Why is my CPU usage so high?

[CountryBoy19]

I can't figure this out... trying to figure out why my computer is so slow, the CPU is almost always maxed out.

So the obvious this is to find out what is maxing it out... I'm baffled though... CPU monitor shows 90-100% CPU usage but if you add up the lines in the various processes the math doesn't add up.

Example:
CPU monitor says 100% and PC is really laggy, process in the process monitor show 1, 2, 2, 3, 7, 11% CPU usage...

What am I missing? Are there processes that don't show up in the task mgr that are eating up CPU? Virus was my thought but I'm running security programs...

 

[DarkRose]

I don't know what operating system you're using, but in my experience so far, Windows 7 by default has a power setting called "balanced", it throttles down your CPU power. I'm guessing if that setting is still there you could be maxing out your CPU because it's not really using its full potential. There should be an option for "show additional plans" and a setting for "performance" which will get rid of restrictions on CPU power. Just a thought. (had to go through and change it on all our computers at work because running multiple instances of MasterCAM was sooooo slow. And I'm NOT the IT guy.)

Also as a general rule, get a good antivirus, and malware scan program to make sure you don't have any nasties lurking in the background.

 

[hoosierdoc]

Mind posting a pic of your processes running? There's a lot of freeware diagnostic programs that can give you more detailed information than windows does too. May want to check one of those out for more information.

definitely second the malware scan

 

[PapaScout]

If you're using Windows 7 by default it won't show all processes running. There's a button at the bottom of the window you need to click to show all.

 

[indyblue]

1) How old is this PC?
It matters because older pc's with slower processors or fewer cores can't keep up with the ever growing databases of malware & virus's. As the number of "bad" things increases, the number of things anti-virus/malware programs must scan for goes up, so does the processing power needed to accommodate it. A computer that ran fine just a couple years ago may not be able to handle the current anti-virus software definitions.

A current generation PC with mulit-core CPU's will let one or more cores do AV while leaving other cores for your programs = much better performance.

2) You're infected with something, either a virus or malware. If you're running a good anti-virus (like Avast, etc.) virus is unlikely, then run a MalwareBytes scan for malware.

3) If your system is always on AC power, set the power settings for maximum performance (no CPU throttling) or the "Plugged in" power profile.

You can also download a "rescue boot cd" that will boot to a clean system, download the latest virus updates and scan the entire system. Do this before bed time and let it run overnight.

A few good candidates:
http://www.avg.com/us-en/avg-rescue-cd

Or read this and download the Kasperskey rescue cd: Download Kaspersky Rescue Disk 10

Norton Bootable Recovery tool: https://security.symantec.com/nbrt/nbrt.aspx?

 

[CountryBoy19]

OS: Windows Vista

Running Malware-Bytes and Symantec Endpoint Protection

Status right now: been running 70-100% CPU most of the day, currently running maxed out at 100% and very laggy. Processes showing in task mgr that are using CPU are 6 processes using 01, 01, 01, 02, 03, 07 percent...

 

[CountryBoy19]

1) How old is this PC?
It matters because older pc's with slower processors or fewer cores can't keep up with the ever growing databases of malware & virus's. As the number of "bad" things increases, the number of things anti-virus/malware programs must scan for goes up, so does the processing power needed to accommodate it. A computer that ran fine just a couple years ago may not be able to handle the current anti-virus software definitions.

A current generation PC with mulit-core CPU's will let one or more cores do AV while leaving other cores for your programs = much better performance.

System is aging but shouldn't that stuff show up in task mgr? If something non-malicious like Malware Bytes is using CPU it should be showing right? Even if I close down Malware Bytes it doesn't change anything...

OS: Windows Vista<br><br>Running Malware-Bytes and Symantec Endpoint Protection<br><br>Status right now: been running 70-100% CPU most of the day, currently running maxed out at 100% and very laggy. Processes showing in task mgr that are using CPU are 6 processes using 01, 01, 01, 02, 03, 07 percent...

 

[indyblue]

Bring up task manager to see processes, click show all processes box (if its there in vista). Click the CPU column to sort by that. What's at the top few processes?
Does the high CPU continue after a reboot? If so, and the high processes are Symantec, I'd uninstall symantec, reboot, re-install symantec. It may have had a hiccup during an update.

There may also be a setting somewhere to pick how much CPU you give it (Symantec) to use. I'd say no more than medium priority unless performing a manual scan.

Also, maybe don't let Malwarebytes run in resident mode, just do daily scans. It may be interfering with symantec causing a race condition.

 

[wtburnette]

Bring up task manager to see processes, click show all processes box (if its there in vista). Click the CPU column to sort by that. What's at the top few processes?
Does the high CPU continue after a reboot? If so, and the high processes are Symantec, I'd uninstall symantec, reboot, re-install symantec. It may have had a hiccup during an update.

There may also be a setting somewhere to pick how much CPU you give it (Symantec) to use. I'd say no more than medium priority unless performing a manual scan.

Also, maybe don't let Malwarebytes run in resident mode, just do daily scans. It may be interfering with symantec causing a race condition.

