Defender CPU usage

[Guest]

Hi,

When I run a full scan with Defender on a machine with Windows Home XP, it
grabs 100% CPU. This has two problems:
(a) I can't use the machine and continue working with the scan running in the
background.
(b) after 5 to 10 minutes or so the machine just gives up and shuts down.

Does anyone know how to throttle Defender back to say only using 40% of CPU
? Alternatively, does it have a pause button (like the defragmenter)?

Thanks

 

[Pat Willener]

Just a suggestion: why not schedule the scans (quick or full) for
night-time, when no-one is using the computer? I have all my security
scans and other maintenance work (defragmenting) scheduled during the
night, so I haven't the slightest bother with it.

 

[Guest]

Good idea. However, that would work ok for the quick scan, but not for the
full scan which would still crash.

 

[Dave M]

Hi Dotty,
Normally the way I'd deal with resource hogs like that would be to set
"priority" and/or more cautiously "affinity" for the offending process if
you're on a hyperthreaded processor, in this case MsMpEng.exe, by right
clicking it in Task Manager. However when I attempt either on my own
machine I get an error back saying "The operation could not be completed,
Access is denied." I imagine this is due to some buried registry
permission setting, although I have no idea about where such permissions
would be set if they are indeed within the registry...

Running the scan process without modified priority/affinity settings
usually hovers around 20%-50% of my CPU cycles for a quick scan and
typically pegs out at exactly 50% for a full scan, which leads me to
believe that Defender affinity is set by default and the graphic of CPU
performance history seems to bear this out... only one virtual processor
gets pegged. Base priority is defiantly defaulted to Normal. So I'd guess
you're not on a hyperthreaded virtual multiprocessor CPU that can set
affinity. Perhaps Defender is not the right anti-spyware scanner for your
configuration since it runs away with your machine, unless priority can
somehow be adjusted downward, or you can run scans while unattended.

 

[Guest]

Thanks, for this. Tried MBM - unfortunately it doesn't seem to recognise the
processor types and sensors. Given my lack of expertise I do't think I'll
paly with the BIOS, so I guess I'll just have to leave it util I can find an
appropriate monitor on the web.

 

[Guest]

Hi

Thanks for trying. MBM can provide proper values if you know the
motherboard manufacturer and type. I did look at the Packard-Bell site and
your EasyNote operating manual on the Internet. Unfortunately, the
manufacturer doesn't list this information and other sites I tried were also
non-productive. Since I can't be 100% sure that your laptop is shutting down
because of overheating, all I can suggest when you have some spare time is to
try the following: find a nice air conditioned room or a very cold outside
location (make sure the laptop ventillation slots are unobstructed) and run a
full WD scan. Sometimes a fan directed at the bottom of the laptop also
helps. If the full scan runs (or lasts considerably longer) before your
system shuts down, then it would suggest thermal problems. Laptop cooling is
difficult because of space limitations. Internal fans can malfunction and
even jarring can cause separation of heatsinks from components resulting in
overheating. Something as simple as applying a better thermal compound (such
as Arctic Silver 5 - I have no affiliation with the vendor) between the
processor and the heatsink can make a big difference. Also, there are
aftermarket laptop cooling solutions available. Good luck.