CPU problem

[blacklagoon]

A week ago my CPU started doing something strange. It runs at 100% usage, all 4 cores, even at desktop with no applications running, but only if task manager (or process explorer, or anything that monitors each individual process's CPU usage) is not open. It's almost like something hoards the CPU and then immediately hides when task manager tries to look at it. Measured in Speedfan, which does not affect the usage like task manager does, the usage immediately shoots up to 100% the moment task manager is closed, and the core temp spikes very quickly (but the fan speeds do not change). It doesn't happen in safe mode, however.

I have run a Malwarebytes Anti-Malware full scan and have tried closing almost every process and service, but the problem persists. Maybe a driver problem?

My CPU is an AMD Athlon II X4 640 3.0GHz.

 

[Silverhazesurfer]

Instead of task manager, use process explorer. You get a better idea of what processes are running and doing what.

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb896653.aspx

See if that gets you somewhere.

 

[blacklagoon]

Instead of task manager, use process explorer.

As I said, anything that monitors individual processes stops the 100% usage and brings it back to normal levels.

 

[Silverhazesurfer]

sorry bout that.

Anyway.....

tried booting to safe mode and turning things off? come back to normal mode and see what happens.

 

[muckshifter]

What antivirus are you running? MaCrapy & Norton, IMHO, are great at imitating viruses.

What operating system?

All drivers & Windows up to date?

Go download and post the results log here from HiJackThis ... if we "see" anything remotely suspicious, the coarse of action would be to seek assistance from the great guys over at http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/ to help eradicate the nastie.

 

[blacklagoon]

HijackThis log:

Logfile of Trend Micro HijackThis v2.0.4
Scan saved at 1:21:24 PM, on 12/11/2012
Platform: Windows 7 SP1 (WinNT 6.00.3505)
MSIE: Internet Explorer v9.00 (9.00.8112.16455)
Boot mode: Normal

Running processes:
C:\Program Files (x86)\MSI Afterburner\MSIAfterburner.exe
C:\Program Files (x86)\Hewlett-Packard\HP Odometer\hpsysdrv.exe
C:\Program Files (x86)\Hp\HP Software Update\hpwuschd2.exe
C:\Program Files (x86)\BillP Studios\WinPatrol\WinPatrol.exe
C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Java\Java Update\jusched.exe
C:\Program Files (x86)\MSI Afterburner\Bundle\OSDServer\RTSS.exe
C:\Users\Wyker\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe
C:\Users\Wyker\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe
C:\Users\Wyker\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe
C:\Users\Wyker\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe
C:\Users\Wyker\Downloads\HijackThis.exe
C:\Users\Wyker\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe

