[Ham-Computers] Memory Hogs Question

[Jim Myers]

The first thing would be to see what is actually using
the CPU time.  In normal situations, System Idle
Process should be at or near 99% CPU time.  20-55% CPU
time is rather extreme.

I run several high-end graphics applications and web
applications at the same time, and I never approach
20% CPU usage.

There must be something using all that CPU time.  You
can click on the CPU column header in Task Manager and
sort the processes by CPU time.  This will put the
highest CPU usage process at the top, which should be
System Idle Process.

After the System Idle Process, you should look at the
other processes to find out what is using all the CPU
time.  This may or may not lead you to the solution.

This is NOT normal to have CPU usage of 20-55%, and
more memory will not resolve the high CPU usage
issue.  You must determine what process or application
is so busy, and then determine if it is something that
you need, or if it is possibly a virus or trojan
trying to pump out email or something similar.

If you want, I can give you a list of the services
that are necessary for XP to run, and then you can see
what else is being started.

You need to be certain that your anti-virus software
has the latest data files, and run a complete system
scan.

You may also want to use Spybot Search and Destroy (it
is free, and an excellent utility) to check your
system for spyware and delete it.

You can see what programs are being started in 3
different places - the first is
START/PROGRAMS/STARTUP.  Look at the list of
applications that are in here, and drag any that you
do not absolutely need from the STARUP group to the
desktop.  this way you can easily return them to the
STARTUP group if necessary.

My next recommendation involves the registry.  There
is no reason to fear the registry, as long as you
double-check anything that you do before deleting or
changing a key, you will be fine.  You should
right-click on the registry key name that you are
working with in the left pane and EXPORT it to the
desktop before you make any changes.  This way you can
resturn the key to its original state if necessary.

You will need to use REGEDIT (START/RUN/REGEDIT) and
then go to
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SOFTWARE/MICROSOFT/WINDOWS/CURRENT
VERSION/RUN and see what is listed in here.  If you
aren't sure what you need, you can double-click on the
entries in the right-hand pane, and place a - sign at
the very beginning of the DATA field.  This will stop
the application from starting up, but make it
extremely easy to return the application to
automatically starting with XP by simply removing the
- sign.

Next you will need to use REGEDIT (START/RUN/REGEDIT)
and then go to
HKEY_CURRENT_USER/SOFTWARE/MICROSOFT/WINDOWS/CURRENT
VERSION/RUN and see what is listed in here.  If you
aren't sure what you need, you can double-click on the
entries in the right-hand pane, and place a - sign at
the very beginning of the DATA field.  This will stop
the application from starting up, but make it
extremely easy to return the application to
automatically starting with XP by simply removing the
- sign.

I am certain that this process will lead you to the
culprit,and return your XP laptop to its previous
state of bliss.

Jim, kd7eir


At 05:52 PM 7/15/2004, you wrote:
>I am running WinXP Home Ed on my laptop with a 20 Gig HD and 256 Meg of RAM.
>
>Lately it has gotten really slow..........    I checked Task Manager and see
>that when it is running OK, it runs at a CPU usage of around 20 to 55%.
>When it runs really slow, it runs at a CPU usage of 100% or close to it.
>
>The biggest users are:          services.exe            reg.exe system 
>idle process
>
>Any ideas as to what I can do to lower the CPU usage and make it run faster
>again?  This is an intermittent problem and exists with it just booted up in
>Windows and no real programs running on the surface.  I do have a wireless
>router (D-Link DI-624) that I installed recently and shortly after that is
>when I noticed my problem.
>
>Any info would be appreciated.  No I am not a computer wizard and do not
>play with my Registry.
>
>Thanks,
>
>Herb, KB7UVC
>NW APRS Group, West Sound Coordinator
>Our WEB Site:  http://www.nwaprs.org
>
>My NEW Email Address:  hgerhardt at wavecable.com
>
>
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