100% CPU Usage

InSite · Jul 1, 2011

Hey guys, I was told to come over to software for this issue after making sure it didn't have anything to do with a virus.

My computer keeps hitting 100% and is just running so slow. I did a little cleanup of the c: drive and defragmented it.. seemed to help a little. I just don't know if you guys have any better way to help a computer run?

Looking forward to hearing your reply.

Thank you!

abekl · Jul 1, 2011

How many programs are running in your startups? You might have alot of unnecessary programs running.

oneeyejack · Jul 1, 2011

Hi!! use this software to see which program is using all your CPU.
http://majorgeeks.com/Process_Explorer_d4566.html.
How much RAM do you have??
How many processes are running??

I find the following advise to be very helpful with your problem.
You need to find which program is eating up your CPU.
If virus and spyware scans don't find the problem, it may be due to a malware program that's too new to be caught. More likely, however, is an unintended problem with an honest program.

If your system's CPU spike is constant, the software at fault probably loads when Windows boots. Select Start, Run, type msconfig, and press Enter. Click the Startup
tab, uncheck suspicious options one at a time, and reboot until the problem stops. Windows 2000 lacks this utility; for this OS, download Startup Control Panel, Mike Lin's free alternative.

If the processor overload occurs intermittently, note what you're doing each time the system slows down: the programs you're running, the Web sites you visited that day, and so on. This information may give you a clue.

In Windows XP and 2000, the Task Manager can show you what's chewing up CPU cycles. Press Ctrl-Alt-Delete (in Windows 2000, click Task Manager). Choose Processes
to see your running programs and subroutines. The CPU column shows the available CPU cycles that each process is running. You can easily find the problem here. The Performance tab shows your CPU usage. Hover the cursor over the Task Manager icon in your system tray to see the current CPU usage in a pop-up window.

Keep the System Idle Process running, even if it's huge. This process shows the percentage of CPU cycles that are not in use, so in this case, the bigger, the better.

Once you've found the processor glutton, get rid of that program. If it's something you can't do without, determine whether an updated version with a bug fix is available, or look for a competing program that does a better job.

I hope this makes things clearer!!

theefool · Jul 1, 2011

Also, knowing what OS ye are using can help quite a bit. XP, vista, 7?

plodr · Jul 2, 2011

From malware thread
Windows 5.1.2600 Service Pack 3
Internet Explorer 6.0.2900.5512
Source: http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=240228

chaslang · Jul 2, 2011

plodr said: ↑

From malware thread
Windows 5.1.2600 Service Pack 3
Internet Explorer 6.0.2900.5512
Source: http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=240228
Click to expand...

Yes and it was pointed out that this PC does not have enough memory to properly run Win XP SP3 and this will cause problems like being mentioned.

Processor x86 Family 6 Model 13 Stepping 8 GenuineIntel ~220 Mhz
BIOS Version/Date Dell Inc. A05, 3/20/2006
Total Physical Memory 512.00 MB
Available Physical Memory 202.05 MB
Click to expand...

And this was with no protection software installed/running. It would obviously be even worse once they are installed. I expect that SysInfo is not reporting the processor speed correctly for some reason.

augiedoggie · Jul 2, 2011

I've run XP on a 1GB Celeron w/512MB RAM, ZA and AVG with no such CPU usage ever. There's something else going on but why only 220MHz reported? It would make sense that XP would overwhelm that 'CPU' for sure. I'd check BIOS first to see what's going on. Try Speccy as a second opinion on CPU speed and/or CPU-Z.

augiedoggie · Jul 2, 2011

An afterthought, the BIOS date is 2006 so I could expect a 1.2GHz CPU in there, please give us the model and serial# which will tell us what you should have. Perhaps it's throttling down for whatever reason. My gf's bottom end Dell B120 from about the same time has a 1.5GHz CPU and is slow due to the 5400RPM hard drive even though I installed 1GB RAM though resuming from sleep is instantaneous..

