CPU 100% causing restart

[DrB]

One of my WinXP-Pro computers started restarting every couple minutes
showing it ran out of virtual memory. Noticed that 100% of the CPU is being
used which is not be normal. Tried Msconfig to prevent McAfee and even MS
Office from starting but no change. Starting up in Safe Mode- Networking the
CPU usage is normal and keeps running. I even reformatted the HD and
reloaded WinXP which allowed my computer to run normally for a few days.
Then the problem of restarting with 100% CPU usage started again. Any
suggestions to solve this problem?

 

[Shenan Stanley]

One of my WinXP-Pro computers started restarting every couple
minutes showing it ran out of virtual memory. Noticed that 100% of
the CPU is being used which is not be normal. Tried Msconfig to
prevent McAfee and even MS Office from starting but no change.
Starting up in Safe Mode- Networking the CPU usage is normal and
keeps running. I even reformatted the HD and reloaded WinXP which
allowed my computer to run normally for a few days. Then the
problem of restarting with 100% CPU usage started again. Any
suggestions to solve this problem?

Is it fully updated? (Windows XP - fully patched?)
What AntiVirus application do you utilize?
What AntiSpyware applications have you used to scan for infestations?

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

One of my WinXP-Pro computers started restarting every couple minutes
showing it ran out of virtual memory. Noticed that 100% of the CPU is being
used which is not be normal. Tried Msconfig to prevent McAfee and even MS
Office from starting but no change. Starting up in Safe Mode- Networking the
CPU usage is normal and keeps running. I even reformatted the HD and
reloaded WinXP which allowed my computer to run normally for a few days.
Then the problem of restarting with 100% CPU usage started again.

A perfect example of why reformatting and reinstalling is almost
always the wrong thing to do. By reinstalling you fixed the problem
without ever finding out why it occurred. Then, predictably, you
repeated the behavior that caused it, and found yourself back where
you started.

Any suggestions to solve this problem?

My guess is that it's malware infestation. What anti-virus and
anti-spyware applications do you run, and do you keep them up to date?
I recommend that you begin troubleshooting by going to MVP Malke's
malware removal site at
http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Removing_Malware
and following the instructions there.

 

[Gerry]

What process is using the CPU?

Task Manager is useful but you could look at another freeware utility
Process Explorer, which provides similar information but adds that
little bit extra towards seeing what the running processes represent.

For further information about Process Explorer see here:

http://www.sysinternals.com/ntw2k/freeware/procexp.shtml

To ascertain which service is causing the problem select the
image name producing the high CPU usage, right click,
select Properties, Services. Note there are the full names and some
explanation of what each service does.

You will find further information on Services here:
http://www.theeldergeek.com/services_guide.htm

To trace the particular Service involved you need to turn off each
service in turn and then restore it noting what effect it has on CPU
usage. However, you need to take care and watch what other Services are
dependent on that service. When you click on the Dependencies tab allow
it a little time to display the information.


Hope this helps.

