Anthony,
We have all been there if we keep our cpu's long enough. When mine got to that point, I backed everything up that wasn't already backed up, made a list of all software I had on it and made sure I still had the cd's then I formatted the hard drive and reloaded it all.
It did the trick. Like you I had tried all the "tricks" and also ran a tight ship with spyware remover, virus software etc. You didn't mention it you had Norton Utilities loaded or not but if you do, unistall it and just use the cd when you have to. It made my life miserable with its hogging of the ram.
Hope this helps. Good luck.
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General discussion
CPU keeps going to 100%--any suggestions to remedy?
Hi, I'm running Windows XP Pro SP2 and I have developed a
problem where by the CPU keeps going to 100% and either
freezes the PC or slows it down to virtually standstill. I
have searched on the net and found that quite a few people
have this problem. I tried some of the fixes suggested, but
they didn't work. I have to reboot the PC and then it?s fine
for awhile. What could possibly be causing this problem? Is
this a problem with the operating system or is it a hardware
problem? I hope you can help with this problem. Cheers!
--Submitted by Anthony K.
Answer voted most helpful by the CNET Community newsletter readers:
CPU Usage Stuck at 100%
There are many things that can cause a computer to show 100% when you display the CPU usage. Spyware, viruses, bad drivers or damaged programs can all lead to this type of problem. In some cases, it can be a known issue with your specific model computer, so you should first check the website for your computer to see if you see anything there regarding this issue. If not, then there are several ways to approach this problem.
1. BACKUP Your Data ? Sorry but I can never say this enough. You should never work on a computer without first backing up any critical data.
2. As mentioned above, check your manufacturer?s website for any known problems with your specific computer model.
3. System Restore ? If the problem just started within the last few days, there is always a fair chance that running a Windows System Restore and setting your computer back a few days may solve your problem. But if you have had the problem for awhile OR you have installed a bunch of programs or updates recently then this may not work at all. System Restore can be found by going to START > ALL PROGRAMS > ACCESSORIES > SYSTEM TOOLS > SYSTEM RESTORE. Note: I would not recommend going back more than a week or so.
4. Virus and Spyware ? I can only assume that you already did this but a computer that is infected with viruses and/or spyware can exhibit this type of behavior. So make sure that your computer is totally clean by running full virus and Spyware scans. You may even want to double check by running one of the many free online virus scans.
5. Identify the Process - See if you can identify a specific process that is using the most CPU percentage. Use Ctrl+Alt+Del to open task manager and click on the processes tab. Scroll down through the list for any process that has the highest CPU percentage. You can try to end that process and see if that helps and then Google the name of the process to help figure out what it is. You may luck out and find the exact program to uninstall or update to fix the problem. But, in most cases it will turn out to be one of the many generic windows processes and may not really give you any real clue as to the exact problem.
6. Disconnect Peripherals ? Shut down your computer and unplug all external devices such as Printers, Scanners and Backup Drives. Leave only your Mouse, Keyboard and Internet Connection plugged in and reboot your computer to see if the problem is still there. If the problem goes away, plug things back in, one at a time until you have isolated the problem device.
7. Shut Down Startup Items ? Use msconfig to Shut down all startup programs and reboot the computer to see if the problem goes away. If it does then go back and methodically turn back ON individual startup items until the problem returns. Once you isolate the offending program, you can Google the name of the file to find out which program it is related to. To use MSCONFIG click on START and then RUN and type msconfig in the run box and then click on OK. Click on the STARTUP tab and you will be presented with a list of items that are going to run automatically every time the computer starts. You can select or deselect any items the you want to start when your computer boots. Now click on OK and reboot your computer. You can go back anytime and run msconfig to turn back on any items that you choose until you find which one is causing your problem.
8. Update all drivers for your computer ? Go to the website for your computer and download and install the latest drivers for your computer. Start with Chipset, Video, and Sound drivers first, followed by network, modem and others.
9. Update Bios ? In some cases the Bios may need updating, but I would stay away from this unless you really know what you are doing, because you can permanently damage your computer if you mess up during this process.
10. Problematic Programs ? There are many programs that have been known to cause this type of problem. For example some earlier versions of Kodak Easy Share software had this problem. Norton and some other antivirus software can become corrupt and cause this issue as well as software and drivers associated with many All-In-One printers. You should suspect any program that calls home for updates as well as file sharing programs like kazza and limewire. Other VOIP software such as Skype can also be a problem. I would suggest uninstalling any programs that you do not need at this moment to help isolate the problem. NOTE: Do not uninstall anything you want that you do have a way to reinstall such as having the original CD?s or downloads.