oneeyejack · Jul 4, 2011

Hi !! I would love to see a screen shot of your Task Manager. My Dell is nearly 7 years old. I have 1 GB Ram. 320J Intel Celeron 2400MHZ processor. My PC runs like a Singer sewing machine. I have Avira Free, Online Armor, and Malwarebytes running in real time. I have no CPU problems, because I uninstalled the APP. that was causing high RAM and CPU usage . I always have at least 500 MB of free RAM and my PC usage falls back to 2-4 % CPU even when playing Full Tilt Poker.:-D If your CPU usage is 100% all the time, you have a major problem. I would suspect a APP. causing this and I would find a better one.:-D

Hi!! CPU usage while surfing Huntington Post!!:-D Can't get on Full Tilt, It's still broke!!:-D

Hi!! Sorry !! Can't edit. Please merge my posts. ! CPU usage with over 3 Windows open!!

theefool · Jul 4, 2011

Well, we have about 80+ VDI desktops that are running xp sp3, with office 2010, and another of other programs with 1GB of ram. The big question here, is to see what is hogging the cpu, which is not a ram issue, I do believe.

Bring up task manager, either by right clicking the bar on the bottom and selecting task manager, or by clicking START, RUN, type in taskmgr.exe. Click the processes tab, and click CPU twice to arrange the cpu as my pic shows:

FED UP · Jul 4, 2011

Huffington Post ? :-D

I use http://www.processlibrary.com/ to help me determine what processes can be safely stopped or disabled .

run > services.msc

Be very careful be sure you know exactly what you are changing if you change something, or you could have big problems. If you are not yet very computer savvy I would wait on messing around with the services for now, though .
I'm just not sure of your knowledge level . You don't have to be a pro to adjust your services, you just have to be careful, and use some common sense.

chaslang · Jul 5, 2011

theefool said: ↑

Well, we have about 80+ VDI desktops that are running xp sp3, with office 2010, and another of other programs with 1GB of ram.
Click to expand...

This user has ony 512K.

theefool said: ↑

The big question here, is to see what is hogging the cpu, which is not a ram issue, I do believe. :
Click to expand...

