Re: Nearly 100% CPU Usage

Tech-Archive recommends: Repair Windows Errors & Optimize Windows Performance

PA Bear. Regarding this supposed `registry issue', I was sent a link by Daave in this Newsgroup about a way to restore my registry values if they were damaged by running that Protection scan (which I know you say isn't the problem). The method involved finding a list of registry keys located in a backup file. The link gave instructions for how to find the back up registry files and I made an attempt to find them. They were supposed to be in a folder called `backup' which is a sub-folder to `Windows Live Safety Center. Here's what I found in the following path:

C:\Program Files\Windows Live Safety Center\History\Results\System\{FE6E3A46-A608-4642-B5B9-73586BCB7927}. The 9 kB file at the end of this path looks like a registry file and it was created on 12/15/09 which could be the date that I ran the Protection scan. The instructions say to double click this file and then follow the prompts to restore it. This last part I HAVE NOT DONE since I'm afraid I'll cause more damage if this is the wrong file.

Any suggestions about this...............Paul C.


"PA Bear [MS MVP]" <PABearMVP@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message news:#8Vn#2tfKHA.5020@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Right now I'm running IE7. If I uninstall IE7 and install IE8 (using Firefox
for the download) will this registry problem go away...

No, and running the 'Protection' scan had nothing to do with the "registry problem."


Paul Calcagno wrote:
Daave, I posted the following few sentences onto an earlier note to you but
haven't heard back from you yet.

Right now I'm running IE7. If I uninstall IE7 and install IE8 (using Firefox
for the download) will this registry problem go away that might have been
caused by scanning with OneCare Live tool? . If so, that's an option if
undoing the Registry changes does not work.

Paul C.

"Daave" <daave@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:eYmyPNpfKHA.1648@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Coments inline.

Paul Calcagno wrote:
Daave, you're going to have to bear with me on this, but I'm
embarrassed to say that my wife's laptop is NOT a Dell. It's a
Compaq Presario 3000. Does that matter regarding the Throttlegate
we've been discussing?

As far as I know, there are no throttling isses with Compaqs.

Please note, when I turn off the active scanning feature of Ad-Aware,
and as long as I'm only running the A/V scanner associated with CA,
my System Idle time is now above 90%. So I think that closes out the
issue of excessive idle time.

I take it you mean "excessive *CPU usage*," no? There is no such thing as
excessive idle time. :-)

Ad-aware no longer has a sterling reputation. I would uninstall it if I
were you.

Above 90% is an improvement, but if your PC is idling, System Idle Process
should really be at 99%. And CPU usage (at the bottom of that window)
should be either 0% or 1%.

My system may still have Malware because some new strange things
started happening today.

"Still have malware"?

I know you were scanning for malware, but I don't recall you ever saying
that you had any.

Did you have malware at one point? And I don't mean tracking cookies. I
mean actual malicious software running. Did you? Because if you did, I
echo what others said with regard to scanning further for malware.

MBAM and SAS are definite musts.

HijackThis: maybe.

If you *never* had malware, then your problem is probably due to one of
your programs (perhaps even the CA suite you have). Or maybe AdAware is
your problem and you figured that out.

Again, let us know if your idling figures deviate from what I indicated
above. But if you are at 99% System Idle Process while idling, I'm not
sure you have *any* problems. :-)

That being said, if you *did* have actaul malware at one point in time,
you're not necessarily out of the woods yet.

All of a sudden my IE won't open, actually
it opens, tries to connect to the home page, then shuts itself down.
The only way I can open IE is with no Add-Ons with a different
shortcut I created. I tried a Restore (which worked) but IE still
won't open. The only thing that changed between IE working and not
is that I ran the OneCare Live scanner in safe mode. After that is
when IE stopped working (note; I left this scanner running all night,
my wife got up and just rebooted the computer as it had finished and
turned itself off!!)

Could be malware.

But it could very well be that OneCar Live scan you ran. Are you able to
undo what it did? If not, you should never run such a program! It may have
changed some key registry settings. A System Restore *may* get you out of
that pickle, but who knows?

Or you may now need to post to the IE newsgroup!

Okay, just did a quick Google search. The post by JimR1 may help:

http://social.microsoft.com/Forums/en/onecareofftopic/thread/2d4f818c-b2e6-4abb-b4c3-ba72f4a6a72e

Don't ever, ever, EVER mess with your registry (that is: scanning,
cleaning, optimizing, etc.)! Not even if it's a Microsoft program. It's
too risky. And furthermore, there is no evidence *whatsoever* that doing
so yields any appreciable performance benefit.

For the IE problem I have to admit I don't know how to manage my
Add-ons because trying to enable them one at a time when IE is open
in the No Add-Ons mode doesn't work. If you can advise me how to add
back Add-Ons one at a time that would be great. But keep in mind I
can't open IE normally now.

Which version of IE are you running?