11. Full Recovery or Reinstallation ? If all else fails then you may have to resort to a full system Recovery or a reinstallation of Windows. This would be a last resort, but can rejuvenate a computer to like new condition and for some problems, may even be less time consuming.
Good Luck and Please keep us posted as to what you find.
Dana
Wayland Computer
http://forums.cnet.com/5208-10149_102-0.html?forumID=7&threadID=284007&messageID=2705924#2705924
Submitted by waytron
If you have any additional suggestions or experience of your own to share with Anthony, please click the reply link and post away. Please be detailed as possible in your answers. Thank you!
Discussion is locked
61 - 90 of 339 Posts
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WELL HERE ARE SOME THINGS YOU CAN TRY: DELETE TEMPORARY FILES,COOKIES,ALSO TRY RUNNING YOUR ADWARE,SPYWARE,ANTIVIRUS,AND REGISTRY CLEANER IF YOU HAVE.I AM RUNNING THE SAME: XP-SP2,AND DOING THESE STEPS KEEP MY PC RUNNING GREAT! ALSO ALL OF THESE PROGRAMS CAN BE DOWNLOADED FREE!JUST MAKE SURE YOU UPDATE YOUR DEFINITIONS 1-2 TIMES A WEEK TO STAY CURRENT ON THE LATEST WORMS OR VIRUSES OUT THERE DO THIS AND YOU SHOULD BE FINE OK.
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yes anthony,i am another suffering soul like you and would welcome brief, tried and proven tips from all the netizens.i have vista and p4.thanks.db
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G'day Anthony. It would seem to me that you have a problem with overheating. Are you sure the CPU fan is working?........Dave
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Excluding the usual software problems, (trojans etc), I have found it necessary to clean the inside of the computer case with a low pressure air supply.
It is surprising, even in a clean home, how quickly dust builds up on fans, cooling fins and in transformer units. Also dust settles on the circuit boards acting like a duvet retaining heat.
If heat is allowed to build to the critical limit micro-chips (cpu's, gpu's and controller chips), they either terminally breakdown or are automatically shut down until they cool down, safety device.
To keep a high spec computer running at full speed it will be found useful to clean the interior components regularly, in my case every month or two.
Obviously before opening the case it is advisable to disconnect it from the mains supply.
Cans of 'air duster' can be purchased from the local computer store, or as I have found a cheaper alternative is to buy a small hobby compressor but regulating the pressure to no more than 20 psi.
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Sounds very much like you have a Trojan here. I've just suffered a similar problem, despite a very tight regime of protection, ie antivirus and firewall. First of all if you dont have either or both, I suggest you install them asap, there are plenty of options availiable on the net, many of them such as Avast antivirus and Sygate firewall, that come free. Run the antivirus preferably doing a boot sector scan, and make sure that system restore is switched off, Trojans are well known to hide there.I did all of the above and still had the problem, my antivirus company reccomended a reinstallation of my OS,but I was loath to do this. Instead I turned to the internet, there is always someone out there who has had the same problem. Eventually some one gave me some insructions to cut and paste into word and told me to rename it as a bat file, I actioned it and hey presto problem solved. There is always somebody who can help, persevere and you will solve your problem, and as a bonus improve your skills.
wheelyone
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please see you space on the computer or try to manage it to as much as you can be make the drive c: empty as much as you can if you still have the same peroblem please format drive c: and reinstall the windows again.
Or make sure that no one is hacking you PC try to have a good program
all what i can say for now or send me extra information about your computer.
Best Regards
Mohannad Yassin
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You simply have too much garbage in your system, there are ways of picking out all the offending items and all the stuff unnecessarily running on startup and in the background, but unless you like a hard time, just back up everything you actually need, flatten your system and re-install your OS. You'll think you've just bought a new machine!.
If you want a real treat, try opening up the box and giving all the dust inside a new home in your vacuum cleaner and while you're at it fit a bigger hard disc and a bit more memory, you'll think you've died and gone to heaven (figuratively speaking)
Best of luck.
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Four things to check first. Windows generally activates, by default, an indexing programme, which is supposed to make finding any file when searching that much faster. In reality, it slows down the computer and is unnecessary. Should be found via Control Panel as FindFast. Just delete all entries.
Second, check if you have a Defrag programme running to any scheduled time. It is generally better to do the defrag manually - why? - because for an efficient defrag to work, all running programmes should be stopped - including connection to internet (because you would be stopping your anti-virus and firewall programmes).
Third - quite possibly you (often by default settings when installed, so check) have set your anti-virus programme to run at specified times in terms of a complete system scan. No need for that. If you have run a full scan, the AV programme will prevent viruses, so only an occasional scan will be required as it is monitoring all the time.