Their logs in the Malware Forum give this info. Looking in MGlogs.zip you will see the runkeys.txt log which contains the below process usage list. As you can see, the CPU at that particular time was 77% idle even though some scans with MGtools were running. Not sure how accurate a picture that this simple little process viewer tools gives though. I have seen some strange outputs from it. A log from Process Explorer could be obtain which would be more useful. I will post instructions down at the end of this message.
Code:
Command Line Process Viewer/Killer/Suspender for Windows NT/2000/XP V2.03
Copyright(C) 2002-2003 [EMAIL="Craig.Peacock@beyondlogic.org"]Craig.Peacock@beyondlogic.org[/EMAIL]
       ImageName   PID Threads Priority CPU Owner
            Idle     0       1        0  77 Error 0x6 : The handle is invalid.
          System     4      60        8   8 Error 0x5 : Access is denied.
        smss.exe   396       3       11   0 NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM
       csrss.exe   444      20       13   0 NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM
    winlogon.exe   480      22       13   0 NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM
    services.exe   524      15        9   0 NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM
       lsass.exe   544      22        9   0 NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM
    ati2evxx.exe   716       5        8   0 NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM
     svchost.exe   732      18        8   0 NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM
     svchost.exe   840      11        8   0 Error 0x5 : Access is denied.
     svchost.exe   932      86        8   3 NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM
     svchost.exe  1044       6        8   0 Error 0x5 : Access is denied.
     svchost.exe  1188      15        8   0 Error 0x5 : Access is denied.
    ati2evxx.exe  1392       6        8   0 D53WYH91\insitejag
    explorer.exe  1472      17        8   6 D53WYH91\insitejag
    WLTRYSVC.EXE  1484       2        8   0 NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM
    BCMWLTRY.EXE  1520      12        8   0 NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM
     spoolsv.exe  1672      15        8   0 NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM
    scardsvr.exe  1748       8        8   0 Error 0x5 : Access is denied.
      Apoint.exe   152       2        8   0 D53WYH91\insitejag
    atiptaxx.exe   172       2        8   0 D53WYH91\insitejag
    quickset.exe   180       5        8   0 D53WYH91\insitejag
      WLTRAY.EXE   236       4        8   3 D53WYH91\insitejag
 DVDLauncher.exe   252       2        8   0 D53WYH91\insitejag
    tfswctrl.exe   344       3        8   0 D53WYH91\insitejag
     svchost.exe   356       4        8   0 Error 0x5 : Access is denied.
    realplay.exe   364       7        8   0 D53WYH91\insitejag
    hpztsb10.exe   416       1        8   0 D53WYH91\insitejag
    hpcmpmgr.exe   432       4        8   0 D53WYH91\insitejag
   hpwuSchd2.exe   112       1        8   0 D53WYH91\insitejag
    rundll32.exe   592       4        8   0 D53WYH91\insitejag
     jusched.exe   884       1        8   0 D53WYH91\insitejag
      ctfmon.exe   908       1        8   0 D53WYH91\insitejag
    acrotray.exe   980       1        8   0 D53WYH91\insitejag
         DLG.exe  1064       1        8   0 D53WYH91\insitejag
     BAsfIpM.exe  1208       8        8   0 NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM
     svchost.exe  1332       3        8   0 Error 0x5 : Access is denied.
     hidfind.exe  1412       1        8   0 D53WYH91\insitejag
      ApntEx.exe  1376       2        8   0 D53WYH91\insitejag
         jqs.exe  1464       5        4   0 NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM
         MDM.EXE  1780       4        8   0 NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM
NicConfigSvc.exe  1824       4        8   0 NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM
     svchost.exe   656       7        8   0 NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM
    wmiprvse.exe  2120       4        8   0 NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM
    hptskmgr.exe  2136       5        8   0 D53WYH91\insitejag
         alg.exe  2864       6        8   0 Error 0x5 : Access is denied.
     svchost.exe  3328       8        8   0 NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM
       ntvdm.exe  3560       4        8   0 D53WYH91\insitejag
     jucheck.exe  1744       3        8   0 D53WYH91\insitejag
SUPERAntiSpyware.exe  3672       5        8   0 D53WYH91\insitejag
     firefox.exe  3488      22        8   0 D53WYH91\insitejag
     MGtools.exe  3160       1        8   0 D53WYH91\insitejag
         cmd.exe  2264       1        8   0 D53WYH91\insitejag
       ntvdm.exe  1124       3        8   0 D53WYH91\insitejag
     Process.exe  3268       1       13   0 D53WYH91\insitejag
I would still like to know why the processor speed showed as:

Processor x86 Family 6 Model 13 Stepping 8 GenuineIntel ~220 Mhz

Not sure if this user is coming back though. We shall see. If they do come back, I would like to see a check on the MBR performed.

How to use Process Explorer to get a log:

Download ProcessExplorer

Unzip it to its own folder somewhere you can locate it.

Now run procexp.exe by double clicking on it.

Let's configure some options first:

Click View and select Show Lower Pane. And where it says "Lower Pane View" make sure DLL's is checked.

Now click on explorer.exe.

Now also under the View menu choose "Select columns" and put a check mark on "Image Path".

Now click on File and then Save As. And save the process list.

Post it back here as an attachment. (See: HOW TO: Attach Items To Your Post )

InSite · Jul 5, 2011

Hey guys!

I'm not going anywhere and I am so happy to see the amount of people that actually care! I just got into work and I am waiting for the laptop to get here so I can try and do some of the things all of you have suggested! I will be in touch!

