Processor problem

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jimc8p

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Oct 12, 2007
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Just put together my first PC. Everything seems to run ok, but after being on for an hour or so, it freezes up sporadically for about 5 seconds at a time. I looked at CP usage and can see that during the freezes it shows peaks of up to 100%! This is when using the computer for general stuff - nothing taxing! (I'm not using it for games). I used PC Probe to check temperatures, but everything seems normal.

Anyone got an idea of what might be wrong?? Thanks

Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 2.66GHz
Asus PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard
Corsair 2GB DDR2 XMS2-6400C5 TwinX (2x1GB)
Corsair VX 450W ATX PSU
Leadtek GeForce 8400 GS 256MB DDR2 HDTV/DVI
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320GB SATA-II 16MB Cache
 
Are you running Vista? If so, you might be experiencing the 'TrustedInstaller bug'. First, check which process is actually using your processor when it spikes (you need to enable 'Show processes from all users'). If it's TrustedInstaller, google it and you'll find a solution. I was having that problem for a while, but not anymore.

:sol:
 
Thanks for the advice, although I'm using XP. I hadn't thought that it might be a program though, so I'll check the process.
 
well if Task Manager reports a processor spike, generally it will have a process to match in the list. remember tho 'show all users' applies to XP too...
 
PC is still freezing showing spikes of 80 to 100% CPU usage. There appears to be no associated process at all (showing all users). Task manager = 1%, but absolutely nothing else. I was thinking - if a program spikes in activity like that, would it show up in processes after freezing the system?

Another thing - which I don't know whether is normal or not - opening something like IE or WMP can cause a spike of about 50%. Is that what you'd expect from a Core 2 Duo 2.66GHz?

Would appreciate any input at all - starting to worry!
 
If it is a fresh load and temps seem to be OK, then I would reload XP first to see if it goes away. I hate when people jump to the reload XP thing, but if it's new then you won't be loosing much. You may have added a program that is causing the problem.
 


Generally, this would be the last thing I would reccomend. But, he's right. If its a fresh install, what are you losing?

If Task Manager isn't reporting any processes that are using the CPU when your computer lags, how do you know that you are getting a CPU spike? The graph from TaskMan only shows the same information as what's in the list. If the list says that nothing is being done, your graph will say the same. Are you using a different monitor program to see the spike?

Oh, and for the Linux fanboy, installing Linux might solve your original problem, but then again you need to learn a completely different OS, spending even more hours sitting in front of your screen, scratching your head.

:sol:
 

Big time agree on this one.

I installed Kubuntu - Fiesty Fawn, with the Beryl Plugin. It is graphically quite impressive and has come a log way as an OS. The problem with Linux is that to truly master it you need to master the command line for it. That is a daunting task and one that I have not been up to as of yet. It makes the MS CMD.exe look like child's play. That's the problem with migrating to Linux in a nut shell. Sure it's fine as a second OS to play with but having it as a main OS takes a serious commitment that few people, and I'm not one of them, have.
 
Yeah, I had a very similar experience with Ubuntu Fawn too. Beautiful graphics, a desktop 'cube' (four rotating desktop, you'd have to see it to understand) which was very cool, and a pretty easy to use interface, if you're not trying to do anything more than general use, i.e. movies, music, email, and all the rest. But only two or three of the games I play have a Linux version. And have you ever tried to manually install a Linux program? If not, don't...

I like the idea of getting out from under the M$ eclipse, but I'm getting too old to learn a new OS from the ground up. I've had 20 years to learn M$'s modus operandi.

EDIT: This isn't gonna turn into a Linux vs Windows arguement, is it, Zorg? 😛
 
Plus, what if its a hardware problem that your trying to fix by going to Linux? Great, now you need to learn how to use Linux, diagnose Linux errors, repair the hardware, and then undo whatever damage the problem caused to the very different structure of Linux. Have fun with that, friend...
 
Oh no, 😱 you have sucked me into your trolling ways. Remember you started it I just backed you up. :lol:

All jokes aside, no this won't. I have the utmost respect for the people that can wrangle Linux. I hope to be able to get up the gumption to spend the time required to get a semi mastery of that OS. Alas, I have been too lazy up to now.

Edit: Just don't go starting any polls/threads about Linux VS Windows. :lol: :lol: :lol:
 


CPU utilization is not hardware. It is software by definition. Could be anything that's installed, whether that's the OS, a flakey driver, a cheesy third-party (productivity app) or a virus.

The problem is he can't seem to identify what software is causing the spike. It is typical of Windows to hide information from the user. Viruses go out of their way to cover what's actually happening on the system and Windows has a lot of places to hide things and a lot of way's to get programs to start.

On Linux when a program goes nuts and starts soaking up CPU time you can identify it. Whether that be with top/ps or their GUI conterparts. Intel has written a new program called powertop which even shows you which processes are causing the CPU to wakeup from sleep modes and cause battery drain which is very nice for notebook users. Intel is now touting Linux as the most power-efficient notebook OS on their chips.

BTW, you don't have to be a command line shell expert to use Linux. That is a skill no longer necessary to be an regular user of Linux. On the other hand Linux will reward you if you become skilled with the shell and all of those wonderful, powerful tools that come with it.

 
Linux has gotten better by leaps and bounds in the last few years, but I have run into situations where using the command line would have made things much easier to deal with. The same goes for Windows, but most people have had more experience with the Windows CMD.exe. Windows CMD.exe and Linux command line are different, so there is really no base of understanding to start from. I'm not saying you can't use Linux without it, but life becomes much easier if you have an understanding of the command line.

Edit: If he has a virus or some other hidden program soaking up CPU cycles, Then save the work files, zero write the drive and load XP again. Problem solved.
 
😀 didn't think i'd provoke a linux/windows debate!

Ok, the computer freezes - literally everything stops, but is able to resume a few seconds later without a problem. Watching this freeze in task manager CPU usage graph, I can see that the spike has registered a few seconds earlier after everything starts working again. However, on the CPU processes tab, it doesn't display past events and so I never see the offending item.

What puzzles me is that having owned many under-capable PCs with probably many viruses, I've never known a system to just freeze in this way. Anyway, you guys are the experts - I'll have to format & reinstall.
 
How about hard drives, have you tested that? Just a thought, as I recently had a bad board that had all the IDE channels go out so I had no hard drives, dvd drives, or floppy showing up...
 
Y'know, none of those programs gave me accurate numbers...coretemp, speedfan, cpu-z...when it came to temps, only Everest gave me straight answers...
 
They stopped making Everest free edition a long time ago. It's version 2.2 from 2005. As hardware, changes the monitoring software must change as well. I used the old copy of Everest free and it worked poorly with my P35 mobo. I can't remember the specifics but I don't trust it. I seriously doubt that the 2.2 version of Everest (current pay version 4.2) monitors the digital thermal sensor the same as CoreTemp, but maybe it does. Based on the programs poor performance in other areas I choose not try to determine if the values are consistent with the other monitoring programs. But you continue with the Everest so that you can have the nifty sidebar. Does it have pretty colors as well?

If you have the current pay version of Everest, then my argument for CoreTemp is that it is free.

Edit: I haven't checked, but I can guaranty you that it also has a much smaller foot print than Everest, so you can leave it running all the time without hogging system resources.

Try it, you might like it.
 
Just one more thought - Look at your memory usage especially paging activity i.e. when the CPU swaps programs between memory and the pagefile in the hard-disk. What is your memory utilization like.. identify programs using large amounts of virtual memory.
 
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