Help!! CPU usage at 100% = slow

Hi there,

This forum has been very helpful. I've followed the full "read me first" instructions and all of the scans did not come up with any spyware or viruses.

My problem is that my CPU usage is at 100% when I'm browsing around Internet Explorer and therefore everything slows to a hault. Even some times when I'm doing anything in IE, the CPU usage skips to 100%. When I'm opening up IE, it is very, very slow to open. Opening other applications is very slow too. IE takes up most of the CPU and memory (anywhere from 50 to 80+), then System Idle Process, then task manager.

This problem has been going on for months, I

Here are my system specs:
- Windows XP, SP2
- 512MB RAM
- 2.60GHz CPU

I see that other members of this board have had similar problems, so I'm hoping that someone can help me.

Any thoughts? If you'd like me to run HJT, I can do that.

Thanks!

 

• Download HijackThis 1.99.1

• Unzip the hijackthis.exe file to a folder you create named C:\Program Files\HJT

• Do NOT run Hijack This from the Desktop, a temp folder, or a sub-folder of C:\Documents and Settings, or choose to run it directly from the ZIP file.

• Before running HijackThis: You must close each of the following:your web browser, e-mail client, instant messenger, and programs like notepad, wordpad, MS Word etc. And any other unnecessary running programs.

• Run HijackThis and save your log file.

• Post your log as an ATTACHMENT to your next post. (Do NOT copy/paste the log into your post).

• Need help with HJT? See this thread: NO HIJACK THIS LOG FILES BEFORE READING THIS: HJT Tutorial & LOG File Posting

 

Thanks bjgarrick!!

Attached is my HJT log from tonight.

Appreciate the help.

Thanks!
Alanna

 

Have HJT fix the below entries:

O9 - Extra button: (no name) - {85d1f590-48f4-11d9-9669-0800200c9a66} -%windir%\bdoscandel.exe (file missing)
O9 - Extra 'Tools' menuitem: Uninstall BitDefender Online Scanner v8 - {85d1f590-48f4-11d9-9669-0800200c9a66} - %windir%\bdoscandel.exe (file missing)

Other than these 2 entries your log looks ok.

Press the following keys:

Control + Shift + Esc

Windows Task Manager will load. Click on the Processes tab and click on CPU (to arrange by CPU usage)

Now, what process is taking up all the CPU usage?

 

Hi bjgarrick,

I used HJT to remove the two items you mentioned and there is unfortunately no improvement.

Re: CPU usage. When I'm reading web pages, then System Idle Process usually has the highest (hovers around 50-80+). When I'm clicking on web pages, then iexplorer.exe has the highest CPU (usually 70+) and at the bottom of the task manager the CPU usage spikes to 100%. Also, sometimes for no reason, CPU usage goes to 100% even with me just looking at my laptop (no scrolling, no typing, no doing nothing!).

Also, this may sound really weird but when I click/navigate around web pages and links, my laptop clicks like it is working. May or may not be related. Could be just silly for me to mention this.

This problem has been present for months and I kept running the virus/spyware tools recommended by the Geeks, and my problem has not gotten any better or worse.

Could this be a SP2 or corrupt IE problem??

Thanks again!
Alanna

 

System Idle Process is normal when it does that, IE does it sometimes as well. You seem Malware free to me, if you like I can recommend your posting this in the Software Forum. Those guys may be able to tell you a little more.

 

Yes, I too think I may be free of viruses/trojans/bugs.

Could you please bump this over to the software forum to see if the folks there can help or provide recommendations?

Thanks for all of your help!
Alanna

 

Okay! One Moment

 

I wanted to bump this thread.

The guys on the Spyware forum helped me to rule out any malware that may be causing this grief with the 100% CPU usage. They recommended I come over here.

Basically, my problem is that my CPU usage is at 100% when I'm browsing around Internet Explorer and therefore everything slows to a hault. Even some times when I'm doing anything in IE, the CPU usage skips to 100%. When I'm opening up IE, it is very, very slow to open. Opening other applications is very slow too. IE takes up most of the CPU and memory (anywhere from 50 to 80+), then System Idle Process, then task manager.