I agree with indyblue, but I'll add a bit. Make sure your Malwarebytes is up to date. Once you've uninstalled your AV, before restarting unplug from the internet (via cable or disconnect from wireless). After you restart, see if your computer is still laggy and running the CPU at 70 - 100%. If so, if you have system restore enabled, disable it and restart, booting up in Safe Mode. Run Malwarebytes in Safe Mode to see if it finds anything. You might also want to try running another anti malware program, like superantispyware, which I've had good luck with. Anyway, I would be sure you don't have anything malicious installed before getting back online (and don't forget to reinstall your AV before going back online as well). My last support job, we probably had a half dozen machines a day we had to remove malicious software from. It can really be a PITA and sometimes the best thing you can do is backup your data, reformat and reinstall everything from scratch.

 

[DoggyDaddy]

I changed my power settings to "high performance" on my Win 7 machine, although honestly I don't know if I'll see a difference. I don't do anything that's really CPU-intensive (mostly email and web browsing) and currently my CPU use is down around 1-2%. The process that seems to use the most is something called TeaTimer.exe? I have no idea what that is...

 

[DarkRose]

I changed my power settings to "high performance" on my Win 7 machine, although honestly I don't know if I'll see a difference. I don't do anything that's really CPU-intensive (mostly email and web browsing) and currently my CPU use is down around 1-2%. The process that seems to use the most is something called TeaTimer.exe? I have no idea what that is...

TeaTimer is a virus.

Remove teatimer.exe virus | teatimer error | teatimer.exe

Or not a virus. Depends on where you look.

http://www.neuber.com/taskmanager/process/teatimer.exe.html

apparently its part of Spybot Search and Destroy, but opinons vary on how necessary it is, and lots of complaints about how badly it slows down older systems.

 

[hoosierdoc]

I think doggydaddy was teasing

 

[DarkRose]

I think doggydaddy was teasing

It's my bedtime, I'm not all here, lol.

 

[DoggyDaddy]

TeaTimer is a virus.

Remove teatimer.exe virus | teatimer error | teatimer.exe

Or not a virus. Depends on where you look.

TeaTimer.exe Windows process - What is it?

apparently its part of Spybot Search and Destroy, but opinons vary on how necessary it is, and lots of complaints about how badly it slows down older systems.

This would make sense, since I have Spybot on my machine. Honestly though I haven't used it (actively) for quite awhile, so I don't know how necessary it is. I don't know if my AVG (free edition) is enough on its own. As low as my CPU usage is, I guess it's not hurting anything by having it. I keep my AVG up to date, but I haven't updated Spybot in a long time - probably should!

 

[DoggyDaddy]

I think doggydaddy was teasing

I don't know enough to tease about something like that!

 

[DoggyDaddy]

I've got Malwarebytes on my machine too. I had forgotten it was there! I just updated it and am scanning now... 3 objects detected so far. So is this overkill to have both Spybot and Malwarebytes?

 

[wtburnette]

I've got Malwarebytes on my machine too. I had forgotten it was there! I just updated it and am scanning now... 3 objects detected so far. So is this overkill to have both Spybot and Malwarebytes?

No it's not. There are plenty of times I've scanned with one and found nothing, then scanned with the other and found something. Neither one detects 100% of what's out there, so occasionally scanning with both makes sense. I wouldn't recommend keeping both active at the same time though. I would set one active and the other to scan on demand only. I haven't actually used Spybot in forever, using malwarebytes and superantispyware pretty much exclusively, though I've read that Spybot is a good alternative as well, so use what you prefer.

 

[PistolBob]

I use AVG Internet Security. It was like $39. It's worth every penny. I have been using it for about 5 years and I have not had one single problem since.

Norton is a virus if you ask me. Anything Symantec makes is not worth a crap either.

When you use free software you get what you pay for.

Sometimes even less.

I also don't download anything from pirate sites, I don't try to steal movies off torrent servers, and I never use Limewire. Avoid those sites and you might not need anti virus.

 

[wtburnette]

Avoid those sites and you might not need anti virus.

That used to be good advice, but hasn't been true in years. One of the biggest avenues of infection is often an ad server getting infected. Any site using ads from that ad server can then cause an infection. I've gotten warnings from several well known tech sites I visit and all were due to infected ad banners, served by infected ad servers. Nowadays, you can pretty much get infected from almost any site. The best thing to do is run a good AV client, as well as running occasional scans with antimalware software. Even better, also learn how to harden your system, install the latest patches for your OS and software and run with standard user rights only.

 

[PistolBob]

That used to be good advice, but hasn't been true in years. One of the biggest avenues of infection is often an ad server getting infected. Any site using ads from that ad server can then cause an infection. I've gotten warnings from several well known tech sites I visit and all were due to infected ad banners, served by infected ad servers. Nowadays, you can pretty much get infected from almost any site. The best thing to do is run a good AV client, as well as running occasional scans with antimalware software. Even better, also learn how to harden your system, install the latest patches for your OS and software and run with standard user rights only.

Or stick to TRSDOS 6.2 - no one writes virus code for that