Fourth is possibly some form of Backup running? If so, check the settings and schedule for more attractive times for when the computer is on, meaning ideally ON and not being used of course!
Hope those four areas (common slow-down reasons) help recover your normal working speeds. Zone8
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This is a great little set of tweaks at a very low price take a look. http://www.thisisgr8.com/pctweaks/
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I'm also running XP-SP2 and am having the same problem but mine goes one further and reboots unexpectedly. I have a core2 duo 3.2MHZ ASUS P5VDC-MX with 2 gig ram I didn't have the problem for ages then after a windows update it all started. I've heard that One of the updates can do this but am still learning how to repair it. The only solution that i can think of is to reboot the pc and one by one add the new updates until i find the one that has caused the problem but that will take forever. Any advice would be very my appreciated.
Cheers
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OneCare installer turns on disabled services
Surprisingly, the installation of OneCare silently changes Automatic Updates settings to automatically install patches and reboot the system, despite defensive measures a user might take to prevent this.
There are a couple of workarounds suggested at:
http://windowssecrets.com/2007/10/25/03-PC-rebooting-The-cause-may-be-MS-OneCare
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Anthony,
At THIS late date, I'd have to say it's probably NOT Windows XP itself that's causing the problem. Windows XP, for what it's worth has had most of it's performance issues dealt with over the past 7 years since it's release.
More often than not, this sounds like it may be a virus or some other form of crapware that's infested your computer. From the symptoms you mentioned, it appears to be a classic case where a spambot or other bit of nastiness has found itself a home on your box and is busily spamming (more than likely copies of itself) to anyone and everyone it can.
It may be a good idea to run an online antivirus scan - such as the one from Trend Micro, Panda Antivirus and others. It can give you a second opinion and may be able to find something your regular antivirus scanner missed - unintentionally or otherwise.
However, on occasion, it could likewise be a legitimate program that's buggy and/or is malfunctioning somehow. As an example, Internet Explorer 7 has an issue with Flash 9 - specifically certain ads that seem to run up the memory and CPU cycles till it bombs.
The way to find out if this is the case would be to right-click on the Task bar, select Task Manager and click on the Process' tab. Click on the CPU column header twice and you should see the task(s) that take up the most CPU cycles. If your system is running well, the "System Idle Process" task should take up MOST of your CPU cycles - 90 to 99% depending on if you've got something running in the background - like antivirus software, etc... Take note of the process(es) that are taking up the clock cycles and see if there's an update or if there's a fix for the problem.
You may also want to consider running a decent antispyware tool such as Spybot Search and Destroy and AdAware to confirm you're free of other bits of nastiness. The worst your antispyware app should ever find would be any number of cookies in your IE temp directory. These are mostly harmless - except they report your browsing history to people who probably shouldn't have that kind of information.
As a last resort, if no other solution can be found, you may want to consider reloading the OS entirely. Before you do anything THIS drastic, be sure to back up your data files, pictures, music files, movies, etc... and make a note of the applications you've got installed. Take note of any you don't need and cross them off the list of things that need to be reinstalled. The fewer things you've got installed and running in the background, the better your system will run. Avoid unnecessary clutter - like Google Desktop, toolbars ESPECIALLY from less than credible sources! Some of these "toolbars" do precious little to enhance your browsing experience - and tend to clog IE's arteries with spyware.
Some resources that can help...
http://housecall.antivirus.com
www.pandasecurity.com
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When your processor is being used a lot for no apparent reason, the probable cause is that a program is running in the background.
Go to task manager, look in processes and identify what is using your CPU.
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1> Back up all your data, and I mean everything.
2> Make sure you have all your software, on disk, or as an installation file, on a separator hard drive.
3> Insert the Windows XP SP2 into your CD-ROM drive.
4> Go into the BIOS and make that drive bookable, if it isn't already.
5> Boot the computer with the Windows CD in the CD-ROM.
6> Format your hard drive using the NTFS file system.
7> Re-install windows.
8> Re-install your security software.
9> Connect with Microsoft's web site, and download every upgrade they have the released since you bought your copy of Windows, and install them.
10> Now for the hard part, you have to re-install, and upgrade all the programs that were on your computer. I hope you kept the serial numbers. They can usually be found by going to HELP, & ABOUT.
11> After that, all that is left is to re-install your data, and make sure it's where it's suppose to be.
12> Actually there is one more peace of advice I should give you, wright everything down, as you do it. It makes it a lot easier to put it back the way it should.
13> One last peace of advice, buy a good backup program. One that's not only compatible with Windows XP, but Vista as well. After all, that's where we are all headed eventually. Why buy something that will be obsolete within two years.
