time.sleep(1) sometimes runs for 200 seconds under windows

[Claudio Grondi]

Paul Probert wrote:
> Hi,
>   My app runs in a loop looking for changes in a database, and like a 
> good boy I call time.sleep(1) inside the loop. Unfortunately this 
> sometimes runs for 200 seconds or so, presumably while my OS is calling 
> Bill Gates to tell him what I've been doing. This happens under NT4, 
> W2k, and XP. What do people do to fix this? Thanks!
> 
> Paul Probert
> University of Wisconsin
> 

In similar situation I would start to blame the hardware for the 
problem, so below a kind of checklist to go through:

   1. have you changed any hardware?
   2. have you installed new drivers?
   3. have you connected via USB/Firewire/IDE or other interfaces/ports 
etc. some new devices?
   4. have you installed new BIOS?
   5. is your RAM ok?
   6. are you sure there is no CD/DVD in your CD/DVD drive?
   7. are you sure there is no floppy disk in your floppy drive?
   8. are you sure your CPU/motherboard/RAM is not overheating?

Claudio