Computer running at 100% all the time
Computer running at 100% all the time
Help!
I have a Dell8600 with windows XP Prof 1 gig ram.
Its running slow as, if at all. CPU is allways at 100% often cant even shut it down as it feezes. Only way to reeboot is pull the plug. Im lucky to get 10 mins use ou of it between freezing, when it does work, playing youtube clips is an exercise in frustration. Jerky at best. Even scrolling down a page using the slider bar can take 30 secs before anything happens.
Have spent hundreds of $ in the last week downloading PC tunup programs, have done defrags 50 times in the last month. 2 months ago I installed a new 160GB hard drive.
Anyone have any ideas before I fix it.....................with an axe!
I have a Dell8600 with windows XP Prof 1 gig ram.
Its running slow as, if at all. CPU is allways at 100% often cant even shut it down as it feezes. Only way to reeboot is pull the plug. Im lucky to get 10 mins use ou of it between freezing, when it does work, playing youtube clips is an exercise in frustration. Jerky at best. Even scrolling down a page using the slider bar can take 30 secs before anything happens.
Have spent hundreds of $ in the last week downloading PC tunup programs, have done defrags 50 times in the last month. 2 months ago I installed a new 160GB hard drive.
Anyone have any ideas before I fix it.....................with an axe!
More bang for your buck
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Download Process explorer from: Process Explorer
Run it and it will tell you what is using the resources and allow you to kill it, then you can go to the admin tools and stop that process from starting in the first place.
Run it and it will tell you what is using the resources and allow you to kill it, then you can go to the admin tools and stop that process from starting in the first place.
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Yup. You have to identify the problem and fix it, and process explorer is a very good place to start. Groping around blindly with "tune up tools" is unlikely to hit upon the problem at random, and degragging is pretty well 100.000% guaranteed not to make any difference at all.
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The alternative is to get a new HDD, reinstall Windows onto it, install AV software and then get the data of your old HDD.
I suggest a new HDD as I suspect there is something nasty on the old one, and that you don't have any backups of your data so you can't reformat it as part of reinstalling Windows. If you really have spent hundreds of $$ then the price of a new HDD will come as a pleasant surprise!
I suggest a new HDD as I suspect there is something nasty on the old one, and that you don't have any backups of your data so you can't reformat it as part of reinstalling Windows. If you really have spent hundreds of $$ then the price of a new HDD will come as a pleasant surprise!
Its a brand new HDD. Installed it 3 months ago 160GB.
I cant install the process explorer. Downloads ok, unzipps ok but when i go to install it I get the message.......Insufficient system resouces to get handle information.
Ive checked my virtual memory. got 1.5GB of virtial memory from 1GB of RAM. all the other numbers look ok. The biggest resource user is mcshield from my mcaffee anti virus.....think it was 125000kb.
Cerainly seems like a virtual memory problem as last time I left it running with no applications going, 6 hrs later the CPU was running at 100% just to show the desktop.
I have 1GB of memory, would going to 2 GB have any effect......or should I get the axe out and then buy a new computer.
I cant install the process explorer. Downloads ok, unzipps ok but when i go to install it I get the message.......Insufficient system resouces to get handle information.
Ive checked my virtual memory. got 1.5GB of virtial memory from 1GB of RAM. all the other numbers look ok. The biggest resource user is mcshield from my mcaffee anti virus.....think it was 125000kb.
Cerainly seems like a virtual memory problem as last time I left it running with no applications going, 6 hrs later the CPU was running at 100% just to show the desktop.
I have 1GB of memory, would going to 2 GB have any effect......or should I get the axe out and then buy a new computer.
More bang for your buck
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Ok, try typing Configsys in the box at the bottom of the start menu and press return, you should then get a box up with some tabs on it, go to the start up one and untick all but the microsoft ones, click apply and then OK, close the window and re-boot, you'll get an error message just tell it ok, you should then be able to install process explorer. Re-tick one or two of the startup programs, reboot start process ex and see what happens, repeat as required. ( Or make a note of the programs you untick and use the start menu to start them one at a time.)
