Computer slow down, CPU usage 100%

Computer specs:

Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
4GB RAM
Intel Core 2 Duo 2.20GHz
Graphics: ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4500 Series
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My computer is easily overburdened, at which point the CPU usage will shoot to 100% and the computer slows to a an unusable crawl (memory usage remains at 1.6GB out of 4). Letting the computer sit for a little while returns it to normal. These symptoms can be caused by something as simple as playing music on iTunes for more than 30 minutes or playing online games. An actual computer game program is completely out of the question.

This has been going on for a while, and I'm not sure what could have caused it. The only thing out of the ordinary that happened around the time I noticed this problem was that I lent the laptop to someone for a few hours, so I'm not sure if something happened in that time. I also think I switched to windows 7 around that time, although I can't remember if that was before or after I noticed this problem. I had owned the computer for several months before this problem started and it functioned just fine.

I went through all the steps in the malware forum and made a post, and was told that the logs revealed no malware. So I'm wondering if this could be caused by a hardware issue. I'd greatly appreciate it if anyone had any ideas about what might be causing this and how to fix it.

 

It could easily be caused by a standard Windows service (like DNScache) kicking in.

You'll need to spend some time with Task Manager to figure out what's at fault here.

 

Do you get a message that the virtual memory is low? If you ran Belarc Advisor. Does it show the actual memory installed?

 

The "DNScache" service is present in task manager at all times, both when the computer's slow and when it's doing fine. I looked through the task manager when the computer slowed down and noticed that the resource manager showed that DNScache wasn't using any CPU during that time.

The task manager also showed that only 45% of memory was used when they computer slowed down. I did notice that it showed only 9 MB as "Free," while the other 2151 MB that wasn't in use was listed as "Standby."

I took a couple screenshots (which I'll attach) of resource manager when the computer slowed down so that someone with more knowledge than me could look at it for themselves.

I've never gotten any message about virtual memory being low. This is what Belarc Advisor says about my memory:

 

Well, you need to sort by CPU usage and see which executable is using up the processor...

 

I would also like to know more information about this problem. I have a laptop that is doing the same thing, however mine does not "get better" after sitting for any amount of time. I have tried to figure it out using Task Manager to no avail. This was the newest thread on this issue however it doesn't seem that anything has been resolved or explained in depth here. I will keep searching older posts for more information, but wanted to bump this one up to see if anyone else has more input on this. The pc is quite useless in the state it is in.

 

If you right click on the taskbar and open Task Manager, then select the 'processes' tab, it will show you what processes are using up the CPU and RAM (Memory). If you click on the CPU column header, it will sort by the processes that are using up the CPU. This should point you in the right direction.

Or if you can post a screenshot of that tab, we can help figure out what it's doing...

 

As others mentioned. When you install a new program it usually defaults to run on startup. Sometimes you can go into the program itself to not have it run on startup.

If not able to do it thru the program itself. Another choice is to run msconfig. Take the check out of the box on a program you don't need to run. Click on apply and Ok. You havent un-installed the program, just don't let it run on startup.

You want to use the program, just go to it. It will start up then. Click on the box that says you have made changes to your configuation to take the check out on a boot up. You can always run msconfig again to change a programs startup value. Could you do a screen shot on msconfig?

On another note, have you ever cleaned out your catche? Temp internet files and such?

 

My computer does the same it's a Compaq all it takes is 5 mins playing a song in i tunes and it'l go up to 100 cpu usage and music just goes slow same as playing poker or any game. Also you tube does the same after 5 mins. Sometimes i can wait and it'l come right but only when i exit the program that causes it. It's happened before i updated the sound driver and it was fine for a month. Now it's back and getting really annoying, Does it matter i've got 2 sound drivers?

Any comments is much appreciated

OS Name Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium
Version 6.1.7601 Service Pack 1 Build 7601
System Model Presario CQ62 Notebook PC
System Type X86-based PC
Processor Intel(R) Core(TM) i3 CPU M 330 @ 2.13GHz, 2133 Mhz, 2 Core(s), 4 Logical Processor(s)
BIOS Version/Date Hewlett-Packard F.07, 10/02/2010
SMBIOS Version 2.6
Total Physical Memory 2.99 GB
Available Physical Memory 1.96 GB
Total Virtual Memory 5.98 GB
Available Virtual Memory 4.68 GB
Page File Space 2.99 GB

 

Smithers, sorry for a late reply. The light bulb went on inside my head. On the screen shot of the Resourse Monitor. I counted 8 browsers open. 1 Explorer & 7 Chrome. 2 of the Chrome were using a lot of mem. What ever those 2 were doing at the time were part of the prob. Other part was having all those other browsers open. Too many browsers open used up memory. Try doing what you did before on the sight that slowed things down. Opening only one browser.