This problem has been going on for months, and I'm finally ready to try anything to get this resolved. Also, when I click on links in IE, my laptop clicks. Not sure if this is related, but it is weird.

Here are my system specs:
- Windows XP, SP2
- 512MB RAM
- 2.60GHz CPU

I see that other members of this board have had similar problems, so I'm hoping that someone can help me.

Any thoughts?
Thanks!

 

click Start
click Run
type msconfig
select startup
click disable all
apply changes, click ok, restart computer and see if the problem occurs again.

 

I had exactly the same problem as this a few months ago. But i never got around to sorting out what was causing it because i just changed over to firefox. I opened up iexplorer today to see if the problem was still there but it was not.

Sorry i cant be more help.

 

Thanks RawLo, but turning off the startoff processes didn't help the situation at all.

Are there any diagnostic tools that I could use to see if either my IE or XP files are corrupt?

Anyone else have other ideas on what's going on with my laptop and its CPU usage?

Thanks again for all of your help!
Alanna

 

Does this happen on any website? The more active content on the site, the more useage IE is going to require.

Try just going to google.com.

Same problem?

 

Yes, when I go to google, CPU spikes to 100%, but only for a few seconds while it is loading, and then CPU goes back down.

Not sure if this helps, but when I click on Start -> All Programs, this is often very slow to display too.

I am using a highspeed cable connection and the response time to load pages and navigate between pages if more than one open is dreadfully slow.

Thoughts?

Thanks!
Alanna

 

Go to Internet Options in IE (under tools).
Go to the advanced tab.
under browsing, uncheck "enable third party browser extensions".

Click OK, all the way out and reboot.

See if you run into the same problems.

 

do you have any firewalls enabled?

 

i just recently (this week), fixed my laptop for a somewhat similar problem. something kept spiking the available ram (cpu usage, up to 80%). this is a brand new compaq (maybe 1 month old), amd athalon, 512 mbyte ram, windows xp sp2, etc. anyway, it was bugging the crap out of me, trying to do something and it lagged. i finally started removing any programs that i had installed on it, and it was still doing it. in my case it turned out to be the symantec software that was preinstalled on my computer (antivirus, and a couple of other things). when i uninstalled (from add/remove programs), everything stabalized, and was back to normal. i still have a couple of free months for it, but i won't reinstall it!!

anyway, if you have already scanned your computer for spyware and virus (multiple programs), and all is clean, and you feel comfortable with your startup etc., then you might have to do similar? hopefully not!! -sos

 

This is killing me. I've been having this problem for months and I can't stand the slowness and need to fix this somehow!!

Here we go...

Adrynalyne - "enable third party browser extensions" was already off

RawLo - yes, I have ZoneAlarm on, XP2 firewall off

Sosaman - thanks for the tip. I have unistalled Norton Antivirus and am still slow. McAfee came preinstalled on my laptop, and I uninstalled (using Add/Remove) that long ago, but I still see reminents of the software. I even downloaded a s/w removal tool from the Geeks to try and get rid of it, but there are still mcafee on my laptop.


Would anyone recommend a reinstall/refresh from the system discs that came with my laptop?? If so, then I will need some Geek support from you guys to get me through the process.

My laptop is a Dell and less than a year old. I cannot understand why it is so slow.

Again, thanks for all of your help and tips. I'm sure we'll get to the bottom of this.

Alanna

 

To be honest, I couldn't be bothered reading all the information above and just skimmed through it, so I may repeat what you have already tried.

Download a copy of Process Explorer, run it with I.E and any whatever is giving you trouble and post a screenshot here with all the details.


P.S A format and reinstall is always better, but it's up to you if that is what you want to do. I would try other things for a little while longer first.

You have nothing to lose but your sanity.

 

Insomniac,

Thanks for the suggestion. Haven't tried Process Explorer yet. Cool tool!!

I've attached a screen shot. Anything look suspicious?

Thanks!
Alanna

ps - re: the reinstall. This is my last resort as I'd rather try other measures before resorting to this.

