Ticking sound

[Puch001]

Hello,

I have an HP omen 15 dc00xx, and whenever I open an app or play games, there is a sudden lag with my laptop and a ticking sound. Even when playing low graphics req games I lag with a ticking sound.

What would be a great resolution for this?

[Nal_NR]

Hi @Puch001,

Welcome to the HP Support Community. 

I'd be happy to help you! 

The sudden lag and ticking sound you're experiencing on your HP Omen 15 dc00xx, especially when opening apps or playing games, could be due to several potential issues. Here are some troubleshooting steps you can follow:

1. Check for Overheating:

• Overheating can cause performance throttling, leading to lag, and the ticking sound might be coming from the cooling fans or hard drive.
• Use a tool like HWMonitor or Core Temp to monitor the CPU and GPU temperatures while gaming or using resource-intensive applications.
• If the temperatures are consistently high, ensure that your laptop's vents are not blocked, clean the fans, and consider using a cooling pad.

2. Hard Drive Issues:

• The ticking sound could be from the hard drive, which might indicate a failing drive, especially if you have an HDD alongside an SSD.
• Run a disk check to see if there are any issues with the hard drive:
  1. Open Command Prompt as an administrator.
  2. Type chkdsk /f /r and press Enter.
  3. The system will schedule a disk check for the next restart. Restart your laptop to allow the scan to complete.
• If the hard drive is failing, back up your data immediately and consider replacing the drive.

3. Check for Background Processes:

• Excessive background processes can cause lag during gaming or other tasks.
• Open Task Manager (Ctrl + Shift + Esc) and check for any high CPU, memory, or disk usage by background processes.
• Disable unnecessary startup programs by going to the Startup tab in Task Manager.

4. Update Drivers:

• Ensure that all your drivers, especially the graphics drivers, are up to date. Outdated or corrupt drivers can cause performance issues.
• Visit the HP Support website or the GPU manufacturer's site (NVIDIA/AMD) to download and install the latest drivers.

5. Check Power Settings:

• Make sure your laptop is set to High-Performance mode:
  1. Go to Control Panel > Power Options.
  2. Select High-Performance mode to ensure that the laptop is not throttling performance to save power.

Please find the remaining steps in the next post. 

Hope this helps! Keep me posted for further assistance

Please mark this post as “Accepted Solution” if the issue is resolved and if you feel this reply was helpful click “Yes”.

[Nal_NR]

Hi @Puch001,

Please find the remaining steps below. 

6. Malware Scan:

• Malware or viruses can cause performance issues and abnormal behavior, such as ticking sounds.
• Run a full system scan using Windows Defender or any reputable antivirus software to ensure your system is not infected.

7. Test RAM and GPU:

• RAM: Faulty RAM can cause random lag and system instability. Run the Windows Memory Diagnostic tool to check for RAM issues.
• GPU: The GPU might be struggling due to driver issues or hardware faults. Test the GPU performance using benchmarking tools like 3DMark to see if it performs as expected.

8. BIOS and Firmware Update:

• Sometimes, a BIOS update can resolve performance issues or incompatibilities.
• Visit the HP Support website to check if there are any BIOS updates available for your model.

9. Check for Software Conflicts:

• If the issue started after installing a new program, there might be a software conflict.
• Uninstall any recently added programs and see if the problem persists.

10. Reinstall or Repair the Operating System:

• If none of the above steps work, consider performing a system repair or a clean installation of Windows. This can help resolve deep-seated software issues that might be causing the lag and ticking sound.

If after these steps the issue persists, it might be a hardware-related problem, and you should consider reaching out to HP support.

Hope this helps! Keep me posted for further assistance

Please mark this post as “Accepted Solution” if the issue is resolved and if you feel this reply was helpful click “Yes”.