Solved CPU Usage High at idle...Please Help..

[corp2212]

Hello Everyone,

Firstly, please forgive me if any of the below requests are ignorant, I am new to the world of troubleshooting Windows 7 this thoroughly.

Overview:

I have had a perpetual issue with CPU Usage and have tried several different methods of eradicating the issue without much success. After a lot of trial and error I do believe the issue lies with open services/processes that I am not confident of disabling. Could someone please help me understand or locate the resource hog.

Specs:

I currently have a new system: AS ROCK Z77 OC Formula Motherboard, Intel Core i7-3770 Ivy Bridge, 2 x Velociraptor 10000 RPM HDDs, 1 x Seagate 1TB 5400 RPM HDD, 1 x 160GB Seagate 5400 RPM HDD, 16GB DDR3 RAM, Nvidia GTX 670 GPU (4GB Version).

Core Issue:

When I first installed Windows my CPU usage was 0 at idle, now its 15%-25% at idle, and I can’t seem to find out why. Some may say around 20% isn't that bad but this is how it started with my previous system and then towards the end i had it at 90%+ and i had NO way to resolve that, so i want to address this problem before it gets out of hand.

CoreTemp manifests the following:

Core 0: 46-49C
Core 1: 49-53C
Core 2: 46-49C
Core 3: 43-46C

Processes:

I have 83 processes running and my memory usage is 2.46GB.

Here are screenshots of my Process view:

I have no viruses detected and either way my PC is hardly 3 days old.

In Conclusion:

I immensely appreciate any help and if necessary am willing to provide monetary compensation to anyone who can resolve this issue. I desperately need a solution to this problem due to past experiences (with Irrational CPU Usage) that have made my work environment impossible.

Thanks so much in advance.

UPDATE: Pardon my ignorance but as of the 8th of January 2013 it is now conclusive that the problem lies with Trojans which have infected my backup data as opposed to running services/processes as i earlier suggested.

Viruses Detected:

1) Win32.Sality.3 (B) and
2) Autorun.inf

 

[Layback Bear]

Here is a list of some very good suggestions. I would start with msconfig/Start Up and NON Microsoft Services.
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/11728-optimize-windows-7-a.html

 

[mmkarimi]

hi, welcome to this forum,
first take a screen shot from your system rate from here:
Control Panel\All Control Panel Items\Performance Information and Tools

i want to make sure all your drivers are installed properly,
(make sure your graphic driver has installed)

also use msconfig in start and manage your start up programs. uncheck any unwanted programs. just run any vital programs like your antivirus and internetdownload manager...others can be run when they are needed.

do what i said and report back the situation

 

[corp2212]

Here is a list of some very good suggestions. I would start with msconfig/Start Up and NON Microsoft Services.
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/11728-optimize-windows-7-a.html

Thank you sir, reviewing it now, will revert once i do!

 

[corp2212]

hi, welcome to this forum,
first take a screen shot from your system rate from here:
Control Panel\All Control Panel Items\Performance Information and Tools

i want to make sure all your drivers are installed properly,
(make sure your graphic driver has installed)

also use msconfig in start and manage your start up programs. uncheck any unwanted programs. just run any vital programs like your antivirus and internetdownload manager...others can be run when they are needed.

do what i said and report back the situation

Hello, here is the screenshot you requested:

The above screenshot is a good example of what i mean, either im totally out of synch with today's technology or i shouldn't have a score of 5.9?


I have the latest drivers installed for my Graphics Card and Sound Driver, i always download the latest ones and check for updates every few weeks.

About MsConfig.exe, could you help me disable those that are not needed? I meddled with it earlier and it caused issues so i would love some help there.

Here are screenshots of the Services.msc window:

Let me know what you think, and i really appreciate the help.

 

[Layback Bear]

First off don't mess with Microsoft Services. It will not help.
Do this.
msconfig
Notice in the top picture, lower left corner check mark in Hide all Microsoft Services.





You will still be able to use all programs that aren't checked they just won't be running in the background when not in use.
You may select a few different than me. You may want for example to have some things check for updates automatically which I don't and so on. I do all my updates manually. You can always add back a check mark if you so desire later. You always want all active protection programs (security programs) check as I do.

 

[corp2212]

First off don't mess with Microsoft Services. It will not help.
Do this.
msconfig
Notice in the top picture, lower left corner check mark in Hide all Microsoft Services.

View attachment 248612

View attachment 248613

You will still be able to use all programs that aren't checked they just won't be running in the background when not in use.
You may select a few different than me. You may want for example to have some things check for updates automatically which I don't and so on. I do all my updates manually. You can always add back a check mark if you so desire later. You always want all active protection programs (security programs) check as I do.

Thank you for your input.

The following are the only non Microsoft services/ programs running:

Do you think i can disable any of the following without causing issues? I am especially skeptical of the ones in ORANGE and i know for sure i cant disable the ones in RED (in my opinion that is, i am not an expert by any means and could be terribly wrong), Please let me know!

