PLEASE help! CPU Usage at 100%...

[FRANKIE_5]

Im PRAYING someone can take the time to PLEASE help me. For no reason at all that I can figure out, my CPU on my Windows XP is jumping all over the place. If I try to play a CD or open a Program or anything really, the CPU jumps to like 100%...eventually dropping back down only to jump up again. Ive run my Norton Anti-Virus (Which is current) & it finds no Viruses.
I was looking aroud the Task Manager & under the Processes I am not sure exactly WHAT I am looking for. It shows SYSTEM IDLE PROCESS at 94 CPU &20K MEM usage. Under Applications , Im only Running AOL. I dont know what to do or WHY this just started happening out of Nowhere. Can somebody PLEASE try to help me?
MUCH MUCH thanks!

[Roger Faucher · Accepted solution]

Frankie:

If it just started happening and you have a recent restore point, a System Restore might work.

Roger

[FRANKIE_5]

Hey Roger,
Restore? As in that "GO Back" program? I tried that and it says it couldnt find a "Safe" place to Restore back to.
Any other ideas?
I apreciate your help.
Frankie

[Norman_21]

Hey Frankie,

Under the task manager you probably have one of those AD/SPY ware programms.I had the same problem and guess what an AD ware was consuming the CPU process, Showbehind.exe,scvhost.exe (becareful not to get it mixed with svchost.exe) svchost.exe is the original one.
Simply download and install this Spybot utility and it'll take care of any AD/SPYware programs.
http://www.pcworld.com/downloads/file_description/0,fid,22262,00.asp

Good luck.

[FRANKIE_5]

Hey X MAN,
I tried what you suggested; no luck. CPU Still WAY high. Apreciate your trying to help me.
ANYONE? HELP!!!

[Ron Kinner]

Go back to the Processes in Task Manager and click on CPU Time so that it sorts them by CPU time. What are you first three biggest users after System Idle Process?

Try using msconfig to remove everything you do not absolutely need and then put them back one at a time until you find the culprit.

http://netsquirrel.com/msconfig

does a good job of explaining how to do this.

Also run scandisk (from Safemode) and defrag your harddrive.

Check your Device Manager in Control Panel/System/Hardware and see if you have any Yellow ro Red Marks next to anything or any conflicts.

Ron

[FRANKIE_5]

Hey Ron,
Thank you for the advice. I did as you said. First, The top users in the CPU are SYSTEM IDLE PROCESS using 92%; TASKmgr.EXE using 06%; EXPLORER.EXE using 05% & Companion.exe using 7%. I then went into the MSCONFIG as advised by Netsquirrel.com and unchecked everything exceptSmtray, ccApp,ccRegVfy(Both Anti virus related),VcCpl(is "a Rundll32.exe"; no clue what it is but left it checked )Ctfmon (System 32 thing), Power Reg Schedule (No clue). Everything else is unchecked. Rebooting is a MAJOR hassle too & takes SEVERAL attempts. Once back on, the CPU usage jumps rapidly from 70%, 88%, 95%, 100%, 70%. In other words, Im still stuck despite following your suggestion.
Im dying here! PLEEEEEase help!
Thanks for your time !
Frankie

[Ron Kinner]

>Companion.exe using 7%.
Is this AOL related? Seems like it uses way to much CPU time. Can't say I trust much of AOLs stuff.


"I then went into the MSCONFIG as advised by Netsquirrel.com and unchecked everything exceptSmtray, ccApp,ccRegVfy(Both Anti virus related),VcCpl(is "a Rundll32.exe"; no clue what it is but left it checked )Ctfmon (System 32 thing), Power Reg Schedule (No clue)."

The idea is to get rid of things that you do not recognize.

http://www.answersthatwork.com/Tasklist_pages/tasklist.htm

http://www.pacs-portal.co.uk/startup_pages/startup_full.htm

Ctfmon is probably OK,
and it is hard to stop without knowing the secret.

http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=282599

ccApp,ccRegVfy(Both Anti virus related),

I have seen cases where anti-virus software was the culprit so you want to try it without it too.

SMTRAY = SoundMAX System Tray icon which gets installed with the drivers for soundcards or onboard sound based on Analog Devicesâ chipsets. It gives you access to the SoundMAX software suite from the System Tray.