Geekeugene, best to start a new thread. 1st time here. Original sound driver came with the computer. When you up-date a driver it's best to un-install or disable the old one.

On the original sound driver. I would disable it. If you try to un-install it. Every time you restart the computer. You might get the message, Windows a found a new driver.

With 2 drivers for the same thing are there. It will work for a while, but then they start fighting on who's going to drive.

 

geekeugene, welcome to MajorGeeks. You need to start your own thread. This one belongs to smithers and all replies are directed to the person who started the thread.

Start here: http://forums.majorgeeks.com/forumdisplay.php?f=22
and click the new thread button near the top left. Paste your post there, in the new thread and pick a title for the thread.

 

Sorry to abandon this thread for so long (other things came up and then this project went to the back of my mind), but I'm looking into it again and am still stuck so I thought I'd revive this and see if I can figure anything out.

A general response to past posters:
I don't think any particular process is the source of the problem, as it occurs after mildly intense usage of seemingly any program or task. I took another screenshot of resource manager, making sure to sort by CPU usage. This time the culprit seemed to mostly be transferring files to an external HDD, with resource manager itself also contributing. Chrome was open but not playing videos or music, and contributed very little to the CPU usage.

locodave:
I looked at msconfig and there don't seem to be too many programs set to run on start-up. I went ahead and disabled a few things but that didn't prevent the problem from happening. I'll also attach those screenshots. I did notice that there were a lot of "services" listed (around 170), and I'm not sure how normal that is or if that might significantly contribute.

Finally, I took a look at geekeugene's thread (http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=235967) and ran some of the hard drive tests that were suggested to him. I ran disk doctor from Advanced System Care, as well as the HDD Health program (mentioned by draak), and neither found any problems (HDD Health said the drive's health was 98%). I also updated my video driver but that didn't prevent the problem from happening.

 

From the screenshots you've posted, I see that explorer and audiodg account for around 35% of CPU usage. You also have a lot of autostart entries.

In MSConfig, uncheck all but Antivir Desktop, PCTools Firewall, Synaptics and IDT PC audio. Reboot and test for a few hours.

While you're testing, carefully look through Add/Remove programs and uninstall anything you don't use regularly.

 

In addition, I'd even go the route of disabling everything, just to see if explorer gets down to 0%. Only do this, if the quoted portion does not seem to help.

 

This time the culprit seemed to mostly be transferring files to an external HDD, with resource manager itself also contributing.

Basic what I learned years ago. Loading a C/D program in the C/D drive to install it into C: drive. Hard drive will read-write at so & so speed. Buss speed of the motherboard, vrs. C/D rom drive speed on giving info to the hard drive it writes it to. Diffrent input and read-write makes the installed program get installed all over the H/D. Why you do a de-frag after an install.

How would this apply to you downloading something to save to an external drive? Just my dum thoughts K?

If your input download speed into C: drive. Exseeding your "see-get the input" to install to the external drive. A bottle neck? On memory getting all this info comming in and can't transfer it to your external fast enough. Memory would get filed up pretty fast on what it wants to transfer.

I'm guessing your external is hooked up by USB and connected to a 2.0 speed port. Nother Q is the external drive. Buss speed on it is close to what your computers C: H/D mother board buss speed is?

If my guess on this is wrong, others here will correct me. Only a 20 watt bulb thoughts in a room with 100 watts thoughts.

Personally, I would disconnect the external drive and use a USB mem thumb drive that was large enough to try doing the same thing with the thumb drive instead of the external. Eliminate a external drive prob.

