"CPU usage" @ 100%, WTF?

My computer freezes like crazy these days. When I turn on my computer, it runs ok for awhile....then it seems to get choppy.

For example, I have one window open (in which in using to type), and I have one MP3 playing (or trying to play) and the music is getting all choppy and the cpu usage is near 100%

When I close the MP3 it goes back down to 0-5%

What can I do?

 

What are you using to play the .mp3? I'm thinking you're using Real Player.... just a guess tho'.....

hd2k

 

Windows Media Player


....and its not just MP3s that cause it to go nuts, its anything in general, if I want to play a DVD with media player or PowerDVD (preffered choice). Hell, even loading this page caused a pretty sharp spike.

BTW - I'm not even using 3/4 of gigs on my C drive are free, so its not cause my computer is too cluttered.

I've already gone through the guide for viruses on this site (bout a month back) so that isn't it either.

 

have you run a anti-spy program of any sort?
What type of anti-virus, spy, firewall, etc.. do you use?
in task mngr, how many programs are running in the background? Can you see which program spikes in task mngr when loading a program, like windows media, or logging on to MG?
I see you went through the guide for viruses bout a month ago, try running spybot s&d, make sure you update first. go here for download: http://majorgeeks.com/SpyBot-Search_&_Destroy_Tools_d2471.html then post back.

 

you have 750MB free? That's probably not enough. Could be other issues, but 750MB isn't much for windows to work on with your paging file. How much system memory do you have?

 

You could try a couple of things: Click Start > Run and type 'msconfig' w/o the quotes. Then click on the Start Up tab. You'll get a list of programs that are launched when XP starts up; these programs are running in the background all the time. Go thru the list and start unchecking stuff. You can probably uncheck everything first, reboot, and see if the problem is still there. If not, then we know one of those start ups is causing the problem. Then just re-enable 'em 2 or 3 at a time until the problem starts again. You can also try running Dial-A-Fix (link: http://www.majorgeeks.com/download4899.html) and check everything in the Registration Center and click Go. Also try the System File Checker. Insert your XP install CD and click Exit when it loads up. Click Start > Run and type 'cmd' w/o the quotes and press Enter. At the prompt in the black window, type 'sfc /purgecache' and let it run. It can take up to 10 minutes or so. When it's done, type 'sfc /scannow' press Enter and let it run. This one can take over an hour sometimes, so be patient. Then a reboot, and see if the problem remains. As someone else posted above, having a list of your PC's specs wouldn't hurt either (RAM, hard drive, etc). And- have you tried a different media player?

hd2k

 

Yes, quite regularly...so I'm pretty sure it isn't virus related. Unless I simply have too many anti-spy programs.

Ok, I use Spybot, AVG, a-squared, and zone alarm.

Oh I also use C-cleaner quite a bit too....

Ok, here's where I begin to sound like a noob.

Do I go to "processes" in task manager to see what is running in the backround?

ok.

I'm running it now....

 

BTW -

Processor Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 CPU 2.80GHz
Processor Speed 2.73 GHz
Memory (RAM) 512 MB
Operating System Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
Operating System Version 5.1.2600

I went to system Information and saw that I have 512 MB of total physical memory (196.81 availiable)

2.00 gigs of virtual memory (1.96 available)

 

You would need the readings when it's at 100% CPU usage.

 

I'm afraid of doing damage to my computer, I don't want to screw around and make things worse. So are the solutions you listed "safe" even if I mess up? I mean, If I just uncheck all my start up programs it won't hurt my computer?

 

Ok, how exactly do I get them and post them for you guys to see?

 

crt-alt-del and click performance. then play one of your media files.

There's a few things here I would personally want to rule out first, faulty drivers or conflicting drivers, infinite loop in the program (try a program like VLC isntead) or memory conflicts. Those are the easiest things to check for.

 

Ok, I'm already at "performance"...that's how I noticed the prob to begin with. So while I'm there, what exactly should I look for?

And how do I check for a faulty driver or loop...just by playing VLC? No prob, I already have it, and there is really no difference between what happens when I use powerdvd, windows, or vlc.

