Processor 100% problem

Hey there! :wave
Sorry for bothering you all, but I have been having this problem for quite a while and I can't seem to find out what is causing it confused . Every once in a while when the computer starts up, when I use internet explorer, or windows explorer (might include other programs too, just use those two the most), my laptop will suddenly lag very badly. When I check what processes are causing it, it turns out to be the program I was using before it started. The processor will hang at a constant 100% to the point that shutting down the computer just doesn't seem possible without holding the power button. Tried closing out the process that is lagging the computer, but it just doesn't close and will continue to lag until the laptop is restarted. I've scanned the computer for any viruses or spyware, but the drives are clean. Also, when the problem starts, it almost seems like the processor isn't reading at all, or at least the light that indicates any reading activities will flash every few seconds.

I've been able to get myself through worse messes than this alone, but this one has me baffled, and curious lol. If you need any more info let me know and I will do my best to give an answer. Whether anybody can help or not, thanks in advance !

 

Welcome to Major Geeks. :major

The program I always recommend when anyone has CPU usage problems is Process Explorer.

Process Explorer. http://www.majorgeeks.com/download.php?det=4566

 

Thanks!

Thanks for the help so far, I did a little bit of searching in the forum before posting and noticed others with processor problems were told about Process Explorer so I went ahead and got it . I watched the processes in action on my laptop and got these results when I leave the computer alone:

Top process running constantly
-System Idle Process 89-96%
-services.exe 1.52-3.03%
-procexp.exe 1.52-5.97% (obviously)
-explorer.exe 1.47% (almost constantly, other than this 0%)

Top processes that either spike in intervals or run for a short period
-McNASvc.exe 14-25% (McAfee program; about every five minutes or when needed maybe?)
-SpySweeperUI.exe 14-27% (about every minute)
-svchost.exe 1.45-23%
-Interrupts 3-75% (Usually a low number, but jumps higher I guess when two programs jump there percentage higher like SpySweeper and McAfee)
-DPC's 4-8%

*Mainly the only time the processor worked the hardest during the time I left the laptop alone was when suddenly SpySweeperUI.exe spiked to 79% for a second followed by Mcshield.exe and Interrupts fluctuating between 22-45% together for around 10-15 seconds*

Since the freezing tends to occur when I was running through Windows Explorer or Internet Explorer, I checked the process history while using these programs as well. Not in as much depth, but had to go to work, I can explore it more later if needed:

explorer.exe - When doing my usual searching of files, it tended to fluctuate between 60-80% and at times jumped past 90%. At times I also noted svchost.exe spike 88%, but not often.

IEXPLORE.exe - just ran around 15-20% per page change nothing big


That's what I have so far, anything else I should check out let me know, and thanks again for the support, hope this is what you needed.

 

There are just so many possible causes to the partial freezing you describe that it could be a long job to track it down. on the other hand you might strike lucky early on.

I suspect that when either explorer is enumerating chickens something is responding slowly or hesitantly so the whole system has to wait on whatever it is.
Both hardware and software can be suspect, make sure the housekeeping is done. That is for hardware clean internally and make sure airflow is clear. Check the seating of connectors and modules. If it turns out to be a hardware device, say a modem, this can be checked by removing one at a time............

For software, clear all caches, temp files, recycle files etc. One of these may be corrupt and checking it may be holding things up. Do the three finger salute (CTRL ALT DEL) when it is occurring and find out which program is also running. Un install that program and check if the problem goes away.

Good hunting


Studio T

 

Re: Thanks!

The ones you first list show nothing abnormal.
I don't use the following programs,

(quote)
*Mainly the only time the processor worked the hardest during the time I left the laptop alone was when suddenly SpySweeperUI.exe spiked to 79% for a second followed by Mcshield.exe and Interrupts fluctuating between 22-45% together for around 10-15 seconds*
(quote)

but they are apparently set to do their own thing every so often.
You will have to stop them sweeping your system every so often, or put up with it.:cry

You (obviously) will get spikes shown on Process Explorer, when any program (or process) you run is doing its' thing, but they should all settle down when that program, or process, has done its' thing.

