Greetings all
I have a very strange problem when copying formatted text from one application and pasting to another on my laptop (XP Pro x64 2Ghz 2GB) . The problem occurs when pasting. The first time I do so, there is a delay of around 10-15 seconds. If I then want to copy other formatted text between the same apps, there is then no more delay, until I switch to some other application, after which, going back and attempting more copy/paste betweent the original 2 apps has the same problem. Typically I'm copying between a browser (I use IE or Firefox) and a spreadsheet (excel 2003 or openoffice calc) but it happens between many other apps too (except notepad). The general performance of the machine is OK - I run statistical analysis apps and those run perfectly OK. I recently upgraded the RAM from 1GB to 2GB (max) with no discernable effect on anything. I defrag regularly, run ccleaner from time to time, have plenty of disc space and have updated antivirus and antispy/adware running.
While this problems is occuring (the 10-15 sec delay in pasting), the target app becomes non-responsive. If I switch back to another app and copy some different text before the paste has completed, it is this different text that is eventually pasted in the target, not the original text I copied. I have studied Task Manager to see what's happening. And nothing is happening. Literally. There is no hard drive activity and If I sort the Task Manager processes by CPU usage, normally there is a lot going on - the various processes are moving all the time, switching position, but when this problem occurs, the first thing to happen is that "System Idle Process goes to 99% or 100% and all the rest of the processes seem to do nothing. I just see a few "I/O Other" ticking over in a few processes Once the paste finally occurs, task manager goes back to normal.
Another performance problem I have is in IE when opening a new tab, the new tab open very slowly (10-15 secs). I recently upgraded to v8 and this problem seems to be a little worse now. I sometimes run 64 bit IE (no addins/plugins or toolbars) and other times 32 bit and the problem is the same with both versions. While this delay is occuring, Task Manager appears normal, although System Idle Process" is always around 90% CPU, and there is no hard drive activity, until the tab finally opens, at which point an ie process usually takes over using most CPU and the hard drive shows constant access for a second or so.
Any help or advice much appreciated
LR