 

I noticed that running Spybot helped a bit....but I'm still having problems.

BTW - are my computer specs causing the problem? Maybe I need to upgrade something? Though I've had this computer for years and never once had a problem like this.


Unchecking startup programs sounds like a good idea, but I don't want to accidentially screw up my computer even worse. If I uncheck a start up program is it easy to re start it?

 

From what I understand you are not supposed to bump....but I;m kinda looking for an answer to my last two posts....thanks.

 

Spyware, viruses are major causes for the problems you discribe. They can occasionally damage the operating system, at least with Win98SE.

Unfortunately, no one program is 100% effective. With virus scanners this is a problem, since multiple virus scanners always conflict and cause more problems than they solve. Spyware scanners are just the opposite, the more the marrier.

Bumping mainly applies for the malware area, since there are only a couple of experts and many users, and they try to go for the older posts first. Here, in the software forum, it is OK.

The task manager is a valuable tool, since it will tell you where all that CPU time is going in the applications area. The problem with it is the malware will hide itself by using a bogus name for the process most cases. Even then this isn't entirely bad, since the malware fighters tend to learn the bogus names they use.

 

It can't be malware cause this problem started happening only a few days after I ran all the steps in this (READ & RUN ME FIRST Before Asking for Support) thread.

I'm fairly certain my notebook is slow because of too many anti-virus or malware programs running. Now, my big question is how do I check? I'm really not sure what I'm doing, so how do I know what programs I need and which ones I don't? Is there any way I can post all the programs I have?

 

So how many processes should I have running in Windows task manager? Cause right now I have 40 running....

 

40 is not bad.

Which process(s) are taking up the most CPU usage and how much?

Which process(s) are taking up the most memory and how much?

Windows Media Player is a resource "hog" but your specs should be able to handle it. When you play a mp3, do you use the visual enhancements? Try playing a mp3 and minimizing the window so you only have the music. What happens now? (I'm trying to isolate something to see if it's a video issue, RAM issue, et.c)

How big is your hard drive? Do you think the 2 gig paging file you have could be causing any issues?

Have you run a check disk? Defrag?

Sorry for the interrogation. :majorrolleyes

 

System Idle process: anywhere from 70 to 95 (percent?)
Firefox: 5 to 25
taskmgr: 5
explorer: 5
system:3

Firefox - 86,836 K
Limewire - 25,769
svchost -24, 388
vsmon - 23,18

the next one is only at 8,000

I usually keep it in skin mode.....but when I use wmp it uses up about 50 cpu and 8000 K (25 cpu in skin and 4000 K in skin mode)

I have way too much free space...like 60 gigs free

I defrag regularly....how do you run a check disk?

No apology needed...thanks for helping me out.

 

Double click My Computer

Right click on the drive that you want to run the Check Disk.

Click on Properties.

Select the Tools tab.

Under 'Error-checking', click the Check Now... button.

A new window will pop up. Under Check disk options select both boxes.
Automatically fix file system errors
Scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors

It will tell you that it must reboot in order to perform the tasks. Go ahead and let it. Once it reboots it will perform the necessary scans/jobs. Depending on the condition and size of your hard drive it may take a while. On older machines I've seen it take hours. On newer ones, less than that, it just depends.

Once it's done it will reboot or boot into Windows. I highly recommend shutting it down one more time and rebooting after you're done with the check disk----just wait until it boots into Windows first.

Let me know how it comes out.:major


Also, have you ever had any trouble with 'Limewire'? I believe most members on this forum would have something to say against using it.

 

I have 26 processes on a 1.3 GHz processor with 384 MB of RAM. This PC plays even lossless wma music files well, but DVD is choppy on WMP and VLC. I have checked msconfig and after backing up the registry cut the programs to run at startup in the registry to one, the firewall anti virus. The attached show 27 processes because I used FastStone for the screen shots.
Bug

 

Thanks for the link.
It makes explaining things a lot better.

 

You could also check what services are running at startup, (set to Automatic), via Start, Run, services.msc
Two good web sites that deal with services configuration are
http://www.blackviper.com/
http://www.tweakhound.com/
I also set system sounds to none and use Windows Classic Style for GUI.
Disable Indexing too.