Recommendation :
Down to end-user preference. You can disable it with Starter.

VcCpl(is "a Rundll32.exe"; no clue what it is but left it checked )

IF you spelled it right then it is a complete unknown and has no business being on your PC.

PowerReg Scheduler is a program used to remind you to register some stupid program. You certainly do not need it.


Have you tried going booting into safe mode? Does it work OK?

[FRANKIE_5]

Hey Ron,
Unistalled Anti-virus completely now. Also Went BACK into SYSTEM Config & only left NvCpl (which Is a RUNDLL32.exelocated in Windows/System32/NvCpl.dll,NV start-up)and left Ctfmon (also in system 32). Everything else is now unchecked.In the Device Manager there was ONE yellow "?" next to "Other Devices" and attached to that was another Yellow "?" with a "!" in it. Otherwise, there are NO other Yellow or Red signs. Down on the Bottom Toolbar, there is a picture of two computer screens with a red X in it & it says "local Area Connection Unplugged. That Local area connection is INTEL PRO/100 VE Network Connection & says "Network Cable Unplugged". (Note: That symbol with the red X has ALWAYS been there and Ive never had any problem as a result of it).
As I type this, CPU is at 77%/85% but anytime I try to play a MP3 for example, it plays all SLOW & bogged down. I think Ive pretty much shut off EVERYTHING in the start up except those 2 System 32 things I told of above. I CAN say at least Im able to Reboot now. Its a SLOW reboot but at least its going through. Still, the CPU is high. What next? I cant thank you enough for your help.
Frankie

[Perignon]

Hi Frankie,

While reading the many and good advices put to this thread, I've realised that none is questioning the hardware you have on board, nor the XP installation procedure used.

1-As you probably know, XP is RAM-demanding, at least 128Mb for its proper usage. So you may consider augmenting the amount of RAM put originally to your system as necessary.

2-I also suspect that the former value set to the "system file" cache has been altered. You'd probably aleviate the burden from the CPU whilst setting the cache to the "Net Server" option.

3-Finally, you may consider this:
a-Updating the BIOS to XP specifications as required.
b-Checking whether or not installing XP may affect the motherboard drivers originally loaded by the manufacturor or vice-versa. Possible compatibility problems exist there, thus requiring XP-compliant drivers (same thing for some other devices on board).
c-Reformatting the disk for the purpose of a clean-install procedure. Note that, in such a case, it is prudent to store your essential files on another disk, then to download and get a copy of all XP-compliant drivers you may need, should the Plug-and-Play program of XP skip some of them.

Good luck and keep us informed.
Alain.

[FRANKIE_5]

Hi Alain, Thank you for taking the time to respond. As for RAM, my PC has 768 of RAM so that cant be the problem. As for the rest of what you wrote, I hate to admit but I have no clue what you spoke of. I was feeling all proud that I was able to understand & follow the advices given to me by the others who were kind enough to help out, but must admit, yours left me scratching my head. Maybe if you could walk me through doing your ideas if thats not asking too much? Please let me say that I have had this PC for over a year with ZERO problems. This CPU problem literally came from NOWHERE one day last week. Nothing new was added or changed. Given the above information, do you still feel I need to do what youve suggested & if so, could you PLEASE try to walk me through it. Im willing to try anything to fix this problem.After removing all that stuff from the start up, it seems to be moving along a little better. Right now the CPU is at 7%. Its when I play a WAV or MP3 that it REALLY bogs down the most. Not saying that its ONLY bogged down when sounds are played, but it DOES seem to be a consistant culprit. Then again, I could be wrong about this.
Thank you & to everyone who is kind enough to try to help me out of this mess. I cant thank you enough!
Frankie

[Perignon]

Hi again Frankie,

My previous guess-points fell apart with your latest report. I mean: because your system was working fine in a recent past, also now that the burden put to the CPU was reduced abreast with the number of programs disabled from the start-sequence of MSCONFIG.

