100 percent CPU Usage... Finals week... HELP!

[Guest]

This is turning into a regular occurance and it's driving me nuts. Everytime
finals roll around the computer breaks.

This is the second time I've had this issue. I have a Compaq Presario
2700US laptop running Windows XP SP1. What is happening is that the System
process is running 95-100% CPU usage. System Idle process remains 0%
throughout. After anywhere from 1 minute to 5 minutes at this consumption
level the computer will click and turn off. The problem happens most often
with the laptop plugged in. It will happen on just battery power, as well,
but it will usually behave for 20-30 minutes before losing it.

This KB article:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;328915#kb1 describes
my problem quite well. In fact, 1 year ago, right before finals week, I used
this fix to repair the exact problem I am having again with the same
computer. I have reinstalled this fix to no avail. It is no longer working.
I don't know what's up. I have scanned for viruses and spywhere, etc, but
have found nothing. I ran system restore but it failed. I just did it again
and as it was restarting the computer shut down as described above. I doubt
it worked though. I am nervous to do major work to the thing because it
could shut down at any moment. I don't want to be in the middle of something
serious, like an upgrade to SP2. I swear, if you can point me in the right
direction I'll give you a cookie! (disclaimer- If you are outside or inside
Colorado you may not actually recieve a cookie, but I'll see what I can do.)

 

[Bert Kinney]

Hi,

Download and run Process Explorer. Look for the process that's taking
up all the CPU recourses. This will help narrow the search.
Sysinternals Freeware - Process Explorer
http://www.sysinternals.com/ntw2k/freeware/procexp.shtml

 

[Guest]

I'll give that a shot! Thanks, wish me luck Hopefully the computer runs
long enough to get everything installed.

-Ryan

 

[Bert Kinney]

It should, it doesn't require an install.

 

[Guest]

Okay, looks like most of the processor is being eaten up by DCPs (50+%). Now
is where I get lost... Now what?

 

[Bert Kinney]

Double click on the DPC line in Process Explorer and look through all
the tabs for any hints.

Also run any of the malware app on the page below that you have not
already run.
Virus and Spyware removal and prevention
http://home.earthlink.net/~mvp_bert/html/spyware.html

Is there an external modem attached to the system? If so disconnect it
and check with Process Explorer.

Here are couple of Google threads that may be of help.
http://snipurl.com/ep5p

http://snipurl.com/ep5o