CPU spikes to 100% for no apparent reason

[Guest]

Can anyone give me some suggestions on how to relieve the problem I have with
my laptop’s (Windows XP Pro) CPU frequently spiking to 100%. Once the CPU
hits 100% all programs/applications run painfully slow or freeze and the
spike remains unless I manually kill all processes using the most memory via
the Task Manager. I don’t see any trends with the CPU spiking. It spikes
even if I just have a typical Web page open (i.e.: msnbc.com) and nothing
else. This problem just seemed to happen all of a sudden for no apparent
reason and has been an issue for several weeks now. I didn’t install
anything that caused this (to my knowledge).

Additional info:

- I have all the latest XP and Office updates installed (via
windowsupdate.com and officeupdate.com).

- I've done "Error-checking" and "Defraged", but the problem still persists.

Please help. Thank you.

 

[Plato]

Remove all spyware and malware you've installed.

Can anyone give me some suggestions on how to relieve the problem I have with
my laptop’s (Windows XP Pro) CPU frequently spiking to 100%. Once the CPU
hits 100% all programs/applications run painfully slow or freeze and the
spike remains unless I manually kill all processes using the most memory via
the Task Manager. I don’t see any trends with the CPU spiking. It spikes
even if I just have a typical Web page open (i.e.: msnbc.com) and nothing
else. This problem just seemed to happen all of a sudden for no apparent
reason and has been an issue for several weeks now. I didn’t install
anything that caused this (to my knowledge).

 

[Doug Kanter]

Can anyone give me some suggestions on how to relieve the problem I have
with
my laptop's (Windows XP Pro) CPU frequently spiking to 100%. Once the CPU
hits 100% all programs/applications run painfully slow or freeze and the
spike remains unless I manually kill all processes using the most memory
via
the Task Manager. I don't see any trends with the CPU spiking. It spikes
even if I just have a typical Web page open (i.e.: msnbc.com) and nothing
else. This problem just seemed to happen all of a sudden for no apparent
reason and has been an issue for several weeks now. I didn't install
anything that caused this (to my knowledge).

Additional info:

- I have all the latest XP and Office updates installed (via
windowsupdate.com and officeupdate.com).

- I've done "Error-checking" and "Defraged", but the problem still
persists.

Please help. Thank you.

Is it safe to assume that you've used your anti-virus software to do a
complete system scan? How about running SpyBot and AdAware after the virus
scan? What results did these things show?

 

[Gerry Cornell]

Erik

What are your anti-virus and anti-spyware arrangements?

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
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

[HeyBub]

Can anyone give me some suggestions on how to relieve the problem I
have with my laptop's (Windows XP Pro) CPU frequently spiking to
100%. Once the CPU hits 100% all programs/applications run painfully
slow or freeze and the spike remains unless I manually kill all
processes using the most memory via the Task Manager. I don't see
any trends with the CPU spiking. It spikes even if I just have a
typical Web page open (i.e.: msnbc.com) and nothing else. This
problem just seemed to happen all of a sudden for no apparent reason
and has been an issue for several weeks now. I didn't install
anything that caused this (to my knowledge).

It is possible you have a malware application that is using your computer to
launch hundreds of thousands of spam emails. If this is the case, your ISP
will bestir himself and you will lose your internet connectivity forever.

There are those who will blame your problem on you visiting msnbc.com (spawn
of Micros~1).

Scan your machine with every malware (virus, trojans, spyware, etc.)
detector you can find.

 

[Roberto]

Can anyone give me some suggestions on how to relieve the problem I have
with
my laptop's (Windows XP Pro) CPU frequently spiking to 100%. Once the CPU
hits 100% all programs/applications run painfully slow or freeze and the
spike remains unless I manually kill all processes using the most memory
via
the Task Manager. I don't see any trends with the CPU spiking. It spikes
even if I just have a typical Web page open (i.e.: msnbc.com) and nothing
else. This problem just seemed to happen all of a sudden for no apparent
reason and has been an issue for several weeks now. I didn't install
anything that caused this (to my knowledge).

Additional info:

- I have all the latest XP and Office updates installed (via
windowsupdate.com and officeupdate.com).

- I've done "Error-checking" and "Defraged", but the problem still
persists.

Please help. Thank you.

Assuming you are 100% free of malware, check that there isn't a print
job stuck in the queue, this can give the symptoms you describe.

rgds
Roberto

 

[Guest]

Thanks for all the feedback! I ran Spyware Doctor (pctools.com) and it
detected 248 "infected files" that varied from risk=Low to risk=High. I had
Spyware Doctor remove all those files. Now my CPU usage seems to fluctuate
between 10%-100%. That's much better than the hopelessly stuck at 100% CPU
usage I was getting before I ran the anti-spyware. So I think the problem
was spyware/malware/adware. What is normal/typical CPU % usage? <10%? Just
trying to keep an eye on this situation to confirm whether I really have this
problem licked or not. The fluctuation between 10%-100% still has me
concered though. Thanks.

 

[Plato]

Just note that even if you got all spyware/malware removed. The damage
it has done may still remain. Best bet in the future is NOT to install
spyware or malware. It's ALL up to you. It's your choice.

 

[Guest]

C'mon now...I didn't knowingly install the spyware/malware on my PC. Why the
hell would I do that?! Most spyware/malware is installed on PC's without the
users knowledge or consent. Hence the name, SPYware. Do you actually have
any useful advice?

 

[Doug Kanter]

My son's computer has the same defense system on it that I do. He has
problems all the time with malware. I never do. The difference is the kinds
of sites he visits. Sometimes, behavior *does* affect your computer. About
75% of the crap I find on his machine is related to java files. Among other
things, java is used for stupid games he runs across on the web, and by
stupid web site designers who think you need java in order to make nice
menus. Watch where you visit.

 

[Gerry Cornell]

0% to 100%!


Currently 3% but Task Manager using 2% the balance being explorer.exe!

--

Hope this helps.

Gerry
~~~~
FCA
Stourport, England

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