Hal.dll high interrupts CPU usage

carwiz said:

That memory usage looks pretty good.

Actually, I think it's a combination of the large disk being used for system files and the possibility that you may be using IDE mode instead of AHCI mode. I didn't look up the specs on your HDD but large disks aren't known for speed. Typically, they're used for data storage. Windows will use much of whatever you assign to virtual memory even though it may not be necessary from a physical memory standpoint. And having a pagefile on a slow disk takes time and I/O from other tasks as the pagefile is filled and re-read.

That's where Solid State Drives (SSD) really shine. They can make an otherwise slow system blazing fast. Many use a smaller SSD for system and programs and leave the HDD to data storage. The difference is like night and day.

Keep an eye on your system load for a while and if it stays low, you can add back any startups you disabled during the Clean Start. It's better to add only ONE at a time so you can see the effect it has on the system and decide if it's worth the load it puts on the system when you're not actually using it.

Ah i've always heard good about SSDs but never knew completely what they actually do. So far no problems and been gaming since my post earlier today.
It's funny how all the performance guides on the web say "increase page file size" (although I didn't bother or touch the page file before now) but reducing it was the way forward here.

Thanks so much for the help by the way, I really do appreciate it. You've helped me fix a problem that I struggled with for a while with no help.

carwiz said:

You might also check in your BIOS and see if your disk mode is set to IDE or AHCI. DO NOT change anything! Just look. If you change it, the PC won't boot.

Added: If it is set to IDE, there's a specific sequence you need to follow to change it to AHCI. This will also speed up access to the drive and help. AHCI mode has a few side benefits but most importantly, it allows Native Command Queuing (NCQ).

Indeed it is set to IDE, with the other 2 options being AHCI and RAID

Follow this AHCI : Enable in Windows 7 / Vista
then change to AHCI in BIOS
If something goes wrong and you can't boot to Windows, just change back to IDE.

GokAy said:

Follow this AHCI : Enable in Windows 7 / Vista
then change to AHCI in BIOS
If something goes wrong and you can't boot to Windows, just change back to IDE.

Done. And subsequently the drivers installed, confirming something happened.

Btw when I changed it in BIOS these new settings appeared (the 'hot plug' ones); I leave them all disabled right?

For internal ones you can leave disabled. HotPlug is an AHCI feature, probably why they show up now.

carwiz said:

You might also check in your BIOS and see if your disk mode is set to IDE or AHCI. DO NOT change anything! Just look. If you change it, the PC won't boot.

Added: If it is set to IDE, there's a specific sequence you need to follow to change it to AHCI. This will also speed up access to the drive and help. AHCI mode has a few side benefits but most importantly, it allows Native Command Queuing (NCQ).

Btw after making the change, NT kernel & system is avg constant 7-10 CPU again. I'm not even sure if it was because of the change or something else.

you have already enabled AHCI in registry, you can switch back to IDE and see if it will correct.

GokAy said:

you have already enabled AHCI in registry, you can switch back to IDE and see if it will correct.

I have to switch the registry values back or can I just switch back to IDE anyway?

Keep it like this, so then you can switch back to AHCI later again. You know it maybe possible the two are totally unrelated. No need to mess with registry every time. As it is now, only a driver or two are loaded (which aren't used).

I will not interfere with Carwiz's work in this aspect, as I have very little experience.