If anything process consistently uses high CPU %, and never settles back, then that should be investigated. Hope this helps.Bazza

===

 

Thanks again!

Yeah I insure the system is cleaned of any unnecessary material and do usual routine tune-ups so I don't think any of those would be the case . It just seems to happen mainly when i'm rushing to get things done (which usually is not the most enjoyable time to freeze up lol) or startup, so I was thinking it just had to do with the processor constantly at work or just a combo of processor hogging programs working simultaneously that it just didn't like. Some of those programs I listed were part of SpySweeper and my 10-in-1 Mcafee 2007, and of course spyware and virus protection programs have to do their thing . I've used Mcafee and spysweeper together for a while with no freezing problems so didn't suspect them to be the case and turn them off when needed.

Thanks for all the suggestions so far , i'll probably look into this a little bit more, but it's nothing i'm too worried about right now. In about a month i'll be wiping the system clean and giving the laptop to my uncle to use since i'll be gone for two years doing mission work in South Korea :cool . Just out of curiousity and my interest in troubleshooting I thought i'd give it a shot lol. If there are any other approaches or methods you can recommend for the learning experience it would be great, if not don't worry about it . Your help was surely appreciated.

 

Just an extra - did you look in My computer/computer management/ Event Viewer ?
Double clicking the yellow blobs, will give the reason for a freeze, and may save searching time.

 

Another way to access Event Viewer, is

Start-->Run
type in eventvwr.msc and <enter>

Bazza

 

I had a thought cross my mind,---
About 6 months ago, a computer that I worked on hung something like this,in explorer, and cpu usage was sticking art 100 % for a while, before explorer changed pages, and I tried everything , then. I after looking around for others with similar problems,it appeared some plugins to explorer might be the culprits, so I decided to go to internet tools, and disable some add-ons, an acrobat reader plug in ,was one that played up.
I disabled most of the plugins, and it worked much better-

 

Yeah good thinking plug-ins are always top suspects. Yahoo is another.

Studio T

 

Thanks for the advice so far, I did a little bit of searching in the event viewer (can't believe I forgot about checking that ) and it seems that when my computer freezes, the errors on the system part of event viewer are mainly DCOM and sidebyside. I'm not sure what sidebyside is, but I did look into DCOM and noticed others with the same issue where a DCOM error came up (an example being Event 10010 "The server {C7E39D60-7A9F-42BF-ABB1-03DC0FA4F493} did not register with DCOM within the required timeout.")followed by the system just unusable without a reboot. The example just mentioned was one of them, but there were a few other DCOM errors I spotted farther back on the event viewer with slightly different messages. Looks like I finally found a place to start and look into this a little more . I'm going to go ahead and do a little research on this, if someone is able to fill me in on any details on where to go or any experience regarding this issue it would be great. Thanks for the help .

 

Microsoft fix
http://support.microsoft.com/defaul...port/kb/articles/Q187/1/46.ASP&NoWebContent=1
Also found Mc afee antivirus ihad qa, on this
http://forums.mcafeehelp.com/viewtopic.php?t=103294

 

sidebyside (SxS) errors are often associated with DCOM or COM errors. They are usually due two programs each installing different versions of a dll. Windows then gets mixed up as to which one goes to which program.
Symantec also list adware masquerading under the windows side by side process, but I expect you have the dll problem as this usually shows up in event viewer system log.

What programs or updates have you done recently? SxS is sometimes associated with IE7 or the .Net framework, try looking for update to them.
Who suggested looking in Event Viewer? Well done that Geek.


Studio T

 

Thanks for nipping in Studiot. When I suggested Event Viewer, I wanted to find out what it said, before making myself look a lemon. I then was able to find the links at at Mc Afee, and Microsft,
Mc Afee,s own agent gave the link to CLSID missing.
IE7 - I forgot its early hickups.