InSite · Jul 6, 2011

Hey guys,

So there were so many responses I am a little confused on what to do next. Is there some sort of program I can run to help with my issues? I always see these adds about programs that will make your "computer faster". Looking forward to hearing your reply.

I did however notice that when firefox sits open for a while or if a few tabs are up the computer starts to spike like crazy. Maybe that is a good start.

satrow · Jul 6, 2011

Firefox is RAM hungry, it's not the best browser for SP3 with 512MB.

Don't touch anything that's claimed to make your PC faster, stronger, etc. it's mostly snakeoil - check thoroughly with trusted advisors before entertaining this. You need more RAM - nothing else will have the same effect.

I would suggest you first follow the instructions given by ChasLang towards the bottom of #12 and attach a log from Process Explorer.

Also as a follow on from the same post: please also download MBRCheck to your desktop

Double click MBRCheck.exe to run (Vista and Win 7 right click and select Run as Administrator)

It will show a Black screen with some information that will contain either the below line if no problem is found:

Done! Press ENTER to exit...

Or you will see more information like below if a problem is found:

Found non-standard or infected MBR.

Enter 'Y' and hit ENTER for more options, or 'N' to exit:

Either way, just choose to exit the program at this point since we want to see only the scan results to begin with.

MBRCheck will create a log named similar to MBRCheck_07.16.10_00.32.33.txt which is random based on date and time.

Attach this log to your next message.

theefool · Jul 6, 2011

It would be quite interesting to see the results. On a aside, I wonder if creating a separate account would give different results. So, I'll stop here and recommend Chaslang's post. On another note, what is your hdd size, and page file size? And when was the last time it was defragmented (the page file).

satrow · Jul 6, 2011

@ InSite: Please see post # 15 for your instructions.

theefool said: ↑

It would be quite interesting to see the results. On a aside, I wonder if creating a separate account would give different results. So, I'll stop here and recommend Chaslang's post. On another note, what is your hdd size, and page file size? And when was the last time it was defragmented (the page file).
Click to expand...

Total Physical Memory 512.00 MB
Available Physical Memory 202.05 MB
Total Virtual Memory 2.00 GB
Available Virtual Memory 1.96 GB
Page File Space 1.22 GB
Page File C:\pagefile.sys
Size 74.47 GB (79,957,946,368 bytes)
Free Space 62.93 GB (67,568,963,584 bytes)
Click to expand...

From MGLogs > Sysinfo.txt.

oneeyejack · Jul 7, 2011

Hi!! The bottom line InSite is you need to double your RAM if you want to have a PC that will perform the way you want it to. I'm running XP3 with 1024 GB of RAM, and my PC performs really well for me. The more RAM the better. It's really very cheap these days. You still could have some problems with programs hogging your resources so follow the advise given by the Majorgeeks and it will all work out for you. Trust me. You have a good day my friend!! Hang in there!!
oneeyejack.

augiedoggie · Jul 7, 2011

Does Speccy still show 220MHz or did your IT person sort it out? If s/he did, then what did they do?

InSite · Jul 7, 2011

satrow said: ↑

I would suggest you first follow the instructions given by ChasLang towards the bottom of #12 and attach a log from Process Explorer.

Also as a follow on from the same post: please also download MBRCheck to your desktop

Double click MBRCheck.exe to run (Vista and Win 7 right click and select Run as Administrator)

It will show a Black screen with some information that will contain either the below line if no problem is found:

Done! Press ENTER to exit...

Or you will see more information like below if a problem is found:

Found non-standard or infected MBR.

Enter 'Y' and hit ENTER for more options, or 'N' to exit:

Either way, just choose to exit the program at this point since we want to see only the scan results to begin with.

MBRCheck will create a log named similar to MBRCheck_07.16.10_00.32.33.txt which is random based on date and time.

Attach this log to your next message.

Click to expand...

Please find MBR file attached.. I will be trying to do the process log now.

