"System" Spiking CPU Every Few Seconds - Random Start but Sleep/Wake Kills It

[LoneWolffe]

Ever since the last major Windows 10 Update (1607 I think), I've been getting this random CPU spike, caused by the "System" process, which is to say that, once it starts, it's cyclical, every few seconds, but I can't figure out what sets it off. Stranger still is that I can put my system to sleep and wake it, and it kills the cyclical spike.
Here's a screenshot of the latest event, though I can't figure out how to post that image here (noob, sorry)
ProcessHacker log doesn't seem to indicate anything starting when the spike starts, but I also might not be using it properly?
I've attempted all the following, with no positive results:

• 
  Update Drivers
  Run SFC
  Update Windows
  Reinstall Windows (Clean) (Spike occurred with clean OS and nothing else installed)
  Check Hardware for Errors (Lenovo Hardware Scan)

Any help you could suggest would be much appreciated. Thank you in advance.
My System:

• 
  Lenovo Z70-80
  Intel i7-5500U
  12 GB RAM
  Intel Graphics 5500
  nVidia GeForce 840M

 

[gardenman]

Hi, while this spiking event is going on, open Task Manager and go to Services and "stop" any services that you think might be causing the problem. Start with any 3rd party software that you may have installed. Also stop the WSearch service and see if that stops the spiking. Don't disable them, just stop them. A reboot will restart them when needed.

When you hold your mouse over the spikes in the chart, what does it say is running during the spike?

I also seen on your (deleted?) post on Lenovo and that you installed Lightscreen. While I don't know anything about Lightscreen, I did look it up and seen that it does "operate as a hidden background process".

If this happens often enough, you could try a Clean Boot to see if that helps and if so, you can track down which program was causing the problem.

If this doesn't help, write back and maybe someone else can help.

 

[LoneWolffe]

GM, thanks for getting back to me. I'll have to play closer attention to the spike and try stopping programs and services. It'll happened every once in a while after a fresh boot or restart, so it might be some time before I can nail it down.