Aussie Oddity (Mystery Slowdown)
Dear Fred, A cry for help from a very frustrated Aussie reader of your excellent newsletter (consistently great stuff, mate).
Your edition of 12 January carried an item about a reader having his CPU cycles eaten up (see http://langa.com/newsletters/2006/2006-01-12.htm#3 ). I've got a related problem: CPU usage of about 69-70%, more than enough to stop just about anything from running and something that can only be solved by rebooting. I've checked the visible Windows processes with the task manager and found that the System Idle Process is running at 97-99%, so whatever is chewing up my cycles is invisible to Windows.
I can't find any particular trigger for the problem (my system can hang just sitting idle with a simple screen saver in operation). I've checked out the Registry numerous times with the current version of jv16 PowerTools, run up-to-date anti-virus software (NOD32) and also Webroot's Spy Sweeper 4.5. I thought the problem might be a rootkit infection: Spy Sweeper did detect one some time back associated with a spyware item but reported that it had been removed and subsequent scans haven't shown anything out of the ordinary. Also tried several free rootkit detection tools and external scanning services on the Web without turning up anything.
Suggestions would be very welcome. I shudder at the thought of wiping my C: drive and reinstalling Windows XP and a small mountain of software , but at the moment I can't think of anything else.
By the way, my system is based on an AMD Athlon 64 4000+ with 2 GB of memory and when the system is working properly most applications barely put a dent in system resources. Do hope you can help. Best, David Nourse
I have a question about this: "...the System Idle Process is running at 97-99%" and "CPU usage of about 69-70%." The two don't add up; the CPU usage has to add up to 100, always. If the CPU is at 70%, then the idle process can't be higher than 30%, and if the System Idle process is steady at 97-99%, then all the rest of the processes must be at 1-3%: Again, all the processes have to add up to 100%. That's all there is.
So let's tackle that first. Make sure you're correctly sorting the processes in Task Manager so you can see everything: in Task Manager, click the Processes tab: Click on the CPU heading there to sort the processes according to how much CPU usage they're getting. (In other words, sort the list so the most CPU-hungry processes are at the top of the list.) There, you'll see exactly whatever's consuming your CPU time. The running processes' percentages will always add up to 100.
As we said back in January, if your system is very busy, the list may be a little confusing as items jump to the top of the list and then jump back down again as they go active and inactive; but if you watch for a little while, you'll see what's consistently at or near the top. And if something really is eating about 70% of your cycles, it will show up near the top of the sorted list. Once you've identified it, then you can do whatever's needed to control or eliminate it.
Now, if in fact the system bogs down even when Task Manager is showing almost no load--- if you see slowdowns when the System Idle process is steady at 97-99%--- then the problem and its solution may not lie within Windows per se.
In that case, I'd start with the BIOS ( http://www.google.com/search?q=enter+bios ). Make sure the settings there are OK. If you're not sure what the settings should be, make note of what they are now (a digital camera can be a big timesaver here--- just snapshot each screen in the BIOS to record the current settings) and try the "Default" or "Optimal" settings that most BIOSes offer. Pay particular attention to any 64-bit specific BIOS settings. If any setting makes things worse, just revert to the original settings.
Usually, the BIOS also offers a "system health" or similarly-named area where you can see temperatures and fan speeds in real time. Check these, and let the system run for at least as long as it normally takes for you to see the slowdown in Windows. Make sure the temperatures stay stable, and aren't climbing into a range that might cause the system to throttle back.
Before you leave the BIOS, note the BIOS version number and compare it to the latest-available BIOS update on your vendor's site. It's pretty early in the game for 64-bit general purpose PCs like yours, and a newer BIOS may correct the problem you're seeing, if it's BIOS or hardware related.
Likewise, you may be running into issues with 32-bit Windows and drivers on 64-bit hardware. Yes, it's all supposed to work, but again, it's early in the game. You might want to visit the vendor sites for each peripheral component you have (hard drives, video, USB, etc.) to make sure you have the latest versions, and that no vendor warns against running their hard/software on a 64-bit capable platform.
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