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Windows 7 - CPU level stuck at 100% - Causing a lot of problems |
02-13-2012
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#1 | | Windows 7 Ultimate 32-bit SP1 (Build 7601) |
CPU level stuck at 100% - Causing a lot of problems Okay so recently i noticed alot of problems with my pc running extremely slow, i took no notice of it, and carried on as usual, the problem got more prominent as programs would become unresponsive and crash more often than not.
This is starting to cause a big problem for me so i did a little research and come back with no fix, so i thought i'd ask here to see if my problem can be resolved.
I noticed on task manager that my CPU was spiking at 100% constantly, so i looked what was the cause and my "System idle process" was running at around 80-100%.
I thought this wasn't a problem because system idle is just the free space on the CPU waiting to be used?
I come the the end of my tether with this, and I'm contemplating burning the computer.
Some screens added to show my problems.
| My System Specs | | System Manufacturer/Model Number HP Compaq 6710b OS Windows 7 Ultimate 32-bit SP1 (Build 7601) CPU Intel Core 2 Duo @ 2.10GHz Motherboard Hewlett-Packard 30C0 KBC Version 71.2E Memory 4096Mb Installed - 3064 Usable Graphics Card Mobile Intel(R) 965 Express Chipset Family Sound Card SoundMAX Integrated Digital HD Audio Monitor(s) Displays Generic PnP Monitor (15.4"vis, January 2006) Screen Resolution 1280x800 Hard Drives Hitachi HTS542580K9A300 [Hard drive] (80.03 GB) Internet Speed 25 Mbit Download - 2.8 Mbit upload |
02-13-2012
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#2 | | Windows 7 SP1, Home Premium, 64-bit |
Go to resource monitor from task manager.
Look at the CPU tab there. Sort it with the mouse to show most to least CPU usage.
Post a picture of that result.
We need to see what process is using up the CPU when the CPU is at 100%.
As you say, for the system idle process, higher is better. | My System Specs | | System Manufacturer/Model Number Ignatz Special; 4 speed manual gearbox; factory air conditioning; one of one OS Windows 7 SP1, Home Premium, 64-bit CPU Intel Sandy Bridge i5-2500, not overclocked Motherboard Gigabyte H67A-UD3H-B3, full ATX Memory 4 GB Crucial DDR3-1333 Graphics Card none; graphics are integrated on CPU Sound Card onboard: Realtek ALC892; external: USB Behringer UF0-202 Monitor(s) Displays NEC 90GX2-BK 19" LCD Screen Resolution 800 x 640 Keyboard Leopold Tenkeyless with Cherry Blue switches, USB Mouse Logitech or Microsoft optical wired; either USB or PS 2 PSU Seasonic SS-560KM, modular Case Antec Solo II Cooling CPU: Scythe Big Shuriken; Case: Scythe Slipstream 800 & 500 Hard Drives System: Intel 320 Series SSD, 80 GB;
Data: Samsung Spinpoint 103SJ, 1 TB;
Backup: WD Caviar Green WD15EADS-00P8B0, 1.5TB Other Info Power consumption of this system, including monitor: 68 watts at idle; 144 watts at full load |
02-13-2012
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#3 | | Windows 7 Enterprise x64 Service Pack 1 |
What anti-virus software do you use? | My System Specs | | System Manufacturer/Model Number Custom Built OS Windows 7 Enterprise x64 Service Pack 1 CPU Intel Core i7 920 Motherboard ASUS Sabertooth x58 Memory 6GB XMS3 Corsair 1333MHz Graphics Card ASUS Nvidia Geforce GTX470 SLI Sound Card ASUS Xonar DX/XD 7.1 Monitor(s) Displays Dell 24" S2409W + Dell 20" E207WFP Screen Resolution 1920x1080 + 1680x1050 Keyboard Logitech G11 Keyboard Mouse Logitech G5 Laser Mouse (2007 edition) PSU Corsair HX850 modular Case Coolermaster 690II Advanced Nvidia Edition Cooling Zalman CNPS9700-NT Cooler, 3x 140mm, 2x 120mm Hard Drives 1x 120GB OCZ Vertex 2E, 1x 750GB Western Digital Caviar Black, 1x 1TB Western Digital Caviar Green Internet Speed 100Mbps Other Info LG Blu-Ray player |
02-13-2012
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#4 | | Windows 7 Ultimate 32-bit SP1 (Build 7601) |

Quote: Originally Posted by ignatzatsonic Go to resource monitor from task manager.
