Win98SE - processor usage 100% - why?

[kes]

Hi

I have a portable running Win98SE. (600Mhz, 192 MB RAM)

The processor utilisation is constantly 100%. I have tried everything, to try and find out what is the cause of it. (Including disabling Kaspersky, my AV (prime suspect)). No avail.

My System Resources are showing as 59% free.

My User resources are showing as 60% free

GDI resources showing 59% free.

Is there a tool that I can use to tell me which process is hogging what resources?

Thanks for any pointers.

[Countach69]

Download Process Explorer from Sysinternals; it's a free utility. You'll be able to determine what program(s) are hogging CPU cycle.

http://www.sysinternals.com/Utilities/ProcessExplorer.html

Scroll down at the bottom of the page and download the version for Windows 9X/ME.

Countach69

[kes]

Download Process Explorer from Sysinternals; it's a free utility. You'll be able to determine what program(s) are hogging CPU cycle.

http://www.sysinternals.com/Utilities/ProcessExplorer.html

Scroll down at the bottom of the page and download the version for Windows 9X/ME.

Countach69

Thanks - looks like a very useful tool. But here is the puzzle...

Process Explorer tells me that Idle is ~90%, whereas...

Win98 resident System Tool > System Monitor tells me the processor is running 100%

(the PC's cooler fan supports the latter figure, as it is always on, after a few minutes of switching the PC on.)

:-(

[noguru]

Same here. Trust procesexplorer not System Monitor. Lots of tools like this tell you bogus. Also with temp. and voltage readouts. System Monitor might not detect your processor correctly.

[Countach69]

Here are some suggestions:

-Can you associate an event when this problem started occuring? Let say, everything was working fine and then you installed/updated a new driver/program and you noticed something strange.

-Unhook any unnecessary peripherals (joystick, wireless device, ADSL modem etc.) and reboot.

-Does you computer behaves the same when you boot in Safe Mode?

-Have you tried using the Microsoft Configuration Utility (msconfig.exe) to disable programs from loading at startup? Disable everything in the Startup Tab and possibly autoexec.bat/config.sys and Win.ini (ONLY this section: Windows, Load, Run)

-Are you running your laptop from the battery of AC outlet? Does it behaves the same on both?

-Since your laptop is probably 5 years old there could be some "dust bunnies" clogging airflow thus making the fan run at it's maximum all the time.

-Any specific BIOS settings related to fan speed; Always on, Only ON when reaching X degrees Celcius etc.

Countach69

[RJARRRPCGP]

Download Process Explorer from Sysinternals; it's a free utility. You'll be able to determine what program(s) are hogging CPU cycle.

http://www.sysinternals.com/Utilities/ProcessExplorer.html

Scroll down at the bottom of the page and download the version for Windows 9X/ME.

Countach69

Thanks - looks like a very useful tool. But here is the puzzle...

Process Explorer tells me that Idle is ~90%, whereas...

Win98 resident System Tool > System Monitor tells me the processor is running 100%

(the PC's cooler fan supports the latter figure, as it is always on, after a few minutes of switching the PC on.)

:-(

It's a bug somewhere in Windows 98. It has reported 100 percent of the processor, for me, too!

[Atmosphere XG]

It's a bug somewhere in Windows 98. It has reported 100 percent of the processor, for me, too!

I suspect so too. My Windows 98SE used to do that as well. I would have only the necessary processors

running upon start up, and it would show 100%

Funny, it only occured on my 98SE Machine, and not the 98 FE or Win XP CPUs.

Wow! When you start you machine, your system resources is only at 59%?

Mine starts at 97%

Could it be something running in the background why, your system resources is pratically half when you power up?

I've gotten mine to power up on as little as 7 processors btw.

[kes]

Thanks Countach69 - for all of your pointers. (It will take me a short Sabbatical year to follow them all through :-)

>-Any specific BIOS settings related to fan speed; Always on, Only ON when reaching X degrees Celcius etc.

