System Idle process absorbing resources...

[Vortex what...ouch!]

I'm hoping someone can explain why a process, System Idle process is using 99% of my CPU resources sometimes.

This is the line that comes up in the task manager processes page:

System Idle process SYSTEM 99 20 K

it just starts happening for no apparent reason and runs for several minutes completely stopping me from doing anything else.

I have cleaned spyware and bots etc and am virus free. I have a firewall and so on but cannot seem to figure out what this is.

Help !

[Ausatco]

Well I always understood that it meant that your CPU was idle for 99% of its capacity and that other things were using 1% of its capacity.

Rather like being 99% fat-free

AA

[Evo]

The CPU has to do something with its time ... so it uses the idle process to do nothing

it just starts happening for no apparent reason and runs for several minutes completely stopping me from doing anything else

Are you sure? System Idle runs all the time, by design, and when you give the computer something to do, the idle process should stop using CPU. If it's really blocking, then there's something wrong.

[Naples Air Center, Inc.]

Vortex what...ouch!,

What exactly is happening with your comp? Is the comp freezing when you are trying to run a specific program?

Take Care,

Richard