High cpu usage only while idle [generally after windows updates]

timeless · 04 Aug 2010

as subject states l get random high cpu usage while idle... the moment l move the mouse and start using the system things seem to go back to normal.. the only reason its noticeable is because my temps rise between 5 and 10C higher...

originally l thought it was down to indexing however since its disabled now it cant be the issue.. however one thing l have noticed is the issue only tends to appear after a reboot when windows update has been run and l install new updates as lm unable to check to see what process is causing it... reason being that leaving my system idle with the performance monitor running seems to not constitute as idle hence lm unable to determine the problem process so l can only assume its down to windows update since it only generally happens one reboot after installing updates (after a couple of reboots, touch wood things seem to be ok)

logicearth · 04 Aug 2010

There is CPU usage because your computer is not idle.
It is doing work while you are not using the computer.

...Why is that a problem? Do you want it to do it while you are working or playing a game?

timeless · 04 Aug 2010

l understand some things will use idle time to run, its just the fact that l find it somewhat strange that 1) it tends to only really do it after the first reboot of a windows update and 2) my system temps seem to go up by 10C, l just wish l knew which process was doing it because then at least l would know if l could lower the resource usage especially for hot summer days when on occasion my system has been known to double in temp when this issue happens.

Wishmaster · 04 Aug 2010

timeless said:

l understand some things will use idle time to run, its just the fact that l find it somewhat strange that 1) it tends to only really do it after the first reboot of a windows update and 2) my system temps seem to go up by 10C, l just wish l knew which process was doing it because then at least l would know if l could lower the resource usage especially for hot summer days when on occasion my system has been known to double in temp when this issue happens.

Windows is completing configurations, finishing up installation and/or cleaning up after itself.

Depending what the update was and what you have running, it may also need to index etc.

This is normal.

Temps will always increase as the CPU is under load. If the Temps themselves are becoming a issue for you,

Have you considered getting a better CPU cooler, more airflow through the case, or both to help lower tempratures?

<< Edit: I missed that you have a Antec case. Case airflow should be OK.
What CPU cooler do you have? And what kind of Temps are you seeing?

timeless · 04 Aug 2010

firstly, lm aware that on first reboot it usually cleans up but the problem persists only when idle (lve only noticed it after windows updates) and it doesnt have to be directly after the update, the system could have been running two or three days later and it still happens.. rebooting a second time just seems to stop it for some reason, as for indexing... it cant be search indexing as its disabled as l dont really need it tbh.

as for my temps, when the problem doesnt occur l generally idle (at least at the moment with mild summer temps) around 28/30C on the pretty warm days maybe 32/34C however when its happened l have seen up to 55/60C which is a little high considering that while in use l got lower temps which means something is only using idle time and hogging all the CPU it can, otherwise temps are pretty nice might even get as lower in the winter who knows. as for my heatsink it was originally the stock one that came with the AMD Athon II X2 250 however l now have a higher rated AMD stock heatsink (one with heat pipes on)

Wishmaster · 04 Aug 2010

If you mean 55-60C under full load, I would think thats about average for a stock HS, even the pipe ones. Of course it also depends alot on ambient temps.

But, to be fair, I havent really dealt with many AMD setups lately and my memory could be failing me.

This is rather typical of many stock heatsinks, AMD and Intel alike. Most are aluminum withh just a bit of copper. So they really do not do a very good job of getting rid of heat. They just do the bare minimum required.

I would still try to upgrade to a better aftermarket one. Especially, if the room is warmer during the summer. Ive been in that situation before, and better coolers do help.

Perhaps something like a Artic Freezer Pro, which do well and aren't that expensive.

My guess is you'd see anywhere from 5-10C drop in load temps just because of this.

As far as the CPU use, from what you've described this part seems totally normal on occasion, and especially after an update.
As mentioned, it could also be the background defragmenter as well.

Still, I would advise downloading and running Malwarebytes (free version) just to be sure there aren't any nasties trying to run as well.
Malwarebytes
This is always a good little app to have handy and run occasionally and will not interfer with your A/V.

timeless · 04 Aug 2010

lve ran all the usual programs and found nothing... also defragmentation is disabled as l like to do it manually, as for the update part, l agree once updated you get the couple of mins finishing when you boot up but it does it randomly until rebooted after an update so much so that the issue could occur say days later at random intervals.

timeless · 25 Aug 2010

ok l believe lve managed to catch the file thats causing this but there is a problem... if l remember correctly svchost.exe is like a process that handles 100s of sub processes... which means lm no closer or am l?

would be interesting since finding this out to see if anyone can lead me into the right direction... oh and this time l couldnt corrolate it to windows update, its been more than one reboot and about a week or two since lve had any updates and as stated before l only get these occasional bouts of random 100% cpu usage while the system is idle the moment l move the mouse everything seems to go back to normal.

**cluberti** · 25 Aug 2010

You can run perfmon remotely - if you've got a second Win7 machine you can access this one from, you can run perfmon, create an advanced data collector set capturing performance counters, and add counters from the remote machine. Otherwise, you can use the data collector set to trigger via a performance counter alert when some threshold is reached. However, if it's svchost.exe, it very well may be the WU engine scanning your machine (via the windows installer service, which also runs inside an svchost.exe) to see if you have any other updates that need installing. One thing you can look at is your WindowsUpdate.log in %windir% to see if there's any logged activity right after a reboot.

timeless · 26 Aug 2010

uh looking through the options however lm unable to work out how to log etc, however there is some updates tho optional published on the 24th l think and it seems to of only started being problematic when just leaving the comp every so often, or over the last day while running picture slideshows, only because l was quick did l see one of the svchosts at the top of the list using more than normal.

l have attached my windows update log, lm sort of surprised how much it seems to be running..