pc working overtime?

[Terence]

Some expert please enlighten me.Face of pc front of case bottom 2 Leds.On
right on /off to left flashing red one showing that somthing is happening at
any time.What infuriates me is at random times unannounced unspecified
activity happens on my pc.I do not initiate it but it just starts working
furiously slowing my work programmes etc down until it decides to finish and
then just green On/Off led remains and I can then get on with what i want to
do.WHAT IS HAPPENING AT THIS TIME AND WHAT STARTS IT ????? WHY DOES THIS
HAPPEN ???? GOES ON FOR AGES AT TIMES

 

[Malke]

Some expert please enlighten me.Face of pc front of case bottom 2 Leds.On
right on /off to left flashing red one showing that somthing is happening
at any time.What infuriates me is at random times unannounced unspecified
activity happens on my pc.I do not initiate it but it just starts working
furiously slowing my work programmes etc down until it decides to finish
and then just green On/Off led remains and I can then get on with what i
want to
do.WHAT IS HAPPENING AT THIS TIME AND WHAT STARTS IT ????? WHY DOES THIS
HAPPEN ???? GOES ON FOR AGES AT TIMES

Could be anything. There's no way for people just reading your post to tell.
Suggestions:

1. Indexing service could be running. You could disable it
(Start>Run>services.msc [enter])

2. The computer could be infected. Be sure it's clean:
http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Removing_Malware

3. When you see the activity, start Task Manager and see what programs and
processes are running. If you don't know what something is, Google its
name. Also see:

http://aumha.org/a/loads.htm - What loads at Startup?

4. Do clean-boot troubleshooting:
Clean boot in Windows XP - http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310353

Clean-boot advanced troubleshooting in Windows XP -
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/316434

How to Troubleshoot By Using the Msconfig Utility in Windows XP -
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=310560

Malke

 

[JS]

It's most likely a sub-process or application that's runs
periodically and is taking all the CPU resources,
which could be the cause of your PC running slow.

To find and display what could be the problem try Process Explorer:
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/sysinternals/SystemInformation/ProcessExplorer.mspx

Once you have Process Explorer installed and running:
In the taskbar select View and check 'Show Process Tree' and the
'Show Lower Pane' options.
Then expand the process named 'Explorer.exe' (click on the + sign)
Next expand any entries named svchost that may also show a + sign
Next click on the CPU column to sort the processes by %CPU usage
(Highest to Lowest). Normal the System Idle process is at the top
In your case you need to wait for this random slowdown to start
and then identify the process that's causing the high CPU usage.

When the slowdown begins, move the mouse cursor over any process
that is at or near the top of the CPU usage list, you should see a popup
with some detailed info.

With the mouse still over the process that's using most or all the
CPU %, click on that process to highlight it, Now that it's highlighted,
right click and from the options listed select: 'Search Online'
This should display what out there on the web about that process.

You can also double click on any process to open up a more detailed
'Properties' window.

An alternate method using Process Explorer is to double click on the
Graph located just below the Menu bar.
This will open the 'System Information' window,
which has a larger display of all three graphs.
Move your mouse over any spike in the CPU Usage graph to see
what process/application or service was the cause of the spike in
CPU usage.

JS
htttp://www.pagestart.com

 

[chris1986]

Some expert please enlighten me.Face of pc front of case bottom 2
Leds.On
right on /off to left flashing red one showing that somthing is
happening at
any time.What infuriates me is at random times unannounced unspecified

activity happens on my pc.I do not initiate it but it just starts
working
furiously slowing my work programmes etc down until it decides to
finish and
then just green On/Off led remains and I can then get on with what i
want to
do.WHAT IS HAPPENING AT THIS TIME AND WHAT STARTS IT ????? WHY DOES
THIS
HAPPEN ???? GOES ON FOR AGES AT TIMES

i think that definetly your best bet
chris