ntoskrnl.exe and USBPORT.SYS causing high CPU usage

[MiffedMollusk]

I just upgraded from Windows XP Pro to Windows 7 Pro x64 last week and I am already experiencing some issues. The most pressing is that I am experiencing stuttering after I have been using the computer for varying lengths of time. It can occur within a few minutes of first booting the computer or it can happen within hours. The time also varies depending on what I am doing, either normal internet use or gaming. I have updated all my chipset and hardware drivers and it was still occuring. So, I looked into it a bit more and found suggestions to run the xperf program to find my high CPU usage. It comes up with ntoskrnl.exe and USBPORT.SYS as causing the highest amount of usage. I also ran LatencyMon after seeing several suggestions for that program as well. It also comes up with ntoskrnl.exe as causing the highest amount of CPU usage. Aside from updating drivers, I have also tried reinstalling Windows a second time with no luck. Any way to fix this issue?

 

[rubyrubyroo]

welcome to the windows seven forums miffedmolkusk,

ntoskrnl.exe is the NT (new technology) OS Operating System KRNL (Kernel) which to use different words the "dude in charge" one way of simplifying it is.. it is windows (although that is very simplistic, it might explain why it would use the most power from the CPU. USBPORT.SYS is the main driver for USB (universal serial bus) connections, which are A.)fast and B.) supply 5volts to connected devices, so it would be another power greedy driver. So I doubt that that is unusual (the increased voltage to those two items)

did you run the windows 7 upgrade wizard to be sure your hardware can handle windows 7?

also as win7 requires more labor intensive graphics for opaque type effects, as well as 3D efx, the GPU (graphics processing unit) likely requires more power so your power supply I suppose could be right at the line, teetering back and forth between working fine and the problems.

a full sudden shutdown can also be caused by an overheated or improperly cooled CPU (lack of thermal paste, bad heat sink contact, inadequate fan cooling the CPU's heat sink, or dust caked over the grooves) It is a safety feature to prevent burning our CPU to ash! Sometimes the fan will really run fast (and loud) prior to this type of shutdown.

And I am assuming you do not overclock your system?

I'd also run a full virus scan, if the system can take it!

Hope this helps,
mike

 

[MiffedMollusk]

I ran the wizard and my system can handle Windows 7. My power supply should be more than powerful enough to handle the power requirements as well. The rest of my components should exceed the requirements as well. I have no issues with overheating and do not suffer any sudden shut downs, just stuttering at varying lengths of time. I make sure to clean out the dust every few months at the least to make sure there is adequate air flow for cooling and I do not overclock my system. When the stuttering starts, it happens every 5 to 10 seconds until I reboot then it clears up for awhile. I ran a full virus scan a few days ago with no hits, but I could do that again with a different program, currently use Avast.

 

[logicearth]

What USB devices do you have attached? Going to assume you have at least a USB keyboard/mouse which can be the cause. (The big fancy Logitech gaming keyboards for example love causing problems like this.) Along with any other hardware attached.

 

[rubyrubyroo]

I misread "shuttering" as "shutdown", I apologize. Avast is perfect, even the free version is fine, But it really sounds like a h/w issue, considering it takes a bit to start then stops once you reboot.

you have been very thorough, and that leds me to believe it may be a "broken" component (a bad graphics memory IC perhaps) possibly a feature that was not utilized by xp by win 7 needs it. Basically, I'd swap out the graphics card with another or maybe even the onboard, assuming one exists. To be certian the origin is the card, it will be something solid to work with at least.

No answers here. But I'll chime in if anything helpful comes to mind.

Good luck,
Mike

 

[MiffedMollusk]

I actually just replaced my graphics card for a better one. I had the same problem with the old one as well so it isn't that. My hard drive isn't the best, but should be good enough, perhaps that is too slow?

 

[rubyrubyroo]

is it a 3G/s sata, regardless of rpm or seektime and what not... I guess you could check it it its SMART compatible for problems.

your just stuck with this.. swap each component until all is right again, it's likely the last thing you removed/swapped

if every piece of hardaware does not fix it, ....then its not s/w or h/w soooo.....eye docter time?!?!

im spent 40 hours up helping people.
for free when i do it for a living, but this is my vacation
ha

sorry... try that. is all i got right at the moment.

Me

 

[MiffedMollusk]

Thanks for the help Ruby. I'll keep at it. At this point I am regretting my decision to leave XP for Win 7, but I still have some hope that this can be fixed.

 

[rubyrubyroo]

win 7 is quite solid IMHO, but I can understand your frustration

maybe try posting on the graphics area of SF, as it could be something fixable, i just look at the whole time based pause period as a heat or overtaxed h/w|s/w issue

 

[rubyrubyroo]

i was thinking, have you tryed swaping moniters/cables/checking for necessary pins/or bent pinsin moniter cord

many lcds will flicker when their getting sick, or show atinted color - often pinkish?

just a thought

 

[MiffedMollusk]

My lcd is not flickering or have any graphical issues. I have nothing more than massive CPU usage due to those two processes. From what I have been finding, this is not an isolated problem, many other users are finding the same problem on other forums with no proper fix. I just wasted dozens of hours upgrading and wasted hundreds of dollars for this. I should have just stuck with XP.

 

[logicearth]

Guess I'll ask again...What USB devices do you have attached?

 

[MiffedMollusk]

Guess I'll ask again...What USB devices do you have attached?

Sorry, I missed your original post. I have a logitech m705 wireless mouse, logitech m700 wireless keyboard, logitech wired headset (forget which model). I also have two WD Passport usb external hard drives, but those are not plugged in all the time. My logitech devices are not the expensive fancy ones which I have heard can cause issues.

 

[logicearth]

But they can still cause problems, each USB device needs CPU time to function they are also on a shared bus. I would one by one remove each device and wait for any changes.

 

[MiffedMollusk]

I think I may have this fixed. I did not change any of my USB devices. I did a repair install of Windows and also deleted Virtual XP Mode. I forgot where I read it, but on one forum, someone had mentioned that having Mode can mess up certain settings, especially when running older programs. Now I have no stuttering and can still use all the old programs.

 

[rubyrubyroo]

congrats man!!!

Reallly glad to hear that you have a happy outcome in the end!

I think you're gonna like seven more and more now that you got that straightened out!

See ya around the forums if you have any other questions or issues!

Mike