I've seen this issue a number of times, but no firm solution, and have a few
differences with the other presentations. Just want to try to get at what's
going on with this machine.

HP Pavilion 503n, XPSP2, Celeron 1.7GHz, 1.3 GB RAM

Running Process Explorer to try to figure out what's going on.

Launch an Office program - Jumps to 100% CPU, then drops down. When I then
try to open a file and navigate to My Computer, the flashlight comes up, and
it takes forever, with the usage up to 100%. The primary process in this
case appears to be the Office App (eg - WinWord). In other cases, seems
like it's svchost that has 3 threads of kernel32.dll!CreateThread+0x22.

These each consume 20+% of the CPU.

When we connect to the web using VZAccessMgr (verizon wireless connection)
the usage jumps from about 20% up to 80% and back down. Just keeps cycling
like that. The heavy users in this case appear to be the CreateThread+0x22.
Then when anything else runs on top of that, we have absolutely no
functionality at all.

Any help/suggestions appreciated!!!

mtvet

mtvet wrote:
> I've seen this issue a number of times, but no firm solution, and
> have a few differences with the other presentations. Just want to
> try to get at what's going on with this machine.
>
> HP Pavilion 503n, XPSP2, Celeron 1.7GHz, 1.3 GB RAM
>
> Running Process Explorer to try to figure out what's going on.
>
> Launch an Office program - Jumps to 100% CPU, then drops down.
> When I then try to open a file and navigate to My Computer, the
> flashlight comes up, and it takes forever, with the usage up to
> 100%. The primary process in this case appears to be the Office
> App (eg - WinWord). In other cases, seems like it's svchost that
> has 3 threads of kernel32.dll!CreateThread+0x22.
>
> These each consume 20+% of the CPU.
>
> When we connect to the web using VZAccessMgr (verizon wireless
> connection) the usage jumps from about 20% up to 80% and back
> down. Just keeps cycling like that. The heavy users in this case
> appear to be the CreateThread+0x22. Then when anything else runs on
> top of that, we have absolutely no functionality at all.
>
> Any help/suggestions appreciated!!!

I tend to see that alot on celeron processors. The lack of sufficient cache
on the processor *really* makes a noticable difference.

- Are you running the latest VZAccessMgr?
- Latest hardware drivers (motherboard chipset in particular)?
- What AV software?
- Integrated or seperate video card (and is the latest driver for that
installed?)
- What is your virtual memory set at? (I suggest you let Windows control
it.)
- How much free disk space?
- Last time you ran a full CHKDSK?
- Followed by a full defragmentation?
- What version of Office?
- Why SP2 and not SP3 for Windows XP?
- Home Edition, Professional Edition, Media Center Edition or Tablet PC
Edition?
- If you run an application like "HeavyLoad" for a while - does it crash
your system? And how long does it take to completely peg your processor and
use all your memory?

--
Shenan Stanley
MS-MVP
--
How To Ask Questions The Smart Way
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

It would be helpful if you could post the Command Line of the process
generating the excessive CPU usage. In Process Explorer place
cursor on Process and select Properties, Image.


--



Hope this helps.

