Solved CPU stuck @ 100% unless task manager is open

meeklo062704

New member
I'm not sure why, but my CPU has been stuck at 100% load all the time for the past couple of weeks. I have a core temp gadget running to monitor it, and have been trying to figure out what happened. I have uninstalled all games and apps that were installed since the problem occurred, eliminated all unnecessary processes, ran avast, malwarebytes, ccleaner, and spyware S&D. I started getting nvidia driver crashes as, so i updated those and am still getting them.

My system idle process was running pretty high. It was showing 98% system usage in task manager, and the cpu usage will show in the 50's. It has recently started happening that all 4 cores on my cpu are stuck at 100% unless the task manager is opened. As soon as it opens, that cores all drop down to 1-5%. The main reason I'm concerned about it, is the temperatures of the cores. Normal temps are high 20's to low 30's. But without task manager opened, the temps are up in the 50's. I'm trying to avoid having to wipe and start over, but if it'll save my cpu from baking I'll have to. Any ideas?

Win 7 Ultimate 64 bit
i5-2500k
Gigabyte z68ma-d2h-b3
8gb 1600mhz
gtx 460
Xonar Essence STX
Samsung 830 256gb (os & games)
Seagate 2tb (media & storage)
 

My Computer

OS
windows 7 ultimate 64 bit
CPU
i5-2500k
Motherboard
z68ma-d2h-b3
Memory
Patriot 8gb 1600mhz
Graphics Card(s)
Gigabyte gtx460
Sound Card
Asus Xonar Essence STX
Monitor(s) Displays
ASUS 23"
Hard Drives
Samsung 830 256gb
Seagate 2tb 7200rpm
PSU
Corsair 750w
Case
Fractal Design Define XL
Cooling
Hyper 212+
Last edited:

My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
home built
OS
Multi-Boot W7_Pro_x64 W8.1_Pro_x64 W10_Pro_x64 +Linux_VMs +Chromium_VM
CPU
AMD Athlon II x4 620
Motherboard
Gigabyte GA-MA785G-UD3H
Memory
6GB GSkill DDR2 800
Graphics Card(s)
AMD 4670 GPU + AMD 4200 IGP
Sound Card
on board Realtek ALC889A
Monitor(s) Displays
RCA 40" LCD TV, Insignia 32" LCD TV, HP 15" LCD monitor
Screen Resolution
1680 x 1050
Hard Drives
OCZ Vertex 3 120GB,
Samsung F3 1TB (3),
Several others - WD, Seagate, Hitachi, ...
PSU
Corsair 500 W
Case
Rosewill mid tower
Cooling
CM 90mm rifle
Keyboard
Gyration wireless, Logitech wireless, Dell USB wired
Mouse
Gyration wireless, Logitech wireless, V7 USB wired
Internet Speed
Spectrum - 100Mbps D / 10Mbps U
Antivirus
Avast, MBAM3, EMET, WinPatrol
Browser
Pale Moon, Firefox, IE
Other Info
2 multi-boot PC's
Mainly HTPC/Office/Gen purpose (no gaming).
Trendnet USB KVM.
LG DVD burner/Blue Ray Player.
Tray system for removable SATA backup drives.

Not currently OCd, under-volted.
I use Hybrid sleep, rarely re-boot or shutdown.

Hauppauge HD-PVR, Avermedia PCIe TV Tuner, Hauppauge PCI TV Tuner.
I helped someone with this same problem same suggestion, same solution. seems this virus is getting around...

http://www.sevenforums.com/performa...nge-running-100-unless-task-manager-open.html

follow the steps listed in the microsoft forums post:

posted by Ishurean on the answers.microsoft forum
1/ Open the Task Manager (and let if open)
2/ Go in C:\Windows\System32 and delete "igfxupdate.exe"
3/ Go in C:\Windows\SysWOW64 and check if "igfxupdate.exe" is also here, if yes delete it
4/ Open the windows services management console
Start > Execute > services.msc or Start > type "services.msc" in the search bar (Windows 7)
5/ Look for "Search Indexer" -> Right click -> Properties and change the "Automatic" into "Disabled"
6/ Reboot
7/ Open the Windows CMD as an Administrator
Start > type "cmd" in the search bar (Windows 7) -> Right click -> Run as an Administrator
8-> Type "sc delete SearchIndexer" then hit Enter
 

