System idle question.

[Tenga]

Running XP+SP1 Home.

I have an ADSL connection which works very well once connected and that's
the problem, getting connected.

After every reboot the ADSL control panel shows "No Signal" until the system
settles down and then it connects and stays connected.

I have turned off all non essential programmes loaded at boot up using
MSConfig but "System Idle" runs using around 70% of resources (Viewed in
Task Manager Performance Window) for some 20-30 minutes when it stops. At
that point the ADSL locks in and stays connected until I reboot the next
time. I've had the ISP check the signal and it is always available at my
modem input so I am convinced that it is my computer especially since when
the ADSL was first installed it logged on at boot up every time.

I have disabled all Services (Computer Management Services and Applications)
not needed and rechecked them again against the best advice from Google and
elsewhere but something is running that I have so far failed to identify.

If it is thought to be a search for more answers in NG's and search engines
situation then please ignore.

If you have had a similar problem or can suggest a line of further
investigation then kindly advise, I would like to get it sorted.

TIA

Tenga

 

[David Candy]

Your system idle is rather low. Normally XP spends well over 90% of it's time waiting for something to do - I always average 97%. I'd be looking at the 30% that is being used.

 

[Tenga]

Your system idle is rather low. Normally XP spends well over 90% of it's
time waiting for something to do - I always average 97%. I'd be looking at
the 30% that is being used.

Running XP+SP1 Home.

I have an ADSL connection which works very well once connected and that's
the problem, getting connected.

After every reboot the ADSL control panel shows "No Signal" until the system
settles down and then it connects and stays connected.

I have turned off all non essential programmes loaded at boot up using
MSConfig but "System Idle" runs using around 70% of resources (Viewed in
Task Manager Performance Window) for some 20-30 minutes when it stops. At
that point the ADSL locks in and stays connected until I reboot the next
time. I've had the ISP check the signal and it is always available at my
modem input so I am convinced that it is my computer especially since when
the ADSL was first installed it logged on at boot up every time.

I have disabled all Services (Computer Management Services and Applications)
not needed and rechecked them again against the best advice from Google and
elsewhere but something is running that I have so far failed to identify.

If it is thought to be a search for more answers in NG's and search engines
situation then please ignore.

If you have had a similar problem or can suggest a line of further
investigation then kindly advise, I would like to get it sorted.

TIA

Tenga

Thanks David

With system running at the moment System Idle is around 90% plus firewall,
virus protection, IE6 and OE6 so it must be something that uses 20-30% at
start up and all that I've seen is rundll32, svchost, cursorXP, the ADSL
icon and Task Manager none using more than a few percentage points.

Tenga

 

[Keyser Soze]

Update the driver for the DSL device.

 

[t@k]

Hi Tenga,

In microsoft.public.windowsxp.general you remarked...

I have an ADSL connection which works very well once connected and that's
the problem, getting connected.

If you have a USB modem, this thread could be of some relevance...

http://www.tiscali.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=44863

Sorry, it's not a fix.

 

[Keyser Soze]

So you've fixed it, yes?

 

[Tenga]

So you've fixed it, yes?

If only?

It's a bit of a difficult one to nail down. Got the latest driver, checked
for background programmes but the culprit is very elusive.

Tenga

 

[David Candy]

Well they must add up to about 30 while the 1/2 hour lasts. Use Task Manager's Process tab and click the CPU column (sort it by what's using it). List what is says.

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Greetings --

Break out a dictionary and look up the word "idle," sometime. The
"System Idle Process" metric is the amount/percentage of time that
your CPU has *nothing* to do. A reading of 98-99% is generally
considered a good thing, and readings above 90% are normal. Think of
it like a car's engine idling in your driveway before you place the
car in gear.

If your System Idle process is logging percentages as low as 70%,
something else is severely bogging down your CPU. Primary suspect:
any other process using more than 2 or 3%; any process (other than
System Idle) pulling more than 10% is almost definitely a problem.

Bruce Chambers

--
Help us help you:



You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on
having both at once. -- RAH

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Greetings --

User reviews of CursorXP seem to indicate that it caused
significant slow-downs on many systems. I'd suggest you try
removing/disabling it for a while to see if your performance improves.

Bruce Chambers

--
Help us help you:



You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on
having both at once. -- RAH

 

[glenwood]

Greetings --

Break out a dictionary and look up the word "idle," sometime. The
"System Idle Process" metric is the amount/percentage of time that
your CPU has *nothing* to do. A reading of 98-99% is generally
considered a good thing, and readings above 90% are normal. Think of
it like a car's engine idling in your driveway before you place the
car in gear.

If your System Idle process is logging percentages as low as 70%,
something else is severely bogging down your CPU. Primary suspect:
any other process using more than 2 or 3%; any process (other than
System Idle) pulling more than 10% is almost definitely a problem.

Bruce Chambers

--
Help us help you:



You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on
having both at once. -- RAH

Thank you Bruce

I really do understand the meaning of idle but I expressed myself rather
badly. I know that I have some application taking up to 30% of CPU usage for
the first 20-30 minutes from reboot but I'm having a problem identifying it
so I'll follow the advice from one of the other contributors to my query and
go back to square one and use the diagnostic procedures available from
Microsoft.

I appreciate you taking the time to advise about CursorXP I'll shut that
down now.

Regards

Tenga

 

[Keyser Soze]

Cwap analogy Bwuce.

Strange how the obvious doesn't sink, even when a problem has already
been cited.

 

[Alex Nichol]

I have turned off all non essential programmes loaded at boot up using
MSConfig but "System Idle" runs using around 70% of resources (Viewed in
Task Manager Performance Window) for some 20-30 minutes when it stops.

System Idle is the process the system runs when there is nothing
whatever to do. If there is nothing going on, it is usually around 96
or 97%

This suggests that the initialisation of your connection is working
pretty hard trying to get the other end to talk, until they reach
agreement. Rather like the 'negotiating' warbles on a dial up modem