Community Newsletter: Q&A: CPU keeps going to 100%--any suggestions to remedy?
- 2/28/08 2:46 PM
Anthony if you don't have it fixed by now
by Dango517 - 2/17/08 7:57 PM In reply to: CPU keeps going to 100%--any suggestions to remedy? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
just shut down your computer and never go near it again. 
Good Advice
by LionsMike - 2/22/08 8:34 PM In reply to: Anthony if you don't have it fixed by now by Dango517I hope you never need a cardiologist and come across one with that kind of attitude.
dango517
by elliottfire - 2/22/08 10:10 PM In reply to: Anthony if you don't have it fixed by now by Dango517dango517 im not the one having the problem go read the initial post
100% CPU Usage
by jbtwo - 2/17/08 9:51 PM In reply to: CPU keeps going to 100%--any suggestions to remedy? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
This may occur when you have multiple sites open and not enough memory, a registry that slowly gets corrupted and inefficient, or spyware. Control-alt-delete will bring up the task manager and you can attempt to end the process that is causing the problem. You might get "program not responding". Try ending it multiple times and it will close out of windows. If you have mozilla firefox, you'll have the option of restoring your previous session. If your system is old, replace it. If you want to save money, reinstall windows. Also, start-run type msconfig and look at your start up tab. Uncheck programs that you can easily access instead of having them run all the time. If not sure, do a Google check to see what each one does. Also, download Ad Aware which is free. This will help get rid of spyware. It's a legitimate program and works reasonably well.
Registry
by lee5458 - 2/17/08 10:05 PM In reply to: CPU keeps going to 100%--any suggestions to remedy? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I used that CCleaner? That seemed to do the trick? You sent that to me last week. Also have registry cleaner I bought years ago? I lost that when my hard drive fried. I didn't get the new code from the company so I just read everything that C-Net puts up?? GREAT stuff. Seems to be more speedy when I used CCleaner? I do NOT get freezes at all? Using the XP-PRO- SP2. Did you install any software before this started?? . Did you try system restore to that date right before? Sometimes that places it back before it was messed up??? ah, don't you love it??? BRAIN FREEZE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Troubleshooting of Freezing
by aniarp - 2/17/08 10:15 PM In reply to: CPU keeps going to 100%--any suggestions to remedy? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
For Troubleshooting your Problem you can do the following step by step----->
i)Are you confirmed that your machine doesnot have any virus or spyware? Whether you are confirmed or not AT FIRST THOROUGHLY SCAN THE WHOLE MACHINE WITH A GOOD ANTIVIRUS (Like AVG 7.5 Internet security,Avast Pro etc)
ii)Collect or Download TUNE-UP UTILITY 2007( or 2008)(You can download it from any website like www.isohunt.com etc.)
iii)After installing Tune-up Utility 2007 atfirst click on "TuneUp Start up Manager" and DISABLE ALL PROCESS EXCEPT ANTIVIRUS.
iv)Then CLEAN UP THE DISK with "TuneUp DiskCleaner"
v)EMPTY THE "Temp" FOLDER.(The "Temp" is hidden folder and its address is " C:\Documents and Settings\Admin\Local Settings\Temp")
vi)EMPTY RECYCLE BIN.
vii)KEEP YOUR DESKTOP CLEAN.Delete every thing except "My Computer","My Documents","Recycle Bin".Because the shortcuts of programs on Desktop slow down your machine.
viii)DEFRAG YOUR DISK with Windows XP or any software like Diskeeper Lite.
ix)CLEAN INVALID REGISTRIES with "TuneUP RegistryCleaner"
x)CHECK ERROR OF YOUR DISK with "TuneUp Disk Doctor" or through Disk properties-->Tools-->Check now(select the both options)
xi)Run "TuneUp RegistryDefrag"
Probably these steps will solve your Problem. If even it doesnot solve your problem you have to do the following----->
i)Are you using Windows XP using crack or any nonrecognised serial number? You can DOWNLOAD WINDOWS XP BLACK.This operating System doesnot require any serial numbers.It has inbuild valid serial numbers.IT IS GENUINE AND PASSES WINDOWS GENUINE TEST AT THE TIME OF WINDOWS UPDATE AND EASILY INSTALLS UPDATE FROM MICROSOFT.IT ALSO PASSES THE VALIDATION TEST AT THE INSTALLATION OF INTERNET EXPLORER 7 AND WINDOWS MEDIA PLAYER 11.IN ONE WORD IT IS GENUINE MICRSOFT WINDOWS XP PRO WHICH YOU CAN DOWNLOAD FREE FROM ANY WEBSITE LIKE www.isohunt.com.(You may need to install Utorrent)
ii)After Downloading Windows XP Black ,install the windows and take the advantage of Genuine Windows XP Pro.
