37 AM    C
:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\[B]RTKVHD64.sys         [/B]

DirectX reporting webcam driver w/Windows 8.1 version number + a Vista RC timestamp -
Read More:
I've seen that June 2006 date in dumps up through Windows 7; first time I'm seeing it in Windows 8.1. Other system reports contain a different timesamp. Not sure what if any relevance opposite your mouse issue.

I'm not sure what apps this refers to, but I assume it could slow the system down:
Code:
Event[28]:
  Log Name: System
  Source: Microsoft-Windows-Wininit
  Date: 2014-11-17T18:24:49.399
  Level: Warning
  Description: 
Custom dynamic link libraries are being loaded for every application. 
The system administrator should review the list of libraries to ensure 
they are related to trusted applications. 
Please visit http://support.microsoft.com/kb/197571 for more information.

The URL brings up a kb from the 90s - http://support.microsoft.com/kb/197571


Is the cursor freezing like. . .
1. - a page has loaded/ an app opened and you start to type; you believe the characters are being typed, yet you find there is a delay?
2. " " and the first portion of the word(s) you typed is missing?
3. Does the cursor seem to "get stuck" at times while typing?
4. Do you notice if the hard drive is churning?
4a. Check it with RESMON - https://www.sysnative.com/forums/wi...resmon-windows-8-1-8-7-and-windows-vista.html
5. Does cursor freeze occur 24/7, i.e., at all times when using the system? Or are there "breaks" -- when all seems fine?
6. Does the cursor freeze seem to occur more while typing into a web page or local app (Notepad, Word, etc...)?
7. Do Internet pages load fast every time?
8. Once a page has loaded, do you always have immediate cursor control?

I am asking these questions because for a brief period of time on my HP Windows 8.1 laptop, I experienced the same phenomenon and it drove me crazy. It literally took the fun out of all tasks -- because of the cursor freeze/ lag.

Regards. . .

jcgriff2

p.s. I do not know how my system remedied itself, but all has been well for a few months now.
 
Last edited:
Hi -

Thank you for AutoRuns + DXDiag.

Bring AUtoRuns back up, go to "Boot Execute" and un-check Glarysoft boot defrag. I will get this done as it does not work.

A few odd things I noticed & don't know what to make of them at the moment:

DirectX is reporting incorrect dates for your Realtek audio drivers. I don't know what the cause is or if it matters (i.e., is it a possible indication of a larger issue..?; not sure) - Hmm, not sure...but I did update those using Slimware Drivers.

Read More:
Read More:

Driver Query shows it as current:
Code:
IntcAzAudAdd          Service for Realtek HD R
unning    OK         [COLOR=#ff0000]5/6/2014[/COLOR] 9:14:37 AM    C
:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\[B]RTKVHD64.sys         [/B]

DirectX reporting webcam driver w/Windows 8.1 version number + a Vista RC timestamp -
Read More:
I've seen that June 2006 date in dumps up through Windows 7; first time I'm seeing it in Windows 8.1. Other system reports contain a different timesamp. Not sure what if any relevance opposite your mouse issue.

I'm not sure what apps this refers to, but I assume it could slow the system down:
Code:
Event[28]:
  Log Name: System
  Source: Microsoft-Windows-Wininit
  Date: 2014-11-17T18:24:49.399
  Level: Warning
  Description: 
Custom dynamic link libraries are being loaded for every application.   [COLOR=#0000ff][B]I think this has to do with a regkey that needs to be set to 0...AppsInit.dll.  AppInit tab in Autoruns is always empty.[/B][/COLOR]
The system administrator should review the list of libraries to ensure 
they are related to trusted applications. 
Please visit http://support.microsoft.com/kb/197571 for more information.