InSite · Jul 7, 2011

chaslang said: ↑

How to use Process Explorer to get a log:

Download ProcessExplorer

Unzip it to its own folder somewhere you can locate it.

Now run procexp.exe by double clicking on it.

Let's configure some options first:

Click View and select Show Lower Pane. And where it says "Lower Pane View" make sure DLL's is checked.

Now click on explorer.exe.

Now also under the View menu choose "Select columns" and put a check mark on "Image Path".

Now click on File and then Save As. And save the process list.

Post it back here as an attachment. (See: HOW TO: Attach Items To Your Post )

Click to expand...

Find attached the log!

satrow · Jul 7, 2011

Thanks InSite.

ChasLang will step in I'm sure, if I don't translate these logs correctly or if I miss anything relevant.

The MBRCheck log looks clean, I see nothing suspicious.

Process Explorer log: no driver issues (would be a higher DPC count).
Processes using CPU:
System Idle Process 88.24%
Apoint (touchpad driver) 1.47%
Process Explorer 10.29%

The System Idle process is high because the CPU is doing very little real work and it's running what amounts to cooling cycles as part of the normal maintenance, the instant any program needs more %, System Idle would release the CPU.

I don't see anything loaded that's obviously malware or 'bad'. The performance, considering what we can tell of the hardware, is running just as I would expect.

There are probably some programs that you might not need running at startup, I'm sure someone will help you to thin those out , probably freeing a few MB of your RAM as well.

theefool · Jul 7, 2011

I also would like to see a make and model of this computer.

chaslang · Jul 7, 2011

Was in the sysinfo.txt log in MGlogs.zip

Code:

System Information report written at: 07/01/11 14:01:05
System Name: D53WYH91
[System Summary]
Item Value 
OS Name Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition 
Version 5.1.2600 Service Pack 3 Build 2600 
OS Manufacturer Microsoft Corporation 
System Name D53WYH91 
System Manufacturer Dell Inc. 
System Model Latitude D810 
System Type X86-based PC 
Processor x86 Family 6 Model 13 Stepping 8 GenuineIntel ~220 Mhz 
BIOS Version/Date Dell Inc. A05, 3/20/2006

chaslang · Jul 7, 2011

satrow said: ↑

The System Idle process is high because the CPU is doing very little real work and it's running what amounts to cooling cycles as part of the normal maintenance, the instant any program needs more %, System Idle would release the CPU.
Click to expand...

Which is in basic agreement with what I posted from the logs in the Malware Forum. The CPU is mostly idle. It is not running at 100% usage.

You still need to resolve why the processor speed is showing as only 220MHz. If that is just a bug in Microsoft's MSinfo32 command, then fine. I still say you need to at a minimum double your memory, but by today's standards and software requirements this is an old slow PC anyway.

satrow · Jul 8, 2011

The only D810 Dell I'm aware of is a Latitude notebook; could Speedstep being active cause the CPU speed to be shown incorrectly?

@ InSite: Right-click My Computer and select Properties, can you post a screenshot of the resulting window please?

If this is InSite's computer, it came with Pentium Mobile processors from 1.73 - 2.0Ghz (maybe 1.6 - 2.26) and is capable of using 2GB of RAM, currently looking like good value.

theefool · Jul 8, 2011

I was also thinking about somthing like Speedstep, but wasn't sure if the cpu had that in it. According to this: http://www.dell.com/downloads/global/products/latit/en/spec_latit_d810_en.pdf you have a Pentium M.

