cpu 100 while on internet

Hi guys.
my pc Windows XP Professional Service Pack 3 (build 2600)
is really slow while using the internet , in the task manager processs there are 2 iexplore.exe and one of these seems to be the high cpu usage one .
I had a problem with microsoft security essentials a while ago , i could not reinstall it . so i have avast now not sure if this has something to do with it ?
thanks .
also i have just upped the ram from 500 mb to 2 G but this has not helped ..

 

Greetings, moss99.

Couple of quick questions:

1. What happens if you force the high-usage IE task to close - do you then disconnect from the internet, or does the other IE instance continue?

2. Have you tried to duplicate the symptoms with another browser (Firefox, etc.)?

 

Don't think this will solve your problem, but if you have an older computer it helps to make exclusions for trusted sites for your anti-virus scanner, so that it won't run on sites you know you can trust. When you play videos on a net site, for instance, normally an a-v scanner will monitor the entire download of the video to your browser while it is playing. In this light, exclude the net scanner from running when you are at YouTube if you trust the site and so on to get better performance. An a-v net scanner takes up a fair amount of processor power on a Pentium 4 PC when it is scanning (when information is being downloaded to your PC)...

 

Hey moss99, did this slowdown occur before or after you installed Avast ??

 

Hi and thanks for the replies , ok so i downloaded google chrome and it all seems to zip along quite nicely now , so does this mean my internet explorer has become corrupted in some way ?

 

I just did the fixit but it is still the same ..

 

Good morning.

If you do suspect viral activity then you should perform the steps listed in the Malware Removal Forum's Read & Run Me First thread.

First, though, try this: navigate to Start > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Internet Explorer (No Add-ons) (be advised: I don't have an XP machine available but your path should be similar). With the 'safe mode' IE running do you see the same symptoms?

By the way: which version of IE are you running? And I didn't see an answer to AtlBo's and Nick T's questions/suggestions regarding any antivirus software - what protection programs are you using?

 

Hi Thanks for all your help , malwarebytes finds nothing i have also run eset online scanner which finds nothing ,
This all seemed to start with a virus i had , i cant remember all the details now but microsoft security essentials was on it at the time . i somehow lost the security center from my control panel . I got the virus by running eset in safe mode ..
With a lot of web searching i got it back the security center back .
But i cannot reinstall microsoft security essentials , i deleted all the bits of it i could find (recomended by searching) that is why i installed avast ..
It is explorer 8 , and i thought i was clean of malware as everything else on the pc is quick just explorer not working well..

 

It's possible that an MSE remnant is causing problems, try the method/Fixit here to clean the Registry of MSE: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2635095

 

Hi I ran that fixit and got error code 0x8007064A when trying to reinstall mse

 

Hey moss99 try this, it's a free trial, but use the Forced Uninstall option, just type in Microsoft Security Essentials where it says name, to see if anything is leftover- http://www.revouninstaller.com/, also you may want to try and reset IE8, go to Tools-Internet Options-Advanced and click reset.

 

Ok tried this revo finds nothing and reset IE8 still the same . I tried ie from acessories with no add ons i thought it was a bit better but not a lot ..

 

Hi my friend , you can follow this

http://forum.avira.com/wbb/index.php?page=Thread&threadID=82163

to check your machine about virus , it's strongly recommended that
Note : It is strongly advised to create Avira Rescue CD on a clean PC, not the PC on which you will run it . :wave

 

Hi,

Windows 7 Pro 32 bit
3Gb RAM
IE10
NAV 2013

I am seeing the exact same thing. It only started happening in the last couple of days but IE stops responding. A look at Task Manager shows one of the iexplore.exe instances running at high CPU (above 70%) for several seconds. Then a return to normal and IE can be used again.

All other browsers (FF, Chrome, Safari) work fine. Disabling NAV had no effect.

Any help would be appreciated.

Cheers

 

Hi moss99

I had a similar problem two weeks ago and it was related to Microsoft Automatic Updates.

Open Task Manager and click on CPU heading Twice.
That will bring the processes with the most CPU usage to the top of the list.
If you don't see that heading, click View on the menu and then Select Columns. Check the item CPU usage
Leave Task Manager open so that you can Alt+Tab to it anytime things start to lock up.

Go to http://update.microsoft.com/microsoftupdate/v6/default.aspx?ln=en-us and try the Express button to check
High Priority updates.

If that does not work smoothly, then you could have the same problem I had.
If that works OK, then I would suspect that there are 1 or more security software conflicts.

If you have more than one real time scanner active, like Avast and Malwarebytes anit-malware pro,
that can create conflicts if all proper Exclusions have not been configured.

You'll have to remove all remnants of previously installed anti-virus and real time scanners.

There is a process for removing all traces of Avast and doing and clean install.

You should download and run AppRemover to see what it may find.
Be sure to read the Warning on the download page.

If you are concerned about being "unprotected" while removing anti-virus, etc., you can go to
Control Panel > Network Connections > right click on active connected and select disable.
Be sure to go back and Enable when you have reinstalled the anti-virus.

 

That is the error that the FixIt is intended to fix, except that the error code does not end with an "A".

Instead of running the FixIt while you are online, download and save the file MicrosoftFixit50692.msi

Restart the computer in Safe Mode and run the FixIt.
Then restart normally.

 

Hi guys i'm getting through these suggestions 1 at a time ok so i made the avira rescue cd and run it it found 2 infections (APPL/KILLAPP.A1 ) i saved these , it then says restart windows and do a full scan with avira . so i have uninstalled avast and tried to download avira antivirus .
When i try to run it it says downloading, then hangs , time goes up but downloaded stays at 1 byte and i have to use taskmanager to end it ..

 

Good morning.

Hopefully a lesson learned: never uninstall your virus protection until a replacement is readily available. If you're still having problems with the avira download then wipe it out and reinstall avast if you must access the 'net (since you know it already works).

I concur with mjnc - he may be correctly pointing at some conflicts between protection program remnants (3 so far: MSE, avira and avast have all been uninstalled and/or partially installed). Lots of headless chickens running around, I'm sure.

 

so what can i do about the 2 infections the avira rescue cd found ?
(APPL/KILLAPP.A1 virus , or has the rescue cd dealt with them ?

Thats the feeling i get the mse has some bits left over causing issues ...

 

Do you recall whether the infection detected by the ESET online scan was Sirefef aka ZeroAccess? The latest variants of this infection set junctions on all the main MSE components pointing to system32\Config. If these junctions are still in place then you wouldn't be able to reinstall or do a complete uninstall.
If this is the case, I'd follow Caliban's advice in post #10 and follow the Malware forum's READ & RUN ME FIRST.

 

Caliban,that was my thinking in the beginning, MSE leftovers.

 

no i cant remember what the virus was , i just thought good riddance and i had sorted it !! .
So will the run me read me steps get rid of the mse leftovers ?