Best of luck
TMV
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This is a common problem, but it can have many causes, that is, many programs can take over your CPU, even up to 100%, blocking out other programs. Sometimes you can't even load Windows Task Manager. There are also several ways to approach the problem.
In case of emergency, one way to stop the problem in progress is with a utility like <a href="http://www.resplendence.com"><b>AntiFreeze</b></a>. Load AntiFreeze with your other startups; it takes very little memory while dormant. If your computer hangs so even Windows Task Manager doesn't respond, press the AntiFreeze hotkey and it suspends unnecessary running processes and then presents a task manager that shows running processes and lets you terminate the renegade one. This at least might give you time to save your work and shut down gracefully.
It's better, of course, to identify and stop the CPU-hogging process without shutting everything else down. For this, choose a better task manager than the Windows Task Manager, which is very basic and does not show enough information. There are a lot of freeware task managers with much greater functionality. I have reviewed a number of them for my utilities blog, <a href="http://jonathanstoolbar.blogspot.com">Jonathan's Tool Bar & Grill</a>, including these favorites:
For the most detailed technical information about what's going on under the hood, including Vista, try Sysinternals <b>Process Explorer</b> (now a Microsoft product). Another very sophisticated program, and more user-friendly, is <b>What's Running</b>, but it does not yet support Vista. Both are reviewed in <a href="http://jonathanstoolbar.blogspot.com/2007/03/13-love-is-fickle.html">post #13 (10 March 2007)</a> of my utilities blog.
For everyday use, you will be more comfortable with startup and process managers like long-time favorite <b>WinPatrol</b>, (for more details, see my <a href="http://jonathanstoolbar.blogspot.com/2007/03/11-control-your-startups.html">post #11, 10 February 2007)</a> or my new pick, <b>AnVir Task Manager</b>, mentioned in <a href="http://jonathanstoolbar.blogspot.com/2008/02/57-new-love-in-my-life.html">post #57 (10 February 200
</a>. Both provide complete start-up control as well as the ability to monitor and manage running processes.
I hope this is helpful!
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Anthony, the advice of "Masked Villain" is the worst you could take. It is almost never necessary to reformat your disk and reinstall Windows. This job can take many hours, not to mention the difficulty of finding, reinstalling, and reconfiguring all your applications and utilities.
Masked Villain gave you the advice of someone who doesn't know enough to identify, diagnose, and fix the actual problem. It's like ripping out an entire engine instead of replacing one spark plug.
If your CPU use shoots up to 100%, it is likely to be caused by one or two renegade programs. Many other commenters in this thread, including me, have offered more useful and less painful solutions. Try them first!
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The fastest, and easiest method of ridding your PC from clutter, is to reinstall. I find I need to do this about every eighteen months. I have also made a nice living out of the same procedure that XP has plagued my customers with.
Now, granted I did gave him the complete instructions from 1 to 13. The Point is don't be afraid of re-installing, it very quickly gets rid of the clutter, that builds up over time. Oh, and by the way, after years of doing this, I've gotten the time down to an afternoon. So please be kind in your reply.
Regards.
TMV
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Yes, Masked Villain, reformatting is a fast way to get rid of clutter, along with the non-clutter you'd rather keep. Just like throwing the baby out with the bathwater is a fast way to empty the tub. Fast, lazy, foolish, and almost always unnecessary. If you are an expert, it only takes a little time to diagnose the actual problem and fix it. I stand by my position, and I regret if I have lost my struggle to be kind in my reply.
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It brings to mind the man who could not see wasting his tima at an airline ticket counter when he could get into his car and start driving. Some people thought that driving from Boston to Los Angeles would actually take more time that waiting for an airline ticket.
A format and rebuild could become a NO CHOICE situation but to think that it in every case WILL BE QUICKER is Way Way Way off.
The last time I did it, I was working straight out with all of my spare time for over three weeks.
Things inside my computer are well organized but things outside are subject to other people's relocating procedures.
Before I actually tore down the harddrive, I spent about 5 days locating program discs and installation manuals. I then spent a couple more days backing up and printing out files. I did the OS reinstall and then went chasing down updated drivers and doing the windowws updates. It took almost two full days to do all of the windows updates. Then I installed programs from discs, and went in and reconfigured the program's options and settings. I then went on line and downloaded some the programs that I could find (some I could not find on line)and reinstalled them and reconfigured them. I had to beg and borrow installation discs from friends and family for some programs. I then had to go back and get some more driver updates. and then more software updates. NOW I COULD START reinstalling all of the data files.