R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Default_Page_URL = http://g.msn.com/HPDSK/1
R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Search Page = http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=54896
R0 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Start Page = http://g.msn.com/HPDSK/1
R1 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Default_Page_URL = http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=69157
R1 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Default_Search_URL = http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=54896
R1 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Search Page = http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=54896
R0 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Start Page = http://g.msn.com/HPDSK/1
R0 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Search,SearchAssistant = 
R0 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Search,CustomizeSearch = 
R0 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Local Page = C:\Windows\SysWOW64\blank.htm
R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings,ProxyOverride = *.local
R0 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Toolbar,LinksFolderName = 
F2 - REG:system.ini: UserInit=userinit.exe,
O2 - BHO: AcroIEHelperStub - {18DF081C-E8AD-4283-A596-FA578C2EBDC3} - C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Adobe\Acrobat\ActiveX\AcroIEHelperShim.dll
O2 - BHO: AMD SteadyVideo BHO - {6C680BAE-655C-4E3D-8FC4-E6A520C3D928} - C:\Program Files (x86)\amd\SteadyVideo\SteadyVideo.dll
O2 - BHO: Java(tm) Plug-In SSV Helper - {761497BB-D6F0-462C-B6EB-D4DAF1D92D43} - C:\Program Files (x86)\Java\jre6\bin\ssv.dll
O2 - BHO: Windows Live ID Sign-in Helper - {9030D464-4C02-4ABF-8ECC-5164760863C6} - C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Windows Live\WindowsLiveLogin.dll
O2 - BHO: URLRedirectionBHO - {B4F3A835-0E21-4959-BA22-42B3008E02FF} - C:\PROGRA~2\MIF5BA~1\Office14\URLREDIR.DLL
O2 - BHO: Java(tm) Plug-In 2 SSV Helper - {DBC80044-A445-435b-BC74-9C25C1C588A9} - C:\Program Files (x86)\Java\jre6\bin\jp2ssv.dll
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [HP Software Update] c:\Program Files (x86)\HP\HP Software Update\HPWuSchd2.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [WinPatrol] C:\Program Files (x86)\BillP Studios\WinPatrol\winpatrol.exe -expressboot
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [SwitchBoard] C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Adobe\SwitchBoard\SwitchBoard.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [Adobe ARM] "C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Adobe\ARM\1.0\AdobeARM.exe"
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [amd_dc_opt] C:\Program Files (x86)\AMD\Dual-Core Optimizer\amd_dc_opt.exe
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [SunJavaUpdateSched] "C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Java\Java Update\jusched.exe"
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [StartCCC] "C:\Program Files (x86)\ATI Technologies\ATI.ACE\Core-Static\CLIStart.exe" MSRun
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [Google Update] "C:\Users\Wyker\AppData\Local\Google\Update\GoogleUpdate.exe" /c
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [minime] C:\Users\Wyker\minime.exe
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [Xpadder] "C:\Users\Wyker\Downloads\xpadder_gamepad_profiler\Xpadder.exe" /m
O4 - HKUS\S-1-5-19\..\Run: [Sidebar] %ProgramFiles%\Windows Sidebar\Sidebar.exe /autoRun (User 'LOCAL SERVICE')
O4 - HKUS\S-1-5-19\..\RunOnce: [mctadmin] C:\Windows\System32\mctadmin.exe (User 'LOCAL SERVICE')
O4 - HKUS\S-1-5-20\..\Run: [Sidebar] %ProgramFiles%\Windows Sidebar\Sidebar.exe /autoRun (User 'NETWORK SERVICE')
O4 - HKUS\S-1-5-20\..\RunOnce: [mctadmin] C:\Windows\System32\mctadmin.exe (User 'NETWORK SERVICE')
O9 - Extra button: @C:\Windows\WindowsMobile\INetRepl.dll,-222 - {2EAF5BB1-070F-11D3-9307-00C04FAE2D4F} - C:\Windows\WindowsMobile\INetRepl.dll
O9 - Extra button: (no name) - {2EAF5BB2-070F-11D3-9307-00C04FAE2D4F} - C:\Windows\WindowsMobile\INetRepl.dll
O9 - Extra 'Tools' menuitem: @C:\Windows\WindowsMobile\INetRepl.dll,-223 - {2EAF5BB2-070F-11D3-9307-00C04FAE2D4F} - C:\Windows\WindowsMobile\INetRepl.dll
O9 - Extra button: HiDownload - {F4FBA929-A891-492C-A0F6-5C79CC4F1742} - C:\Program Files (x86)\StreamingStar\HiDownload_Platinum\HiDownloadPlatinum.exe (HKCU)
O10 - Unknown file in Winsock LSP: c:\program files (x86)\common files\microsoft shared\windows live\wlidnsp.dll
O10 - Unknown file in Winsock LSP: c:\program files (x86)\common files\microsoft shared\windows live\wlidnsp.dll
O11 - Options group: [ACCELERATED_GRAPHICS] Accelerated graphics
O18 - Protocol: wlpg - {E43EF6CD-A37A-4A9B-9E6F-83F89B8E6324} - C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Live\Photo Gallery\AlbumDownloadProtocolHandler.dll
O18 - Filter hijack: text/xml - {807573E5-5146-11D5-A672-00B0D022E945} - C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\OFFICE14\MSOXMLMF.DLL
O18 - Filter: video/mp4 - {20C75730-7C25-476B-95DC-C65810F9E489} - C:\Program Files (x86)\amd\SteadyVideo\VideoMIMEFilter.dll
O18 - Filter: video/x-flv - {20C75730-7C25-476B-95DC-C65810F9E489} - C:\Program Files (x86)\amd\SteadyVideo\VideoMIMEFilter.dll
O20 - AppInit_DLLs: C:\Windows\SysWOW64\guard32.dll
O23 - Service: SAS Core Service (!SASCORE) - SUPERAntiSpyware.com - C:\Program Files\SUPERAntiSpyware\SASCORE64.EXE
O23 - Service: Adobe Acrobat Update Service (AdobeARMservice) - Adobe Systems Incorporated - C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Adobe\ARM\1.0\armsvc.exe
O23 - Service: Adobe Flash Player Update Service (AdobeFlashPlayerUpdateSvc) - Adobe Systems Incorporated - C:\Windows\SysWOW64\Macromed\Flash\FlashPlayerUpdateService.exe
O23 - Service: @%SystemRoot%\system32\Alg.exe,-112 (ALG) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\System32\alg.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: SAMSUNG AllShare Service (AllShare) - Unknown owner - C:\Program Files (x86)\Samsung\SAMSUNG PC Share Manager\WiselinkPro.exe
O23 - Service: AMD External Events Utility - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\atiesrxx.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: AMD FUEL Service - Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. - C:\Program Files\ATI Technologies\ATI.ACE\Fuel\Fuel.Service.exe