 

Alanna, I've just woken and it's 4 AM here, but I can't see a screenshot?

 

Just some thoughts...
1. Id get any Symantec/Norton stuff off of my PC ASAP.
2. I use FreeRAM XP Pro 1.40 and it seems to help.

 

Sorry Insomniac. Here is the screen shot.

Thanks!
Alanna

 

No need to be sorry. That's not really a screenshot and is hard to read, but anyway.

There is nothing I could see there that would cause a major problem.

You have 26 processes running and consuming 55% CPU resources. (12% of that is the word document open)

That's not great, but it's not a disaster either.

What I would do is get rid of unneeded services, which are using 18.66% CPU, whereas on mine it's only 1%.

That may or may not be the problem, but it's well worth doing nonetheless and should improve performance.

Go to Start, Run and type in services.msc then O.K.

To know which ones you can turn off, have a look at BLACKVIPER'S site.


Please note that his settings are a recommendation only and not gospel. It is only a guide and may or may not apply on your system.

Only do one setting at a time, use the computer, and if you don't have a problem then do the next one and so on. If you do have a problem, then it's easy to reverse it.

Any unused programs should also be removed via Add/Remove in Control Panel.

Carry out a thorough CHKDSK and defrag. (BTW, how much free space do you have?)

 

K, that's the handiest thing ever!

 

Insomniac - Thanks for the help!! I have turned off some processes, run my disc check, and defragged and still no improvments. CPU usage is at 100% as I type this. Thanks so much for your help thus far. Any other suggestions? Opening and doing anything in IE is just so unbearably slow.

Akm - I have used Add/Remove to get uninstall McAfee/Norton, but I still see references to them in msconfig, services.msc. A while back I used some program recommended by the Geeks (can't remember which one) to permanently remove software to get rid of McAfee, but it obviously didn't work. Any other recs on how to remove these?

Thanks!
Alanna

 

I've come across this problem a couple of times and one solution seems to work for someone but not another.

It seems to be related to a corrupt Internet Explorer file or folder, and as usual Micro$$oft has squat about it.

Anyway,

Alanna, in Internet Explorer go to Tools, Internet Options, "Delete Cookies", then click O.K. Then click "Delete Files", check "Delete all Offline Content" then click O.K.

Then click "Delete History", then Yes, then click O.K to close it, then close Internet Explorer.

Go to Start, Run and copy and paste the following then click O.K.

rundll32.exe setupapi,InstallHinfSection DefaultInstall 132 %windir%\Inf\ie.inf

You will need your Windows CD.


Reboot and test Internet Explorer again and post back. If it doesn't work we can try something else.

 

Thanks Insomniac. One of my hunches was that I had a corrupt IE file. I have to dig out my Windows disc and have some other things to do tonight, so I will give it a try tomorrow night and will hopefully be able to report success!!

Once again, thanks!
Alanna

 

Hi Insomniac,

I followed your instructions and when I clicked okay after the Run command I received a message. The message read:

The file 'IEXPLORE.EXE' on Windows XP Home Edition Service Pack 2 CD is needed. Type the path where the file is located, and then click OK. Copy files from C:\WINDOWS\Inf\i386.

I only have the SP1 disc as I installed SP2 via the Microsoft site. It looks like the command was looking for the file IEXPLORE.EXE, so I searched my SP1 disc and couldn't find it.

Any thoughts?

Thanks again for all of your help. I'm going to stick with this because I can nolonger stand the slow laptop situation.

Alanna

 

Do yourself a favour and get an SP2 CD.

Micro$$oft are supplying them for free, so order one from HERE.

I know it says you need the SP2 CD for the repair, but you don't.

The first file IEXPLORE.EXE is located on the CD in the I386 folder, you need to "Browse" to the location.

It's programmed to look for it in C:\WINDOWS\Inf\i386 as that is the default location, so you need to Browse to your CD drive with the CD inserted and go to it's inf386 folder then click O.K.

