Idle process @ 90%, hard drive busy

[blackhead]

Over the last day, my computer has started to behave strangely. The
hard drive is constantly being accessed, as is the floppy drive and
the Sytem Idle process shows 90% CPU useage.

I thought it might be a Windows update, but usually there's an icon in
the task bar to show this.

Any idea as to what's going on?

cheers

 

[Daave]

blackhead wrote:
> Over the last day, my computer has started to behave strangely. The
> hard drive is constantly being accessed, as is the floppy drive and
> the Sytem Idle process shows 90% CPU useage.
>
> I thought it might be a Windows update, but usually there's an icon in
> the task bar to show this.
>
> Any idea as to what's going on?

I'd like to know which processes account for the 10%.

Also, what has changed over the last 24 hours? New program? New update?
In System Restore, what is listed?

 

[Jim]

On Sun, 1 Aug 2010 18:260 -0700 (PDT), blackhead
<larryharson@softhome.net> wrote:

>Over the last day, my computer has started to behave strangely. The
>hard drive is constantly being accessed, as is the floppy drive and
>the Sytem Idle process shows 90% CPU useage.
>
>I thought it might be a Windows update, but usually there's an icon in
>the task bar to show this.
>
>Any idea as to what's going on?
>
>cheers

"Sytem Idle process shows 90% CPU useage" ; useage or idle ?

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

On Sun, 1 Aug 2010 18:260 -0700 (PDT), blackhead
<larryharson@softhome.net> wrote:

> Over the last day, my computer has started to behave strangely. The
> hard drive is constantly being accessed, as is the floppy drive and
> the Sytem Idle process shows 90% CPU useage.
>
> I thought it might be a Windows update, but usually there's an icon in
> the task bar to show this.
>
> Any idea as to what's going on?


"System Idle Process" is not any problem at all. "Idle" means "not in
use." That's just the name for what the system is doing when it's not
doing anything. It's there just to make the total add up to 100%

If it's 90%, it's simply another way of saying that only 10% of the
system is being used.



--
Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP (Windows Desktop Experience) since 2003
Please Reply to the Newsgroup

 

[Unknown]

How can it possibly be 'usage'?
"Jim" <bojimbo261@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:qind56p7c1ficqtpg7cf9ql5bhkvatrdp5@4ax.com...
> On Sun, 1 Aug 2010 18:260 -0700 (PDT), blackhead
> <larryharson@softhome.net> wrote:
>
>>Over the last day, my computer has started to behave strangely. The
>>hard drive is constantly being accessed, as is the floppy drive and
>>the Sytem Idle process shows 90% CPU useage.
>>
>>I thought it might be a Windows update, but usually there's an icon in
>>the task bar to show this.
>>
>>Any idea as to what's going on?
>>
>>cheers
>
> "Sytem Idle process shows 90% CPU useage" ; useage or idle ?

 

[Paul]

Unknown wrote:
> How can it possibly be 'usage'?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idle_task

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/System_idle_process

"Instead the scheduler selects the idle thread for a CPU
whenever there are no threads in the priority range
0 through 31 that can run on the CPU."

"For instance, on x86 processors under Windows 2000, the
idle thread will run a loop of halt instructions, which
causes the CPU to turn off many internal components until
an interrupt request arrives."

Based on that, I'd say it has elements of "usage" to it.
It would be nit-picking, unless you were having a discussion
with the Scheduler designer.

Paul

> "Jim" <bojimbo261@gmail.com> wrote in message
> news:qind56p7c1ficqtpg7cf9ql5bhkvatrdp5@4ax.com...
>> On Sun, 1 Aug 2010 18:260 -0700 (PDT), blackhead
>> <larryharson@softhome.net> wrote:
>>
>>> Over the last day, my computer has started to behave strangely. The
>>> hard drive is constantly being accessed, as is the floppy drive and
>>> the Sytem Idle process shows 90% CPU useage.
>>>
>>> I thought it might be a Windows update, but usually there's an icon in
>>> the task bar to show this.
>>>
>>> Any idea as to what's going on?
>>>
>>> cheers

>> "Sytem Idle process shows 90% CPU useage" ; useage or idle ?
>
>

 

[blackhead]

On 2 Aug, 02:26, blackhead <larryhar...@softhome.net> wrote:
> Over the last day, my computer has started to behave strangely. The
> hard drive is constantly being accessed, as is the floppy drive and
> the Sytem Idle process shows 90% CPU useage.
>
> I thought it might be a Windows update, but usually there's an icon in
> the task bar to show this.
>
> Any idea as to what's going on?
>
> cheers

Let me put it another way: The graph showing processor useage is close
to 80%, whereas usually it's below 5%.

Anyway, my computer won't even boot into safe mode now so it looks as
if I still have problems with a virus, and it's corrupted a file that
is needed to get into safemode.

What can I do now?

1. A windows set up repair?

2. Look at the bootlog.txt and see what file failed to load. Then
restore it manually?

3. Other options?

 

[blackhead]

On 3 Aug, 16:00, blackhead <larryhar...@softhome.net> wrote:
> On 2 Aug, 02:26, blackhead <larryhar...@softhome.net> wrote:
>
> > Over the last day, my computer has started to behave strangely. The
> > hard drive is constantly being accessed, as is the floppy drive and
> > the Sytem Idle process shows 90% CPU useage.
>
> > I thought it might be a Windows update, but usually there's an icon in
> > the task bar to show this.
>
> > Any idea as to what's going on?
>
> > cheers
>
> Let me put it another way: The graph showing processor useage is close
> to 80%, whereas usually it's below 5%.
>
> Anyway, my computer won't even boot into safe mode now so it looks as
> if I still have problems with a virus, and it's corrupted a file that
> is needed to get into safemode.
>
> What can I do now?
>
> 1. A windows set up repair?
>
> 2. Look at the bootlog.txt and see what file failed to load. Then
> restore it manually?
>
> 3. Other options?

Well, I had to do a windows repair and here I am... still with the
problem, but I found out that i had a new virus - the
internetexplorer.exe virus.

I found out that disabling the internetexlorer.exe process on startup
cured the problem, and i did a Google search on the process.

I ran the Trend Micro Housecall online antivirus program which found 3
trojan threats, but not the virus. I then tried the free avast program
and it found 3,900 infected files!!!!!!

Hopefully by the time you've read this I dhould be virus free.