These are preset, and beyond my reach. (fan turns on above 70 C when AC power is ON, 80 C when on batteries. So no surprises, withouth AC, the fan is on a little less.).

>-Since your laptop is probably 5 years old there could be some "dust bunnies" clogging airflow

Yep. Hoovered both inlet an outlets.

>-Unhook any unnecessary peripherals (joystick, wireless device, ADSL modem etc.) and reboot.

I have none, except 'wireless device' with is very necessary for me. It makes no difference with or/ without. (In any case Process Explorer tells me this is not taking up more than a few percent (<3%) of processor cycles.)

> -Can you associate an event when this problem started occuring?

This is a tough one. As you say, the laptop is >5yrs old, and a lot of s/w has come (and gone) in the meantime. I've cleaned up (registry, cache, temp files, etc) as far as possible. Defragged too.

Still to try:

>-Does you computer behave the same when you boot in Safe Mode?

(intersting...)

>-Have you tried using the Microsoft Configuration Utility (msconfig.exe) to disable programs from loading at startup?

will try disabling things off one at a time... this way I know what I need, if something stops working

thanks again

[RainyShadow]

"Idle" in Process explorer is just what it says - the CPU just spends time doing nothing. Should be around 90-100% when you don't have any started programs.

Do you by any chance use a program with HLT-based CPU cooling capabilities ? A lot of utilities incorporate this function.

[kes]

>>"Idle" in Process explorer is just what it says - the CPU just spends time doing nothing. Should be around 90-100% when you don't have any started programs.

That is about right.

>>Do you by any chance use a program with HLT-based CPU cooling capabilities ? A lot of utilities incorporate this function.

I'm sorry I'm not sure what an 'HLT-based CPU cooling' is. As I said in my reply to cobalt69, the fan operation appears not to be a BIOS settable option, it is regulated by a temperature sensor, deep down in the machine.

[RainyShadow]

I'm sorry I'm not sure what an 'HLT-based CPU cooling' is. As I said in my reply to cobalt69, the fan operation appears not to be a BIOS settable option, it is regulated by a temperature sensor, deep down in the machine.

Some information on CPU cooling: here and here

A similar thread in another forum: http://www.windowsbbs.com/showthread.php?t=10954

[LLXX]

Wow! When you start you machine, your system resources is only at 59%?

Mine starts at 97%

That's certainly a little suspicious... I'd say either a virus is running in the background or you have many unnecessary processes. (On my old Pentium 233MMX system with 32MB of RAM, Win98SE booted with 95% free. Now I have 256Mb of RAM and it rarely ever drops below 70% unless I open *many* programs at once)

[kes]

I'm sorry I'm not sure what an 'HLT-based CPU cooling' is. As I said in my reply to cobalt69, the fan operation appears not to be a BIOS settable option, it is regulated by a temperature sensor, deep down in the machine.

Some information on CPU cooling: here and here

A similar thread in another forum: http://www.windowsbbs.com/showthread.php?t=10954

Thanks for that. I've now installed something called CPUIdle, but can't say I've noticed any difference. I'm beginning to suspect a faulty temperature sensor, which is making the fan trigger happy.

[RainyShadow]

I didn't meant you to install this. I suspected that some program which you already use might include such function Often when using HLT-based CPU cooling program, other (unaware of this) monitoring programs indicate 100% CPU usage for the kernel or the cooling program.

Of course, your problem might be entirely different and unrelated.

[kes]

I didn't meant you to install this. I suspected that some program which you already use might include such function Often when using HLT-based CPU cooling program, other (unaware of this) monitoring programs indicate 100% CPU usage for the kernel or the cooling program.

Of course, your problem might be entirely different and unrelated.

OK. Put this down to 'discovering-something-while-looking-for-something else'. Using Process Explorer, I'm quite sure my processor is mostly 'idle' (c 90%), despite what the MS's own System Monitor says ('100% busy'). My main headache still remains - the infernal fan is on too much of the time. It makes more noise than my main desktop! (I realise the original title of this post is no longer the issue.)