CPU usage 95% when 'puter is idle, off network, and indexing turned of

[zzita]

i have been trying to figure this out with HP tech support for months. a friend suggested some of you brilliant folks might have ideas.


i am running windows 7 pro on a 1-processor netbook, and have had this problem since day one.


--
things i have tried:


new ram chip


new motherboard (courtesy of HP)


defrag hard drive and scan for malware and errors


reinstall op system -- twice with one version, a third time with new version


reinstall all the software i use


use different software (e.g. chrome instead of firefox, gmail instead of eudora)


update BIOS


and of course all updates for op system, software, drivers, etc.


--


it seems to be windows files that are using the cpu so insanely. WmiPrvSE.exe and a whole bunch of instances of scvhost.exe with descriptors like (localserviceandnoimpersonation) and (DcomLaunch), whatever the heck those are.


what do those files do? what should -I- do?

thanks for any and all suggestions.

 

[zzita]

i found a few threads here with similar issues, unfortunately their solution was to turn off windows gadgets. i am not running any gadgets.

 

[scrooge]

try this link for info on WmiPrvSE.exe

http://www.tech-faq.com/wmiprvse-exe.html

scrooge

 

[zzita]

oh, thx, scrooge, and yes, i should have mentioned:

i checked all 10 instances of svchost currently running, and they are all in the correct file location. so i guess that means they are not a virus.

 

[sreedhav]

Dear zzita,
Welcome aboard! 1) How many GB RAM have you installed right now?

2) Do you use Winamp player?

3) KIndly do a recheck for malware with

A) MBAM : malwarebytes.org

B) SAS Portable : SUPERAntiSpyware.com - SUPERAntiSpyware Portable Scanner

C) Rootkit Buster : Download Rootkit Buster (free)

and D) after defragging, run an online virus scanner : HouseCall - Free Online Virus Scan - Trend Micro USA

Kindly come back and give a feedback!

Did you perchance use a registry cleaner?

Regards,
Sreedhav

 

[James Colbert]

Welcome, zzita.

Just to cover the bases, a few questions:

1) From where do you derive the 95% usage figure (i.e., Task Manager performance tab? Processes tab?)?

2) Is your system performance suffering?

At 95% usage, I would expect system performance to be dismal.

3) Are you sure that you are not taking the figure from the System Idle Process under the Processes tab in Task Manager? If so, this is the percentage of CPU that is idle and nothing to worry about.

If 95% is the real figure of CPU usage, and given that you've reinstalled a time or two, I would try troubleshooting with a Clean Boot. Post back and let us know how it goes.

James

 

[zzita]

>Welcome aboard!

thank you )).

>1) How many GB RAM have you installed right now?

2gb.

>2) Do you use Winamp player?

no.

>1) From where do you derive the 95% usage figure (i.e., Task Manager performance tab? Processes tab?)?

resource manager.

>2) Is your system performance suffering?

>At 95% usage, I would expect system performance to be dismal.

yep, it is.

>3) Are you sure that you are not taking the figure from the System Idle Process under the Processes tab in Task Manager?

yes, i am sure .

i will try all the suggestions and post back. thank you, both .

 

[MilesAhead]

In Vista I had something similar. It ran up the HD usage more than CPU. But it did show svhost.exe. Turns out I was running locate32 search software. I had file change notifications enabled. This caused explorer to periodically try to open every file on my system including files on external USB drives.

I turned off Windows Indexing(by turning off the service) and switched to Everything search. This eliminated the issue. But if you are not using locate32 there still may be some app that has file change notification enabled using the old fashioned methods.

A quick way to check is use
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb896645.aspx

and see if Explorer is going down the list opening every file and closing it again.

 

[zzita]

@miles:

after all my op syst reinstalls i have very little software on this computer . i turned off windows search indexer, and haven't added any.

i am d/l'ing the antimalware stuff...

 

[MilesAhead]

Other than MalwareBytes Anti-malware the only thing that comes to mind is Windows Media Player. That's another one that will scan every file on the system to add media files to the library.

