Windows 7 - CPU Question

Hello- I am running 8 gigs of ram with an intel pentium 4 3.8ghz. Win 7 Ultimate, 64 bit.

Frequently, my CPU is at or near 100%, but when I go to the task manager to check the processes CPU usage, it adds nowhere near 100%.

Is this normal? Where can I find where my CPU is actually going? Could be a noob question, idk, but it's always bothered me.

Thanks,

In task manager check the box that says show processes from all users (see snip)


ken

u might have a virus doing some of its dirty work in the backround. its always good to first eliminate that as a issue. download avast and malware bytes and do scans see if they turn up anything

It's a single core CPU. It isn't unheard of for one to reach 100% once in a while, depending on the application load. My old P4 at work did it all the time, and so did my single core media machine.

If it goes to 100% for long periods and you aren't running anything CPU intensive, or more than a couple of programs at once, it might suggest a background task is hogging CPU time. As mentioned, it's always a good idea to check for malware frequently, but it may just be normal operation, too.

The thing is though, in my task manager, they processes don't add up too 100%. Or even close.
I'll have like, a bunch of 2%'s and a bunch of 5%'s, but nothing more.

Nope, no viruses.

Nah, I'm the only user.

You still need to check that box whether the only user or not.

Oh, my bad :/

"System Idle Process" takes up 75% of the CPU?

Yeah, it shows you all of the CPU, but you have to remember that the idle time is the CPU really doing nothing. Task manager just shows you how much time the CPU is doing zilch along with the stuff it's actually busy with.