It's impossible to manage add-ons in IE's No Add-On mode! That's the whole
idea of No Add-On Mode. :-)

You need to be in the regular mode to manage your add-ons.

Regarding Safe mode operation, I've verified that the response time
is a lot better in Safe mode, but as I said, my CPU usage time
without scanners running is most acceptable right now anyway so it's
not clear that the better response time in safe mode really means
much.
Any comments about the fact that IE won't open and connect?

Could be malware.

But if this behavior happened immediately after the OneCare Live scan,
that's gotta be the reason. Fortunately, you should be able to restore the
older registry keys (per JimR1's post) and reboot. Hopefully that'll fix
it.

AND DON'T EVER "CLEAN" OR "OPTIMIZE" YOUR REGISTRY AGAIN!

(Sorry for shouting, but I want to make sure you hear me. :-) )

I always delete my Temp files and my Temporary IE files. I either do
it inside of IE or I use CCleaner. However, I've never done this is
Safe mode but I will now.

I see. Still, if you can't use Disk Cleanup, that *is* a problem. See if
you can use it in Safe Mode.

To sum up, my response time is really not an issue anymore and the
multiple A/V scanners seemed to be the culprit. At this point I'm
concerned about my inability to start IE with Add-Ons.

Other than CA, I don't recall any other AV programs you mentioned. Refesh
my memory, though.

Regarding IE, first fix it by undoing those registry changes. Then see
what happens when you run it in regular mode. Remember, regular mode is
what you need to run IE in if you want to manage your add-ons.

Thanks so much for your help and expertise. You guys are
great.....................Paul C.

YW.

"Daave" <daave@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:ejjoVCmfKHA.5036@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Hi, Paul. I see it's been a few days and you're still trying to get
to the bottom of this performance issue. Here's (hopefully) an
overview of the situation:

Although your wife's laptop has had problems in the past with
overheating, that *seems* to have been fixed. You can always run
utilities to get more information. I would start with SpeedFan:

http://www.almico.com/speedfan.php

Also, what is the model number of this laptop? As Paul pointed out,
certain Dell laptop models have experienced throttling problems:

Latitude E6400
Latitude E6500

Source:
http://blogs.zdnet.com/gadgetreviews/?p=9799

Malware is always a possibility. This is why PA Bear has recommended
running HijackThis and posting your log to an appropriate Web forum
to get expert advice.

Of course, there is a disitinct possibility you don't have malware.
:-) If this is the case and if you do not have a hardware issue, you
have already been given links to run Process Explorer and search for
the runaway process that way. For your convenience, here they are
again: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb896653.aspx

http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/tutorials/tutorial129.html

Another thing you can try is to see if you have the same performance
issue in Safe Mode. If you don't, this is very useful information.
At this point, you can configure a Clean Boot:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310353

... and systematically re-enable programs and processes until you
notice the performance hit in order to determine which
program/process is responsible for the sluggishness.

You really need to delete your temp files and defrag your hard
drive! Try this either in Safe Mode or after having configured a
Clean Boot. HTH.

P.S. Security suites, ironically, are often the cause of
sluggishness. Paul Calcagno wrote:
My wife's Dell laptop has really slowed down. She's running XP SP3
with 1.2 gigs of RAM. When I look in Task Manager, the Performance
tab shows CPU usage almost nearly constant at 100%, although it
spikes downward to a few tens of % occasionally. This doesn't sound
correct.
I've got CA (Road Runner) Security Suite running, plus
MalwareByte's-AntiMalware, plus Ad-Aware 2009 installed. None of
these show any viruses, etc. on this machine (occasionally a
tracking cookie). Just today I uninstalled SuperAntispyware
Professional simply because I could never get the program to open
up, even after a 10 minute wait. The program used to run just fine.
I've never, ever used a Registry Cleaner on this computer as I've
been warned they can do more harm than good.
I've tried Disk Cleanup on the C drive but that program basically
hangs up. After 5 minutes of waiting for it to calculate how much
disk space would be save, I closed it. The C drive has 15 Gbytes of
free space and 45 Gbytes used. RAM seems to show over 500 MB
available. I haven't defrag'ed this drive in a long time.

Can someone tell me if 100% CPU usage is the reason why everything
takes forever to open, and what would cause such CPU behavior? I
have had what I'd call `cooling problems' due to a dirty fan
(fixed) and poor airflow underneath the computer so I took care of
that by cleaning the fan and propping the laptop up so more air can
flow under it. Is it possible the CPU got damaged from excessive
heating? (The CPU shut down a few times a month ago, seemingly
because it got too hot, but that no longer happens).
Thanks in advance................Paul C.

.

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    ... Paul Calcagno wrote: ... for the download) will this registry problem go away that might have been ... is that I ran the OneCare Live scanner in safe mode. ... Add-ons because trying to enable them one at a time when IE is open ...
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