I think this would solve your problem UNLESS IT COMES FROM YOUR HARDWARES
-CPU keeps going to 100% any suggestions to remedy?
by oertel - 2/17/08 11:48 PM In reply to: CPU keeps going to 100%--any suggestions to remedy? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
HI, I'm Oertel, I've had this problem countless of times, i have 2 machines and what's going on with yours is 10-to-1 overheating of your hardware, which is caused by dust and partials that collects and sits on your hardware and in the event over time blocks airflow to your hardware, especially your c.p.u heat sink, fans and so on. Take the whole thing apart and clean every part with soft brushes, rid all dust with the help of compressed air. clean c.p.u. heat sink thoroughly, and ALL FANS. Start it up, and see the difference, works every time, it will feel look and work like new again. I am running a P4 with over 40 processes including system and my c.p.u. runs at 30 degrees celcius. Don't forget to reapply fresh heat conducting paste (a paper thin layer) between heat sink and processor. Recommend to repeat this whole procedure at least twice a year.
Figuring out what's maxxing out that CPU
by kLevkoff - 2/17/08 11:55 PM In reply to: CPU keeps going to 100%--any suggestions to remedy? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
This sounds like a software problem. A program that is misbehaving can often cause this sort of problem. The first step is to try and figure out what program is causing the problem. Pop up the Task Manager (ctl-alt-del) and go to the Processes tab (if you can't get this to work when the problem happens, try leaving it running in the background). Task Manager might be very slow to appear, but it usually does eventually - do NOT click Task Manager repeatedly if it's slow to load as this will load multiple copies - which will slow things down even worse. The Task Manager will list the amount of resources that each process is using - so look for one that is using a LOT of CPU. Odds are you will see one process that is using a major proportion of your resources. With luck, you will be able to tell what program the process belongs to (some have reasonable names), and you can check the support site for that program for known problems and interactions. If not, or if you are in a hurry, try Google-ing the process name - there is a very good chance that someone else has had this problem before... with luck you'll find a page with a description of the problem AND a solution, or, at least, a pointer to the guilty program.
Also, you should be aware that this type of behaviour is sometimes simply a symptom that you are doing a lot of processing. I have seen virus scanners do this during very large high-speed downloads - and then return to normal later when they actually finished what they were doing. If this is the case, the machine will eventually return to normal, but it might take several minutes. If that's the problem, you might consider switching the scanner off for the duration of the download, then manually scanning the files afterwards. It also sometimes happens if some intensive task starts running in the background, such as a scheduled full virus scan. Sometimes "live updates" start off invisibly, and at unexpected times. In that case, you'll have to reschedule things for more appropriate times - if possible.
100%
by shanesto - 2/18/08 1:24 AM In reply to: CPU keeps going to 100%--any suggestions to remedy? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
The CPU goes to 100% capacity because you have a lot of programs operating in the background. YOu first need to decide what are the important things that you want and have to keep and then delet the rest.
CPU at 100%
by catboy - 2/18/08 4:26 AM In reply to: CPU keeps going to 100%--any suggestions to remedy? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I work for a small company that has about 30 desktop computers, the same number of laptops and 4 servers. I have run into this problem 2 times so far. I have found the culprit to be Windows Update. For whatever reason, your computer cannot connect to the Microsoft server and determine what updates are needed. To verify this, you need to download and install Process Explorer from http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb896653.aspx Make sure once you install, put a shortcut to the program on your desktop to easily find it. Reboot your computer and launch process explorer, it may take a minute of so to load because it is wating for CPU cycles. Once it loads, look for any large percentage under the CPU column, I have found when it's Windows Update you will see over 98% running. Look to the left under the process column and you should see the associated program which will be wuauclt.exe. This is the windows update program that runs in the background. Kill the program from here by right clicking on that line and select "kill Process". You should see an immediate speed up of your computer. Now, open you security center, an disable Windows Update, reboot your computer, it should be running more normal. Go to the Windows Update site by launching Internet Explorer and go to Tools>Windows Update. Cluick on Express and your computer should update if anything is required. Once updates has finished, turn back on Windows Update, and reboot. Everything should be fine. If it still seems bogged down, run Process Explorer again and see if the Windows Update is still the culprit, if so kill the process again, turn it off under the security center, and go about your business for a day or two and try running windows update from IE in a day or two, and run the steps outlined above again. Eventually, your computer will sync with the microsoft server and will return to normal.
