system idle process problem

[cardriver]

hey guys... don't know if you've ever heard of this happening or not... my computer is running slower then all hell... when I go into the task manager it tells me that my system idle process is taking up 99% of my CPU usage... this in turn has caused the system to start up slow as all hell, programs take forever to launch and I can't even think about running apps that are processor intensive....

have any of you ever had this problem... if so what's the fix... I've already scanner for viri and spyware nothing has come up...

[lynchknot]

I think that's normal. Mine is at 98% but down at the bottom, after "processes: it says CPU Usage 2%

[keege]

Don't know but if your idle time is 99% that means only 1% percent of your system is busy. Your apps should be flying bro. There is something else affecting your system whether it be virus or hardware is hard to tell without somekind of diagnostic.

[Conan]

when I go into the task manager it tells me that my system idle process is taking up 99% of my CPU usage...

That's normal, mine's at 99% too, like Lynch said it's the bottom CPU usage figure that counts.

[cardriver]

see that's what I was thinking too about the system usage at the bottom of the task control... however I have nothing else to explain why the hell my system is running so shitty... I guess I was just reaching out for an option... maybe it's time to get a new HD...

anyone else haave any suggestions or experiences with this and how they solved it... maybe I have a related situation....

on a complete side note... I'm so glad this is an international computer forum... it's a nice haven of rest to get away from various domestic political debating. thanks TZ and all of it's members...

[Conan]

anyone else haave any suggestions or experiences with this and how they solved it... maybe I have a related situation....



Try deleting all Temp files and defragment the drive.

[cardriver]

did that last week :( ... I don't know I'm getting a new Hard drive from brown tonight... going to swap hard drives and see if anything happens...

[efc]

... however I have nothing else to explain why the hell my system is running so shitty...

Sounds like a computer that needs to be flushed. :D

Seriously, I would download and try ccleaner (http://www.ccleaner.com). I got it last week and was amazed how much it found to get rid of. I would also scan it with another av program. I sometimes use Panda AV (http://www.pandasoftware.com/home/default.asp) for an online scan.

[cardriver]

I'm currently running Norton... can anyone else reccommed anything better... wasn't a big fan of panda...

I'll have to try that program.

[lynchknot]

Currently the best detection rate among most all the AV testing sites - however CPU intensive - beta is free:

http://www.techzonez.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12179

Nod32 is low on resource usage and has decent detection.

Here's a free on demand KAV engine scanner: http://www.mwti.net/antivirus/free_utilities.asp

(Free eScan AntiVirus Software last updated : 14-October-2004)

A. Scans and provides reports of your system hardisk for any malicious contents. You can select the drive which you want to scan.
B. Check illegal dialers program running in memory and inform the user.
C. Inform users of any background illegal sniffers or tools like spywares, adware, keylogger etc. running in memory.

D. The Utility can be added to the start up ensuring that the system is scanned and cleaned everytime it boots.
E. All the disinfections are reported in the form of a log file.
F. The utility is regularly updated on our servers ensuring that it can fight the nastiest attacks.

For some virus, it will prompt you to buy if you want to remove - but will give location of infected file - from that point you can confirm whether or not it is a false positive or real with: http://virusscan.jotti.dhs.org/

Jotti uses many scan engines:

http://www.filenote.com/redir/54158.jpg

[Rex Mundi]

Check if your drive is running in UMDA mode. My computer -> properties -> Hardware tab -> device manager -> IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers -> properties of Primary IDE channel -> advanced settings tab

[egghead]

Currently the best detection rate among most all the AV testing sites - however CPU intensive - beta is free:

http://www.techzonez.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12179

Nod32 is low on resource usage and has decent detection.

Here's a free on demand KAV engine scanner: http://www.mwti.net/antivirus/free_utilities.asp





For some virus, it will prompt you to buy if you want to remove - but will give location of infected file - from that point you can confirm whether or not it is a false positive or real with: http://virusscan.jotti.dhs.org/

Jotti uses many scan engines:

http://www.filenote.com/redir/54158.jpg


Nice find lynch :)

Rex is correct, udma mode improves performance

what is your setup?

you should check that you have acpi enabled in your bios under power management.

I had a motherboard a while back had had this disabled in bios as default. windows installed fine but the xp was slow. udma and other speed functionsd would not run and the reason was that acpi was not enabled. I enabled it but that would not fix the problem. you must install xp with it enabled or windows will not install the driver support and it will never be in acpi mode until you enable acpi and re-install windows.

it is worth checking to see if it is enabled

To determine whether Windows XP Professional is running in ACPI mode

1. In Control Panel, click Performance and Maintenance, and then click System.
2. In the System Properties dialog box, click the Hardware tab, and then click Device Manager.
3. In the details pane, click Computer.

If Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI) PC is listed under Computer, the computer is operating in ACPI mode.


what is your motherboard?


I had this problem and the computer would never be in udma mode. only if i enabled acpi and re-installed xp.

I doubt this is your computers problem if your computer is newer however thecomputer i worked on was very slow because it could not be in udma mode

[cardriver]

mobo is a nf7-s so it's a decent board... thank you for all the suggestions guys... I'll be trying them this weekend if I get a break from the honey-do list...