Strange CPU usage figures

[Little Ted]

Hi Guys, Hoping someone can give me some Ideas on this

 

a few weeks ago my comp started to slow down to almost stop it was freezing and hanging all over the place, task manager cpu usage was 100% most of the time but after a while gradually dropped to around the 50% mark which is where it is at the moment apart from the odd spike, strange thing is the Idle process is most of the time normal at around 97-99% with task manager between 1 and 2% I didnt think this was possible?:confused:

 

so far Ive cleaned with Ccleaner, Advanced System Care, Malwarebytes and a few others I've forgotten but they were all free (once used uninstalled immediately with 21 day trial of your Uninstaller) When problems started was using AVG anti virus but that has always slowed down this computer so got rid of that and installed PC Guard that was even worse so now got a free version of I0bit 360 pro:) but no difference to cpu usage.:(

 

Have used msconfig to do selective startup and one by one unchecked/checked startup programmes to no avail BUT when I uncheck Load system Services and reboot the system is like lightening and CPU usage a steady 5% but computers useless with no services loaded

 

Anyone any Ideas where I go from here (apart from the Dustbin and back to Pc World):mad:

 

Advent T9201 Intel R Pent ®CPU 3.4GHz 512 MB RAM XP home SP3

 

Any advice greatfully received

 

thanks for reading

 

Little Ted

Edited November 5, 2009 by Little Ted

[Tootech]

Drop in another 512MB of RAM - XP needs 1GB to run well when running security software.

 

Clear all your temp files out using ATF Cleaner, clean out all your old Restore points, defrag your hard drive using Diskeeper Lite or O&O Defrag trial and see how it runs.

 

Looking at the spec, with all that done it should run well.

[Little Ted]

OK No Problem, apart from

where does one get another 512 MB of RAM from and exactly where does one Drop It in? or how much should I expect to pay someone to do it for me?

 

HD has only 40 fragmented files, restore points are cleared every time a new one is created and temp files are cleared every 2 days I am meticulous about this since the problem started trying to keep the CPU usage down

 

Little Ted

[Little Ted]

Hi again ,

also just found another problem, Just tried to start in safe mode but after tapping F8 the option to do so is not there the only option is MS windows XP home notjing else to toggle up and down to and the comp comp freezes and I need to manually reboot So

is this a widows problem and could it be the cause of initial problem

is it repairable or is it a total reformatting job as I only have a recovery CD not a windows CD

 

all/any advice greatfully received

 

Cheers

 

Little Ted

[snow]

Hi,

 

Are you sure this wasn't the boot menu? Try pressing Enter on MS Windows XP home, and then repetedly tap F8 straight after. Does this bring you to the advanced options screen?

 

If the CPU use is consitently high, but no processes seem to be using it, then I would suspect Malware.

 

I'm not familliar at all with I0bit 360 pro. If you want free virus protection,

 

I would reccommend Avira:

Free antivirus - Avira AntiVir

 

Or Microsoft Security Essentials:

http://www.microsoft.com/Security_Essentials/

 

Try seeing if you can start in safe mode, and run one of these virus scanners. If anything is detected you can start a thread in our Malware section.

[RandyL]

I'm not familiar with IObit 360 pro either guys but a search turns up this article.

Malwarebytes accuses rival of software theft | InSecurity Complex - CNET News

 

As snow said there are other alternatives.

[Plastic Nev]

Hi Little Ted.

As far as the extra RAM is concerned, have a look on Crucials site here-

RAM Memory Upgrade: Dell, Mac, Apple, HP, Compaq. USB drives, flash cards, SSD at Crucial.com

Use Internet Explorer rather than any other browser when going to the Crucial site, and use their scanner, it will then tell you how much memory you already have in and what type, then recommend the type to fit to expand on what you have.

You will also be able to see their prices to get an idea of what it may cost for comparison with other manufacturers prices too.

A look round the site will also give you instructions on how to fit new RAM too. Have a look here-

Memory upgrades from Crucial.com - Desktop Memory Module Installation Guide

This is a description of how to fit DIMM type memory to a desktop but the same methods apply to all types of memory module for desktops.

 

For laptops or notebooks-

Memory upgrades from Crucial.com - Notebook/Laptop Memory Module Installation Guide

Although this is for access via the keyboard, other manufacturers have a removable cover underneath for access to the memory slot, which is much easier to deal with.

 

Hope that is of help,

Nev.