Opera 12.17. Browser "freezes" for a few seconds every few seocnds
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Bansheedragon last edited by
I just got me a New computer yesterday.
The only difference from the old one other than the hardware is that I use Win 7 Pro instead of Home Edition, and Instead of Norton I use Panda Antivirus.My problem is that Opera keeps "freezing" if you can call it that every few Seconds.
During these brief freezes I cannot do anything, but if I am typing something on a website during these "freezes" it will just display once it starts running again.
I don't know how else to explain it.It don't matter if I have 1 tab or 20 tabs open, it happens regardless of how many tabs I have open.
I never had this problem before, and it only started now with my new computer.
I did not have this problem when I bought a new laptop last year, Opera is running fine on that computer, its only on this computer.
I tried disabling my Antivirus to see if that was the cause, but it didn't have any effect.I have been using this browser for years, and I'm very happy with it, so I don't want to have to change to another browser.
Its really frustrating as it makes it impossible to work with it, so I was wondering if anyone else has encountered this problem or know what the cause of it could be and how to fix it.
I'm not interested in upgrading to a newer version because the newer versions are missing many of the options and features from this version which I like very much. -
blackbird71 last edited byThe question is whether the hesitation is caused by Opera, the OS and hardware, or both. Have you tried another browser to see if the problem repeats there? Have you tried opening Task Manager with Opera running and observing the Performance elements involving CPU usage history and Memory usage history to see if anything is jumping around in those at the same time the hesitation occurs? Once you have a handle on what is happening, then you can start tracking down the 'why' of it.
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Bansheedragon last edited by
I tried with a different browser, the issue is limited to Opera.
Did as you suggested with the task manager and just by keeping an eye on it I did discover something that seems to be related.
The CPU usage goes up to 04-06 and then drop in 1 or 2 increments to 00-01 at which point the hesitations as you call it happens.
Judging from that it seems to be CPU related.
The memory usage seems to be steady all the time.
As to why its happening, I'm at a total loss where to even begin to look
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Bansheedragon last edited by
I shut down Opera for a few minutes, then started it up again.
Then I loaded a previously saved session, same as the last autosave session, and it seems to have stabilized for now.
Though this has happened a couple times previously, so I suspect the problem may show up again.
But I have no idea where to start looking for a solution. -
blackbird71 last edited by
If, by 04-06, you mean 4-6%, that isn't that much of a CPU load by most standards, but the hesitation seems as if Opera is pausing or waiting every so often for something to finish, refresh, or become available. After each hesitation ends, does the CPU usage immediately move or jump back up to the 04-06 range, as you describe it, so that it ends up having the appearance of a repeating, cyclic phenomenon over time?
Do you have Opera's auto-updating shut off? Ctrl+F12 > Advanced > Security > Auto-update: set to Do not check for updates > OK.
What is your antivirus program, and is it set to monitor your browsing or trust-check the websites you visit?
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blackbird71 last edited by
Our last messages seem to have crossed over each other. I don't quite understand what you meant by loading a previous saved session same as the last autosave session. Do you mean you were having the problem, saved the session, shut down Opera, then restarted Opera with that saved session?
Many times, if Opera is doing something weird involving previously-visited sites or sessions, the problem may lie with issues in Opera's cached data or in its session records. Clearing either or both is thus often successful in ending the problem.
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Bansheedragon last edited by
Yes its 4-6%, and you are right its not much.
Opera has never been very demanding on my CPU usage, which is one of the reasons why I use it.
Though it seemed to have a memory issue on my old computer where it would use almost half the available RAM, though this don't seem to be a problem anymore.The CPU usage does happen in a cycle as you say, it goes up to the 04-06 range, and then drops in increments to 01-00, and this happens in a regular cycle of a few seconds.
The Antivirus I use is Panda.
It has a process surveillance system that can track the URL access of each process, though I had to turn that off earlier as a bug in Panda it was causing bluescreens when that option was turned on.
I installed an update for it, but have yet to turn that option on.A second option in the same category is simply a process surveillance, though I'm not sure what it does, its the first time I use Panda so have yet to learn it.
Other than that there is a safe surfing category that's turned on, that seems to be about what sites are trusted and not.
But I would have thought that if Panda was the culprit, deactivating it would have had an effect on the problem, something it did not have
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Bansheedragon last edited by
Our last messages seem to have crossed over each other. I don't quite understand what you meant by loading a previous saved session same as the last autosave session. Do you mean you were having the problem, saved the session, shut down Opera, then restarted Opera with that saved session?
Many times, if Opera is doing something weird involving previously-visited sites or sessions, the problem may lie with issues in Opera's cached data or in its session records. Clearing either or both is thus often successful in ending the problem.We seem to be crossing each others paths a bit here.
A more through explanation seems to be in order.Before I shut down my old computer, I manually saved my open session.
This is something I do sometimes as Opera can seem to forget(delete) the last autosaved session if it or my computer crashed, my old computer was heavily plagued with bluescreens due to a hardware issue.I the copied the sessions folder to an external HD, and then copied it from the external HD to my new computer.
