What causes CPU usage to go to 100%?

Question

What causes CPU usage to go to 100%?

Answer 1

Lots of things can cause the CPU to go to 100 percent. I can't put the percent sign here or I get the On coffee break error when posting here. Anyway, while Task Manager is open you can isolate what processes are causing this. Click on the Processes tab, then double click on the CPU heading to bring the list in order of the process using the highest amount and on down to the lowest amounts of CPU in use in real time. Look at the heading under Image Name, then:

In XP, open Search, click All Files and Folders, enter the process into the top box, click on the C drive for the search and hit Enter. When you see the process with a .exe at the end click Stop on the search pane. Hover your cursor over the item and read the Tool Tip to see what it is. If hovering doesn't do this, then right click, select Properties, click Version, and read the information there to see what it is.

In Vista it is much easier: Right click on the process and select Open File Location. When Explorer opens look for the highlighted file in the window, and see what it is, or hover your mouse for the Tool Tip, or right click, select Properties, then click the Details tab to see what it is.

If neither of these work to identify the process do a Google search to see what it is.

There are resource hogging applications. Did you install anything new recently, such as a new security application or suite? Some of these, especially Norton, can really use up a lot of processor power, again, especially when actively scanning or updating signatures from the web. Multimedia applications, especially 3D games and such, are resource intensive too. Do you know what you have open when this goes so high? In Task Manager, on the Applications tab, check this out too in order to see if streaming media, or anything else you may have open is using up too much processor.

Malware can attach itself to your system silently in the background and eat up your resources. You may want to see about performing a HijackThis report and attach it to a request for assistance from one of the many HijackThis forums on the web. Here are a few places you can do this:

http://www.bleepingcomputer.com

http://groups.msn.com/FreewareandSharewa...

You can easily find others by a single Google search using the terms HijackThis Forums. Good luck and have a nice evening.

Answer 2

If you have multiple apps running, with one of them editing pictures, one playing a games, and another downloaded a movie; then that's a lot for your CPU handle. If you want to reduce CPU dependency, upgrade your RAM.

Answer 3

Well, each program uses a bit of CPU power depending on how hard it's working at the time. So if you've got 4 different browsers open and they're all streaming movies from Netflix, you'll most like be at 100%

Answer 4

You should definitely scan for spyware to make sure your computer is not infested. This can cause mutiple programs and process to be loaded into CPU access and RAM thus making your CPU usage high. However, you should monitor it to make sure that the spikes in usage are temporary or constant. Constant would indicate a virus. Monitor it by pressing Ctrl-Alt-Del. This brings up the task manager. Check out the link below to see visuals.

Here are some ways to cut down down on CPU access

Disable the amount of services running in the background-- You can do this by altering your computer configuration. Here is how:

1. Open your Start menu.

2. Click Run

3. In the command screen type "msconfig.exe"

4. In the "system configuration utility",click either "service" or "startup" tab

5. Uncheck all programs that your are no longer using.

6. Click "OK"

If you haven't cleaned your registry in a while. This is necessary. Your registry holds all the information regarding updates, installs, un-installs etc. Each one of those events has

a key. and that key need your PC's resources. So, if you should clean this up. Do a registry scan if you got more than 20 errors you should clean it. Also your Operating System will constantly try to fix these errors which cause spikes in CPU access.

You should also check to see what programs are running in your task manager. If you see a program like svchost.exe. You may need to clear this program in order to return your computer back to normal CPU access time. There are several ways to do this. Here is one of them.

1. Click Start | Run (type) "services.msc" (no quotes)

2. Scroll down to "DNS Client", Right-click and select: Properties

3. Click the drop-down arrow for "Startup type"

4. Select: Manual, click Apply/Ok and restart.

(IF you are the only PC user, and not part of a domain.)

That also eliminates one SVCHOST process in Task Manager

Hope this helps!

http://www.delete-computer-history.com/c...

Answer 5

Can get that firing up. Shouldn't be getting it all the time. I run an E8500 at 3.8GHz and I get 100% once in a while, usually when starting up but it idles at about 3%. Running a lot of apps at the same time requires more cpu utilization. Common for the progs and OS to get as much out of the cpu as they can sometimes. Thats why people get big cpus. 100% of 3.8 Ghz gets stuff done quicker than 100% of 2.4.A lot of progs are cpu intensive so you can have 100GBs of ram and you're still gonna have high cpu utilization. Video-editing is a good example. Very cpu intensive. Crysis is too--the most cpu intensive game I've ever played. Bump the cpu clock up and the frame rates go up 50% of the % the cpu clock goes up. I wouldn't be concerned unless you run an abnormal cpu utilization at idle.

Answer 6

Lot's of things. Running numerous or intensive programs, a crashed program in an infinite loop, spyware, etc...

Open up your Task Manager, and view the running processes. I'm sure you'll see one that's draining all your cycles.