 

Hi Insomnia,

I was able to find IEXPLORE.EXE on my XP disc. I copied over the IEXPLORE.EXE file, but in the middle I was prompted to find iedw.exe. I couldn't find this file on the XP disc, so I continued on without updating it. Unfortunately, my IE is still slow, slow, slow. Speed is the same as before I did the last step you suggested.

What's next on the agenda??

FYI - I ordered the XP SP2 disc, but delivery time is apparently 4-6 weeks.

Thanks again!
Alanna

 

You shouldn't have to tell it where to look for every file, just the first one as I described above but anyway,

Go to Start, Run and type in sfc /scannow (note there is a space after the sfc)

Then press O.K, and again you will need your Windows CD.

 

Hi Insomniac,

I ran sfc /scannow and it ran for likely 45 minutes or so. I let it run to completion, and received no messages or prompts for the Windows CD.

Maybe I did something wrong?? I can give it another go tomorrow night if you'd like.

I restarted my laptop just in case and same old slowness.

Thanks for your patience!
Alanna

 

It does take a while.

You should receive a message as soon as it starts saying that it is verifying protected windows files.

When it finds a file that has changed it should then ask you for the CD.

There is no use trying it again if you are sure you did it the first time.

What I would suggest you try again is the Internet Explorer repair that wasn't done because you couldn't find the file.

Read the instructions that I posted above and try again when you can if you like.

 

Takes a while yes. Consuming my life yes. But it'll be worth it when I get this all sorted out.

Just to clarify...

- Re: the scannow. I definitely did it correctly as I received exactly what you described and I wasn't prompted for the cd to repair anything

- Re: the IE repair. I could find the IEXPLORE.EXE file and loaded that. During the load, it was looking for iedw.exe and that was the file I couldn't find. Perhaps I'll try the IE repair again later tonight as I'm off to work now.

If this above is fine, what would you recommend I do next (besides throwing my laptop out my window).

Something else I'll reiterate. When I am clicking on links and opening up pages, my latop clicks like the CPU is working hard. I guess it is cause it spikes to 100%, but to me, this noise just isn't normal.

Thanks again!
Alanna

 

What I think is the problem is that you have a missing or corrupt file in your C:\Documents and settings\Default User or whichever is your main user folder for browsing, or the file in there, index.dat is corrupt.

What to do about it is another matter as Micro$$oft offer squat in the way of information?

If you have another account you can copy these files over to overwrite them, then that would be a great help.

Or try creating another admin account and use that and see if the problem is still there.

Try the repair again first, and if not try the above.

The noise I cannot explain. The CPU isn't mechanical, so being under extreme load wouldn't and couldn't make it noisy.

Fans and hard drives are really the only things it could be, however it's not likely the noise is what is causing the problem.

If it's only going slow with Internet Explorer, and we have ruled out spyware and services etc, then it's linked to the browser.

The noise may just be a secondary issue, but it's very hard to say via the internet.

 

Hi Insomniac,

I will try the repair again later this eve.

If the repair does not work, then I should:

1. Create a new Admin account (I might need instructions on how to do this).

OR

2. See if I can copy the Default User files from one account to another. Just an FYI, that when I boot in safe mode I see these two account options:

- Administrator
- Alanna Lastname

Please advise.

Thanks again!
Alanna

 

You have a strange and unusual surname, is it European?

Creating an account is the easiest rather than copy over folders, so try that first.

It's very simple to do, just create an another Admin account in Control Panel, then User Account, then Create a new account, name it (Insomniac is good name for it ) and follow the wizard prompts.

 

Hi Insomniac,

Thanks again for all of your help.

Here's the latest. I reloaded IEXPLORE.EXE as per your instructions. Rebooted and same slow mess. Out of curiosity, I tried opening up Word and Excel and they too made my CPU usage jump to 100%. So maybe my problems isn't exclusively IE??

So then, I created a new admin account, rebooted and logged in under that account and literally had no icons on my desktop (they hadn't appeared yet even after several minutes of booting up) and my CPU usage was at 100%.

Also, I think I mentioned it in one of my earlier posts, but my Start menu and My Computer etc., are sometimes painfully slow to open.