What I did while having a session running was simply load the latest manually saved session and close the old one, which seems to have stabilized it for now.
If the chache could be the culprit, how to I clear it?
Same with previously visited websites for that matter.
I tried deleting the list of previously visited sites in the past, but there must be an easier way to do it than delete each entry one by one?As for the session data I'm not sure what you mean by that.
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blackbird71 last edited by
Both cache and sessions data are capable of either becoming corrupted or carrying currently incompatible information about sites or sessions. When/if that happens, the information within the relevant files can cause problems for Opera in attempting to access anew a particular site or in attempting to resume a previous session. The ways this can show up are numerous, leading to a lot of otherwise unexplainable strange and persistent behavior symptoms.
The cache can be cleared from within Opera by Ctrl+F12 > Advanced > History > at Disk cache: click the Empty Now button > OK.
Previously viewed web history can be cleared from within Opera using the very same recipe, except at History > at Addresses: click on the Clear button > OK. However, I doubt these addresses are causing your problem, simply because they are only used to aid in searching for previously-visited sites, whereas your problem seems to involve sites you're currently already at.
Clearing sessions information involves using Windows Explorer to access your profile folder and deleting the appropriate sessions files with Opera turned off. The name of that profile folder depends on how Opera was installed into which version of operating system and into how many user accounts. If installed as a standalone (also known as a USB) installation, it will simply be called the profile folder, located beneath the regular Opera installation folder. If installed as a full Windows application, it will be found beneath the App Data or Applications Data folder for the particular user account(s) for which it was installed. In Win7, that would be something like useraccountname/AppData/Roaming/Opera/Opera. In that folder, you would delete the vlink4.dat file. Next, in the /sessions sub-folder beneath that folder, delete the autosave.win file. These two files will both also exist in corresponding places under each other user account into which Opera was installed. After clearing sessions, simply restart Opera. This whole process will, of course, remove all traces of the previously stored session, so you will lose any particular or special combination of sites/tabs that could otherwise automatically be loaded together. Hence, you will have to recreate that manually by re-saving a correctly set up session so that it can be reused thereafter.
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Bansheedragon last edited by
I did as you suggested above, deleting the files you mentioned.
Instead of saving a session I bookmarked the various tabs I the order I had them open.
That way I could recreate the sites/tabs in the order I had them without using any of the saved sessions that might be corrupted.After opening about half of the sites, the problem came back again.
I have done this thing with copying sessions many times before, and never encountered this particular problem.
So I'm starting to suspect that maybe is not just Opera, but something involving a combination of Opera, my OS and hardware. -
blackbird71 last edited by
That all raises a question of whether there is something content-wise in the tabs that is impacting this system and Opera differently than in the old system. Are the sites in the tabs flash or animation-rich? Have you explored opening the tabs in the reverse or some other order to see if it impacts approximately where the problem recurs? There may be something going on with background updating or caching of tab content that is either set differently in Opera or acting differently in the new system compared with the old. For Opera to freeze or hesitate, either it's being ignored by the system or busy doing something of its own during those times. Have you tried re-installing the same Opera version yet on the new system?
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Bansheedragon last edited by
Not sure what you mean with your last question here, but to explain what I did.
I downloaded and installed the browser from the net after starting up the computer the first time, then copy/pasted the sessions folder into the appropriate folder.Opera is installed as a full Windows Application
Of the sites I have open only a few have any kinds of animations, 3 or 4 at most, and its very little animation at that, most the sites are either text based forums or text based sites with some static static images.
I did originally install a 64 bit version of Opera, but wanted the 32 bit one instead.
Thought I have since uninstalled it and deleted the "user" data, could there be some lingering stuff from it that could cause interference?I have not tried reinstalling the browser beyond that, but I can uninstall and then reinstall it again to see if it helps
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Bansheedragon last edited by
Using a 3rd party application for uninstallation, Revo uninstaller Pro, I found a significant amount of registry keys and folders that was associated with either the 32 or 64 bit version of the browser.
I had them all deleted to make sure the system was clean, then reinstalled Opera.Looking at the task manager it seems to have stabilized now.
Closing and opening the browser a few times just to make sure it was not just a fluke.
Its now swinging at 7-8%(07-08) and holding steady there.
So it must have been some lingering effects from the old registry keys and folders that cause the trouble.Thank you for the help, I can now use the browser again.
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blackbird71 last edited by
You're welcome, I'm glad it seems to be working now. One of the things I was heading towards, you've already figured out and done. My last question was whether you had ever tried re-installing Opera on the system. Sometimes an installation gets messed up, even when done initially, and a reinstall fixes it. Other times, it's even more possible to get messed up if it's a reinstall after uninstalling a different version of the program - especially a 32 vs 64-bit situation. Leftover registry keys can be a cause of really strange things, usually because some unexpected ones interfere with the new installer having a clean, level field for installing.
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blackbird71 last edited by
no, v18 not v12
If you're truly using 'version 18', you're using a Blink Opera version that is several years out of date (it's currently at stable-version 35). I would imagine that after 17 version updates, a number of stability-related things will have changed - significantly.
