Community Newsletter: Q&A: CPU keeps going to 100%--any suggestions to remedy?
- 2/28/08 2:46 PM
Something to check (from personal experience)
by 12stringman - 2/23/08 7:01 AM In reply to: CPU keeps going to 100%--any suggestions to remedy? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I had a problem similar to this last year but my CPU was only showing about 35 to 40% busy all the time. I tried many different approaches, including removing installed software (especially anti-spyware, anti-virus, etc.) but nothing had an effect. Some days after giving up on this, I had occasion to remove a USB cable for a device I wasn't using all the time (blood sugar monitor actually) from my D-Link powered USB hub. Eureka - my CPU use dropped instantly to about 3 or 4% and remained there even after all the previously-uninstalled software was re-installed. The cable was one with a mini-plug on one end and USB on the other. I don't have this problem with other USB cables. I leave my camera cable connected all the time without problem. I think the software that monitors this (older) type of cable must need to run even without the device connected and turned on. It may also be that the mini-end of the cable was electrically unterminated but I suppose that is a question for an electronics tech. I only plug the cable in when I need to connect the device to the PC and then I remove afterwards. All is good.
here are some suggestions
by hymarathe - 2/23/08 7:10 AM In reply to: CPU keeps going to 100%--any suggestions to remedy? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
My best guess is that it is a software issue. Here's what you can do to find out:
1. Sometimes an antivirus (like Symantec) clogs a lot of memory and CPU time. close your anti-virus application and see if there is any improvement in performance.
2. If you are using some P2P software, close them too. some of these s/w like emule clog a lot of memory.
3. Check your Processes in Task Manager. Use Ctrl+Alt+Del and select the Task Manager tab. Here you'll find all the foreground and background processes running on your machine. Click Mem Usage column title and all the processes will be sorted in the ascending order. Now check which processes are occupying most of your memory and have high CPU number. Just shut down that service temporarily and see if your PC performance has increased. If it works, and the process if of your trusted software, may be you'd need to find out more on that software.
4. Task Manager sometimes does not display all the processes. Some virus/spyware skip Task Manager. Download a small tool HiJack from Trend Micro, the famous anti-virus compnay. Here is the link:
http://www.trendsecure.com/portal/en-US/_download/HiJackThis.exe
Execute and scan your pc with this tool, and you'll get a list of all processes running on your machine. check if there nay unknown process running. It could be a virus or spyware. You can then search more on internet about that.
5. Try running your PC in safe mode and check if there is nay gain in PC performance.
If nothing works, may be you need to reinstall Os or check your hardware.
CPU at 100%
by jbu1 - 2/23/08 9:43 AM In reply to: CPU keeps going to 100%--any suggestions to remedy? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Tell me when this happens, if it is at boot up, or after the windows starts it can be the windows checking for updates, along with the virus and other updates that happen then. This often utilizes the cpu to 100%. There is supposed to be a check box that you can mark or undo to stop this but then you have to manually do the updates.
Questions for this would be does it do this after tuesday each week or the last several weeks. Thats MS.
CAN NOT GIVE A GOOD ANSWER
by justchuck69 - 2/23/08 9:44 AM In reply to: CPU keeps going to 100%--any suggestions to remedy? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
lack of key details keeps us all guessing
so first open up your task manager and see which processes are using all your resources and then you can type the names that you come up with into google and you will see what others have done before you with the same systoms
good luck and take care
Take a closer look at the processes on your machine
by Shannon_VanWagner - 2/23/08 10:00 AM In reply to: CPU keeps going to 100%--any suggestions to remedy? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
This type of mystery can be solved by taking a closer look at the processes that run on your machine. More specifically, which process is driving up the CPU utilization when you experience the problem.
Don't waste your time with task manager, instead get the ProcessExplorer by Mark Russinovich and Bryce Cogswell (the were too good to be left alone so Microsoft brought them onboard):
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb896653.aspx
Also checkout their other great system tools from the "Sysinternals" website:
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/default.aspx
So what to do if the process that's causing the CPU to throttle up turns out to be the generic "svchost.exe", simply use the windows command "tasklist /svc" (see below) to show which named services are running under all pid-identified instances of svchost.exe(there will be multiple instances):
First start the command window start>run>cmd (then run the following command to see the results)
tasklist /svc
You would then make a comparison by PID number from the output of the command above with the PID that shows for the process that is using 100% of your CPU in ProcessExplorer.