Gerry
~~~~
FCA
Stourport, England
Enquire, plan and execute
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



mtvet wrote:
> I've seen this issue a number of times, but no firm solution, and
> have a few differences with the other presentations. Just want to
> try to get at what's going on with this machine.
>
> HP Pavilion 503n, XPSP2, Celeron 1.7GHz, 1.3 GB RAM
>
> Running Process Explorer to try to figure out what's going on.
>
> Launch an Office program - Jumps to 100% CPU, then drops down. When
> I then try to open a file and navigate to My Computer, the flashlight
> comes up, and it takes forever, with the usage up to 100%. The
> primary process in this case appears to be the Office App (eg -
> WinWord). In other cases, seems like it's svchost that has 3
> threads of kernel32.dll!CreateThread+0x22.
>
> These each consume 20+% of the CPU.
>
> When we connect to the web using VZAccessMgr (verizon wireless
> connection) the usage jumps from about 20% up to 80% and back down.
> Just keeps cycling like that. The heavy users in this case appear to
> be the CreateThread+0x22. Then when anything else runs on top of
> that, we have absolutely no functionality at all.
>
> Any help/suggestions appreciated!!!
>
> mtvet

"Shenan Stanley" wrote:

> mtvet wrote:
> > I've seen this issue a number of times, but no firm solution, and
> > have a few differences with the other presentations. Just want to
> > try to get at what's going on with this machine.
> >
> > HP Pavilion 503n, XPSP2, Celeron 1.7GHz, 1.3 GB RAM
> >
> > Running Process Explorer to try to figure out what's going on.
> >
> > Launch an Office program - Jumps to 100% CPU, then drops down.
> > When I then try to open a file and navigate to My Computer, the
> > flashlight comes up, and it takes forever, with the usage up to
> > 100%. The primary process in this case appears to be the Office
> > App (eg - WinWord). In other cases, seems like it's svchost that
> > has 3 threads of kernel32.dll!CreateThread+0x22.
> >
> > These each consume 20+% of the CPU.
> >
> > When we connect to the web using VZAccessMgr (verizon wireless
> > connection) the usage jumps from about 20% up to 80% and back
> > down. Just keeps cycling like that. The heavy users in this case
> > appear to be the CreateThread+0x22. Then when anything else runs on
> > top of that, we have absolutely no functionality at all.
> >
> > Any help/suggestions appreciated!!!
>
> I tend to see that alot on celeron processors. The lack of sufficient cache
> on the processor *really* makes a noticable difference.
>
I'll be able to answer more when I'm in front of that PC, but here's the
info I do know now.

> - Are you running the latest VZAccessMgr?
Version 6.7.8 (2048b)

> - Latest hardware drivers (motherboard chipset in particular)?
Not sure if they're the latest.

> - What AV software?
McAfee Security Center, et al

> - Integrated or seperate video card (and is the latest driver for that
> installed?)
Video card is the one that came with the system (integrated I guess). Not
sure about the latest driver.

> - What is your virtual memory set at? (I suggest you let Windows control
> it.)


> - How much free disk space?
A lot.

> - Last time you ran a full CHKDSK?
> - Followed by a full defragmentation?
Both have been run fairly recently.

> - What version of Office?
Office 2002

> - Why SP2 and not SP3 for Windows XP?
Was never prompted to install SP3. When I go to the update center and have
it check for updates, it tells me I'm up to date.

> - Home Edition, Professional Edition, Media Center Edition or Tablet PC
> Edition?
Home Edition

> - If you run an application like "HeavyLoad" for a while - does it crash
> your system? And how long does it take to completely peg your processor and
> use all your memory?
I've never run "HeavyLoad", so I can't address specifically. Memory never
seems to be an issue. It appears to be all processor driven. Processor
queue grows huge, everything grinds to a halt for a while. Then, whatever is
holding the processor lets go and everything goes back to normal.

Seems strange to me that I should be able to totally freeze the machine by
having explorer go to "My Computer".


>
> --
> Shenan Stanley
> MS-MVP
> --
> How To Ask Questions The Smart Way
> http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html
>
>
>

Gerry:

In the case of using Word and trying to navigate to my computer, the top
user is WINWORD.EXE. The command line is: "C:\Program Files\Microsoft
Office\Office10\WINWORD.EXE" The thread that takes up the cpu predominantly
is: WINWORD.EXE+0x18fc

When looking at the svchost issue, the top process is svchost.exe. The
three threads, as I said before, are kernel32.dll!CreateThread+0x22. Command
line for the image, in this case, is: C:\WINDOWS\System32\svchost.exe -k
imgsvc

Hope this helps.

Mark


"Gerry" wrote:

> It would be helpful if you could post the Command Line of the process
> generating the excessive CPU usage. In Process Explorer place
> cursor on Process and select Properties, Image.
>
>
> --
>
>
>
> Hope this helps.
>
> Gerry
> ~~~~
> FCA
> Stourport, England
> Enquire, plan and execute
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>
>
>
> mtvet wrote:
> > I've seen this issue a number of times, but no firm solution, and
> > have a few differences with the other presentations. Just want to