Seems now that suspicions are narrowing to sound-related misfunctions, WAV and/or MP3. If your guess is correct, you may try this:
a-Re-install or install the latest version of DirectX out of Windows Update. If the problem persists, go to the following points below step by step.
b-Re-install or install Windows Media Player 9.
c-Download an update driver (XP-compliant) for your audio device and install it manually.

Again, this may or may not work. There is still a possibility that the hardware be at fault. Sounds silly but temperature may also cause slow-down effects, especially with some CPUs integrating self-protection from overheating incidents (they reduce their internal speed for a while, hence the temperature as well). In doubt, check the cooling system (fan speed and dust...)

Regards
Alain.

[Jon Finley]

Frankie... add the following columns into Task Manager: PID and CPU Time They aren't there by default on XP. Afterwards, click on the column header of CPU Time to see what applications are taking the most time.

Jon

[Norman_21]

Frankie,

Here is a good tool from M$, please download it and run it, it'll show you the CPU usage by process:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/techinfo/reskit/tools/existing/qslice-o.asp

Good luck

[Bruno Ganino]

I think like the first post of XMAN.
I not know spypot but AD-aware is fantastic.
Try here
http://lavasoft.element5.com/support/download/
HTH
Bruno

[Ron Kinner]

Make sure you have not turned off RPC in your services. If you do it will still sort of work but it will be very very slow. Right click on My Computer, select Manage, then Services and Applications then Services. There are two Remote Procedure Call entries. The second one is RPC Locator which does not have to be running and should be set to Manual. The first one is the true one and it should be started and set to Automatic.

Ron

PS I am still not sure why you say your CPU is running at 100% when Task Manager says it is not.

[FRANKIE_5]

Hey Alain, Jon, Ron, Bruno & X man,
First THANK YOU ALL for trying to help. Without you all im screwed.
Alain, Downloaded & Installed DIRECTX 9.0B. Rebboted...same problem.Still want me to Unistal & Reinstal Windows Player 9.0?
Jon, added PID & CPU Time but am not sure what Im looking for. TaskMgr.EXE has PID at 3368 & Time at 4 seconds. Not sure what else to look at but that was the highest.Have about 15 other things showing up below that ALL at ABOUT 1500. The SvcHost.exe is appearing FIVE times with PID's at 1964 /22 seconds and again at 1816 with 0 seconds.(The rest are at like 300 ) and a few more below those 15 at about 200. NO CLUE what Im looking at here.
X MAN, CTRL ALT DELETE shows me my CPU. What does this thing your telling me to get do & what should I look for/ at?
Ron & Bruno...Did the Spyware & Adware as advised above...still slow.
Again, Since pulling all that stuff out of start up im doing better. But my mouse is a little sketchy & playing MP3's or Listening to the AOL guy say "Youve got mail" etc. is SOMETIMES slow & slurred. Its like if the CPU is low then everything works ok. But if that CPU jumps (As it often does), Im slow. SOMETHING is causing my CPU to JUMP around.
Just now the CPU was ok at 7% but when I Minimized my AOL screen to look at the CPU it Jumped to 77%.(And the Minimize SOUND was all slow & slurred). Now Ive got my AOL screen back up & the CPU is at 4%.
IM SO CONFUSED!
S.O.S !!!
Frankie

[FRANKIE_5]

P.S....
Ron, you said "There are two Remote Procedure Call entries. The second one is RPC Locator which does not have to be running and should be set to Manual. The first one is the true one and it should be started and set to Automatic."
They ARE set as you said they should be.

[Ron Kinner]

Jon's idea of turning on the CPU Time was so you could click on it and hopefully see what was tying up your CPU since once sorted it should show what processes use the most time. The idea is that if a process uses a lot of time then it may be the process which slows your PC down.

Which version of AOL are you using?

I don't think you have told us what PC you have. We might be able to recommend a new sound driver.

You might try hijackthis and post its log:

www.tomcoyote.org/hjt/

or look at:

http://www.spywareinfo.com/~merijn/htlogtutorial.html

Also www.belarc.com and get the free belarc advisor. Run it and it may tell you what sound you have and also whether any of your patches need to be reinstalled.