Other power saving methods include dynamically variable clock frequency and core voltage, allowing the Pentium M to throttle clock speed when the system is idle in order to conserve energy, using the SpeedStep 3 technology (which has more sleep stages than previous versions of SpeedStep). With this technology, a 1.6 GHz Pentium M can effectively throttle to clock speeds of 200 MHz, 400 MHz, 600 MHz, 800 MHz, 1000 MHz, 1200 MHz, 1400 MHz and 1600 MHz; these intermediate clock states allow the CPU to better throttle clock speed to suit conditions. The power requirements of the Pentium M varies from 5 watts when idle to 27 watts at full load. This is useful to notebook manufacturers as it allows them to include the Pentium M into smaller notebooks.
Click to expand...

source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pentium_M

I believe this is our cpu speed issue.

satrow · Jul 8, 2011

That's the CPU alright, the Dothan. Dell's BIOS will be the major factor in deciding which steps it actually uses, I think.

InSite · Jul 11, 2011

satrow said: ↑

The only D810 Dell I'm aware of is a Latitude notebook; could Speedstep being active cause the CPU speed to be shown incorrectly?

@ InSite: Right-click My Computer and select Properties, can you post a screenshot of the resulting window please?

If this is InSite's computer, it came with Pentium Mobile processors from 1.73 - 2.0Ghz (maybe 1.6 - 2.26) and is capable of using 2GB of RAM, currently looking like good value.
Click to expand...

Hey guys!

My Father and I work together and it is actually his work laptop. I am trying to learn how to do a screen shot right now and get you that info. today.

Thanks.

InSite · Jul 11, 2011

Here you go!

satrow · Jul 11, 2011

Ok, that shows that there's a 1.73Ghz processor fitted and that it was running at close to 800Mhz when you took the screenshot. When the laptop is doing something that requires more processing power, the speed should jump up towards the full 1.73Ghz.

That's the Speedstep technology, it saves battery power and the keeps the laptop cooler when running the CPU at full speed isn't needed.

InSite · Jul 14, 2011

So I removed Mozilla completely today because it was taking up so much with a plugin-container.exe and am going to have my Dad just run internet explorer (which I believe was recommended earlier). Now, I am confused because his laptop was running so slow all of the sudden and when I looked at the task manager it said "sytem idle process" was running at 83 CPU and spiking the computer to 100%.

The only programs that were running were ie and Lotus (another program like excel).

Any suggestions?

satrow · Jul 14, 2011

My system idle process is currently running at 97-99%, this is normal for a PC that's doing 'nothing'. The higher it is, the less work the computer is doing!

InSite · Jul 14, 2011

satrow said: ↑

My system idle process is currently running at 97-99%, this is normal for a PC that's doing 'nothing'. The higher it is, the less work the computer is doing!
Click to expand...

LOL.. shows how much I know. So then why is it hitting 100%!!?

augiedoggie · Jul 14, 2011

InSite said: ↑

LOL.. shows how much I know. So then why is it hitting 100%!!?
Click to expand...

Because it's doing 'nothing'! Here's a screenshot of my CPU going full blast. Just look at the bottom line for actual CPU usage.

InSite · Jul 14, 2011

augiedoggie said: ↑

Because it's doing 'nothing'! Here's a screenshot of my CPU going full blast.
Click to expand...

Well I mean why is my computer hitting 100% so that is slows down so much you can barely do anything on it??

augiedoggie · Jul 14, 2011

InSite said: ↑

Well I mean why is my computer hitting 100% so that is slows down so much you can barely do anything on it??
Click to expand...

That's a different story, any yellow marks in task manager? I haven't read the whole thread yet, sorry. Perhaps you can find the culprit using Process Explorer, I hope that I didn't repeat anything already here. Getting rid of FF was a good starting point.

chaslang · Jul 16, 2011

augiedoggie said: ↑

I hope that I didn't repeat anything already here.
Click to expand...

Yes. See the request for ProcessExplorer in msg #12 and the log in msg #21 which showed System Idle over 88% and > 10% was just being used by PE, which still just agreed with what was found by the tools in the Malware Forum.

Perhaps the user needs to run ProcessExplorer when he believes the CPU is at 100% usage because the logs we have thus far do not show this.

100% CPU Usage

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