Found this on Win 7 mem usage-> http://www.zdnet.com/blog/bott/windows-7-memory-usage-whats-the-best-way-to-measure/1786

 

satrow:
I did everything you suggested as well as installing Windows 7 SP1 because I happened to see that it was available. These steps seem to have helped a bit, but the problem is still present (it just takes a little longer to kick in). It seems like disabling the autoruns just helped to compensate for the deeper problem.

theefool:
CPU usage is actually at 0-1% when there's no programs running, even before I disabled everything like you suggested.

locodave:
I checked the fragmentation status, and my internal hard drives are actually scheduled for weekly defragmentation. The disk defrag tool that comes with windows says the fragmentation is 0%. I'm also pretty confident that the issue isn't with the external hard drive I was using because exactly the same problem happens when I do other things on the computer without the external hard drive connected (i.e. running iTunes or streaming video from netflix for a little while). If I had tried using a thumb drive I'm sure the same problem would have occurred after a while.

 

Another thought. As you know when it started acting up. Lend to a friend.

2 thoughts. One is go to add/remove programs and the check in the box to show up-dates. Look at the dates an up-date was installed and what it was. I have XP Pro and Win 7 might be diffrent. Look for any 3rd party up-dates. If he tryed to up-date a driver for anything in your computer. ( I'd ask him. ) If any driver was installed as a 32 instead of a 64. Or a bad download. Look at all the downloads around the time he had it.

2nd thought. From what your saying. "i.e. running iTunes or streaming video from netflix for a little while" A vidio card driver perhaps prob. Remember these instructions are from my XP. Win 7 might be diffrent as I don't know it as well as XP. -> Control panel, apperance and themes, display, settings, advanced, adapter. Propertys, driver. Look at the date. If this date co-insides with the lend to a friend. Roll back the driver to the privious one.

Look at this sight just for info, but I wouldn't click on any "fix it's" that want your $. Didn't search in MG to see if thay have a free program to do the same.

 

Helps if I added the link. -> http://www.windowsanswers.net/articles/troubleshooting-freezes

Have you cleaned out the temp internet files? You up-dated the vidio card driver.

Might try to go to system restore. Not to restore it, but to look at restore points. Scrolling back to around the time it was lent out. It would list system checkpoints along with things that were done on a certain date.

 

@locodave: that last link reads like something from a crapware sales pitch: "blah blah generic update blah blah ... the root cause of freezing problems are errors within the registry blah blah" brought to you by F*xCleaner. All fixes lead to F*xCleaner. < don't go there ...

@smithers: If your W7 was fully updated already, installing SP1 is not likely to help much, it might even hinder finding the culprit.

As you seem to have slowdowns when moving/copying files, you need to rule out slow or double scanning (scanning as it reads the old then scanning as it writes the new) by your A/V. I'd uninstall Antivir Desktop and test your copy/move speeds without it. You may benefit by switching to Avast!, I think it might be a little lighter and more controllable.

 

Last line of post 17 satrow was my warning on the sight. Correct on a crapaware sales pitch. What I mainly saw and why I added the link. Windows updating his computer.

3rd party software. Up-date drivers. They didn't go into registry, hardware failure from overheating I though a non-issue as his is fairly new. I'll be more carefull here in the future so If I see a link that has usable info. I'll pick out the usable and just type it in.

Something happened when he lent his computer to a friend. That link on my post 15 I found interesting on Win 7 using memory diffrent than prior versions of Windows. I re-read it a few times and didn't see in that sight how to narrow down a certain programs usage. Or I'm not seeing it. Resource monitor I liked.

Most ppl I know ither use Avast or Avira. ( Avira is my choice. ) Do you think I'm going in the wrong direction in having him look for any up-dates that happened when he loaned it out?

I always ask when the last time the temp internet files were cleaned out. But usually if not cleaned out it slows down the whole computer when going on the internet. I know ppl that had the temp file up to 3-4 gigs that never cleaned it out. Using Ccleaner was on my mind also. Again, Satrow thank you for correcting a post that a poster ( Me ) did something wrong.

 

@locodave: you did no more wrong than I did by taking your link out of the fuller context that you'd given over 2 posts - my bad. The base troubleshooting info on that page looks ok to me. Trying to pin down the exact sequence of events immediately prior to the problem being noticed is probably the key to this, yes.

Just re-read the OP and I would like to know if W7 was installed clean - after a format, or whether it was an upgrade from Vista?

If it was an upgrade (and this happened around the time that the problem was first noticed "I also think I switched to windows 7 around that time"), the trigger for the problem could well be rooted in some bug or 'tweak' in the Vista installation, which has been carried through to W7 and now W7 SP1. It could be a mammoth task to pin it down and fix it.