Crawling PC - "System" Image using 99% of CPU!

[Terry W]

My desktop (AMD 1.2Ghz, 512Mb RAM, Windows XP SP2) has started running
incredibly slow, unusable.

When I go into Windows Task Manager under Process, Image Name "System" is
using 99% of the CPU!!! No wonder my PC is so slow but how do I correct
this?

Any help is greatly appreciated.
Regards,
Terry W, UK.

 

[Glen]

Is it constantly at 99% or around it or does it stop. First thing is to run
upto date anti virus scanner. Then run antispyware scanners.

Microsoft Antispyware
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/software/default.mspx

Adaware
http://www.lavasoftusa.com/software/adaware/

Spybot S&E
http://www.safer-networking.org/en/index.html

Depending on what you findMicrosoft Antispyware
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/software/default.mspx

Adaware
http://www.lavasoftusa.com/software/adaware/

Spybot S&E
http://www.safer-networking.org/en/index.html

To try and narrow down what's using the cpu cycles download Process
Explorer from sysinternals.

Process Explorer.
http://www.sysinternals.com/Utilities/ProcessExplorer.html

Glen P