O23 - Service: Apple Mobile Device - Apple Inc. - C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Apple\Mobile Device Support\AppleMobileDeviceService.exe
O23 - Service: Bonjour Service - Apple Inc. - C:\Program Files\Bonjour\mDNSResponder.exe
O23 - Service: COMODO Internet Security Helper Service (cmdAgent) - COMODO - C:\Program Files\COMODO\COMODO Internet Security\cmdagent.exe
O23 - Service: Comodo Online Storage Service (COSService.exe) - Unknown owner - C:\Program Files\COMODO\COMODO BackUp\COSService.exe
O23 - Service: @%SystemRoot%\system32\efssvc.dll,-100 (EFS) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\System32\lsass.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: @%systemroot%\system32\fxsresm.dll,-118 (Fax) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\fxssvc.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: Futuremark SystemInfo Service - Futuremark Corporation - C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Futuremark Shared\Futuremark SystemInfo\FMSISvc.exe
O23 - Service: Google Update Service (gupdate) (gupdate) - Google Inc. - C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Update\GoogleUpdate.exe
O23 - Service: Google Update Service (gupdatem) (gupdatem) - Google Inc. - C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Update\GoogleUpdate.exe
O23 - Service: HP Support Assistant Service - Hewlett-Packard Company - C:\Program Files (x86)\Hewlett-Packard\HP Support Framework\hpsa_service.exe
O23 - Service: HP Client Services (HPClientSvc) - Hewlett-Packard Company - C:\Program Files\Hewlett-Packard\HP Client Services\HPClientServices.exe
O23 - Service: HP Quick Synchronization Service (HPDrvMntSvc.exe) - Hewlett-Packard Company - C:\Program Files (x86)\Hewlett-Packard\Shared\HPDrvMntSvc.exe
O23 - Service: HP Software Framework Service (hpqwmiex) - Hewlett-Packard Company - C:\Program Files (x86)\Hewlett-Packard\Shared\hpqwmiex.exe
O23 - Service: InstallDriver Table Manager (IDriverT) - Macrovision Corporation - C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\InstallShield\Driver\11\Intel 32\IDriverT.exe
O23 - Service: iPod Service - Apple Inc. - C:\Program Files\iPod\bin\iPodService.exe
O23 - Service: @keyiso.dll,-100 (KeyIso) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\lsass.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: Mozilla Maintenance Service (MozillaMaintenance) - Mozilla Foundation - C:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Maintenance Service\maintenanceservice.exe
O23 - Service: @comres.dll,-2797 (MSDTC) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\System32\msdtc.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: @%SystemRoot%\System32\netlogon.dll,-102 (Netlogon) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\lsass.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: PDF Document Manager (pdfcDispatcher) - PDF Complete Inc - C:\Program Files (x86)\PDF Complete\pdfsvc.exe
O23 - Service: @%systemroot%\system32\psbase.dll,-300 (ProtectedStorage) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\lsass.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: RadeonPro Support Service - Mr. John aka japamd - C:\Program Files (x86)\RadeonPro\RadeonProSupport.exe
O23 - Service: Remote Packet Capture Protocol v.0 (experimental) (rpcapd) - CACE Technologies, Inc. - C:\Program Files (x86)\WinPcap\rpcapd.exe
O23 - Service: @%systemroot%\system32\Locator.exe,-2 (RpcLocator) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\locator.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: @%SystemRoot%\system32\samsrv.dll,-1 (SamSs) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\lsass.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: SBSD Security Center Service (SBSDWSCService) - Safer Networking Ltd. - C:\Program Files (x86)\Spybot - Search & Destroy\SDWinSec.exe
O23 - Service: @%SystemRoot%\system32\snmptrap.exe,-3 (SNMPTRAP) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\System32\snmptrap.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: @%systemroot%\system32\spoolsv.exe,-1 (Spooler) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\System32\spoolsv.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: @%SystemRoot%\system32\sppsvc.exe,-101 (sppsvc) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\sppsvc.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: Steam Client Service - Valve Corporation - C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Steam\SteamService.exe
O23 - Service: Adobe SwitchBoard (SwitchBoard) - Adobe Systems Incorporated - C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Adobe\SwitchBoard\SwitchBoard.exe
O23 - Service: Comodo BackUp Service (SynchronizationService.exe) - Unknown owner - C:\Program Files\COMODO\COMODO BackUp\SynchronizationService.exe
O23 - Service: TunngleService - Tunngle.net GmbH - C:\Program Files (x86)\Tunngle\TnglCtrl.exe
O23 - Service: @%SystemRoot%\system32\ui0detect.exe,-101 (UI0Detect) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\UI0Detect.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: @%SystemRoot%\system32\vaultsvc.dll,-1003 (VaultSvc) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\lsass.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: @%SystemRoot%\system32\vds.exe,-100 (vds) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\System32\vds.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: @%systemroot%\system32\vssvc.exe,-102 (VSS) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\vssvc.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: @%SystemRoot%\system32\Wat\WatUX.exe,-601 (WatAdminSvc) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\Wat\WatAdminSvc.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: @%systemroot%\system32\wbengine.exe,-104 (wbengine) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\wbengine.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: @%Systemroot%\system32\wbem\wmiapsrv.exe,-110 (wmiApSrv) - Unknown owner - C:\Windows\system32\wbem\WmiApSrv.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: @%PROGRAMFILES%\Windows Media Player\wmpnetwk.exe,-101 (WMPNetworkSvc) - Unknown owner - C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Media Player\wmpnetwk.exe (file missing)