Look at the CPU tab there. Sort it with the mouse to show most to least CPU usage.
Post a picture of that result.
We need to see what process is using up the CPU when the CPU is at 100%.
As you say, for the system idle process, higher is better. I've attached a screen of processes sorted from high to low CPU in the OP.
EDIT:
But there seems to be no problem on resource monitor, only perfmon.exe which if i'm not mistaken is the actual resource moniter?
only using about 10%.
But the problem still remains on task manager and still getting crashes. 
Quote: Originally Posted by Everlong What anti-virus software do you use? And my anti-virus software is: ESET Smart Security 4.2
Last edited by Pimmalage; 02-13-2012 at 10:27 AM..
| My System Specs | | System Manufacturer/Model Number HP Compaq 6710b OS Windows 7 Ultimate 32-bit SP1 (Build 7601) CPU Intel Core 2 Duo @ 2.10GHz Motherboard Hewlett-Packard 30C0 KBC Version 71.2E Memory 4096Mb Installed - 3064 Usable Graphics Card Mobile Intel(R) 965 Express Chipset Family Sound Card SoundMAX Integrated Digital HD Audio Monitor(s) Displays Generic PnP Monitor (15.4"vis, January 2006) Screen Resolution 1280x800 Hard Drives Hitachi HTS542580K9A300 [Hard drive] (80.03 GB) Internet Speed 25 Mbit Download - 2.8 Mbit upload |
02-13-2012
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#5 | | Windows 7 SP1, Home Premium, 64-bit |
I'm surprised performance monitor takes up 10% of your CPU. On my system, it ranges between 0 and 1.
If you are having crash issues, you might try a post in the crashes/debugging section.
I'm not sure how to diagnose whether you should believe 100% CPU from task manager or 10% from performance monitor. PM is the more refined tool, but I don't know why TM would be wrong.
Event Viewer should tell you something, but I'm not experienced in its use.
81 processes is above average, but I wouldn't think they would be causing the problem if tools show them not to be resource-intensive.
Your first pic shows low temps when supposedly at 100% CPU--that would lead me to believe the CPU figure may be erroneous, particularly when resource monitor does NOT show 100% CPU. | My System Specs | | System Manufacturer/Model Number Ignatz Special; 4 speed manual gearbox; factory air conditioning; one of one OS Windows 7 SP1, Home Premium, 64-bit CPU Intel Sandy Bridge i5-2500, not overclocked Motherboard Gigabyte H67A-UD3H-B3, full ATX Memory 4 GB Crucial DDR3-1333 Graphics Card none; graphics are integrated on CPU Sound Card onboard: Realtek ALC892; external: USB Behringer UF0-202 Monitor(s) Displays NEC 90GX2-BK 19" LCD Screen Resolution 800 x 640 Keyboard Leopold Tenkeyless with Cherry Blue switches, USB Mouse Logitech or Microsoft optical wired; either USB or PS 2 PSU Seasonic SS-560KM, modular Case Antec Solo II Cooling CPU: Scythe Big Shuriken; Case: Scythe Slipstream 800 & 500 Hard Drives System: Intel 320 Series SSD, 80 GB;
Data: Samsung Spinpoint 103SJ, 1 TB;
Backup: WD Caviar Green WD15EADS-00P8B0, 1.5TB Other Info Power consumption of this system, including monitor: 68 watts at idle; 144 watts at full load |
02-13-2012
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#6 | | Windows 7 Ultimate 32-bit SP1 (Build 7601) |

Quote: Originally Posted by ignatzatsonic I'm surprised performance monitor takes up 10% of your CPU. On my system, it ranges between 0 and 1.
