CPU Usage

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I think this is the right forum to post this....

 

Anyway, something odd is happening to my system, and I can't figure out what it is.

 

I've done a virus scan, so I'm resonably sure it's not a virus.

 

The task manager is telling me I'm idling at around 40-45% CPU usage at all times. This just started happening, and the only thing I have done to the system since last time I looked at this stuff was install WMP9.

 

Is there a way to findout exactly what process is running on the system that is causing the CPU hogging?

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Thanks for the quick response.

 

No I haven't changed any drivers at all. Like I said, the only thing I've done is install wmp9.

 

I did try a system restore, because I thought maybe wmp9 was at fault, but it made no difference.

 

Just as an update I took a screenshot of the taskman right after I cold booted the system.

 

As you can see from the image, everything is fine for about a minute or so, then usage spikes to 100% for about 8 seconds or so, then settles down to hover at around 40%.

 

(I've removed the image from the post, cause it's on my university server, and they get pretty cranky when too many people access things, and I've fixed the problem)

 

There is no network activity, and I didn't load any programs in the time shown on the graph. It's a fresh boot.

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Fixed it (I guess)

 

It was McAfee VirusScan.

 

Big surprise eh? What a crappy peice of software. In all its incarnations it has never given me anything bt trouble.

 

I uninstalled it, and everything is back down to 0%.

 

I did do a pattern file update this morning, but I haven't updated the program itself, it's the same one that I've been installing since I bought the program last year (version 6.0).

 

I tried upgrading to their free upgrade of 7.0, but it simply won't run the interface for me, and causes Outlook to crash.

 

So I have Grisoft's AVG Anti-Virus installed for now. Seems like a pretty capable virus scanner, and it's free.

 

Anybody have any other suggestions of free or near-free virus scanners?

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Quote:

Quality work too, you'll see, try them out (AVAST has a bit of a 'strange' interface, but does the job!)

Thanks for the tip. On your advice I tried out AntiVir and Avast. I think I like AVG the best of the three. You are very right, Avast has a very odd interface, and none of the supplied skins helps.

On a side note, all the problems I've been having with Outlook2002 since I got it have gone away. I guess it was McAfee all along.