Asked By
mathews
450 points
N/A
Posted on - 05/20/2011
Sometimes I see that the CPU usage shows 100% or around 100% though no program is running. What might be the reason behind this problem? Many times I have seen this as I use Windows XP service pack 2 what am I supposed to do? It makes my PC very slow, as my processor always looks busy for some thing else, I don't know.
I can't figure out the reason behind this problem. So I can't do anything to solve the problem. I need immediate assistance to solve this problem please. Some one quickly answer my questions and tell me how I can solve the problem. Please explain it to me, I will be glad, what the reason is and how can it solved.
CPU usage is always 100% or close to it
Hi Mathews,
I’ve experienced your problem more than a hundred times, although each with a different cause and solution. We can safely say for now that your PC is not functioning normally. Let’s explore some possibilities.
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Try to retrace your steps to find out exactly what you were doing before the CPU usage went up. Where you infected prior to the high CPU usage issue? Whether the answer is yes or no, we need to pinpoint the cause, find the application that is causing it to restore you back to normal.
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To examine the application that is using high CPU usage, let us verify what it is. Press CTRL+ALT+DEL on your keyboard to bring up windows task manager, click on the Processes tab, and note the name of the app that is causing your high CPU usage. Confirm that it is not a legitimate application by investigating further via the “Applications” and “Services” tab. The “Performance” and “Networking” tabs should give you further data on whether the application is using bandwidth and memory resources as well.
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In cases where task manager won’t run, Process Explorer https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/process-explorer can do the task of identifying the problem app.
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Try ending the application’s process but right clicking on the process name and choosing “End Task”. See if CPU usage returns to normal. Observe if the program restarts the process you ended. If it keeps on restarting even when you try to terminate the task, chances are it’s a virus.
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Noting the name of the app as identified, open your web browser and do a Google search on that application’s name. Find out if it’s a virus, or a legitimate application that has a bug. If it’s a virus, proceed to do some scanning and cleaning using your anti-virus application. If it turns out as a legitimate program, search the developer’s support forums for a fix. If there is no fix yet, uninstall the troublesome app and find an alternative for temporary use, waiting till a fix is released.
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An additional check for startup items might be in order if it turns out to be a virus infection. Just go to “Start>Run” and enter “msconfig” without the quotes. Look for any entries corresponding to the problem app you found, and prevent it/them from running at startup. Mike Lin’s Startup Control Panel may do the trick if msconfig does not run for some strange reason.
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Do you know that web browsers like Firefox can cause 100% CPU usage? They do, especially when running multiple tabs. If you see that Firefox is causing high CPU usage, just reduce the number of tabs and check if it normalizes. Restarting Firefox may also be another known solution. Downgrading to lower versions is also another option.
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A possible Microsoft issue involving svchost.exe being the cause of high CPU usage has been documented. The following recommended steps need to be undertaken:
http://download.windowsupdate.com/v7/windowsupdate/redist/standalone/WindowsUpdateAgent30-x86.exe or x 64 http://download.windowsupdate.com/v7/windowsupdate/redist/standalone/WindowsUpdateAgent30-x64.exe for your architecture type.
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Run the patch for KB927891 and reboot.
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Install Windows Update version 3.0 and reboot.
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Check if CPU usage has gone back to normal.
CPU usage is always 100% or close to it
There are a number of options to reduce your CPU usage; I will go through four of the most common here for you.
Option
1. Disk clean up process
1. Click on the start button
2. Click on accessories
3. Click on system tools
4. Select disk clean up
5. Select the drive you want to clean up from the pop up dialog box and ok
Option 2. The system restore option
Note: you need to have set up restore points for your computer in order for this work as best as possible
1. Click on the start button
2. Open the control panel
3. Select the recovery icon (if it is not listed click on show all categories in the pull down menu on the top right corner of the window)
4. After selecting recovery a window is brought up which has the system restored button, click on the system restore button.
5. This brings up another window that asks you to select the point you want to restore your computer to. Here you should select the time you best remember your computer to have been working properly
It is important to note that some programs may be uninstalled as a result of the system restore option. If this does happen and your performance improves then it is best to assume that these programs were the ones causing all the havoc in your system.
Option 3. Use an anti-virus
1. Run any antivirus to rule out the possibility of a virus infestation on your computer. Viruses, worms and Trojans can really consume some serious processor resources.
2. In the event of malware or viruses on your computer then you need to fix or clean it.
3. Rescan your system after cleaning it then check if CPU usage is still 100%
Option 4. The process explorer way
1. Get a copy of the process explorer – download it from a trusted website
2. Install it in your system
3. Go to the task manager and find the process that is consuming the most CPU power – this you can find at the resource monitor under the performance tab on the task manager.
4. On the services tab you can find out the service for which process is responsible for consuming your processor power
5. The list can then be posted here and a solution can be sought for.
Option 5
The other way of finding out why your computer is using up 100% of the CPU is by simply doing a BIOS diagnostic. This may take a few hours to complete but will almost always usually yield a result and may even reveal whether you have a hardware problem or a memory issue.
If none of these options resolves your issue then you may be faced with the uncomfortable choice of having to format your drive. On the bright side you will get your computer operation to as good as new make you sure you back up the important files though.
CPU usage is always 100% or close to it
Hi,
With all respect, I really would not read any of the 2 above solutions (just because you need to spend about 40 minutes of your life to read some copy-paste data from net. OK. Never mind) let's try like this.
-> ALT + Ctrl + Del -> nice….. 🙂 There is some window out here… .)
-> Select tab processes…beautiful 🙂
-> You see some columns…like…username, CPU, Memory….. Bla bla…. Ok
-> We are interested in the CPU…
-> When your comp goes crazy, you will notice that in the CPU column (raised to 99)….
-> Click on the troublemaker process…. End process…that is that…first look what process carries (recommended : after you ended that process find that program and uninstall it).
