I have a 1.3Ghz P4 PC with 256MB Rambus memory, 64MB Ti4200 video. i just recently installed XP Pro on this machine and now the CPU stays constantly at 100%. I have turned off the XP display (changed it to classic) and went into systems properties adjusted for best performance, turned off any most programs into msconfig, ran a virus scan (which turned up no viruses). what else can I do to reduce CPU usage since the PC is almost impossible to use because of freezing? i know more memory would help the situation greatly but I do not want to buy more memory and I know 256MB will run XP somewhat.
2006-09-15 07:01:21 · 10 answers · asked by Anonymous in Computers & Internet ➔ Hardware ➔ Desktops
I found out its the spoolsv.exe service running thats causing the problem. If I need that to be able to print, then what is my option to stop the svc from using all my CPU?
2006-09-15 15:39:37 · update #1
do a ctrl-alt-del and look at the processes tab and see what is using all the cpu, then update the question
2006-09-15 07:03:35 · answer #1 · answered by Scott L 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Some good answers some bad I run Xp on a old Machine CPU 550MHz Ram 320Mb/100MHz I got 67 processes running and my usage at the moment having 6pages open and Outlook checking Email wile I also have a Virus scan going is 37% I think your Graphics's Card has something to do with it try to reduce your Hard ware Acceleration a bit put your screen resolution down Eg.(16bit) and install all drivers recomended from the Microsoft Website you have a performance conflict due to a wrong driver or a Hardware failure somewhere down the line.
Take care!
2006-09-15 14:38:30 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I would check the task manager for processes running. If you just installed it and haven't done too much else then you should have between 20-30 processes running. First thing I would do is check the startup folder for any stuff that you don't need running. (Like Acrobat Reader 7.0 that has a quick start).
Also (and be careful) go in the registry edit and look at what is in the run folder there. There may be some stuff you don't need there. (Start -> Run -> Regedit -> [Local Machine and Current User] -> Software -> Microsoft -> Windows -> Current Version -> Run).
Finally you might want to download a Memory test program to see if there are any memory leaks in the software that you are running.
2006-09-15 14:17:19 · answer #3 · answered by EDCvod 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Ctrl -alt-del. check processes, try to identify the program robbing all the mem. Run spybot search and destroy or adaware program to identify any spyware or tracking cookies, clean those up and check for worms not viruses. Go to- Trend micro "house calls" and do a free complete scan of your hard drive. Takes a while but usually can clean you up.You need to clean up that spy ware first or you will lag while scanning from house calls! Try shutting down everything you DON'T need to run XP and bare bones it to trendmicro.com.
2006-09-15 14:13:10 · answer #4 · answered by twostories 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
this is true, 256MB of ram does run windows. But you should also look at your processor speed. They're not that expensive to upgrade, I'd honestly consider trying that. Check the system requirements for XP. What it lists is what it can barely run on, so I'd step it up a bit.
2006-09-15 14:10:45 · answer #5 · answered by Kelly S 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
do a CTL+ALT+DEL and look at task manager processes. See what is running that is using up CPU utilization. Often spyware or other loggers will kill your usage. Check it out and remove if necessary.
2006-09-15 14:04:47 · answer #6 · answered by uranium9v 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
x-p freezes with that amount of RAM on any program such as MS Word or games using lots of memory. I think you need another 744 of RAM. I had this experience.
2006-09-15 14:16:29 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
This is often caused by spyware, adware and/or viruses.
Free Security Analyizer:
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/tools/mbsa2/default.mspx
Free Anti-virus:
http://free.grisoft.com/doc/1
http://www.avast.com/eng/avast_4_home.html
http://www.free-av.com/
http://www.trendmicro.com/hc_intro/default.asp
Free Anti-Spyware/Adware protection:
http://free.grisoft.com/doc/1 Get ewido!!!
http://www.safer-networking.org/
http://www.download.com/Ad-Aware-SE-Personal-Edition/3000-8022_4-10045910.html?part=dl-ad-aware&subj=dl&tag=top5
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/software/default.mspx
http://www.superantispyware.com/
Have fun but be safe!
2006-09-15 14:11:16 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Alt-F4 usually clears this up
2006-09-15 14:09:20 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
start the process only when you need it.
2006-09-19 00:35:29 · answer #10 · answered by j pringle 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