Ron

[Norman_21]

Frankie,

My idea to install the qslice.exe is to open it, maximize it and then open your programs and run AOL while you are watching the qslice.exe. It'll show you graphically, what process is making the CPU busy.
Also, what is your Model, how much RAM you have, how much disk space you have. Sometimes CPU usage doesn't mean the CPU process is the problem, it might be because of a bottle neck!

Hope this help!

[FRANKIE_5]

Im Just SOOOO overwelmed. I think I may be in over my head. Does anybody know of any computer Techs in the Los Angeles area or should I take it to like Best Buy & have them service (Reem) me? I just dont think Im computer savy enough to keep up with all that you nice people have recently suggested and when I AM able to do as you advise, I cant understand what Im looking at. Im TOTALLY bummed out. I HATE giving up but Im just SOOO lost & confused. What do ya all think?
Thanks
Frankie

[Norman_21]

before you totally give up, do a format and then reinstall the WinXP from scratch. In other words, do a clean install!
I'm assuiming that you your Computer is compatible with WinXP and meets the minimum requirements! if you still failed to get it up and running then you may take it to a service technician. that's probably what the Service TEchnician will do!
Please consider assiging points to all of the guys, they have invested their time to help you!
Thanks

[Roger Faucher]

Frankie:

I think we must have missed something. When I re-read your original post, I am struck (as someone else mentioned here) by the fact that you say your CPU is 100% but you also say that System Idle is 94% (which actually means 6% CPU). When you say your CPU is 100%, what do you mean? Where are you taking that reading?

Secondly, I'm intrigued by the fact that your system would not do a System Restore. Please follow these directions and tell us at what point you get the problem/error message. Click on Start/All Programs/Accessories/System Tools/System Restore. When the program launches, select 'Restore my computer to an earlier time' and click Next. Frankie:

I think we must have missed something. When I re-read your original post, I am struck (as someone else mentioned here) by the fact that you say your CPU is 100% but you also say that System Idle is 94% (which actually means 6% CPU). When you say your CPU is 100%, what do you mean? Where are you taking that reading?

Secondly, I'm intrigued by the fact that your system would not do a System Restore. Please follow these directions and tell us at what point you get the problem/error message. Click on Start/All Programs/Accessories/System Tools/System Restore. When the program launches, select 'Restore my computer to an earlier time' and click Next. A calendar should appear with some dates in BOLD. Click on a BOLDED date before the problem surfaced. Go back to September if you must (anything's got to be better than what you're going through, no). When you click on a BOLDED date, the box to the right should show a Restore point (that's why the calendar was BOLDED). Click NEXT, then NEXT again and your system will be restored.

Roger

[Roger Faucher]

Sorry about the formatting of that last post. It should look like this:

Frankie:

I think we must have missed something. When I re-read your original post, I am struck (as someone else mentioned here) by the fact that you say your CPU is 100% but you also say that System Idle is 94% (which actually means 6% CPU). When you say your CPU is 100%, what do you mean? Where are you taking that reading?

Secondly, I'm intrigued by the fact that your system would not do a System Restore. Please follow these directions and tell us at what point you get the problem/error message. Click on Start/All Programs/Accessories/System Tools/System Restore. When the program launches, select 'Restore my computer to an earlier time' and click Next. A calendar should appear with some dates in BOLD. Click on a BOLDED date before the problem surfaced. Go back to September if you must (anything's got to be better than what you're going through, no). When you click on a BOLDED date, the box to the right should show a Restore point (that's why the calendar was BOLDED). Click NEXT, then NEXT again and your system will be restored.

Roger

[Perignon]

Hello Frankie,

As many others, I'me feeling more ant more confused because we haven't put the finger on the problem proper.

May I suggest a drastic but efficient solution? Store your essential files on a CD, a partition/disk or on a site offering such services and re-install your OS, drivers and programs.

The only way which will help start with a fresh system is:
Format the partion/disk that should host XP and reinstall it!
Once done and as necessary, install manually those drivers which are reluctant to the Plug-and-Play function of Windows (to that prospect, download a collection of XP-compliant drivers where appropriate).
Take a picture (notice) of the start-up program of XP (in MSCONFIG or its XP equivalent) any time you are installing a new program. Then unmark the references to programs that you can otherwise launch from the desktop (to the exception of the Anti-Virus and Internet Security).

Alain.