My Computer

Computer type
Laptop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
ASUS G60-RBBX05
OS
Win7 Home Premium 64x
CPU
Intel Core 2 Duo P7450 / 2.13 GHz (2.29 with Extreme Turbo)
Memory
4 GB PC-6400 Hyundai (2X2) at 800Mhz
Graphics Card(s)
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260M 1GB DDR3 VRAM
Monitor(s) Displays
16" LED Backlit
Screen Resolution
1366 x 768 on laptop 1600x1050 max res on 22" external mon
Hard Drives
OCZ Agility 3 60GB SSD / 320 GB - Serial ATA-150 - 7200 rpm
PSU
6-cell Lithium ion { lasts 1.5 hours }
Case
ASUS G60 Laptop
Keyboard
Chicklet type back-lit (white light) keyboard
Mouse
Logitech G9 Laser Mouse 3200dpi and 1000 reports per minute
Internet Speed
Comcast 8.60mb/s up - 3.11mb/s down
Antivirus
MSE
Browser
Firefox
Other Info
General mid-budget gaming Comp. Low batterylife - High FrameRates - currently overheating problems :(

2nd Rig: Case: Rosewill BLACKHAWK Gaming ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

Mobo: GIGABYTE GA-990FXA-UD3
CPU: AMD FX-6200 Zambezi 3.8GHz (4.1GHz Turbo)
Heatsink: COOLER MASTER V8 CPU Cooler
RAM: Patriot Viper 3 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM 1866 (PC3 15000)
GPU: SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 6850 1GB 2
Thanks for the quick and correct answer to both of you. I made the mistake of going to tomshardware originally for the answer...... oops. That solved the problem quickly and easily. So from now on, I know where to go for help. 'Cause I actually got help instead of 100 views and nothing else.
 

My Computer

OS
windows 7 ultimate 64 bit
CPU
i5-2500k
Motherboard
z68ma-d2h-b3
Memory
Patriot 8gb 1600mhz
Graphics Card(s)
Gigabyte gtx460
Sound Card
Asus Xonar Essence STX
Monitor(s) Displays
ASUS 23"
Hard Drives
Samsung 830 256gb
Seagate 2tb 7200rpm
PSU
Corsair 750w
Case
Fractal Design Define XL
Cooling
Hyper 212+
You're welcome, and glad you got it fixed.

Happy Holidays:party:
 

My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
home built
OS
Multi-Boot W7_Pro_x64 W8.1_Pro_x64 W10_Pro_x64 +Linux_VMs +Chromium_VM
CPU
AMD Athlon II x4 620
Motherboard
Gigabyte GA-MA785G-UD3H
Memory
6GB GSkill DDR2 800
Graphics Card(s)
AMD 4670 GPU + AMD 4200 IGP
Sound Card
on board Realtek ALC889A
Monitor(s) Displays
RCA 40" LCD TV, Insignia 32" LCD TV, HP 15" LCD monitor
Screen Resolution
1680 x 1050
Hard Drives
OCZ Vertex 3 120GB,
Samsung F3 1TB (3),
Several others - WD, Seagate, Hitachi, ...
PSU
Corsair 500 W
Case
Rosewill mid tower
Cooling
CM 90mm rifle
Keyboard
Gyration wireless, Logitech wireless, Dell USB wired
Mouse
Gyration wireless, Logitech wireless, V7 USB wired
Internet Speed
Spectrum - 100Mbps D / 10Mbps U
Antivirus
Avast, MBAM3, EMET, WinPatrol
Browser
Pale Moon, Firefox, IE
Other Info
2 multi-boot PC's
Mainly HTPC/Office/Gen purpose (no gaming).
Trendnet USB KVM.
LG DVD burner/Blue Ray Player.
Tray system for removable SATA backup drives.

Not currently OCd, under-volted.
I use Hybrid sleep, rarely re-boot or shutdown.

Hauppauge HD-PVR, Avermedia PCIe TV Tuner, Hauppauge PCI TV Tuner.
It's a virus

Virus detected: Trij/CI.A
c:\winddk\winddk.exe
Just make a PC scan
=)
 

My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Asus
OS
Win7 x64
CPU
intel2 Duo
Motherboard
Asus P5QD TURBO
Memory
8GB of RAM
Graphics Card(s)
Ge Force Gtx 250
Antivirus
Panda
Browser
Safari
Win 7 Ultimate 64 bit
i5-2500k
Gigabyte z68ma-d2h-b3
8gb 1600mhz
gtx 460
Xonar Essence STX
Samsung 830 256gb (os & games)
Seagate 2tb (media & storage)

I'd say sell ur board and cpu only keep your ram. LGA 1155 is your bottleneck. Pick up an Alienware Area 51 ALX board on ebay for $100 lga 1366 and Triple Channel Ram. Pop in a 6 core / 12 thread Xeon X5650 for $50 and eat that 2500k for breakfast. It's 25,000 CPU Queen points shy of an E5-2670 v2. Then see like 1% utilization in any game...

