System process running 50% of CPU

[David C]

I have had this Toshiba laptop for two years now, and never had this
problem, but the fan keeps going into overdrive and then the computer
shuts down (overheating, I presume).

Some observations.

- Even when I am doing nothing "System" process out of the blue starts
running, utilizing 50% of CPU. Or sometimes it is svchost doing 50%
before my computer shuts down.

- Ran NOD32. Nothing found.

- NOD32 support staff suggests running their product in safe mode.
They think I have Trojan. In safe mode, it's much worse. I can't do
anything it seems. Sometimes it shuts down while starting. I can't
even run their scan because the computer keeps shutting down
(presumably due to overheating).

So what is the deal with either System or svchost screwing up with
me? I can't tell you if they are still causing problems in safe mode
because I can't do much before the computer shuts down.

I am suspecting something malicious, but the laptop seems just to
sensitive to CPU utilization, so I am stuck between a rock and a hard
place. Thanks.

 

[Guest]

I am having the exact same problem on my wife's Fujitsu. Fine until a month
ago or so. The svchost issue is a Windows Update issue, which I fixed by
turning off Windows Update, but the System process is VERY annoying,
sometimes running for an hour.
Regarding Windows Update (the svchost issue) go to subject "CPU uses 99%
resources, memry usage keeps going up" in the microsoft.public.windowsupdate
newsgroup for a solution.

 

[Patrick Keenan]

I have had this Toshiba laptop for two years now, and never had this
problem, but the fan keeps going into overdrive and then the computer
shuts down (overheating, I presume).

Some observations.

- Even when I am doing nothing "System" process out of the blue starts
running, utilizing 50% of CPU. Or sometimes it is svchost doing 50%
before my computer shuts down.

- Ran NOD32. Nothing found.

- NOD32 support staff suggests running their product in safe mode.
They think I have Trojan. In safe mode, it's much worse. I can't do
anything it seems. Sometimes it shuts down while starting. I can't
even run their scan because the computer keeps shutting down
(presumably due to overheating).

So what is the deal with either System or svchost screwing up with
me? I can't tell you if they are still causing problems in safe mode
because I can't do much before the computer shuts down.

I am suspecting something malicious, but the laptop seems just to
sensitive to CPU utilization, so I am stuck between a rock and a hard
place. Thanks.

If you're looking at this with Task Manager, you aren't likely to figure out
the cause. Instead, use Process Explorer, which will expand the System
entry, and detail which processes are actually running and where the CPU
cycles are going. And, you can attempt to kill the offending process.

Note the bubble help when you move the mouse over the entries.

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/sysinternals/utilities/ProcessExplorer.mspx

Do this first, and then you'll have a much better chance of figuring out
what is going on.

HTH
-pk

 

[David C]

If you're looking at this with Task Manager, you aren't likely to figure out
the cause. Instead, use Process Explorer, which will expand the System
entry, and detail which processes are actually running and where the CPU
cycles are going. And, you can attempt to kill the offending process.

Note the bubble help when you move the mouse over the entries.

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/sysinternals/utilities/ProcessExplor...

Do this first, and then you'll have a much better chance of figuring out
what is going on.

I did that, and it does give me more information. When I run a virus
scan, it still shuts down and I am not there to catch who the culprit
is. Sigh...

 

[MaHaBone]

I have had this Toshiba laptop for two years now, and never had this
problem, but the fan keeps going into overdrive and then the computer
shuts down (overheating, I presume).

Some observations.

- Even when I am doing nothing "System" process out of the blue starts
running, utilizing 50% of CPU. Or sometimes it is svchost doing 50%
before my computer shuts down.

The most usual cause recently for the high percentage svchost usage is
a problem with the Windows Update Service which is fixed by upgrading to the
Windows Update Agent 3.0, v. 7.0.6000.374, for 32 bit machines is available
here:
http://download.windowsupdate.com/v7/windowsupdate/redist/standalone/WindowsUpdateAgent30-x86.exe
and installing the updated KB927891 hotfix, here:
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=927891 for a complete fix.

 

[MaHaBone]

I am having the exact same problem on my wife's Fujitsu. Fine until a month
ago or so. The svchost issue is a Windows Update issue...

The most usual cause recently for the high percentage svchost usage is
a problem with the Windows Update Service which is fixed by upgrading to the
Windows Update Agent 3.0, v. 7.0.6000.374, for 32 bit machines is available
here:
http://download.windowsupdate.com/v7/windowsupdate/redist/standalone/WindowsUpdateAgent30-x86.exe
and installing the updated KB927891 hotfix, here:
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=927891 for a complete fix.

 

[Patrick Keenan]

I did that, and it does give me more information. When I run a virus
scan, it still shuts down and I am not there to catch who the culprit
is. Sigh...

If the system just shuts down and does not attempt to restart, this can be
an indication of hardware failure. It's just showing up under some
particular load. Yes, heat can be a prime cause of this.

Unfortunately, the only way to fix this is to identify and replace the
failing hardware. But identifying the failing hardware can be difficult
and expensive. The possible points of failure include the power supply,
memory, the CPU, and any component on the motherboard. Often, these kinds
of problems can also fail to leave system log entries.

It can be the case that Windows Update, on occasion, takes a lot of CPU
cycles. Try shutting Automatic Updates OFF and see if that helps or
prevents the sudden system load. If it does, get the update mentioned in
another post; but if hardware is failing, it isn't going to heal and you
can't fix it with software.

HTH
-pk

 

[David C]

"David C" <[email protected]> wrote in message

If the system just shuts down and does not attempt to restart, this can be
an indication of hardware failure. It's just showing up under some
particular load. Yes, heat can be a prime cause of this.

Well, the solution turned out to be very low tech. The fan was caked
in dust, thus making it work harder to keep the laptop cool and
running out of juice.

The laptop is almost 2 years old. Simple things we ignore...

 

[Koektudis]

Well, the solution turned out to be very low tech. The fan was caked
in dust, thus making it work harder to keep the laptop cool and
running out of juice.

The laptop is almost 2 years old. Simple things we ignore...

Hi, I have the same problem.
The system process running 50% of CPU

I have the Intel Core Duo 2 (E6420) and my motherboard is the MSI P
965

The fan are also running because of the hight temperature

Someone could help me ?

 

[kenkcj]

Go into control panel>automatic updates and turn off automatic updates. It
has been causing problems with being a processor hog. You're lucky enough to
have a dual core processor and its only taking up 1 of the 2. On single core
processors it takes the full 100% most of the time.

 

[Koektudis]

This is not the same problem I think.
I use the process explorer (see post before) and I expand the system
precess to show the thread.
I found a thread - USBPORT.SYS +0x5e96 - which feed the CPU ! When I
suspend this thread I recoverd all my CPU.
I think that my problem is due to the USB Port. I could show you the
stack of this thread if someone is interest about this.

I will search on my motherboard CD and on the net if I found a
solution, but if there anyone who has an idea, I will take it

Thank you kenkcj for your answer !