System Idle Process

[Talib]

Under Windows Task Manager-> Processes, my 'system idle
process' is running at 96-99 of CPU. whats the cause of
this or is this the reason why my computer is slow?
Scanned my computer for viruses multiple times and
nothing is wrong there. Is this normal? Help!

 

[Guest]

system idle process running at 96-99 of CPU is normal. If
you are getting poor performance it could be a lot of
different things causing it. WHat are your hardware specs?

 

[Tom Swift]

"Idle" means 'not doing anything'. What you are seeing is normal.

Tom Swift

 

[Jupiter Jones [MVP]]

System Idle Process is exactly what it sounds like.
It is the % of processing power you have waiting for something to do,
doing nothing.

If you are having problems, this is not the cause.
Try these:
Run an updated virus scan.
Or Scan for Viruses online:
http://security.symantec.com/ssc/home.asp?j=1&langid=ie&venid=sym&plfid=23&pkj=IRLFIZTYMWPAZTJWUFJ
Run Disk Cleanup checking all boxes except "Compress old files"
Run Defrag.
If you have file sharing software such as Kazaa, disable it.
Check this link:
http://www.aumha.org/a/noads.php
Run Ad-Aware (free version) or Spybot to check for spyware:
http://www.lavasoft.de/ (Update if you already have it)
Or
http://spybot.eon.net.au/ (Update if you already have it)

This may apply if you recently installed Windows XP Service Pack 1:
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=815411