Services

Adobe Flash Player Update Service
CFosSpeed System Service
Inel Content Protection HECI Service
Creative Alchemy AL6 Licensing Service
Creative Audio Service
Sound Blaster Service
Intel Rapid Storage Technology
Intel Management and Security Application Local Management Service
Mozilla Maintenance Service
Nvidia Display Driver Service
Nvida Sterioscopic 3D Driver Service
SmartView Software Updater Service

Startup

Realtek Audio Manager
Intel Common User Interface
Intel Common User Interface
THXCfg64
Intel Common User Interface
Internet Download Manager
Cdloader2
Skype
Intel USB 3.0 Monitor
Creative Updreg
SmartviewAgent
Microsoft Office 2010
PowerReg

Thanks again in advance.

 

[mmkarimi]

see, those that are came with your drivers, they should get start with win log on, like Nvidia,intel,realtek , and so on. but the programs that you just installed them like yahoomessenger, skype,office,powerreg, these are useless in everyday start up, every time you need them just click on their icon.
and i should say your computer specification is perfect.

 

[Layback Bear]

You can see what I have selected. Adobe Flash Player can be left checked if you don't want to do it manually. My Start Ups are mouse, keyboard, and security. My NON Microsoft Services is Security. That is Malwarebytes in my case. You can Google the rest and decide whether you want them checked or not. Try it the way I have mine and I think you will like it. You can always add a check mark to something in the future if you decide to. The final decision is yours.

 

[corp2212]

see, those that are came with your drivers, they should get start with win log on, like Nvidia,intel,realtek , and so on. but the programs that you just installed them like yahoomessenger, skype,office,powerreg, these are useless in everyday start up, every time you need them just click on their icon.
and i should say your computer specification is perfect.

Thank you, i have disabled everything unnecessary, i still have 15-20% CPU Usage at idle . What else could it be?

 

[corp2212]

You can see what I have selected. Adobe Flash Player can be left checked if you don't want to do it manually. My Start Ups are mouse, keyboard, and security. My NON Microsoft Services is Security. That is Malwarebytes in my case. You can Google the rest and decide whether you want them checked or not. Try it the way I have mine and I think you will like it. You can always add a check mark to something in the future if you decide to. The final decision is yours.

NON MS is now taken care off and so were down to MS Services only. In your opinion would you conclude that a/ a few MS Services is/are responsible for this problem? If yes ill try and get rid of them one by one to see what happens.

 

[corp2212]

CPU Usage with 70-80 Processes running...

Also, with 70-80 Processes running what should the CPU and memory usage be at according to you gentlemen?

 

[mmkarimi]

to see what program uses your cpu, just sort it by that then you can end the process if it is a non microsoft program
take a snapshot of the taskmanager sorted list
also you can use process explorer from here:Overview - Process Hacker

 

[corp2212]

to see what program uses your cpu, just sort it by that then you can end the process if it is a non microsoft program
take a snapshot of the taskmanager sorted list
also you can use process explorer from here:Overview - Process Hacker

Hey,

Heres a screenshot of my task manager, at this point my CPU still ranges from 15%-25%, i dont see any CPU usage? Your thoughts?

 

[logicearth]

Maybe you should just leave well enough alone. If it isn't broken, do not go on goose hunt chases trying to solve a problem that is not there.

 

[corp2212]

Strange...

IMPORTANT: Something weird i just discovered with process hacker and task manager...

If you see the image below: It says Yahoo Messenger is taking up 12.98 CPU, which is not really possible, im now beginning to think this is a trojan:

I then EXITED Yahoo messenger and the CPU usage dropped to zero but within a second another program took it, Internet download manager, which normally only takes 1 or lesser CPU.

I then quit Internet Download manager and it then said Firefox is taking up 12.60 CPU whereas if you refer to the previous image, you'll see that Firefox is only taking up 0.39! Is this Trojan?

I am really eager to see what you gentlemen think about this?

 

[logicearth]

No. Your computer is just doing work. There is no such thing as idle.

 

[corp2212]

No. Your computer is just doing work. There is no such thing as idle.

Something is wrong, im not just bringing this up because 15-25% of my CPU is always busy, its because this is how it started with my older PC and it soon went from 15-25-45-90 and eventually i couldnt use it anymore. There is no reason why my PC should range from 15-25% when idle and the discrepancy is the screenshots manifested above clearly suggest something is amiss, i need to find out what that is before it gets out of hand.

Thanks for your help, any further insight would be greatly appreciated.

 

[corp2212]

Maybe you should just leave well enough alone. If it isn't broken, do not go on goose hunt chases trying to solve a problem that is not there.

I do believe its broken and it could do much more damage if i dont find an answer soon just like it did in the past. I'd appreciate any insight to this problem.

 

[mmkarimi]

check your system with kasper rescue disk:
download the kasper rescue disk from here: Free Virus Scan
then write it on a cd or copy it to a flash, then boot your system with this cd, let it check your system when you are out of os.
if you are infected it will clean your system by 100%
let me know the progress
Hope it helps,