> > try to get at what's going on with this machine.
> >
> > HP Pavilion 503n, XPSP2, Celeron 1.7GHz, 1.3 GB RAM
> >
> > Running Process Explorer to try to figure out what's going on.
> >
> > Launch an Office program - Jumps to 100% CPU, then drops down. When
> > I then try to open a file and navigate to My Computer, the flashlight
> > comes up, and it takes forever, with the usage up to 100%. The
> > primary process in this case appears to be the Office App (eg -
> > WinWord). In other cases, seems like it's svchost that has 3
> > threads of kernel32.dll!CreateThread+0x22.
> >
> > These each consume 20+% of the CPU.
> >
> > When we connect to the web using VZAccessMgr (verizon wireless
> > connection) the usage jumps from about 20% up to 80% and back down.
> > Just keeps cycling like that. The heavy users in this case appear to
> > be the CreateThread+0x22. Then when anything else runs on top of
> > that, we have absolutely no functionality at all.
> >
> > Any help/suggestions appreciated!!!
> >
> > mtvet
>
>
>

More info:

Hard drive remaining: almost 18 GB

VM set at 1.9 G

Office: Microsoft Word 2002 SP3, Excel 2002 SP3




"mtvet" wrote:

>
>
> "Shenan Stanley" wrote:
>
> > mtvet wrote:
> > > I've seen this issue a number of times, but no firm solution, and
> > > have a few differences with the other presentations. Just want to
> > > try to get at what's going on with this machine.
> > >
> > > HP Pavilion 503n, XPSP2, Celeron 1.7GHz, 1.3 GB RAM
> > >
> > > Running Process Explorer to try to figure out what's going on.
> > >
> > > Launch an Office program - Jumps to 100% CPU, then drops down.
> > > When I then try to open a file and navigate to My Computer, the
> > > flashlight comes up, and it takes forever, with the usage up to
> > > 100%. The primary process in this case appears to be the Office
> > > App (eg - WinWord). In other cases, seems like it's svchost that
> > > has 3 threads of kernel32.dll!CreateThread+0x22.
> > >
> > > These each consume 20+% of the CPU.
> > >
> > > When we connect to the web using VZAccessMgr (verizon wireless
> > > connection) the usage jumps from about 20% up to 80% and back
> > > down. Just keeps cycling like that. The heavy users in this case
> > > appear to be the CreateThread+0x22. Then when anything else runs on
> > > top of that, we have absolutely no functionality at all.
> > >
> > > Any help/suggestions appreciated!!!
> >
> > I tend to see that alot on celeron processors. The lack of sufficient cache
> > on the processor *really* makes a noticable difference.
> >
> I'll be able to answer more when I'm in front of that PC, but here's the
> info I do know now.
>
> > - Are you running the latest VZAccessMgr?
> Version 6.7.8 (2048b)
>
> > - Latest hardware drivers (motherboard chipset in particular)?
> Not sure if they're the latest.
>
> > - What AV software?
> McAfee Security Center, et al
>
> > - Integrated or seperate video card (and is the latest driver for that
> > installed?)
> Video card is the one that came with the system (integrated I guess). Not
> sure about the latest driver.
>
> > - What is your virtual memory set at? (I suggest you let Windows control
> > it.)
>
>
> > - How much free disk space?
> A lot.
>
> > - Last time you ran a full CHKDSK?
> > - Followed by a full defragmentation?
> Both have been run fairly recently.
>
> > - What version of Office?
> Office 2002
>
> > - Why SP2 and not SP3 for Windows XP?
> Was never prompted to install SP3. When I go to the update center and have
> it check for updates, it tells me I'm up to date.
>
> > - Home Edition, Professional Edition, Media Center Edition or Tablet PC
> > Edition?
> Home Edition
>
> > - If you run an application like "HeavyLoad" for a while - does it crash
> > your system? And how long does it take to completely peg your processor and
> > use all your memory?
> I've never run "HeavyLoad", so I can't address specifically. Memory never
> seems to be an issue. It appears to be all processor driven. Processor
> queue grows huge, everything grinds to a halt for a while. Then, whatever is
> holding the processor lets go and everything goes back to normal.
>
> Seems strange to me that I should be able to totally freeze the machine by
> having explorer go to "My Computer".
>
>
> >
> > --
> > Shenan Stanley
> > MS-MVP
> > --
> > How To Ask Questions The Smart Way
> > http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html
> >
> >
> >

You can launch Word in two ways. You can double click on Microsoft Word
in the All Programs list. This opens Word with a blank document. Another
way is to double click on an existing Word document. Do you notice the
same whichever you do?

With Word you could could get a corrupted normal.dot template. This sent
Word round in circles until the system ran out of memory. I am wondering
whether you are seeing something of that nature.

My computer flashlight. What is your setting for Windows Image
Acquisition? Start, Control Panel, Administrative Tools, Services. Right
click on
Windows Image Acquisition and select Properties. The StartUp type here
is set to automatic.

What exactly do you do to open My Computer. You can get problems with
right clicking.


--



Hope this helps.

Gerry
~~~~
FCA
Stourport, England
Enquire, plan and execute
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

