Independent Software Operations

[noethent]

I have Windows XP on a Dell 8200. Several times a day,
the computer goes into a mode where it is performing some
sort of priority operations that almost completely
consume the CPU capability. There is constant disk I/O
going on during the operations. I have brought up Task
Manager, and the only thing that shows any CPU usage is
the "System Idle Process". I would like to know what the
computer is doing, why, and how to stop/adjust it
(without causing any problems, of course). I have had
the computer for almost three years, but the problem has
only existed for a few months. I get automatic updates
to XP, so possibly the problem has been caused by a
recent automatic install. I would greatly appreciate an
answer that will resolve this incredibly annoying
situation. Thank you.

 

[Adam Turner]

Out of curiosity, do you have any P2P software applications such as Kazaa installed on your computer?

I have Windows XP on a Dell 8200. Several times a day,
the computer goes into a mode where it is performing some
sort of priority operations that almost completely
consume the CPU capability. There is constant disk I/O
going on during the operations. I have brought up Task
Manager, and the only thing that shows any CPU usage is
the "System Idle Process". I would like to know what the
computer is doing, why, and how to stop/adjust it
(without causing any problems, of course). I have had
the computer for almost three years, but the problem has
only existed for a few months. I get automatic updates
to XP, so possibly the problem has been caused by a
recent automatic install. I would greatly appreciate an
answer that will resolve this incredibly annoying
situation. Thank you.