The URL brings up a kb from the 90s - Working with the AppInit_DLLs registry value


Is the cursor freezing like. . .
1. - a page has loaded/ an app opened and you start to type; you believe the characters are being typed, yet you find there is a delay?
Yes, with IE 11...however, with other apps not so much
2. " " and the first portion of the word(s) you typed is missing?
Sometimes
3. Does the cursor seem to "get stuck" at times while typing?
No
4. Do you notice if the hard drive is churning?
I've been unable to link it to HDD I/O activity
4a. Check it with RESMON - https://www.sysnative.com/forums/wi...resmon-windows-8-1-8-7-and-windows-vista.html
5. Does cursor freeze occur 24/7, i.e., at all times when using the system? Or are there "breaks" -- when all seems fine?
Occasionally there are breaks...gets better, then gets worse...goes away, comes back
6. Does the cursor freeze seem to occur more while typing into a web page or local app (Notepad, Word, etc...)?
No, it happens mostly when moving cursor - and especially when using browsers - but that is what I do most of the time on my laptop. However, I have noticed it happens a bit when using KingSoft Write and Spreadsheets.
7. Do Internet pages load fast every time?
Reasonably fast for my system and wireless network setup
8. Once a page has loaded, do you always have immediate cursor control?
Yes

I am asking these questions because for a brief period of time on my HP Windows 8.1 laptop, I experienced the same phenomenon and it drove me crazy. It literally took the fun out of all tasks -- because of the cursor free/ lag.

Thanks,

hjlbx

Regards. . .

jcgriff2

p.s. I do not know how my system remedied itself, but all has been well for a few months now.
 
Hello jcgriff2,

The only thing I can think of to try at this point is to turn Airplane Mode on and use the laptop for a good while...the theory being that if the cursor freeze does not occur...or occurs much less...then networking may be somehow related.

With wwahost.exe, Windows Metro Apps, livecomm.exe, skydrive, explorer.exe - and probably items of the same ilk of which I am unaware - on Win 8, it is a possibility.

What do you think?

Best Regards,

hjlbx
 
Hello jgriff2,

Using Process Monitor (ProcMon) this is what i can tell you:

While the laggy, stalling, freezing cursor behavior is occuring...I see the ELAN Touch Pad driver software - along with Service Host (svchost) - in ProcMon Auto Scroll mode.

However, I completely uninstalled ELAN software, rebooted and the cursor problems persisted with the Microsoft generic touchpad driver.

So, I'm not too sure of the significance of what I am seeing in ProcMon.

Thanks,

hjlbx
 
I'm not sure what apps this refers to, but I assume it could slow the system down:
Code:
Event[28]:
  Log Name: System
  Source: Microsoft-Windows-Wininit
  Date: 2014-11-17T18:24:49.399
  Level: Warning
  Description: 
Custom dynamic link libraries are being loaded for every application.   
[COLOR=#0000ff][B]I think this has to do with a regkey that needs to be set to 0...AppsInit.dll.  
AppInit tab in Autoruns is always empty.[/B][/COLOR]
The system administrator should review the list of libraries to ensure 
they are related to trusted applications. 
Please visit http://support.microsoft.com/kb/197571 for more information.

Hold off on any registry changes that you mentioned -- my AutoRuns "Appinit" tab is empty too. Also, I went back and checked ~12 other OPs AutoRuns ARN output files -- they all are empty (Appinit).

Do you have any old apps installed?

Hello jgriff2,

Using Process Monitor (ProcMon) this is what i can tell you:

While the laggy, stalling, freezing cursor behavior is occuring...I see the ELAN Touch Pad driver software - along with Service Host (svchost) - in ProcMon Auto Scroll mode.

However, I completely uninstalled ELAN software, rebooted and the cursor problems persisted with the Microsoft generic touchpad driver.

So, I'm not too sure of the significance of what I am seeing in ProcMon.

Thanks,

hjlbx

I too was unable to ever find anything incriminating in ProcMon when I experienced the lagging cursor issue on my HP laptop. In fact, I was never able to pin it on anything. I simply noticed that the HDD light was blinking furiously -- but again - nothing suspicious in ProcMon.

Hello jcgriff2,

The only thing I can think of to try at this point is to turn Airplane Mode on and use the laptop for a good while...the theory being that if the cursor freeze does not occur...or occurs much less...then networking may be somehow related.

