CPU utilization spikes, quad core system, Vista Ultimate 64-bit

[TiggerGTO]

I built a Q9450 quad-core based system with 8GB of RAM and have installed
Vista Ultimate 64-bit, SP1. Frequently, something seems to cycle through the
processors making them spike. It can last from 10-15 seconds to several
minutes. During this time, the system is quite unusable. The mouse responds
very erratically to movement, and typing is nearly impossible. I've tried
watching processor manager, but can't see any processes sort to the top when
sorted by utilization. The performance graph looks like a seismograph during
an earthquake on all 4 processors.

There are a couple of correlations that I have found. First, if I start
from a cold start (i.e. with the computer powered off), I will get one of
these cycles about 5-7 minutes after starting Windows that will last 4-5
minutes. This is fairly consistent but does not always happen. Also,
connecting or disconnecting hardware, like an iPod or an external USB drive
seems to be likely to trigger one of these episodes.

Another thing that I've noticed is that the system seems very slow to detect
the insertion of a disk into or the ejection of a disk from the DVD ROM
drive. This may or may not be related.

It's almost like some hardware detection drivers or services are
periodically freaking out and making the machine unusable.

Has anybody seen anything similar to this or have any suggestions for things
to check or changes to try?

Thanks,
Danny

 

[Richard Urban]

Have you turned off any "unnecessary services" while tweaking your system?
If so, turn them back on.

I have seen many people shoot themselves in the foot by doing this.

 

[AJR]

Check the following for info regarding CPU spikes

http://blogs.technet.com/markrussinovich/archive/2008/04.aspx

 

[Bogdan]

Hi,
I had this problem too in the past... But now is fine... was only
temporary ( Core2Duo E6600 )

 

[TiggerGTO]

No, I have not turned off any "unnecessary services". Other than getting my
system up and running, I haven't done any tweaking. I built a top end system
to give me good performance from the start and don't intend to do any
tweaking or overclocking to try to maximize it.

Danny

 

[TiggerGTO]

Thanks for the link. Very interesting article. It gives me some ideas for
how to try to narrow this problem down. I'll have to try to see if I can
earn a free copy of his book by troubleshooting my own problem. Something
tells me that if I'm able to narrow it down to a device drive like he did, I
won't get that kind of helpful response from the developers.

Danny