High cpu is the lack of cpu power and the fact that your cpu may be doing your IO work that your southbridge should be doing.

You need to setup all your drives on RAID mode so it can use your Southbridge's iTE IT8728 but that's the problem right there.

I'd also install a fresh win7 x64 install ur games drivers and get it dialed in. Then Acronis backup the drive to another drive so u can recover to ur flawless config when needed.

I'd go for an Intel Southbridge if you want peak performance, even sata II ICH10R see's upwards of 500GB/s in RAID0.

Also the 460 needs some attention if your getting driver crashes. Pull it apart and use a thermal interface on the gpu core.

Fujipoly / ModRight Ultra Extreme System Builder Thermal Pad Blister Pack - 60 x 50 x 0.5 - Thermal Conductivity 17.0 W/mK - FrozenCPU.com

Private msg me and I'll help tackle your issue.
 

My Computer

OS
WINDOWS 7 ULTIMATE 64BIT
CPU
INTEL CORE 2 QUAD Q8200
Motherboard
ASUS P5KPL-CM
Memory
4GB KIT OCZ DDR2-1066
Graphics Card(s)
MSI NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX260
Sound Card
CREATIVE LABS SOUND BLASTER AUDIGY ADVANCED HD
Monitor(s) Displays
SAMSUNG LN40B500 40", NORCENT 19" LCD, 19" KDS USA LCD
Screen Resolution
1920X1080, 1440X900, 1280X1024
Hard Drives
WD 1TB BLACK EDITION, WD 1TB BLACK EDITION, SEAGATE 320GB, WD 2500KS 250GB
PSU
BFGTECH 550W
Case
ROSEWILL R102-P BLACK MODIFIED TO ACCEPT 10.5" GPU AND 6 HDD
Cooling
140MM ON PS, 120MM SCYTHE FRONT/ REAR, 40MM ON CHIPSET
Internet Speed
Mediacom Online MAX 25Mbps+
Win 7 Ultimate 64 bit
i5-2500k
I'd say sell ur board and cpu only keep your ram. LGA 1155 is your bottleneck. Private msg me and I'll help tackle your issue.

So a 2500k somehow is now incapable of running Windows7, and requires 100% cpu useage just to function?

Wow....

IMO, of course...major 'consulting fail'...unless this was a joke..?
 

My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
HP
OS
Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit
CPU
AMD A4
Memory
5 GB
Graphics Card(s)
Integrated Radeon
Hard Drives
500 gb WD
Antivirus
360 TS
Browser
IE
The i5 is fine if you wanna save on electricity because the 128-bit memory width of lga 1155 is much more energy efficient than other systems.

So I'm just saying I'd suggest an upgrade because the i5 may not cut it. That's why I suggest lga1366 with it's 192-bit system memory width and potential for dual 6.4GT/s QPI(s) on One cpu.

The CPU Queen score on a 2500k in turbo boost at 3.7Ghz is 31,950 points. My old i7 930 scored just over 50,000 points. The $50 x5650 scores in stock turbo boost at 2.92Ghz is over 75,000 points. Easily clock the 95W Xeon 6-Core 12-thread chip to 4Ghz and see scores approaching 100,000 points. Since the Xeon has dual 6.4GT/s QPI(s) at 4Ghz is over 7.2GT/s x 2 at 14.4GT/s. Compared to the i5 at 5GT/s single QPI link.

Just saying for the money you can spend less and get more with the ALX Area-51 board, some ram, an x5650 and perform right up there with the fastest machines around.

Good luck
 

My Computer

OS
WINDOWS 7 ULTIMATE 64BIT
CPU
INTEL CORE 2 QUAD Q8200
Motherboard
ASUS P5KPL-CM
Memory
4GB KIT OCZ DDR2-1066
Graphics Card(s)
MSI NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX260
Sound Card
CREATIVE LABS SOUND BLASTER AUDIGY ADVANCED HD
Monitor(s) Displays
SAMSUNG LN40B500 40", NORCENT 19" LCD, 19" KDS USA LCD
Screen Resolution
1920X1080, 1440X900, 1280X1024
Hard Drives
WD 1TB BLACK EDITION, WD 1TB BLACK EDITION, SEAGATE 320GB, WD 2500KS 250GB
PSU
BFGTECH 550W
Case
ROSEWILL R102-P BLACK MODIFIED TO ACCEPT 10.5" GPU AND 6 HDD
Cooling
140MM ON PS, 120MM SCYTHE FRONT/ REAR, 40MM ON CHIPSET
Internet Speed
Mediacom Online MAX 25Mbps+
(sorry in advance for the off-topic rant...) :)

Synthetic benchmarks (i.e., 25,000 points more in 'x') mean little if there are not measurable increases in performance in real world applications....