With wwahost.exe, Windows Metro Apps, livecomm.exe, skydrive, explorer.exe - and probably items of the same ilk of which I am unaware - on Win 8, it is a possibility.

What do you think?

Best Regards,

hjlbx

I too tried the same - Wifi + Ethernet shut off (no Internet connected) and had mixed results on my system. There were times when I thought "ah ha... it [lagging cursor] seems to occur only when connected to Internet", but then that moment of bright thought quickly faded.

It certainly cannot hurt to try it out though.

I wish I had more definitive ideas/answers for you, but as mentioned in my case - this issue drove me nuts and resulted in me purposefully not being as active (posting) as I was because of the pain and utter frustration endured by the lagging cursor -- but then my system problem just went away one day & I never discovered why.

Regards. . .

John
 
I'm not sure what apps this refers to, but I assume it could slow the system down:
Code:
Event[28]:
  Log Name: System
  Source: Microsoft-Windows-Wininit
  Date: 2014-11-17T18:24:49.399
  Level: Warning
  Description: 
Custom dynamic link libraries are being loaded for every application.   
[COLOR=#0000ff][B]I think this has to do with a regkey that needs to be set to 0...AppsInit.dll.  
AppInit tab in Autoruns is always empty.[/B][/COLOR]
The system administrator should review the list of libraries to ensure 
they are related to trusted applications. 
Please visit http://support.microsoft.com/kb/197571 for more information.

Hold off on any registry changes that you mentioned -- my AutoRuns "Appinit" tab is empty too. Also, I went back and checked ~12 other OPs AutoRuns ARN output files -- they all are empty (Appinit).

Do you have any old apps installed? No...except for legacy Microsoft stuff that's carried over to Windows 8

Hello jgriff2,

Using Process Monitor (ProcMon) this is what i can tell you:

While the laggy, stalling, freezing cursor behavior is occuring...I see the ELAN Touch Pad driver software - along with Service Host (svchost) - in ProcMon Auto Scroll mode.

However, I completely uninstalled ELAN software, rebooted and the cursor problems persisted with the Microsoft generic touchpad driver.

So, I'm not too sure of the significance of what I am seeing in ProcMon.

Thanks,

hjlbx

I too was unable to ever find anything incriminating in ProcMon when I experienced the lagging cursor issue on my HP laptop. In fact, I was never able to pin it on anything. I simply noticed that the HDD light was blinking furiously -- but again - nothing suspicious in ProcMon.

Hello jcgriff2,

The only thing I can think of to try at this point is to turn Airplane Mode on and use the laptop for a good while...the theory being that if the cursor freeze does not occur...or occurs much less...then networking may be somehow related.

With wwahost.exe, Windows Metro Apps, livecomm.exe, skydrive, explorer.exe - and probably items of the same ilk of which I am unaware - on Win 8, it is a possibility.

What do you think?

Best Regards,

hjlbx

I too tried the same - Wifi + Ethernet shut off (no Internet connected) and had mixed results on my system. There were times when I thought "ah ha... it [lagging cursor] seems to occur only when connected to Internet", but then that moment of bright thought quickly faded.

It certainly cannot hurt to try it out though. It's no good...turning Airplane Mode on...it still occurs...

I wish I had more definitive ideas/answers for you, but as mentioned in my case - this issue drove me nuts and resulted in me purposefully not being as active (posting) as I was because of the pain and utter frustration endured by the lagging cursor -- but then my system problem just went away one day & I never discovered why.

Regards. . .

John

At this point I don't think there is anything I can do further as I've tried all of the things I can think of...

It's easy just to blame it on the laptop manufacturer...but I suspect it's not due to a substandard build.

Do you think it might be an SMBus issue...or what about i8402prt.sys...??? (If it is, I don't know how to mess with either).

I know that LatencyMon indicated elevated latency with i8402prt.sys, but from what I understand it's likely to always be relatively high...

Let me know what you think.

