Hopefully an easy question to answer.

[Criminal89]

Hello all,
Recently I have had a problem with my cpu usage jumping anywhere between %4 and %11 @ idle. This occurs if I leave my computer on for extended periods of time and/or it also happens after I close out a 3D application. Once the cpu usage starts acting that way, I have to restart to get it to stop. If I don't restart and I try to do anything, I get very poor performance from whatever I am trying to do. This makes playing games impossible because my frame rates are half what they usually are. I have ran a spyware removal tool, I have ran a virus scan and I have ended all services that are not required for Windows to run. My computer configuration is as follows:Gigabyte GA-945P-S3, E6400@ 2.6, 2 gig OCZ DDR2 800 Rev. 2, 400GB WD 16MB, 300GB Maxtor 16MB, PC Power & Cooling 510 Watt Deluxe, X1900XT, X-Fi XtremeMusic and Windows XP Professional with SP2.

Anyhelp with this problem will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance!

 

[mkaibear]

I suspect it's a windows issue - try reinstalling.

 

[Doughbuy]

Since your e6400 is at 2.6ghz, I assumed you OC'ed it... did you do a stability test after to check? Prime95 or anything of the sort?

Otherwise, might want to try flashing your bios, and see what processes are taking up the cpu power. Task manager will tell you that.

 

[Criminal89]

Yeah, I figured that was going to be my only option at this point. I hoped that I would not have to do that because I just got everything I need for school and work installed on the computer. Oh well, I think I am going to buy the ABIT AW9D-MAX anyway, so that will give me a good reason to reinstall. Anyone have an opinion about this motherboard?

 

[Criminal89]

Well actually, I have been running @ 2.8 until this problem arose. At 2.8, I ran prime 95 for 10 hours without a problem. I clocked the cpu down to 2.6 since the problem started, just to see if that was the issue. As far as the task manager goes, I have been watching it and the only processes that are consuming any cpu power when these spikes occur are explorer.exe and services.exe, which are system processes.

Another note: I actually flashed my bios this morning. No change.

 

[SidVicious]

No need to jump to conclusions and reinstall your OS or replace your motherboard at this point, some malwares mimic the name of sytem processes in order to hide themselves, see if there are multiple instances of those processes being ran.

I like using Sysinternals Process Explorer as it provides more in-depth information than MS own Task Manager.

Also, are your BIOS and drivers up to date ? Which antivirus and spyware removal tools did you use ?

 

[Criminal89]

I used Ad-Aware SE Personal Edition 1.06 and Symantec Antivirus Corporate Version 9. I updated the virus definitions before I ran the scan. I updated the bios using the internet update option, so I should have the most current bios. Thanks for the advice on using Sysinternals Process Explorer. I will download it as soon as I get home.

 

[joset]

Power management?


Cheers!

 

[Criminal89]

Is that a question? I am confused.

 

[will14]

Yes it is.
Also check heat =P
thermal throttling ftl.
Although on a C2D I don't think you should have heat issues.

 

[Criminal89]

My temps are really good. My cpu usually idles in between 70 and 72 degrees Fahrenheit.

 

[SidVicious]

On top of that, NAV is quite a ressource hog due to creeping software bloat, I rely on AVG Free as it is very frugal, I don't use any real time protection/scanning, I just run it once or twice a week.

 

[joset]

Is that a question? I am confused.

Sorry. Actually, I was addressing Speed Step (I don't own a C2D; so, it escapes me if it's soft-controllable in BIOS/OS). It just came to mind...


Cheers!

 

[Criminal89]

Anything that referred to CPU throttling in the bios is disabled. I will try the different antivirus and I will try Spybot as well. I noticed while doing a google search that someone was having a similar problem and it turned out to be a problem with the USB hub on their Dell monitor. I too have a Dell monitor, so I am going to try that as well.

 

[yieldan]

This may sound strange but try running without your optical drive for a while. I was having a similar problem, at times my CPU would idle at 11% and my computer would lock up intermitenly (are you having this symptom too?). Anyway, I swapped out the DVD drive and the problem is fixed, so it's worth a shot. Also, check the windows error log and see if any errors appear during the times that you are having the problem. Good luck.

 

[Thrstbster6]

All of the things the people before had mentioned could be the problem you also could havea corrupt Windows explorer file and that should be checked if that doesnt fix it I would check the flux capacitor and see if thats fluxing correctly.

 

[Doughbuy]

... flux? Emag... I hated that course, I do not want to hear anything dealing with magnetic or electrical flux, gaussian surfaces, Maxwell's equations, or anything else relating remotely to emag.

Back to reality now... From what it seems, it could be driver issues now... shrug... what works for some might not work for others... I guess play around and see what happens. Good luck.

 

[Criminal89]

Ok... thanks everyone. I will try everything that has been suggested and if any of that does not fix the issue, I am getting that Abit motherboard since I will need to format anyway. I only bought the Gigabyte GA-945P-S3 to hold me off until RD600 was released. But seeing as how that may never happen, I guess I will try my luck with the Abit. Thanks again!

 

[Criminal89]

Well, I think I have solved the problem. Believe it or not, it was the USB hub on my Dell monitor. I unplugged the USB cable going from it to my computer and what do you know, problem solved! Thanks for all the help guys.