X79 (and now X99) chipset-based motherboards have a few advantages in a few small memory bandwidth-limited applications, but, their expense seems rarely justified.

As for this claim..."The CPU Queen score on a 2500k in turbo boost at 3.7Ghz is 31,950 points. My old i7 930 scored just over 50,000 points. "

Was your 930 OC'd? Because if not, most know an i7/930 at it's stock 3.06 GHz, hyperthreaded or not, will not defeat an i5/2500K at ...well, anything (real applications) in the 'real world' , short of a few useless synthetic benchmarks that are designed to make 'hyperthreading' seem like a cpus performance should be elevated, as though they actually have 8 cores instead of the true 3.06Ghz quad core that they do have....
 

My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
HP
OS
Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit
CPU
AMD A4
Memory
5 GB
Graphics Card(s)
Integrated Radeon
Hard Drives
500 gb WD
Antivirus
360 TS
Browser
IE
Researching "CPU Queen" a bit....

AIDA64 themselves describe it as purely synthetic, awarding a cpu higher scores for having a shorter pipeline...regardless of it's real world performance at, well, anything other than doing well in 'cpu queen'.

Perhaps you can name one more actual application (I will settle for the assorted application benchmarks used at Tomshardware, Anandtech or hardocp) where an i7-930 even matches an i5-2500, much less defeats it? (I won't ask the impossible, you posting an application where the 930 defeats an i5-2500. (excluding, perhaps if an i7/930 were oc'd to 4 Ghz, and the i5/2500 underclocked to 3 Ghz?)
 

My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
HP
OS
Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit
CPU
AMD A4
Memory
5 GB
Graphics Card(s)
Integrated Radeon
Hard Drives
500 gb WD
Antivirus
360 TS
Browser
IE
I think our i7 920 scores a bit higher but yeah cpu queen/ passmark etc are synthetic piles of u know what... lol

Anyway I was testing recently an E5405 xeon against a X5450 xeon. E5405 is 2ghz 12mb cache quad, x5450 is 3ghz 12mb cache - 80w e5405 vs 120w x5450.

First noticeable difference is heat from 80w to 120w... 80w loads at 35C, 120w loads at 59C.

In terms of synthetic comparison it seems to half as fast basically.

In terms of fps though the e5405 and x5450 is only about 0.5-1.5fps difference which is cool.

e5405 2ghz is $15
x5450 3ghz is $29

So if u wanna build a rig for someone or a few people for Christmas u can pick up some IPIBL-LB's on ebay for $25 a pop, some E5405's for $10-15 a pop, then say 2gb x 4 for $40, some 460/470/480 around $60 each and some 40A 12v psu's for $22 a pop, rosewill ranger-m $29 shipped. lga775 to 771 socket tab removal and adapter sticker required.

By the way Windows experience index rated the e5405 with 2gb of ddr2-667 with a cpu of 7.4. For $10-15 7.4 is great.

Anyway yay if u want fps gpu is usually king as long as your not bottle necked by the cpu.....

Good talk though I like finding the ideal hardware at the ideal right price for an ideal result.
 

My Computer

OS
WINDOWS 7 ULTIMATE 64BIT
CPU
INTEL CORE 2 QUAD Q8200
Motherboard
ASUS P5KPL-CM
Memory
4GB KIT OCZ DDR2-1066
Graphics Card(s)
MSI NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX260
Sound Card
CREATIVE LABS SOUND BLASTER AUDIGY ADVANCED HD
Monitor(s) Displays
SAMSUNG LN40B500 40", NORCENT 19" LCD, 19" KDS USA LCD
Screen Resolution
1920X1080, 1440X900, 1280X1024
Hard Drives
WD 1TB BLACK EDITION, WD 1TB BLACK EDITION, SEAGATE 320GB, WD 2500KS 250GB
PSU
BFGTECH 550W
Case
ROSEWILL R102-P BLACK MODIFIED TO ACCEPT 10.5" GPU AND 6 HDD
Cooling
140MM ON PS, 120MM SCYTHE FRONT/ REAR, 40MM ON CHIPSET
Internet Speed
Mediacom Online MAX 25Mbps+
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