Idle process using 100%, computer won't do anything

mrdennis888

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Dec 29, 2012
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10,510
Hello, I think you are all wrong about the idle process. While you say the system is not using the CPU in idle process, I believe it is being used by something. I can't prove it, but it's a common problem I think just saying "its ok, just leave it" is short sighted. Look at it from another point of view, lets assume something is using the CPU. Then ask yourself, how can I find out what is really happening to my CPU. What about the multiple conditions we have to agree to before installing a program. Any chance we agree to loan idle process time to others?
 


Run a virus scan

Go into MSconfig click services and see what is running. If you click the hide all MS services it will leave you with all other services running. Shut them down.

Go into task manager and click on the services tab and see what is using up the most CPU.

If all else fails re-install Windows.
 
Hello, I think you are all wrong about the idle process. While you say the system is not using the CPU in idle process, I believe it is being used by something. I can't prove it, but it's a common problem I think just saying "its ok, just leave it" is short sighted.
no mate your completely off the mark idle process is just that a process. its running in the background telling the user how much free cpu resources they have... it starts at 100% free or better known as idling, down to 0% free or full load
there is nothing wrong with it unless your seeing 0% idle when you have nothing running other than windows as far as you know. then you look at malware.

idle is supposed to run at 99% it means your cpu is having near 0% usage.
if idle drops to 98% then the cpu usage is 1-2% you just have to look up which processes are being used... the cpu is never truly idle it will only show 99% free the other 1% is used by background processes... and this i can prove... if it was constantly updating the idle status it would use cpu cycles that could be used elsewhere thus it updates about every second...

so if your cpu is sitting at 99%-100% idle then you have no problem its supposed to do that when the pc is doing nothing.
my guess is your a little confused as to what pc's and cpu's are doing so i would recommend you take an entry level open learning course on pc maintenance. because by the sounds of it your making up your own reasons for why things are happening but they are based on faulty info... best learn from a pro and then you can apply true reasoning to actual behavior.
 
What are you talking about, I have never seen that in any computer. When go into task manager on any number of computer the CPU usage is at 0-5% at idle. Everything you said is compleatly backwards. According to your logic if it's at 100% at idle that means nothing is being used and it should be at zero when all resources are being used. Anyone else see something wrong with that?

This is what he is seeing and there is something wrong. He should not have 100% usage.

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This is how it should look at idle

images
 
no i said 100% free... best you read every word rather than skipping between the lines. at no point does he say he has 100% cpu usage.
he is talking about idle usage (the process which runs in the backround and numerates the lack of cpu usage.) from what i gather from his bad grammar he doesnt understand what the idle process is doing when it hits 100%
i explain its telling him the cpu is near 0% usage.
if he wants to know what is being used by the cpu i suggest he try process explorer or some other cpu monitoring program.

 
Well since he said in the title "computer won't do anything" I took it that it is freezing or compleatly locking up which does happen if the CPU is maxed out to the limit. I had a computer I was fixing with a Pentium D and it had a similar problem. After booting and enterting the OS the CPU usage would shoot up to 100% load then lock up compleatly. The only way to "fix it" was to hold the power button down which of course wouldn't do much since it would just do it again as soon as I got into the OS. About the only way to fix it was to re-install XP and all the Dell drivers. I still don't know what the problem was but re-installing the OS and increasing the RAM worked. It actually wasn't that bad of a computer after that.
 
normally you can get past an issue like that by booting into safe mode. often if its not malware the process thats causing the issue wont be loaded on the bare startup of safe mode. you can then start boot logging. running apps that measure cpu usage of each app. normally thopugh it will be 1 of the last things you installed. i tend to just roll back a restor point to a week or so. which will often be enough to get me into windows normally. where i can then run anti malware scans and check the processes out with something like process explorer and uninstall ay updates or applications i have added recently.
what your explaining is a pain in the ass to diagnose but most of the time if you can get into windows and run the taskmanager you should be able to spot whats what fairly quickly.

 

mrdennis888

Honorable
Dec 29, 2012
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10,510
OK, sorry about the wrong logic. I guess my computer has some other problem that I don't understand. It's just when I started researching the problem it popped up again and again with the same trouble and the same answer. I will take my computer to a repair person and see what he say's. Thanks for explaining thing to me.
Dennis
 

NevilleD

Honorable
Apr 29, 2013
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10,510
Quote:
so if your cpu is sitting at 99%-100% idle then you have no problem its supposed to do that when the pc is doing nothing.
my guess is your a little confused as to what pc's and cpu's are doing so i would recommend you take an entry level open learning course on pc maintenance. because by the sounds of it your making up your own reasons for why things are happening but they are based on faulty info... best learn from a pro and then you can apply true reasoning to actual behavior.

MY COMMENT:
The guy's problem is not that idle is sitting on 100%, the problem is the computer WON'T DO ANYTHING.
I have the same problem. 92% idle and things take forever to happen.
Neville


 
Which OS? I know WinXP has some problems in some situations where programs takes AGES (10+ minutes) to start under some circumstances. I haven't seen that happen in newer OS's though...

FYI, the "System Idle Process" gets run when the OS doesn't have any other threads that need to be run.