"System Idle Process" Using 98% of Resources???

[A Baffled User]

I run disc cleanup, Windows One Click, defrag (if necessary), Ad-Aware every
week.

 

[Unknown]

Edit your startup. Click start---run---type in msconfig and remove X's
from items not needed at startup.

 

[Marko Jotic]

We're both partly right and partly wrong. Ctrl+Shift+Esc does
bring up the Task Manager, but only on machines that use the
"Classic Start Menu" (which is not the installation default).
I forgot about this little detail.

you can also right click on the task bar to selact it


--
Marko Jotic
"Common sense is anything but common".
From the notebooks of Lazarus Long. Robert A. Heinlein.
Handmade knives, antique designs, exotic materials at
http://www.knifeforging.com/

 

[A Baffled User]

Oh my God, there was a ton of stuff in there that I don't think needs to be!
We'll see how things work when I restart... Thanks!!

Joan

 

[Barkimmy]

My HP Pavilion notebook computer, running Windows XP Home SP2 with 512 MB of
RAM, has been incredibly sluggish lately though I am using the machine in
exactly the same way I always have. It takes an extremely long time to
switch between programs that are running when I click on the buttons on the
taskbar. Programs that are already running emerge slowly on the screen
rather than appear instantly as they always have in the past.

I just looked at the processes that are running, via CTRL + ALT + DELETE,
and 93 to 98 percent of resources are said there to be taken up by System
Idle Process. Is that normal?

When I go to System>System Tools>System Information>Software
Environment>Running Tasks, I find tons of things that have no business
"running," if indeed they are:
c:\program files\common files\real\update_ob\realsched.exe, for example,
when I don't even have RealPlayer on my machine;
c:\program files\common files\seagate\schedule2\schedhlp.exe, appearing
TWICE, as another example, when my Seagate hard drive isn't even attached to
my computer;
c:\program file\itunes\ituneshelper.exe, when I'm not running iTunes, etc.,
etc., etc.

Something is sucking up my available resources. How can I track the culprit
down and get rid of it?

Many thanks!

Joan

I have Windows XP Home, SP2. Pentium III and 1.5 Gig.Ram

I know exactly what she is talking about. Mine has been doing the same thing
and then some. When the CPU usage graph shows 2-6% of resources being used
and the System Idle Process is at 98%, that is normal. When the CPU usage
graph shows 98 - 100% resources being used and Processes show System Idle
Process is using 98% of resources being used. That is a massive drain. The
graph spikes full if I start any process, i.e. open or close window or even
just move the mouse. I also noticed the numbers in the Commit Charge area
continue to climb til they near the limit number. Then I start to get error
dialogue boxes stacking up on the desktop. They say "out of resources" and
"canvas does not allow draw". By then, they just keep stacking up until I
restart. I am not sure if the crashing boxes on my desktop are related to the
Commit Charge not releasing the memory.


Comparing the crash times to events in the Event Viewer led me to install
Spybot and Windows Defender. I have them scan daily and keep both active at
all times. I found one will catch something the other missed and vise-versa.
Defender is good for observing any system changes that need my attention and
Spybot catches the bad files better and gives information on ones on my
system. I have several. Three that are like ctfmon.exe. The real file is a
language controller for Office XP. I have Office 2000 so not sure why on my
system to start with. I don't need the file, using only English. But, I can't
get rid of it either. If I delete or remove it, it just comes back. If I
disable it, it just becomes enabled again. Meantime, the other three trapse
around my file system using up resources. Fake or real, if I try to delete
any of them, they come back before I can get them all. I was about to try and
track down the H_Key for real one and get rid of it that way. I also have two
that are trying to look like Jusched.exe which is the Java Updater. One of
those also uses the file name scvhost.exe which makes it impossible to track
down unless it tries to go into the wrong file too. The Ctfmon.exe fakes can
be identified from the real one. If it is not in Windows\System32\ file it is
probably a worm.

Someone send me a virtual whip and chair, I am going back in. Any help
please???

Barkimmy

 

[Daave]

I have Windows XP Home, SP2. Pentium III and 1.5 Gig.Ram

I know exactly what she is talking about. Mine has been doing the
same thing and then some. When the CPU usage graph shows 2-6% of
resources being used and the System Idle Process is at 98%, that is
normal. When the CPU usage graph shows 98 - 100% resources being used
and Processes show System Idle Process is using 98% of resources
being used. That is a massive drain. The graph spikes full if I start
any process, i.e. open or close window or even just move the mouse. I
also noticed the numbers in the Commit Charge area continue to climb
til they near the limit number. Then I start to get error dialogue
boxes stacking up on the desktop. They say "out of resources" and
"canvas does not allow draw". By then, they just keep stacking up
until I restart. I am not sure if the crashing boxes on my desktop
are related to the Commit Charge not releasing the memory.

Have you ruled out hardware problems? If not, see

http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Hardware_Tshoot

I would also recommend Process Explorer, which is superior to Task
Manager:

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb896653.aspx

It's possible there is a service acting up. Here's some good info on
services:

http://www.blackviper.com/WinXP/servicecfg.htm

Comparing the crash times to events in the Event Viewer led me to
install Spybot and Windows Defender. I have them scan daily and keep
both active at all times. I found one will catch something the other
missed and vise-versa. Defender is good for observing any system
changes that need my attention and Spybot catches the bad files
better and gives information on ones on my system. I have several.
Three that are like ctfmon.exe. The real file is a language
controller for Office XP. I have Office 2000 so not sure why on my
system to start with. I don't need the file, using only English. But,
I can't get rid of it either. If I delete or remove it, it just comes
back. If I disable it, it just becomes enabled again. Meantime, the
other three trapse around my file system using up resources. Fake or
real, if I try to delete any of them, they come back before I can get
them all. I was about to try and track down the H_Key for real one
and get rid of it that way.

Advanced Text Services shouldn't take up more than 8 MB of RAM, so
ordinarily I wouldn't recommend disabling. Still, if you want to play
around with it, you should look at:

http://www.ghacks.net/2007/10/22/how-to-remove-ctfmonexe/

I also have two that are trying to look
like Jusched.exe which is the Java Updater. One of those also uses
the file name scvhost.exe which makes it impossible to track down
unless it tries to go into the wrong file too.

Disabling jusched.exe is easy:

http://searchtasks.answersthatwork.com/tasklist.php?File=JUSched

The Answers That Work site has a lot of good info on how to diasble
certain processes:

http://www.answersthatwork.com/Tasklist_pages/tasklist.htm