Gerry
~~~~
FCA
Stourport, England

Enquire, plan and execute
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

[DrB]

Couple people ask about what AV I am using. Note I said in my text that
McAfee (AntiVirus) is being used and even tried to turn it off without
solution. It is updated several times a week. Have not used any spyware
software since I have not found a decent one.

Tried going into Win Task Manager-Processes and turn out some stuff that was
using >50% at times but no solution. Nothing was using 100%. I do not know
what is suppose to run for WinXP. Is there a list somewhere so I do not turn
off something needed by WinXP?

 

[Gerry]

You should have anti-spyware real time protection. Try Windows Defender,
which costs nothing and will give a reasonable level of protection:
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/software/default.mspx

Also this Article is helpful:
http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Removing_Malware

--



Hope this helps.

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

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

Couple people ask about what AV I am using. Note I said in my text that
McAfee (AntiVirus) is being used and even tried to turn it off without
solution. It is updated several times a week. Have not used any spyware
software since I have not found a decent one.

I don't recommend using spyware software, but I certainly recommend
using anti-spyware software.

My very strong guess is that you are indeed using spyware software,
and that's exactly what's causing your problem.

 

[drb]

On the contrary, I only have been using McAfee AV. No spyware ever on the
computers.

What baffles me is that I reformatted the drive and reloaded but the problem
returned after about a week. I have two other computers in the office on the
network and no problem with them. If there is a virus that migrated to
another computer and then back again, it should have shown up on both. Can a
virus get into the bios and do this?

If so, if I flash the bios would this get rid of it if there?

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

On the contrary, I only have been using McAfee AV. No spyware ever on the
computers.

How do you know that? I'm not a gambling man, but considering your
symptoms, if you haven't been using anti-spyware software, I would
almost be willing to bet that you have spyware on your computer.
McAfee anti-virus will not prevent it.

What baffles me is that I reformatted the drive and reloaded but the problem
returned after about a week.

Because, as I said, you have very likely repeated the behavior that
has caused spyware to reinfect you.

I have two other computers in the office on the
network and no problem with them. If there is a virus that migrated to
another computer and then back again, it should have shown up on both. Can a
virus get into the bios and do this?


No.


If so, if I flash the bios would this get rid of it if there?

No.

 

[CM]

Some running programs are taxing the CPU-RAM and making them overwork,
generate a lot of heat that eventually leads to the "system crash." If these
programs are not maleware, they could be some other other poorly written
programs. Or some of the the hardware may be inherently defective or could
have become defective in the course of time.

If you are certain you have ruled out Virus/Spyware/malware and especially
if Reformat did not make any difference at all in its occurrence ( if
problem came only a few days later, then still malware and used programs are
suspects), you may try to install Linux in another partition on the hard
drive and run for a few days. If Linux runs well but changing to Windows
side causes problem , you need more software troubleshot on Windows side. If
Linux ( example PClinuxOS 2007) too gets problem ,you have to consider
hardware as underlying issue and start looking at RAM , RAM sockets,
Processor thermal paste, or Heat Sink device etc .
M

On the contrary, I only have been using McAfee AV. No spyware ever on the
computers.

What baffles me is that I reformatted the drive and reloaded but the
problem returned after about a week. I have two other computers in the
office on the network and no problem with them. If there is a virus that
migrated to another computer and then back again, it should have shown up
on both. Can a virus get into the bios and do this?

If so, if I flash the bios would this get rid of it if there?

 

[DrB]

The computer runs in Safe Mode-Network just fine. Won't that be an
indication that the bios is fine and it is something in Windows?

Just ran Adware and SpyBot and computer still will not continue running in
normal mode. If it is a hardware problem where do I look to determine this?

Is there a list that I can compare to what is running on my computer so I
can turn it off or delete from the processors in Task Manager?

Some running programs are taxing the CPU-RAM and making them overwork,
generate a lot of heat that eventually leads to the "system crash." If
these programs are not maleware, they could be some other other poorly
written programs. Or some of the the hardware may be inherently defective
or could have become defective in the course of time.

If you are certain you have ruled out Virus/Spyware/malware and especially
if Reformat did not make any difference at all in its occurrence ( if
problem came only a few days later, then still malware and used programs
are suspects), you may try to install Linux in another partition on the
hard drive and run for a few days. If Linux runs well but changing to
Windows side causes problem , you need more software troubleshot on
Windows side. If Linux ( example PClinuxOS 2007) too gets problem ,you
have to consider hardware as underlying issue and start looking at RAM ,