mtvet wrote:
> Gerry:
>
> In the case of using Word and trying to navigate to my computer, the
> top user is WINWORD.EXE. The command line is: "C:\Program
> Files\Microsoft Office\Office10\WINWORD.EXE" The thread that takes
> up the cpu predominantly is: WINWORD.EXE+0x18fc
>
> When looking at the svchost issue, the top process is svchost.exe.
> The three threads, as I said before, are
> kernel32.dll!CreateThread+0x22. Command line for the image, in this
> case, is: C:\WINDOWS\System32\svchost.exe -k imgsvc
>
> Hope this helps.
>
> Mark
>
>
> "Gerry" wrote:
>
>> It would be helpful if you could post the Command Line of the process
>> generating the excessive CPU usage. In Process Explorer place
>> cursor on Process and select Properties, Image.
>>
>>
>> --
>>
>>
>>
>> Hope this helps.
>>
>> Gerry
>> ~~~~
>> FCA
>> Stourport, England
>> Enquire, plan and execute
>> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>>
>>
>>
>> mtvet wrote:
>>> I've seen this issue a number of times, but no firm solution, and
>>> have a few differences with the other presentations. Just want to
>>> try to get at what's going on with this machine.
>>>
>>> HP Pavilion 503n, XPSP2, Celeron 1.7GHz, 1.3 GB RAM
>>>
>>> Running Process Explorer to try to figure out what's going on.
>>>
>>> Launch an Office program - Jumps to 100% CPU, then drops down. When
>>> I then try to open a file and navigate to My Computer, the
>>> flashlight comes up, and it takes forever, with the usage up to
>>> 100%. The primary process in this case appears to be the Office
>>> App (eg - WinWord). In other cases, seems like it's svchost that
>>> has 3 threads of kernel32.dll!CreateThread+0x22.
>>>
>>> These each consume 20+% of the CPU.
>>>
>>> When we connect to the web using VZAccessMgr (verizon wireless
>>> connection) the usage jumps from about 20% up to 80% and back down.
>>> Just keeps cycling like that. The heavy users in this case appear
>>> to be the CreateThread+0x22. Then when anything else runs on top of
>>> that, we have absolutely no functionality at all.
>>>
>>> Any help/suggestions appreciated!!!
>>>
>>> mtvet