My latop is new last July and it really started acting up about three months after I got it (maybe less). Could it be defective in some way? Like maybe a 286 chip was installed by mistake??

Next steps??

Thanks!

 

If the problems aren't exclusively with Internet Explorer, then it sounds like you either have Spyware or had it at one stage and it done the damage.

However, it's very hard to say what it is without having it here in front of me.

Anything is possible, but hardware would be last on the list.

I'm sorry, but I really don't have any solution for you.

The specs you originally posted are pretty good and you shouldn't be experiencing any sort of slowdown, let alone what is happening.

Someone else may know of something, and although I don't normally like suggesting this, it's looking like a repair or reinstall is on the cards.

Edit: How much free space do you have and have you tried a CHKDSK and defrag? Long shot but you really don't have that many options left.

 

Thanks Insomniac,

You have been a great help for all of my troubleshooting. It could very well be that I had some spyware, cleaned it off, but damage had already been done to my files. I know when I was trying to solve this last year, I did clean some spyware off my laptop.

Yes, I have refragged many time. And, I have run DSKCHK (one already and I started another before I left for work this morning).

I am willing to do a repair or reinstall as I have all of my discs, so restoring my latop to its original state won't be a problem.

Also, McAfee came preloaded with my machine, so do you think that when I reinstall I will have the option of not loading McAfee? I'd only like to run one of the AV tools recommended by the Geeks and right now, even though I have uninstalled McAfee, I still see traces popping up in the registry etc.

I will need some guidance though to walk me through the process if you don't mind.

Thanks again!
Alanna

 

I don't know why you don't like McAfee, but you shouldn't have to install it if you don't want to.

Anyway, you could try a Repair of the operating system, but it's not perfect, or you could format and install again.

Whatever you decide, if you have removable media I suggest you make a copy of your important files, and also use the Files and Settings Transfer Wizard (under Accessories, System Tools) if you want to retain or reuse the current Windows settings you have.

 

Thanks Insomniac,

Files are backed up already as I did that before I started playing around with the XP disc.

I may as well go for broke and do it right cause I am sick and tired of the slowness and the annoyance this is causing me.

I'll go for the format and install again.

Could you please tell me how to get started?

Thanks!
Alanna

 

You need to be prepared before you start.

Check using Everest for updated drivers for all your hardware and copy them to removable media, then use the Micro$$oft XP CD to test compatibility. (Just autoplay the CD and it should be the fourth item)

Don't have surplus hardware installed. It will only use up valuable resources and have potential for conflicts.

Things like printers and cameras etc aren't vital during the installation stage, so should be turned off or disconnected and installed later when everything is working okay.

To format and install is fairly simple, and basically involves setting the Bios to boot from CD, inserting the XP disc and following the prompts.

HERE is a basic guide.

The only trap a lot of people fall into is to leave the CD in the drive after they have formatted and installed, and it goes around in circles as the Bios is set to boot from the CD.

Once the full installation has finished, remove the CD and let it boot from hard drive.

If you can wait till you get the SP2 CD, it would be better as you will be connecting to the internet without most of the Micr$$oft patches. (have your antivirus program and updates on removable media ready to install before you connect or you will be infected again)

Good luck.

 

Did you ever get this problem fixed? I have a year and a half old Dell with the same problem. I ran a suggested program, RegSupreme Pro (http://www.macecraft.com/), and the problem got better. It is still not running at a very high speed though. I have run every diagnostic program and optimizer and spyware removal and antivirus imaginable.
Thanks,
Patrick

 

Welcome to MajorGeeks.

We have RegSupreme HERE, so always link us first please.

I doubt if it helped with CPU usuage though.

 

Read most of the thread but have you tried Firefox yet? IE is crap unless you really need it (i.e. MS updates) a lot less secure and unstable.

 

Not that im one to offer advice, but if Alannas Laptop was already damaged by spyware or viruses. And the reformat and re-install doesnt solve the issue, maybe its a good idea to check the hard drive or see if the ram is working properly? Just to rule out that possibility

 

This thread is almost a YEAR old. Let it rest in peace.