Help - Computer Going Crazy

[Chainsaw_Willie]

I'm having a hard time typing this. Currently something is using 75-80% of my CPU capacity and it's totally bogging my computer down causing the letters I'm typing to fill in way after I've pressed the keys. I have Win XP on an older P4 machine and it's been running flawlessly for several years until just the last few weeks.

I've been using the free AVG for my virus & spyware scanner and also have Spybot SD resident. The only things AVG has been finding on my machine are tracking cookies though it did find a virus last week but was able to isolate it and daily scans since then haven't turned anything up other than the aforementioned tracking cookies. That's the first virus I've picked up in years.

I can't tell what is using up all my CPU capacity. I can restart the machine and everything is fine for about 20 minutes, then it starts going haywire again.

Any suggestions?

[RaccoonFace]

Thioridazine + Crazy Computer => Normal Computer

okbye

[Ringo]

Hit start, run, type "msconfig", click the Startup tab, and uncheck anything you don't recognize. As long as you stay in the Startup tab, you won't hurt your computer.

Check your system tray (the icons on the bottom right) turn off anything that you don't need. You shouldn't have much more than an antivirus, a firewall, and a volume control.

While you try to solve the problem, restart your cpu, hit F8, select "Safe Mode." Assuming the problem is software, this should allow you to continue to troubleshoot. If the problem persists while in Safe Mode, it could be hardware. Check your fans and make sure they're functioning.

[Chainsaw_Willie]

Thanks Ringo.

Only items in system tray are Spybot, AVG, Volume control and "Safely Remove Hardware" which has something to do with my printer and the way it's connected through a USB port.

I tried the msconfig thing and there were several things in there I didn't recognize. I googled the filename of each .exe listed so I could figure out what it was and ended up turning most of them off though none sounded particularly dangerous. Now I get a message that the config utility is running in diagnostic mode each time I start up my computer but the only option seems to be to revert back to having all that stuff starting up like it was before so Ill ignore that message for now.

In the meantime, the computer does seem to be running better/faster now and I'm not noticing the constant hard drive and CPU activity... yet.

Fans are working just as noisily as ever...

[legallyillegal]

diagnostic mode warning is normal, you can safely ignore it if you know what you did

(is it a dell?)

also, do you know which processes were using up the CPU time? taskmgr, sysinternals process explorer, ...

[pubes]

Start to help/support to system restore
Pick a date to restore to prior to issue

[haydukelives]

i have a free program from download.com called security process explorer. it will show you everything running, how much cpu and memory it is using, and allows you to stop it or block it .

[Wiilbert]

Hit ctrl+alt+delete and open your task manager, switch to the process tab and you'll see how your cpu is being utilized.

Also, if your PC is a few years old and you've never cleaned it out, this could just be a simple overheating issue. Get a vacuum and some compressed air and clean all the dust out of the inside, especially from the heatsink that's on your cpu.

[Ringo]

Also, if your PC is a few years old and you've never cleaned it out, this could just be a simple overheating issue. Get a vacuum and some compressed air and clean all the dust out of the inside, especially from the heatsink that's on your cpu.

x2

If you notice the noise of your fans, they're too loud. Cleaning them out should be a routine sort of deal. If they're still loud after you clean them, seriously think about replacements. They sell for a few bucks each so it's not a big deal. Hit newegg.com or see if your local independent computer repair shop has a few new fans for cheap.

[StormDay]

diagnostic mode warning is normal, you can safely ignore it if you know what you did

(is it a dell?)

Is this an old Dell notebook?

It could be running into same issue my did:

The dust clogged the fan exhaust and was causing the computer to over heat. It acted sluggish in the two weeks before the motherboard got fried.

It was under warranty (next day on-site), so Dell gave me a new motherboard and the Tech told me the dust/exhaust problem was common.

unfortunately, for my Dell notebook it is big PIA to get to fan (need to remove motherboard). Not the simple task it is with a desktop.