If you are having crash issues, you might try a post in the crashes/debugging section.
I'm not sure how to diagnose whether you should believe 100% CPU from task manager or 10% from performance monitor. PM is the more refined tool, but I don't know why TM would be wrong.
Event Viewer should tell you something, but I'm not experienced in its use.
81 processes is above average, but I wouldn't think they would be causing the problem if tools show them not to be resource-intensive.
Your first pic shows low temps when supposedly at 100% CPU--that would lead me to believe the CPU figure may be erroneous, particularly when resource monitor does NOT show 100% CPU. What do you suggest i do then?
It's got to the point where almost everything will crash upon opening (For example my documents).
I'm stumped at this problem and have no clue what to do about it.
I'm running a security scan now, to see if it might be malicious malware of some sort.
If nothing shows up from that i might just fresh install windows 7 again. | My System Specs | | System Manufacturer/Model Number HP Compaq 6710b OS Windows 7 Ultimate 32-bit SP1 (Build 7601) CPU Intel Core 2 Duo @ 2.10GHz Motherboard Hewlett-Packard 30C0 KBC Version 71.2E Memory 4096Mb Installed - 3064 Usable Graphics Card Mobile Intel(R) 965 Express Chipset Family Sound Card SoundMAX Integrated Digital HD Audio Monitor(s) Displays Generic PnP Monitor (15.4"vis, January 2006) Screen Resolution 1280x800 Hard Drives Hitachi HTS542580K9A300 [Hard drive] (80.03 GB) Internet Speed 25 Mbit Download - 2.8 Mbit upload |
02-13-2012
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#7 | | Windows 7 SP1, Home Premium, 64-bit |

Quote: Originally Posted by Pimmalage What do you suggest i do then? I'd see what other comments you get in this thread over the next 24 hours or so.
If that leads nowhere, you could post in the crash forum regarding your crashes---I don't know if you mean blue screens or no response or slow response.
I'd consider memory and hard drive testing if your virus/malware scans show nothing.
You could try running as few processes as possible to see if that points to a particular process as problematic, but you could have driver or hardware issues.
I'll yield to others. I'm out of suggestions. Event Viewer would probably be worth looking at, but I'm not the guy you need to analyze it. | My System Specs | | System Manufacturer/Model Number Ignatz Special; 4 speed manual gearbox; factory air conditioning; one of one OS Windows 7 SP1, Home Premium, 64-bit CPU Intel Sandy Bridge i5-2500, not overclocked Motherboard Gigabyte H67A-UD3H-B3, full ATX Memory 4 GB Crucial DDR3-1333 Graphics Card none; graphics are integrated on CPU Sound Card onboard: Realtek ALC892; external: USB Behringer UF0-202 Monitor(s) Displays NEC 90GX2-BK 19" LCD Screen Resolution 800 x 640 Keyboard Leopold Tenkeyless with Cherry Blue switches, USB Mouse Logitech or Microsoft optical wired; either USB or PS 2 PSU Seasonic SS-560KM, modular Case Antec Solo II Cooling CPU: Scythe Big Shuriken; Case: Scythe Slipstream 800 & 500 Hard Drives System: Intel 320 Series SSD, 80 GB;
Data: Samsung Spinpoint 103SJ, 1 TB;
Backup: WD Caviar Green WD15EADS-00P8B0, 1.5TB Other Info Power consumption of this system, including monitor: 68 watts at idle; 144 watts at full load |
02-13-2012
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#8 | | Windows 7 Ultimate 32-bit SP1 (Build 7601) |

Quote: Originally Posted by ignatzatsonic 
Quote: Originally Posted by Pimmalage What do you suggest i do then? I'd see what other comments you get in this thread over the next 24 hours or so.