--
End of file - 12487 bytes

Thanks for your help!

OS is Windows 7 x64.
I use Winpatrol and Comodo Firewall.

 

[muckshifter]

OK, you will be pleased to know nothing nastie stuck it's ugly head up, I question your choice, or shall I say HPs choice, of AV program. Suggest, IMHO, you uninstall WinPatrol and Comodo and go get MSE and turn on Windows firewall.

My reason, HJT moaned at me 'cos it didn't "see" an active AV program, and they are less of a problem and more of an asset then people think.

And bin Adobe if you can.

What's in your sidebar? if nothing, turn it off.



EDIT:
Right, I've had time to take a closer look, and I'm not as happy as I was ... so I strongly suggest you pop on over to BleepingComputers, link above ... they are excellent at what they do, and I feel a second opinion is warranted ... still suggest you get MSE and run it anyway, after uninstalling the other AV.

 

[blacklagoon]

OK, I'll ask over at BleepingComputer.

Windows Firewall throws errors when I try to turn it on (a whole separate issue!) so Comodo was sort of a compromise. I'll try to find another firewall, but at the moment I cannot use Windows Firewall.

Thanks!

 

[muckshifter]

OK, I'll ask over at BleepingComputer.

Windows Firewall throws errors when I try to turn it on (a whole separate issue!) so Comodo was sort of a compromise. I'll try to find another firewall, but at the moment I cannot use Windows Firewall.

Thanks!

... then there is a real problem. If BC don't find something, I'll be very surprised.

good luck!

pop back and let us know how you got on.