"Gerry" wrote:

>
> You can launch Word in two ways. You can double click on Microsoft Word
> in the All Programs list. This opens Word with a blank document. Another
> way is to double click on an existing Word document. Do you notice the
> same whichever you do?

No difference. I was just using Word as an example... happens with any of
the tools.

>
> With Word you could could get a corrupted normal.dot template. This sent
> Word round in circles until the system ran out of memory. I am wondering
> whether you are seeing something of that nature.
>
> My computer flashlight. What is your setting for Windows Image
> Acquisition? Start, Control Panel, Administrative Tools, Services. Right
> click on
> Windows Image Acquisition and select Properties. The StartUp type here
> is set to automatic.
It IS set to automatic. The flashlight I referred to is the one that
comes up in Explorer when it needs to delay before showing what's in a
folder, so it animates a flashlight to indicate it's looking for stuff.

>
> What exactly do you do to open My Computer. You can get problems with
> right clicking.

No right clicking. In the Word example, what I did was use the drop-down
box in the file open dialog to select My Computer. It then takes a long time
to actually display the contents of My Computer and the CPU is totally
consumed.


>
>
> --
>
>
>
> Hope this helps.
>
> Gerry
> ~~~~
> FCA
> Stourport, England
> Enquire, plan and execute
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>
> mtvet wrote:
> > Gerry:
> >
> > In the case of using Word and trying to navigate to my computer, the
> > top user is WINWORD.EXE. The command line is: "C:\Program
> > Files\Microsoft Office\Office10\WINWORD.EXE" The thread that takes
> > up the cpu predominantly is: WINWORD.EXE+0x18fc
> >
> > When looking at the svchost issue, the top process is svchost.exe.
> > The three threads, as I said before, are
> > kernel32.dll!CreateThread+0x22. Command line for the image, in this
> > case, is: C:\WINDOWS\System32\svchost.exe -k imgsvc
> >
> > Hope this helps.
> >
> > Mark
> >
> >
> > "Gerry" wrote:
> >
> >> It would be helpful if you could post the Command Line of the process
> >> generating the excessive CPU usage. In Process Explorer place
> >> cursor on Process and select Properties, Image.
> >>
> >>
> >> --
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> Hope this helps.
> >>
> >> Gerry
> >> ~~~~
> >> FCA
> >> Stourport, England
> >> Enquire, plan and execute
> >> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> mtvet wrote:
> >>> I've seen this issue a number of times, but no firm solution, and
> >>> have a few differences with the other presentations. Just want to
> >>> try to get at what's going on with this machine.
> >>>
> >>> HP Pavilion 503n, XPSP2, Celeron 1.7GHz, 1.3 GB RAM
> >>>
> >>> Running Process Explorer to try to figure out what's going on.
> >>>
> >>> Launch an Office program - Jumps to 100% CPU, then drops down. When
> >>> I then try to open a file and navigate to My Computer, the
> >>> flashlight comes up, and it takes forever, with the usage up to
> >>> 100%. The primary process in this case appears to be the Office
> >>> App (eg - WinWord). In other cases, seems like it's svchost that
> >>> has 3 threads of kernel32.dll!CreateThread+0x22.
> >>>
> >>> These each consume 20+% of the CPU.
> >>>
> >>> When we connect to the web using VZAccessMgr (verizon wireless
> >>> connection) the usage jumps from about 20% up to 80% and back down.
> >>> Just keeps cycling like that. The heavy users in this case appear
> >>> to be the CreateThread+0x22. Then when anything else runs on top of
> >>> that, we have absolutely no functionality at all.
> >>>
> >>> Any help/suggestions appreciated!!!
> >>>
> >>> mtvet
>
>
>

On SP3 now...got THAT issue resolved, but performance still the same, LOUSY.
Updated video driver, no effect. You mentioned the motherboard chipset
drivers and that they should be sure to be updated. If I go into device
manager, which devices do I select in order to update those drivers
appropriately? Is there a way to get the system to do a global driver update
of some type, rather than having to do them piecemeal??

Thanks.

"Shenan Stanley" wrote:

> mtvet wrote:
> > I've seen this issue a number of times, but no firm solution, and
> > have a few differences with the other presentations. Just want to
> > try to get at what's going on with this machine.
> >
> > HP Pavilion 503n, XPSP2, Celeron 1.7GHz, 1.3 GB RAM
> >
> > Running Process Explorer to try to figure out what's going on.
> >
> > Launch an Office program - Jumps to 100% CPU, then drops down.
> > When I then try to open a file and navigate to My Computer, the
> > flashlight comes up, and it takes forever, with the usage up to
> > 100%. The primary process in this case appears to be the Office
> > App (eg - WinWord). In other cases, seems like it's svchost that
> > has 3 threads of kernel32.dll!CreateThread+0x22.
> >
> > These each consume 20+% of the CPU.
> >
> > When we connect to the web using VZAccessMgr (verizon wireless
> > connection) the usage jumps from about 20% up to 80% and back
> > down. Just keeps cycling like that. The heavy users in this case
> > appear to be the CreateThread+0x22. Then when anything else runs on
> > top of that, we have absolutely no functionality at all.
> >
> > Any help/suggestions appreciated!!!
>
> I tend to see that alot on celeron processors. The lack of sufficient cache
> on the processor *really* makes a noticable difference.
>
> - Are you running the latest VZAccessMgr?
> - Latest hardware drivers (motherboard chipset in particular)?
> - What AV software?
> - Integrated or seperate video card (and is the latest driver for that
> installed?)
> - What is your virtual memory set at? (I suggest you let Windows control
> it.)
> - How much free disk space?
> - Last time you ran a full CHKDSK?
> - Followed by a full defragmentation?
> - What version of Office?
> - Why SP2 and not SP3 for Windows XP?
> - Home Edition, Professional Edition, Media Center Edition or Tablet PC
> Edition?
> - If you run an application like "HeavyLoad" for a while - does it crash
> your system? And how long does it take to completely peg your processor and
> use all your memory?
>
> --
> Shenan Stanley
> MS-MVP
> --
> How To Ask Questions The Smart Way
> http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html
>
>
>

In terms of system performance McAfee is a poor choice for a home
computer. Replacing it with freeware alternatives would result in a
significant improvement.

Are you sure you have 1.3 gb RAM? You have two slots. What size stick is
each?

Drivers:
http://snipurl.com/951ce [h10025_www1_hp_com]

--



Hope this helps.

Gerry
~~~~
FCA
Stourport, England
Enquire, plan and execute
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

mtvet wrote:
> On SP3 now...got THAT issue resolved, but performance still the same,
> LOUSY. Updated video driver, no effect. You mentioned the
> motherboard chipset drivers and that they should be sure to be
> updated. If I go into device manager, which devices do I select in
> order to update those drivers appropriately? Is there a way to get
> the system to do a global driver update of some type, rather than
> having to do them piecemeal??
>
> Thanks.
>
> "Shenan Stanley" wrote:
>
>> mtvet wrote:
>>> I've seen this issue a number of times, but no firm solution, and
>>> have a few differences with the other presentations. Just want to
>>> try to get at what's going on with this machine.
>>>
>>> HP Pavilion 503n, XPSP2, Celeron 1.7GHz, 1.3 GB RAM
>>>
>>> Running Process Explorer to try to figure out what's going on.
>>>
>>> Launch an Office program - Jumps to 100% CPU, then drops down.
>>> When I then try to open a file and navigate to My Computer, the
>>> flashlight comes up, and it takes forever, with the usage up to
>>> 100%. The primary process in this case appears to be the Office
>>> App (eg - WinWord). In other cases, seems like it's svchost that
>>> has 3 threads of kernel32.dll!CreateThread+0x22.
>>>
>>> These each consume 20+% of the CPU.
>>>
>>> When we connect to the web using VZAccessMgr (verizon wireless
>>> connection) the usage jumps from about 20% up to 80% and back
>>> down. Just keeps cycling like that. The heavy users in this case
>>> appear to be the CreateThread+0x22. Then when anything else runs on
>>> top of that, we have absolutely no functionality at all.
>>>
>>> Any help/suggestions appreciated!!!
>>
>> I tend to see that alot on celeron processors. The lack of
>> sufficient cache on the processor *really* makes a noticable
>> difference.
>>
>> - Are you running the latest VZAccessMgr?
>> - Latest hardware drivers (motherboard chipset in particular)?
>> - What AV software?
>> - Integrated or seperate video card (and is the latest driver for
>> that installed?)
>> - What is your virtual memory set at? (I suggest you let Windows
>> control it.)
>> - How much free disk space?
>> - Last time you ran a full CHKDSK?
>> - Followed by a full defragmentation?
>> - What version of Office?
>> - Why SP2 and not SP3 for Windows XP?
>> - Home Edition, Professional Edition, Media Center Edition or Tablet
>> PC Edition?
>> - If you run an application like "HeavyLoad" for a while - does it
>> crash your system? And how long does it take to completely peg your
>> processor and use all your memory?
>>
>> --
>> Shenan Stanley
>> MS-MVP
>> --
>> How To Ask Questions The Smart Way
>> http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html