 

Another good guide is:

http://www.tweakguides.com/
:major

 

Sounds to me like WMP is the major culprit?

Perhaps we should consider un/reinstallation?

 

I was thinking that at first. If I recall, aren't there issues when you try to remove WMP? I think it's easier if you use one of the tools here on MG to remove it. I know there's a tool for it somewhere on here, I've seen it.

Removing the WMP via Add/Remove Windows Components is an option. I guess. Then add it back? I've done it before. But it's been a couple of years. Maybe somebody else can chime in on that. confused (The easiest way is to follow these instructions, but don't do it until someone else chimes in, as I can't recall all of the issues that could be involved with removing and adding WMP. And I'm pretty sure someone else can help.)

To remove it that way.
Go to Start
Click on Run
Type appwiz.cpl
Once the new window opens, look to the left and click on the third tab from the top. 'Add/Remove Windows Components'.

Anyway, going back to the issue. If it just started acting up, I would suggest Malware especially when 'Limewire' is involved. So before you try to remove/add WMP, I would still look for something malicious and I would follow all guides/instructions at MG.

Here's something to look at: I recently worked on a PC that was running at 100% CPU while it was infected with malware. I noticed that svchost.exe was incredibly high right after boot up causing the 100% CPU. Please look at the svchost.exe processes right after boot up and make sure they are not the culprit. If they are, there is a possibility you are infected.

 

Ok. svchost.exe is consistently one of the processes that uses the most memory (right now its at 25,000 K. And all i'm doing on my notebook is typing this reply).

What is svchost.exe? What does it do? Is it an indication of malware?

So, should I still bother running a check disk or have we found our culprit?

BTW - I highly doubt my problems are due to WMP. I also have Power DVD, and the same problems occur when I try to play any media....hell, I can't even use You Tube without it going to 100%.

 

There is a possibility that you are infected but svchost.exe is right now on my computer taking 25k resources, thats the highest one. Use a spyware, adware, etc scan. comp usage is at 1% though. Click Start, hit run, then type in msconfig.exe, click the startup tab, take the file name's (e.g. manager.exe, random name) and search on google and click a few sites and see what they say about it, I mean if it says that it belongs to a program you installed then no problem. But if it says its a risk, list the .exe here.

 

Your svchost.exe seems about right. The PC that I worked that was infected would have the svchost.ext use up 90,000K etc. Then it would eventually come down to around 30,000K that's why I wanted you to look at it for a while after it boots up and while it has an internet connection.

Well, you may be right about WMP. Since you still have the same issue with other video applications. It seems that you have sufficient equipment to run your video apps okay. I'm currently using a machine that has similar yet weaker specs and I don't have the issues that you do.

From your specs, I believe you're still using the internal video on the motherboard? confused
You may want to think about purchasing a video card for your system. As your internal video may be the culprit.

 

svchost.exe is a generic executable Windows uses for A LOT of things. You'll notice that there is likely a few copies running in your taskmanager. Review the properties of the services installed on your system. You'll see about 80% of them using this executable.

It can be targeted by malware, but more often than not, it's just a Windows design flaw rearing it's ugly head. There was recently a patch to this service to marginalize CPU usage. A LOT of users have this problem. Try updating Windows if that is a problem. (svchost using 100% of your CPU time)

 

Mada_Milty

Thank you for clearing up the svchost.exe process. I forgot to answer his question. It's not always a malicious thing as you stated, I was just trying to help troubleshoot his issue while we still were using Task Manager to observe processes.

Maybe we should concentrate on what changes were made around when the issues first came about. confused

Even try a system restore back to the previous months 'System Checkpoint' confused

 

Ok, I'll try doing a system restore...since I know I made a restore point right after I went through the Malware guide a few months back.

So, um, how do I do a system restore? [/noob alert]

 

Start
Programs
Accessories
System Tools
System Restore

Just follow the instructions.

You may not have many System Checkpoints depending on how much space you allowed for System Restore. If that is the case, you may not be able to go back very far.

 

Yup...this is the case

 

Ok, I remember reading that multiple spyware or anti-virus programs can slow you computer.