Best Regards,

hjlbx
 
Hello jcgriff2,

Never mind on SMBus consideration as I figured out that SMBus driver is not the issue...I uninstalled the ELAN SMBus driver and cursor still freezes.

I still think it may somehow be connected to Windows Communication Service, Windows Communication Apps (Mail, Calender, People), livecomm.exe, OneDrive and/or Microsoft WWAHost.exe (needed for Metro Apps).

What do you think?

Thanks,

hjlbx
 
Do you think it might be an SMBus issue...or what about i8402prt.sys...??? (If it is, I don't know how to mess with either).

I know that LatencyMon indicated elevated latency with i8402prt.sys, but from what I understand it's likely to always be relatively high...

It's a vicious circle - laptop manufacturer (OEM) will blame Microsoft; Microsoft will ultimately blame OEM system.

i8042prt.sys is the Windows legacy keyboard driver. I honestly don't see it as the culprit here.

I still think it may somehow be connected to Windows Communication Service, Windows Communication Apps (Mail, Calender, People), livecomm.exe, OneDrive and/or Microsoft WWAHost.exe (needed for Metro Apps).

It very well could be. Try disabling some of the services you mentioned - including WMP sharing.

https://www.sysnative.com/forums/wi...orials/12134-windows-8-1-system-services.html



To rule out user profile corruption or some other issue with it, run your system for a while logged on to a different user account.

If none currently allocated, enable the Hidden Admin user account and use it - see if cursor lagging occurs.

https://www.sysnative.com/forums/wi...ministrator-user-account-windows-8-1-8-a.html

Regards,

John
 
Hi,

As the issue been going without a resolution for a while, could you please do the following?

Generate PERFMON trace:
  1. Download Process Monitor tool.
  2. Extract the downloaded archive to C:\ProcMon directory.
  3. Start Process Monitor. It will begin capturing the data.
  4. While Process Monitor is still running, move the mouse around to make sure the freezes occur.
  5. Return to Process Monitor window and stop the capturing, either by pressing CTRL+E or clicking the magnifying glass icon in the toolbar.
  6. Click CTRL+S or select File -> Save... from the menu.
  7. Select All events under Events to save section.
  8. Select Native Process Monitor Format (PML) under Format section.
  9. Confirm the path the log will be saved and click OK.
  10. Compress the PML file.
  11. Upload the compressed file to a file sharing service (e.g. OneDrive or DropBox).
  12. Share the download link here.
Generate XPER trace:
  1. Download Windows Software Development Kit (SDK) for Windows and run the setup.
  2. Select Windows Performance Toolkit feature (all the others can be unchecked) and proceed with the download/installation.
  3. Once the installation finishes, open an elevated Command Prompt by right-clicking on CMD.EXE shortcut in your start menu and selecting Run As Administrator from the context menu.
  4. Type the following command, which will start tracing, in the Command Prompt window you just opened:
    Code:
    xperf -on PROC_THREAD+LOADER+PROFILE+INTERRUPT+DPC+DRIVERS+POWER+IDLE_STATES -stackwalk Profile -BufferSize 1024 -MinBuffers 256 -MaxBuffers 256 -MaxFile 256 -FileMode Circular
    If you see a yellow warning "xperf: warning: This system is not fully configured for x64 stack tracing" after running the above command, please complete these extra steps (otherwise, proceed to the step #5):
    Read More:
    If you see a red error "xperf: error: NT Kernel Logger: A device attached to the system is not functioning. (0x1f)" after running the above command, please complete these extra steps (otherwise, proceed to the step #5):
    Read More:

    If you see a red error "xperf: error: NT Kernel Logger: Cannot create a file when that file already exists. (0xb7)", please do the following (otherwise, proceed to the step #5):
    Read More:
  5. Move the mouse around, making sure the freezes occur.
  6. Run the following command, which will stop the tracing, in the command prompt window you already have opened:
    Code:
    xperf -stop -d C:\CPU.etl
  7. Compress file C:\CPU.etl
  8. Upload the compressed file to a file sharing service (e.g. OneDrive or DropBox).
  9. Share the download link here.
Thank you.
 