If it's showing heavy usage on svchost rather than ordinary exe then chances are it's something that Windows installs by default, such as WMP media file indexing. Also I remember in Vista the Customer Experience program, even if you opt out of it, it has settings in Task Scheduler to gather stats anyway. Another of those that will scan just about everything rather than doing what you want the PC to do. You have to go into Task Scheduler and delete the crap by hand.

 

[zzita]

>Other than MalwareBytes Anti-malware the only thing that comes to mind is Windows Media Player. That's another one that will scan every file on the system to add media files to the library.

>If it's showing heavy usage on svchost rather than ordinary exe then chances are it's something that Windows installs by default, such as WMP media file indexing.

thanks, miles. this sounds very possible to me. WMP Network Servicing always shows up in the task manager as using a nontrivial amount of RAM (5 megs, at the mo). i've tried shutting it off but it immediately, automatically restarts. is there a way to permanently shut it down?

 

[zzita]

MBAM quick scan (the recommended) found nothing. SAS found only tracker cookies, of which i deleted all but 3. i will run rootkit and the longer MBAM scan in the morning .

 

[sreedhav]

Dear zzita,
Most of these browsers seem to hog resources! Right now, i am typing from Opera browser 11.10 and it's hogging a bit more than TWO LAKH bytes and all along we have been blaming FF as a resource-cruncher! So, under processes keep an eye open for these browsers!
Regards,
Sreedhav

 

[unifex]

Zzita, several things are possible. Usually, when you just install Windows, there are several processes that start running with the purpose of "settling in" with the hardware. That includes indexing, .Net optimization and so on. These will occupy the machine for some time, but then everything should be back to normal. now, I am not that familiar with netbooks, it's possible that on a netbook this would take longer, but still 95% CPU is rather unusual.

I would suggest you make a snip of the resource monitor and post it here. To do that, go to Task Manager -> Performance -> Resource Monitor -> CPU. Once there expand the Processes tab and take a snip (Start -> All Programs -> Accessories -> Snipping Tool). Do the same with Services. Post the results, we'll go from there.

 

[zzita]

@unifex:

>now, I am not that familiar with netbooks, it's possible that on a netbook this would take longer, but still 95% CPU is rather unusual.

well, it has been a year .

it is extra-bad for the first hour after booting or waking it up from hibernation, though.

thx for snipping instructions! the cpu sit is not static, though. 10 instances of svchost, for example, are constantly shuffling around, one or more usually at or near top cpu usage. this is while computer is idle. often the top user (svc or WMI) is using 49 cycles.

BTW, 'perfmon' is the resource monitor -- it seems odd to me that it uses so much.

and, just learning this as i type, performance is not any MORE laggy while running these malware scans in the background. am attaching a snip of the res. mon. while scanning -- see how the windows files are using fewer cpu cycles?

 

[zzita]

>well, it has been a year.

i mean, since i bought the netbook. about a month since the last reinstall.

 

[James Colbert]

Have you tried the clean boot process, as suggested earlier? Following this procedure can help you identify problems by process of elimination. If you disable all items (as per the link below) and the system runs properly, you go through a process of restoring half of them to service, if the problem goes away, you know that there is an issue with 'the other half'. You can keep halving the processes until you find the one that is causing the trouble.

If, after disabling all processes (and before re-enabling), you are still having trouble, then your problem will be elsewhere, but this procedure will definitely help you narrow it down. I suggest it as your next step:

How to troubleshoot a problem by performing a clean boot in Windows Vista or in Windows 7


James

 

[zzita]

>Have you tried the clean boot process, as suggested earlier?

i have been planning to do it once scans are completed .

a question, though -- with windows services shut off, will i still be able to use wifi? i am not sure it will be a proper test, without.

 

[unifex]

zzita, try disabling the HP Wireless Assistant Service (Start -> Administrative Tools -> Services, find HP Wireless Assistant, right-click and choose Properties, then toggle the "Startup type" to disabled. See if this helps.

 

[zzita]

wow, unifex, that made a dramatic difference!