If you're situation is the same as mine was, you'll find out the culprit is "Automatic Updates" that is driving up the CPU. Basically this problem can happen if you have your machine set to "automatically download" windows updates. The symptom will be a svchost.exe process that drives your CPU to 100% and if you were to identify the PID for the svchost that is doing this (if you're not using ProcessExplorer you can use taskmgr - view>select columns>checkoff PID) and then run the tasklist /svc command as shown above, it would show that "Automatic Updates" is contained in the svchost.exe that is causing the problem.
You can also try changing the setting for your Automatic Updates to "notify for download and then notify for install" via Control Panel > Automatic Updates. If you change this setting and the problem goes away then checkout the articles at the link below for the fix or just leave "automatic download" feature of Automatic Updates off and control it yourself by being "notified to download and then notified to install" windows updates:
http://forums.techarena.in/showthread.php?t=607979
Finally, for the ultimate fix to your problem, I suggest you take a look at the Linux operating system. I'm typing this from Ubuntu Linux, and we use Edubuntu, PCLOS, and Fedora Linux as the primary OS in our home and we are very happy with the freedom and power that we receive while using Linux. We have one computer that can dual-boot Windows or Linux but everyone likes to use the Linux instead. Checkout the Linux LiveCD list at: http://www.frozentech.com/content/livecd.php
and the top ten Linux Distros and reviews at distrowatch.com:
http://distrowatch.com/dwres.php?resource=major
Good Luck!
Shannon VanWagner
http://healthysystem.blogspot.com
http://digg.com/users/bicep
Process Explorer is Fantastic!!!
by nbrookwood - 2/24/08 4:41 PM In reply to: Take a closer look at the processes on your machine by Shannon_VanWagnerI was browsing through this thread when I saw the references to Process Explorer. I had never heard of it before, but I had been trying to track down a problem where one core in my quad-core CPU was running at 100%, even when the other three cores were idle and the tasks listed by task manager were only using a few percent of the CPU. So I installed Process Explorer, and it immediately revealed that I was using 25% of my CPU (i.e., one core) servicing hardware interrupts. This usually doesn't require more that a few percent at most. Sure enough, an incorrectly configured driver was the culprit. One small change, and the interrupt servicing overhead dropped down to where it should be. Thanks, Process Explorer. This tool is worth way more than it costs to download it.
It's free
by DADSGETNDOWN - 2/24/08 8:57 PM In reply to: Process Explorer is Fantastic!!! by nbrookwoodYEP good very good.
and IT'S FREE, NO COST.
and "install" isn't quite right, it's misleading, you "use" rather than install 
http://www.download.com/Process-Explorer/3000-2094_4-10223605.html?tag=lst-1
I deleted Spyware Terminator
by FELABAD - 2/23/08 10:41 AM In reply to: CPU keeps going to 100%--any suggestions to remedy? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I was suffering the same problem with the CPU going to 100%. I've uninstall a lot of programs, trying to solve the problem freeing memory ram, but the freezing still persist, until yesterday. With Task Manager I took notice of a process call sp_rsser.exe, that was running in the background and using a lot of resources. That process is part of the real time protection of Spyware Terminator. After reading a lot of complaints in the forums about ST, with no cabal support and solutions, I removed that program from my computer, and guest what? My computer is running without delays,using at the same time Firefox , writing this letter,listen to music with Media Monkey, a p2p program working,and the CPU reading 32% .
I hope this would help to someone, and please check the links below
http://forum.spywareterminator.com/Default.aspx?g=posts&m=20042
http://forum.spywareterminator.com/Default.aspx?g=posts&t=3436
to get an idea of the problems with this anti-spyware.
Greetings
Could be using a dinosaur pentium 1 computer
by johnttlin - 2/23/08 12:14 PM In reply to: CPU keeps going to 100%--any suggestions to remedy? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Could be using a pentium 1 or a pentium 2 or a pentium 3 or a pentium 4 or pentium D computer that has 128 mb ram.