If that leads nowhere, you could post in the crash forum regarding your crashes---I don't know if you mean blue screens or no response or slow response.
I'd consider memory and hard drive testing if your virus/malware scans show nothing.
You could try running as few processes as possible to see if that points to a particular process as problematic, but you could have driver or hardware issues.
I'll yield to others. I'm out of suggestions. Well i shall try and narrow it down, after these scans have finished, and i shall check driver updates, i initially went to check drivers but Intel's site was down when i last checked.
I've already defragmented and disk error checked, none showed any changes.
I'll keep trying to find a fix, if not fire and new PC will fix the problem. | My System Specs | | System Manufacturer/Model Number HP Compaq 6710b OS Windows 7 Ultimate 32-bit SP1 (Build 7601) CPU Intel Core 2 Duo @ 2.10GHz Motherboard Hewlett-Packard 30C0 KBC Version 71.2E Memory 4096Mb Installed - 3064 Usable Graphics Card Mobile Intel(R) 965 Express Chipset Family Sound Card SoundMAX Integrated Digital HD Audio Monitor(s) Displays Generic PnP Monitor (15.4"vis, January 2006) Screen Resolution 1280x800 Hard Drives Hitachi HTS542580K9A300 [Hard drive] (80.03 GB) Internet Speed 25 Mbit Download - 2.8 Mbit upload |
02-13-2012
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#9 | | Windows 7 SP1, Home Premium, 64-bit |
Here is some general troubleshooting info: Computer lags every couple seconds
You can also run sfc /scannow from a command prompt---repeatedly until it shows no errors. | My System Specs | | System Manufacturer/Model Number Ignatz Special; 4 speed manual gearbox; factory air conditioning; one of one OS Windows 7 SP1, Home Premium, 64-bit CPU Intel Sandy Bridge i5-2500, not overclocked Motherboard Gigabyte H67A-UD3H-B3, full ATX Memory 4 GB Crucial DDR3-1333 Graphics Card none; graphics are integrated on CPU Sound Card onboard: Realtek ALC892; external: USB Behringer UF0-202 Monitor(s) Displays NEC 90GX2-BK 19" LCD Screen Resolution 800 x 640 Keyboard Leopold Tenkeyless with Cherry Blue switches, USB Mouse Logitech or Microsoft optical wired; either USB or PS 2 PSU Seasonic SS-560KM, modular Case Antec Solo II Cooling CPU: Scythe Big Shuriken; Case: Scythe Slipstream 800 & 500 Hard Drives System: Intel 320 Series SSD, 80 GB;
Data: Samsung Spinpoint 103SJ, 1 TB;
Backup: WD Caviar Green WD15EADS-00P8B0, 1.5TB Other Info Power consumption of this system, including monitor: 68 watts at idle; 144 watts at full load |
02-13-2012
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#10 | | Windows 7 Ultimate 32bit SP1 |
Skype is using a lot of memory.
See if this might be the problem ... Quote: LOGIN TO SKYPE
THEN TOOLS>OPTIONS>GENERAL SETTINGS
UNTICK "START SKYPE WHEN WINDOWS STARTS"
THEN SAVE You can always start the program manually when needed. | My System Specs | | System Manufacturer/Model Number Bruce ... somewhere in his 40's OS Windows 7 Ultimate 32bit SP1 CPU Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Quad CPU @ 2.40GHz, 2400 MHz Motherboard INTEL/D975XBX2 Memory 4 GB Graphics Card ATI Radeon HD 2600 Pro Monitor(s) Displays Samsung SyncMaster 914v Screen Resolution 1280 x 1024 Keyboard Standard PS/2 Keyboard Mouse Microsoft PS/2 Mouse PSU Rocketfish 700 W Case G.Skill Gigabyte Chassis Hard Drives 2/500GB each ... ST3500630AS ATA Device.
One is not connected Internet Speed DSL Other Info ATI HDMI Audio CPU level stuck at 100% - Causing a lot of problems problems? All times are GMT -5. The time now is 08:03 PM. |  |