RAM sockets, Processor thermal paste, or Heat Sink device etc .
M

 

[Gerry]

What Warnings / Errors appear in the last Event Viewer log when you last
booted in normal mode?

Please post copies of all Error and Warning Reports appearing in
the System and Application logs in Event Viewer for the last boot. No
Information Reports or Duplicates please. Indicate which also appear in
a previous boot.

You can access Event Viewer by selecting Start, Control Panel,
Administrative Tools, and Event Viewer. When researching the meaning
of the error, information regarding Event ID, Source and Description
are important.

HOW TO: View and Manage Event Logs in Event Viewer in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/308427/en-us

Part of the Description of the error will include a link, which you
should double click for further information. You can copy using copy
and paste. Often the link will, however, say there is no further
information.
http://go.microsoft.com/fw.link/events.asp
(Please note the hyperlink above is for illustration purposes only)

A tip for posting copies of Error Reports! Run Event Viewer and double
click on the error you want to copy. In the window, which appears is a
button resembling two pages. Click the button and close Event
Viewer.Now start your message (email) and do a paste into the body of
the message. Make sure this is the first paste after exiting from
Event Viewer.

Are there any yellow question marks in Device Manager? Right click on
the My Computer icon on your Desktop and select Properties,
Hardware,Device Manager. If yes what is the Device Error code?

Try Start, Run, type "sigverif.exe" without quotes and hit OK. What
drivers are listed as unsigned? Disregard those which are not checked.





--



Hope this helps.

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

 

[drb]

Going into Task Manager and deleting some programs that were using large
percentages of my CPU found out that mcods.exe was the program that is
causing problem. This is a file used by McAfee Antivirus to run scans. Now I
am contacting them to see what can be done to eliminate my problem
permanently. Will post when found or if anyone else solved problem, let me
know.

 

[Gerry]

http://forums.mcafeehelp.com/showthread.php?t=203628

http://www.google.com/search?as_q=m...as_dt=i&as_sitesearch=&as_rights=&safe=images

One solution is dump McAfee.

--



Hope this helps.

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

 

[drb]

Just got done with McAfee tech support chat session. They say that mcods.exe
is not their file, but windows. Anyone know what to do next?

 

[Gerry]

drb

What exactly did they mean by "mcods.exe is not their file".? It's not a
file provided by McAfee or the file you have is not a version provided
by McAfee?

Did you obtain McAfee from a CD or a download?

Was it a free or paid for consultation with McAfee support?
http://search.live.com/results.aspx?q=mcods.exe&mkt=en-us&scope=&FORM=LIVSOP

Go to Start, Control Panel, Folder Options, View, Advanced Settings and
verify that the box before "Show hidden files and folders" is checked
and "Hide protected operating system files " is unchecked. You may need
to scroll down to see the second item. You should also make certain that
the box before "Hide extensions for known file types" is not checked.

Using Windows Explorer find mcods.exe, right click on the file and
select Properties. Please post details of version, date and size. Also
the file path?

Uninstalling and reinstalling McAfee might resolve the problem. Of
course McAfee does have a reputation in these newsgroups on a par with
Norton. Few users recommend either!

--



Hope this helps.

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

 

[drb]

Don't know what Free Support meant by not being their file. It does show it
as McAfee under file properties.

Program was a bought boxed CD. Version is 12.0.172.0, 7/25/07, 359kb and
location is c:\Program Files\McAfee\Virusscan

Possibly the problem is not enough ram since computer only has 256kb while
my notebook also running McAfee running without problems, but with
WinXP-Home, has 1gb. Could that be it?

I already reformatted HD and reloaded WinXP-pro and McAfee previously when
this problem first showed up several days after replacing NAV with McAfee.

 

[Gerry]

What warranties came with the purchase? I would be inclined to have one
last go at McAfee and if no joy take up the issue of a not fit for
purpose with the retailer who sold you McAfee asking for your money
back. It's their problem from the reports I read in their own forum!
http://service.mcafee.com/TechSupportHome.aspx?lc=1033&sg=TS

--



Hope this helps.

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

 

[DrB]

After being given wrong direction by McAfee where they said that SpyBot was
causing problems with mcsysmon.exe I removed SpyBot. This did not solve
problem especially since I did not have SpyBot on computer when problem came
back after reformatting+reloading Winxp-pro, MsOffice, and McAfee only.
However I did solve my problem temporarily by unchecking scheduled scans.
Hopefully McAfee will come up with a better solution. Or if anyone else has
one please post. Thanks everyone for your help.

 

[bojimbo26]

After being given wrong direction by McAfee where they said that SpyBot was
causing problems with mcsysmon.exe I removed SpyBot. This did not solve
problem especially since I did not have SpyBot on computer when problem came
back after reformatting+reloading Winxp-pro, MsOffice, and McAfee only.
However I did solve my problem temporarily by unchecking scheduled scans.
Hopefully McAfee will come up with a better solution. Or if anyone else has
one please post. Thanks everyone for your help.

Get rid of McAfee and use free Avast .