what is the meaning of cpu?

Question

what is a cpu what does it stand for and why does it get stuck on 100% sometimes

Answer 1

that last part of the question made me chuckle...;)

it's your main processor....as in a pentium 4 perhaps

If it's stuck on 100 for long periods of time your either doin some heavy encoding or you got yourself a problem....maybe even a virus or similar malicious software bug.

Answer 2

Others have answered what it is...

As for the 100% thing, it depends on what programs you are using.

If you are on a Windows machine, try this:

1. Press Alt+Ctrl+Del
2. When the TaskManager comes up, click the tab that says "Processes". This will show a list of every piece of programming that is currently running on your computer.
3. There is a column called CPU. Click on it to sort all these processes by what percentage of your CPU's processing power they are using.
4. Watch the column while it updates a few times (You can adjust how fast it updates through the "View" menu.).
You should get a general idea of which programs are using memory and how much of it.

NOTES:
1. System Idle Processes basically means "unused".
2. Most of the processes will have obscure and meaningless names. Generally you can google the name of a process to find out what it does.
3. You can manually shut off CPU hogging processes by right-clicking on them, but make sure you save whatever work you were doing first, because there are two bad things that might happen:
----1. If the process was an integral part of a program somewhere, that program will probably close instantly, and any unsaved data in that program will be lost.
----2. If the process was an integral part of your *operating system*, then you could very well crash your computer, causing any unsaved data on the computer to be lost.

Most any problem you cause by killing processes can be solved by restarting the computer, just make sure nothing important is running when you do it.

Answer 3

The CPU is the Central Processing Unit. It is what most people think of as the brains of the computer. When there are many applications running, or just one application running that is doing a lot of computing (number crunching) then, the CPU may reach 100% - actually, it's impossible for it ever to hit 100%, it would be more like 99.999999%, but that's another story and who's counting?

Probable causes when you think you're not doing anything but the CPU is at 100% and everything seems to slow to a crawl are any of a number of the following and probably others:
antivirus scan is running
automatic updates are installing
computer virus or malware
malfunctioning application has a problem (runaway task, infinite loop, memory leak)
hard drive is so fragmented that it is causing application errors
registry is full of unused stuff and needs to be cleaned or refreshed
memory is too low and caching is occuring
you just installed Windows Vista (just kidding on this one) ;-)

Answer 4

A central processing unit (CPU), or sometimes simply processor, is the component in a digital computer that interprets computer program instructions and processes data. CPUs provide the fundamental digital computer trait of programmability, and are one of the necessary components found in computers of any era, along with primary storage and input/output facilities. A CPU that is manufactured as a single integrated circuit is usually known as a microprocessor. Beginning in the mid-1970s, microprocessors of ever-increasing complexity and power gradually supplanted other designs, and today the term "CPU" is usually applied to some type of microprocessor.

The phrase "central processing unit" is a description of a certain class of logic machines that can execute computer programs. This broad definition can easily be applied to many early computers that existed long before the term "CPU" ever came into widespread usage. However, the term itself and its initialism have been in use in the computer industry at least since the early 1960s (Weik 1961). The form, design and implementation of CPUs have changed dramatically since the earliest examples, but their fundamental operation has remained much the same.

Early CPUs were custom-designed as a part of a larger, usually one-of-a-kind, computer. However, this costly method of designing custom CPUs for a particular application has largely given way to the development of mass-produced processors that are suited for one or many purposes. This standardization trend generally began in the era of discrete transistor mainframes and minicomputers and has rapidly accelerated with the popularization of the integrated circuit (IC). The IC has allowed increasingly complex CPUs to be designed and manufactured in very small spaces (on the order of millimeters). Both the miniaturization and standardization of CPUs have increased the presence of these digital devices in modern life far beyond the limited application of dedicated computing machines. Modern microprocessors appear in everything from automobiles to cell phones to children's toys.

Answer 5

CPU (Central Processing Unit) aka the brains of your computer

When it gets stuck on 100% it means it is using all of its resources to run a program/game. It normally isnt at 100% but if a program/game stuffs up it will go upto 100%

Answer 6

(Central Processing Unit) The computing part of the computer. Also called the "processor," it is made up of the control unit and ALU. Today, the CPUs of almost all computers are contained on a single chip.

The CPU, clock and main memory make up a computer. A complete computer system requires the addition of control units, input, output and storage devices and an operating system.

From the Mainframe Point of View
Computer professionals involved with mainframes and minicomputers often refer to the whole computer as the CPU, in which case, CPU refers to the processor, memory (RAM) and I/O architecture (channels or buses).

Answer 7

cpu stands for central processing unit. When it's stuck on 100% that means it's busy doing something at that rate, 100%!

Answer 8

For a person with your computer skills (or apparent lack thereof) if your CPU (Central Processing Unit) is functioning at 100% it most likely means that some hacker is using a bot program to make your computer attack the Federal Reserve Bank or some other nefarious duty when you aren't using it.... get a fire wall for the love of God!

Answer 9

To answer the other part of your queston, it might get stuck at 100 percent (assuming you are using Window) because of adware or spyware. Try downloading a product like 'AdAware' to clean your computer out.

Answer 10

cpu is central processing unit in which is responsible for doing all arithmati operatins and other operations