HELP! computer idling at 100% CPU

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dennisjai

2[H]4U
Joined
Jan 20, 2005
Messages
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Yeah, my comp is slow as hell so I opened up task manager and find it running at 100% CPU (as if I'm running prime but i'm not). Under 'System' in the task manager, it has cpu @ 95-99 CPU usage. HELP?

It's at 100% CPU load the second I turn on the computer,

thanks in advance.

EDIT: restore + adaware/spyware scan fixed the problem, CPU usage is back on 0-5% at idle
 
And what process or processes are accounting for the 100%? You left out the most important detail.
 
um. . . delete your operating system, obviously. What are you running anyways?

Did you install something new? Any hardware changes?

I'd probably just system restore back and see if you can get around the problem realizing what install caused the problem.

If you don't have system restore enabled. . . msconfig (I think that's what you use for xp) or just the start up program viewer in vista to see what's running on start up. There has to be something weird that's pushing system.

I guess it could also be a registry problem considering it is system. . . regscrub or something if everything else fails.

oh and using your windows cd to repair.
 
Redundant entries in the Registry aren't going to cause anything noticeable.

Kernel-mode drivers run under System, and are quite possibly the most likely candidates for this. Have you recently installed any new drivers or hardware?
 
Mithent said:
Redundant entries in the Registry aren't going to cause anything noticeable.

Kernel-mode drivers run under System, and are quite possibly the most likely candidates for this. Have you recently installed any new drivers or hardware?
Click to expand...

Have not, I reinstalled windows around May 23rd and installed windows update..
 
Whoops, missed that part. I'm not 100% sure if malware can run under the system process, but it is worth a shot to run several scans.
 
failing hardware will also cause this. A bad USB controller and Network adapter flooding the system with interupts was the cause of a similar problem for a client's computer a couple years ago. Since the kernel had to handle all of them, it couldn't free up any processor time for anything else. Once I disable that hardware, all was fine again.
 
Could be my bad motherboard, anyways I give up on this system, time to budget upgrade!
 
System is the USER, not the process. Please tell us what the image name is.
 
If it is System hogging CPU you've got a conflict at a very low level. A hardware issue is possible, but IMO unlikely.

If you're talking about a budget upgrade you may as well look at a restore as was mentioned or even a wipe and reload .. BIOS upgrade -check for new drivers for all hardware. How about dueling AV/spam products?

That is unless you're looking for a reason to pull the trigger on some new gear. Which is never a bad thing......
 
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