Per Ardua ad Astraeus
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To do what GtW says, go to 'Task Manager' (Ctrl-Alt-Del), select 'Processes', click on 'CPU' to get the highest user of CPU time at the top and tell us what it is.
Psychophysiological entity
Your posh utilities have got rid of cookies...haven't they?
CCleaner is a winner for me. Free as well.
CCleaner is a winner for me. Free as well.
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"System Idle Process" (if your tick "show processes from all users") will always show a fairly high CPU % usage even though your performance graph might show say 4% CPU usage.
The Task Manager can be a bit deceiving IMO.
The Task Manager can be a bit deceiving IMO.
Ordinary computers do not stop the CPU clock when they've got nothing to do. The computer is still running, and the easy way to design operating systems (at least I've found it so) is such that what it's running when it's got no real work to do is simply a bog standard process, but one that does nothing and has the lowest possible priority. This is usually called something like the "idle task" and the code might consist simply of a "JMP ." instruction.
Normally the task manager CPU percentage used is the amount of CPU power that's doing something supposedly useful, and the balance, to 100%, is what you expect to find listed for the idle task. There are other things that can confuse TM so that the numbers don't add up to 100%, but the idle task shouldn't confuse or deceive anybody. The clue is in the word "idle".
Psychophysiological entity
W7 has a Resource Monitor in the Performance page of TM. I can't remember if XP did or not.
How does this extended utility compare to Process Explorer?
I have the latter, but what I really mean is in its usefulness to the experts.
How does this extended utility compare to Process Explorer?
I have the latter, but what I really mean is in its usefulness to the experts.
Have a read of this one and see my solution (eventually) - and the links that provided it - on 2nd page (that machine still flying just with the USB ports disconnected, which I haven't bothered upgrading/replacing as not used on that machine) ......
http://www.pprune.org/computer-inter...ing-100-a.html
http://www.pprune.org/computer-inter...ing-100-a.html
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W7 has a Resource Monitor in the Performance page of TM. I can't remember if XP did or not.
How does this extended utility compare to Process Explorer?
I have the latter, but what I really mean is in its usefulness to the experts.
How does this extended utility compare to Process Explorer?
I have the latter, but what I really mean is in its usefulness to the experts.
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nomorecatering
Had the same problem for the past three weeks. The following procedure worked for me and maybe you can give it a try.
1. Using Task Mngr(TM) determin which program is using the most resources, in my case it was two separate programs at different times using 99% CPU for no apparent reason.
2. Using Process Explorer(PE) hight light the program by clicking the left hand mouse button, them right click the mouse and a window or tab will open.
3.Select the problem in the PE. Select 'Debug' and when selected another warning window will open stating that data maybe lost if you select Debug.
3. After using the Debug option the 100% CPU usage was corrected and I didn't loose any data to the best of my knowledge. You may have to do this a couple of times before it is successful.
Another factor which may be causing you problems is the number of windows that you have open at the same time. Best to keep the number to a minimum.
If you Google the program(s) causing the problem you will get myriad responses, fortunately I didn't have to try them so unable to coment.
Good luck and I hope this worksfor you
Had the same problem for the past three weeks. The following procedure worked for me and maybe you can give it a try.
1. Using Task Mngr(TM) determin which program is using the most resources, in my case it was two separate programs at different times using 99% CPU for no apparent reason.
2. Using Process Explorer(PE) hight light the program by clicking the left hand mouse button, them right click the mouse and a window or tab will open.
3.Select the problem in the PE. Select 'Debug' and when selected another warning window will open stating that data maybe lost if you select Debug.
3. After using the Debug option the 100% CPU usage was corrected and I didn't loose any data to the best of my knowledge. You may have to do this a couple of times before it is successful.
Another factor which may be causing you problems is the number of windows that you have open at the same time. Best to keep the number to a minimum.
If you Google the program(s) causing the problem you will get myriad responses, fortunately I didn't have to try them so unable to coment.
Good luck and I hope this worksfor you
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PIO mode ?
One frequent cause of this symptom is disk controllers reverting from DMA to PIO mode. If PE shows a high CPU load due to Interrupts this is most likely your problem.