Currently I have Spybot, Ccleaner, AVG, A-Squared, and Zone Alarm. Too much? (they were all recommended in that guide)

 

So, no System Restore, huh? confused

Have you checked for rootkits? confused

 

So would that be too many anti-virus scanners?

 

No. Most are stand alone, but some are not. And They are not 'realtime' scanners. You just have to uninstall/remove it when done. Make sure you read all info below:

I believe MajorGeeks recommends these, especially the F-Secure version.
http://majorgeeks.com/page.php?id=20#rootkits

I recommend (Why it's not on MG, I have no idearolleyes):
McAfee Rootkit Detective Beta
http://vil.nai.com/vil/averttools.aspx

Now, you have to remember, not all that these scanners find could be malicious. Please post what/if they find anything. If they don't, be sure to remove the program you used to scan your PC.

I've actually used the McAfee Rootkit Detective Beta to 'fix' several machines.

 

If I might chime in here...

I'm having the EXACT same issue as you, my friend. My music/movies/multimedia in general goes on the fritz after a few seconds. You might consider running, as one of the people above suggested, Process Explorer and taking a look at the CPU usage next to "Hardware Interrupts" after you begin a song or movie. Whenever that spikes for me, that's when the problem exists.

This didn't work for me, but it worked for many others before, so it's worth a shot:

--Go to Control Panel/System/Hardware Tab/Device Manager
--Expand "IDE ATA/ATAPI Controllers"
--Go into Properties/Advanced Settings for each item in the expanded list and make sure "DMA if available" is selected next to transfer mode
--Restart

Then check to see if the problem still exists. Certainly not trying to hijack your thread =P but I'm going to continue researching into this and looking along with this post. I'll let you know if I can fix my problem, and hopefully thereby fix yours.

Of course... I might end up doing a complete flatten/restore... but I would love to avoid doing that AGAIN. ugh </rant>

 

No I appreciate your help...if you fix your prob please let me know. I'd be very grateful. Thanks.

 

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/advisory/927891.mspx

 

PRINT THESE INSTRUCTIONS BEFORE YOU ATTEMPT THIS; FOLLOW THEM EXACTLY, DO NOT GUESS!! UNPLUG YOUR INTERNET CONNECTIONFirst, I would remove Zone Alarm it has been known to conflict with the Windows Firewall and other Anti Spyware Anti Virus apps.
I am not slamming Zone Alarm it has it's place.

Second I would choose one (1) Anti Virus & one (1) Anti Spyware, get rid of the rest.
Spysweeper & Spybot S&D will sometimes conflict, as will some others.

Then click Start, control panel, administrative tools, services, scroll down to windows firewall double click on it, a window will open, on General tab, start up type Automatic, click on drop down arrow click on disabled, apply, ok.
close all windows, click on start, shutdown, Restart.

Security center will open with a warning Firewall is disabled click here to fix, follow instructions to restart windows firewall thru security center.

Restart again, immediately use Ctrl Alt & Del keys to open task manager.
Open processes click at the top on cpu this will move active processes to the bottom, svchost.exe should now be behaving.

If svchost.exe continues to use cause your cpu to run high after a minute click on offending svchost and click on End Process at the bottom of the task Mgr window then Restart you pc.


This worked for me on more than one occassion.

Then
Use the link below this sentence, read it all first, then follow it very carefully.
http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=35407

 

Currently I have Spybot, Ccleaner, AVG, A-Squared, and Zone Alarm. Which ones should I get rid of before I continue?

 

Remove Zone Alarm.
Remove A-Squared.
Which AVG are you running antivirus?

 

I'm running AVG anti virus free edition 7.5

 

AVG is OK now follow below!

 

Add this to the above instructions at the end.

 

I ran through all those steps. I'm still having some problems though. svchost.exe is taking up about 24,000 K in memory according to the Windows Task Manager.

There are 3 other svchost.exe that are all taking up about 4,000 K memory too.

However, none of them are taking up anything in the "CPU" category. The main culprit there is System Idle process taking up about 90% even while I have a dvd playing and I'm typing this post right now.