When I had done all I could I was still missing a few somewhat important programs, so I had to go and purchase them at a computer show.
I have worked with program install CDs which may have installed fine in Win 95 or Win 98 but just would not install in XP. On one computer I installed Win 95 and installed several programs. I then used the upgrade cd to install Win 98 and installed several programs. I then installed the Win ME upgrade and installed still more programs. THEN I EVENTUALLY was able to use the Win XP the full install disc did the upgrade from Win ME and I installed the last programs. There was still an awful lot of adjusting to do. I was doing that for a family member and to see if I could. If it was for business, they could have bought a super computer and all new programs for less that I would have had to charge.
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Vista resinstalls with complete reformat in 20 minutes, autoloads the drivers for my eMachine, then updates in the background while I drag files off a CD onto my new desktop. I do my own Java and Adobes from their website since I got the OEM OS disk instead of the crapware recovery sector/disk from the manufacturer which bogs any computer down.
Over the next few days, I reinstall AVG, Adaware, Quickbooks and the few other programs I use as I need them. Every time I do this I regain system and internet speed and wring out accumulated problems. It is like I just got a new computer. As the Black Viper sez: turn off your System Restore RAM hog (and a dozen other services -see his list) and use reinstall. If you have so many programs that you cannot fathom having to reinstall then that should tell you something.
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I agree with this, So many people resort to the last situation at the slightest hint of trouble. Reformatting should be the furthest thing from your mind. Do simple things first. It's always the simple things that usually get you going. Try a spyware/adware removal. Try stopping uneccisary programs from running at start up. In most cases rormatting causes more problems than anything. Anyways, what do you learn about reformating computer? nothing. It sounds like your overtaxing your system is all. free it up.
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some times files become corrupt and nothing short of an OS reinstallation will fix it. All-in-all it boils down to a time trade off or which takes longer diagnosing and repairing the problem or the time needed to start over. Here in is the rub.
It is too early to surrender but soon the towel will need to be thrown into the ring.
Your both right.
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Yes, as a matter of fact I have reprogrammed XP on my PC quite a bit. It's not at all as difficult as you make it out to be. So please be kind to those you reply to, they just might have a little more experience than you have.
Regards,
TMV
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You said that you have done it several times. For some people it might not be a super project. While for others, it is the kind of thing to only use as a last resort. The last time I did that it took me weeks to get back a little more than half of my system.
I have programs which were installed under Win 98. I have the install disc but is does not contain the service packs and is no longer supported by Microsoft, so I could not go with the option of installing Win 98 and those programs and then installing the upgrade to Win ME ( I have the upgrade disc) and installing those programs and then installing the upgrade to Win XP (I have the upgrade disc)and those programs. I would probably be forced to go out and purchase a Windows XP clean install program.
Many of the programs which are installed in my computer were downloaded so I do not have the discs for them. I have others which I know were not install compatible with Win XP so that upgrading the WinMe O/S to WinXP was the only way to keep them
If I were to do that today, it would probably take me several weeks and cost me a thousand dollars or more. I keep my computer clean, my system tuned and backed up so that in the event of a catastrophic hardware failure I have an exact duplicate of my harddrive ready to plug right in.
IT MAY BE EASY FOR YOU BUT THAT DOES NOT MEAN IT WILL BE EASY FOR EVERYONE.
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This will identify any offending program. Reinstall it. If not a program then run you security scans, anti-virus and malware.
Has this been solved?
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I had the same problem Anthony and it was driving me to distraction. My computer could take up to 3 hours to load after the the desk top icons appeared. One source of the problem was identified for me in the CNET Download dispatch of the 5th February - svchost.exe. The other source of my problem was a process called apdproxy which arrived on my computer courtesy of Adobe. I recently downloaded the Adobe Beginners Edition Photo Album and from there on my problems with loading times increased. A solution offered on the net was to go into Programs, then open the Adobe folder and locate apdproxy. Add the word old to the file name i.e.make the file name apdproxyold. My computer is now back up to speed. Hopefully, the source of your problem is the same. As for the svchost.exe problem,I believe Microsoft has now patched this.
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The letter submitted by Tom S. I have windows xp home edition. I got the 2-a- squared which get rid of any hackers. make sure you download the free version. There is also Ad-Aware SE Personal.
regards
Pete. L
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i had the same problem with my system. using the windows task manager i discovered my cpu usage was pegged at 100% constantly. i started by removing any program that i could live without. then i started removing all the hardware devices i could. lucky for me, the first device i removed was my mp3 player connected to a usb port. the cpu usage meter dropped form 100% to 5%. my problem was solved. i hope yours is as easy to solve.
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