CPU keeps going to 100%--Identified IExplorer 7 as cause.
by JohnTrommelen - 2/23/08 12:54 PM In reply to: CPU keeps going to 100%--any suggestions to remedy? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I realize that I am coming in late in the process, but I have a similar problem. I have used Task Manager and have identified that Internet Explorer 7 is the culprit that changes my cpu usage from about 6-7% normal to 100% as soon as I invoke it. I have tried to uninstall IE7 and re-install it but with the same consequences of 100% usage and a frozen machine.
I have temporarily switched to using Firefox as my browser and it does NOT result in any excessive CPU usage.
Has anyone experienced this and are there any suggested solutions?
CPU Maxes Out and Stays Maxed Out
by sherrytexas - 2/23/08 2:01 PM In reply to: CPU keeps going to 100%--any suggestions to remedy? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I had this exact same problem after Windows OneCare upgraded itself (whidh was odd, because it had a hard time achieving that, and it didnt' tell me I was getting this upgrade).
I turned on my computer one morning and my security center was in red and said that I didn't have antivirus software on my computer. So I opened OneCare and it gave me the message that I should reboot or call tech support. I rebooted to the same messaage. I rebooted again, then recieved an error message from OneCare saying that it had an upgrage that couldn't download, and that I'd have to reboot AGAIN. So this went on until I was finally able to get the "upgrade". THAT's when my CPU usage shot thru the roof and would maintain 100% usage (which worried me, plus it slowed everything WAAAAAY down.
I had to call Microsoft tech support and for once they were stymied, and have to have an engineer call me back over it. So, the long/short of it is, the "upgrade" had to be uninstalled and treated very differently than it had been set to do. Some minor configuring had to be done, and one more piece to the puzzle (I'm so sorry, I forget now) I've written my IT buddy asking him what that final step was, becaue Microsoft was NOT able to help me resolve the issue that they had created.
I love Microsoft products and beta test much of their goodies, but I have recently quit using OneCare as an antivirus program and gone to McAfee (which used to be crap, but now it's pretty dang good!)
Anyway, I hope this helps someone, somewhere
Have a good weekend
Why would anyone pay for protection?
by gregrocker - 2/28/08 9:49 PM In reply to: CPU Maxes Out and Stays Maxed Out by sherrytexaswhen AVG free is adequate and uses almost NO resources. Ditto Windows Defender, Avast and Adaware. If you need something deeper use TrendMicro Housecall in safe mode (also free). For cleaning, use CCLeaner (better than anything you can pay for), auslogic's disc and registry defraggers, and auslogics speed booster optimizer for 14 of the 15 day free trial. Why pay when free is better?
CPU usage up to 100%
by piercerh2 - 2/23/08 2:07 PM In reply to: CPU keeps going to 100%--any suggestions to remedy? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Most likely you do a lot of surfing on the internet, and also receive a lot of email! Regular PC maintenance is what is required. You most likely have more than one trogan and a lot of spyware on your PC. Spyware is continually trying to send your personal information out over the internet taking up your CPU resources. Ligitiment websites are also trying to get your information. Some foreign vendors download false virus alerts than point you to their website to buy their software product to resolve the problem.
There is no one solution to resolve the 100 % CPU usage problem. The easy soluton would be to format the internal harddrive blowing away everthing that is contaminated and re-install everything. The second solution may involve using more than one tool. A virus could also be in ram memory. installed there buy a command from the registry. I use Symantec Anti virus and I keep the virus library updated. I also use Spy Sweeper, Ad Aware SE personal, SpyBOT, Windows defender, and Zone Alarm firewall. The one tool that I have not used is a registry cleaner. Command lines there can re-start the same problem over and over again. All of these tools catch something that the others missed. I scan my harddrive with all the tools on a regular basis. Symantec also checks the email. I hope this helps. If you are not familiar with these tools you have a little bit of a learning curve but it is worth it.
Most likely problem
by JOHNSON9 - 2/24/08 3:46 AM In reply to: CPU usage up to 100% by piercerh2Most likely problem is that your PC has a static IP and internet. You need need to use spybot or any siimilar program to scan and clean spy programmes.
Johnson
haha
by DADSGETNDOWN - 2/24/08 9:03 PM In reply to: Most likely problem by JOHNSON9STATIC IP has absolutely nothing to do with it.
and WE all need to remember because something may have solved your problem does not mean "most likely your problem"
Now scanning for spyware that's a good suggestion.
but use atleast 2 different programmes maybe 3, 1 installed and 2 free online scans.
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