Sorry, I've checked the traces but there is too much activity by different products on the system, making the issue quite difficult to pinpoint. Few examples:

  • HydraVision application is checking mouse class registry key (HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\{4d36e96f-e325-11ce-bfc1-08002be10318}\Class) from time to time.
  • Here's a2hooks32.dll module from Emsisoft AV inject in some of the processes and it might interact with the keyboard/mouse.
  • Skydrive process keeps reading HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows Services\Bici\Common registry key every few seconds. Even though it might not relate to mouse, it might have some performance impact on the system.
You've mentioned few times already that you've tried restoring the system and the issue still persists. If possible, I would want to see PROCMON/XPERF/AUTORUNS traces on a clean system, which doesn't have any additional application installed but is still experiencing the issues.
 
Sorry, I've checked the traces but there is too much activity by different products on the system, making the issue quite difficult to pinpoint. Few examples:

  • HydraVision application is checking mouse class registry key (HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\{4d36e96f-e325-11ce-bfc1-08002be10318}\Class) from time to time. Cursor issue predates activation of HydraVision.
  • Here's a2hooks32.dll module from Emsisoft AV inject in some of the processes and it might interact with the keyboard/mouse. Cursor issue predates installation of Emsisoft Internet Security.
  • Skydrive process keeps reading HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows Services\Bici\Common registry key every few seconds. Even though it might not relate to mouse, it might have some performance impact on the system. I deactivated SkyDrive.exe as it seemed the cursor issue occured when SkyDrive made a TCP connection, but the cursor issue still continued.
You've mentioned few times already that you've tried restoring the system and the issue still persists. If possible, I would want to see PROCMON/XPERF/AUTORUNS traces on a clean system, which doesn't have any additional application installed but is still experiencing the issues.

I will restore my system back to its "as-new" factory configuration. I will get it completed overnight and then I'll get the logs and trace done tomorrow.

Unless you would prefer otherwise, before running ProcMon, xperf and AutoRuns I am going to remove the crapware that is preconfigured on my system.

After looking at the logs and trace, if there are additional applications that need to be either uninstalled or deactivated in order to zero-in on the issue, then I am willing to do so.

Many Thanks,

hjlbx
 
Last edited:
Hello TomasD,

I reset my PC to factory configuration - except for a few minor settings such as desktop wallpaper, IE 11 homepage, etc. (Is there a way to reset PC 100 % back to factory configuration?)

In any case, here is the OneDrive link for AutoRuns and ProcMon Logs plus xperf trace:

https://onedrive.live.com/redir?resid=2C645D108A1E40C7!1343

PLEASE NOTE THE FOLLOWING:

  • The cursor lag/freeze occurred at the very first screen when setting up Keyboard Type, Language, Time Zone, etc.; before signing into Live Account.
  • Because the cursor lag/freeze occurred so soon I did not remove any of the original factory installed software; I proceeded immediately to AutoRuns, ProcMon and MS SDK.
  • While ProcMon was capturing the cursor lag/freeze occurred between 12:11:45 AM and 12:12:15 AM.
  • As soon as I turned xperf on the cursor lag/freeze began immediately and lasted for approximately 3 seconds.

As you will notice there is a lot of crapware on the system. However, if I remove it the cursor lag/freeze still continues.

Do you think it could be a thread scheduling issue? a SMBus issue?

Thanks,

hjlbx
 
Hello TomasD,

This is what I have observed...

The cursor lag/freeze occurs:


  • independently of installed applications
  • independently of installed security software
  • independently of CPU, memory, disk I/O and network I/O activity
  • independently of installed touchpad/mouse driver
  • in Safe Mode
  • in Airplane Mode (Wifi off)

I am not too sure if it would occur under an Administrative Account, but since I reset my PC I would think that any type of user account profile corruption would be ruled out as a potential cause.

Thanks,

hjlbx
 
Last edited:

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