Good Luck,
Peter
CPU issues
by preitman - 2/18/08 5:17 AM In reply to: CPU keeps going to 100%--any suggestions to remedy? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Anthony,
Seeing as it is a recent development and not something that has been happening since you had the computer, it is likely that some program you have recently installed is using up your processor speed, or worse yet, you accidently got some spyware and it is hogging your cpu. i would recommend thinking back to when the problem first started occuring and uninstalling any programs you might have installed in that time frame. Also, if you do not have an anti-spyware program, I would highly recommend that as well, there are many different programs that can do this, the one I use is Windows Live OneCare (though you might want to check out Norton 360 or many other ones, just do some research). Another issue with most spyware is it attaches itself to your registry and can be very problematic to remove. I'm sorry I can't recommend anything for registry fixes, I stay away from that stuff. Hope this helps.
Shutdown apps then processes... (or vice versa depending)
by winsleuth - 2/18/08 8:28 AM In reply to: CPU keeps going to 100%--any suggestions to remedy? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
one by one. Press Control-Alt-Delete and see a table showing Apps, Processes, and two other tabs. Click on the Processes Tab. If you dont see a 'CPU Time' Column, pull down the View menu and pick Select 'Columns'. Then add 'CPU Time' to that. Now Click once or twice on that column, whichever sorts it descending by CPU Time, it maybe be far off to right, you can click and hold and move it to left. Now note the processes that are maxing out CPU time and the problem is likely related to one of those at the top. Do this B4 it hits 100%+ and freezes. You probably are infected with spyware is my best guess and you PC isnt powerful enough to do their bidding and let you work at the same time. It may not be listed so if all are low, close out the Apps and recheck. Plan B, hire me if you live on the Treasure coast of Florida. Good luck,... Dave.
Got Norton?
by Pilaar39 - 2/18/08 9:06 AM In reply to: CPU keeps going to 100%--any suggestions to remedy? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
If you are using Norton Antivirus or Antispyware, I would suggest disabling it to see if there is an improvement. Norton is notorious for bringing a system to its knees. I have also experienced the same when CounterSpy is doing it's thing checking for and installing updates.
If you are a consciencious user, I would suggest disabling all automatic updates, and running them manually once a week yourself at a predetermined time when you are not running anything else.
Paul
CPU going to 100% and freezing
by abogie - 2/18/08 5:30 PM In reply to: CPU keeps going to 100%--any suggestions to remedy? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Hi,
I just recovered from the same problem. I'm running XP Home/SP2 with Intel Pentium dual-core processing. My computer would work fine for about an hour then, fan would run like crazy, computer would slow down, freeze or restart. After shutting down for a while (15 - 20 min.). It would work fine for about another hour. Ended up taking it in for service, turns out one of the 2/512Mb RAM went bad. Had to replace both to upgrade. Now I have 2/1G RAM and computer runs like a champ. Hope this helps.
Check for DMA mode
by daryllafferty - 2/22/08 8:35 PM In reply to: CPU going to 100% and freezing by abogieI'm surprised nobody has yet suggested it could be a DMA issue. When Windows detects an error rate on the hard drive data above a certain level, it switches the hard drive from DMA into much slower PIO mode. The result is that everything seems to run much slower and CPU usage gets very high, but no specific process can be pinpointed.
Go into the Device Manager and make sure the Primary IDE channel is set to DMA. If it isn't, uninstall the Primary channel and reboot. The system should automatically reinstall it in DMA mode.
| Forum legend: | |
 |
Locked thread |
 |
Moderator |
 |
CNET staff |
 |
Samsung staff |
 |
Norton Authorized Support team |
 |
AVG staff |
 |
Windows Outreach team |
 |
Dell staff |
 |
Intel staff |
