Member Avatar for gthotmail

Hi,

My friend had to clean-reinstalled XP pro on his laptop because the cpu was running at very high percentage.

Now after reinstall, the cpu is running at 50% constantly.
Does anyone know what is wrong?

thanks in advance

  • 4 Contributors
  • 3 Replies
  • 105 Views
  • 19 Hours Discussion Span
  • Latest Post Latest Post by chris5126

Dani AI

Generated

A steady "50%" reading on a laptop after a clean XP install often means one logical processor is pegged while the other(s) are idle (a single thread at 100% on a dual-core shows ~50% overall). Building on points from , and , the next steps are focused diagnostics rather than another reinstall.

First-level diagnostics (quick, non-destructive): enable kernel-time display in Task Manager (View -> Show Kernel Times) to see whether the red (kernel) portion is large. For a deeper look, use Process Explorer to inspect thread-level CPU use and view the stack for the busy thread — that usually reveals whether a user process or a kernel driver is responsible. Process Explorer download and docs: Process Explorer.

Isolation workflow (systematic): boot into Safe Mode — if CPU drops, the cause is almost certainly a driver/service/startup item. Perform a selective startup with msconfig (hide Microsoft services, disable the rest, and re-enable in groups) to find the offending service. If kernel time or interrupts stay high, disable/remove suspect hardware one at a time (wireless, webcam, cardbus/PCMCIA, USB devices) and check again.

Driver/firmware and BIOS checks: prioritize chipset/southbridge drivers, ACPI/power-management utilities, embedded-controller firmware and BIOS updates from the laptop maker. On laptops the ACPI/EC driver or a faulty device often causes DPC/interrupt storms that look like constant CPU load. Check BIOS options for SpeedStep/PowerNow/C-states and try toggling them as a test.

When to escalate: if thread stacks point to a vendor driver, update or roll it back. If Safe Mode shows the same 50% and stacks are unhelpful, suspect firmware/hardware — run vendor diagnostics and check temps/fan behavior or contact the laptop vendor for firmware support.

Recommended Answers

All 3 Replies

Member Avatar for hughv

Open Task Manager/Processes
Click the CPU column to see what processes are using the most resources. Same with the memory column.
Have you installed all the Windows updates?

Member Avatar for Serunson

Could be a Virus/spyware causing this. If you find out the name of the process draining all of your resources, enter it's name into this handy website.
Has helped me understand what has been causing any of my sudden CPU 'draining'.

edit: If the link fails to work go here: http://www.processlibrary.com/

Member Avatar for chris5126

could be an incorrect driver installed for your chipset make sure your usng the manufactures drivers for all hardware not microsofts drivers! It is very unlikely to be a virus if its a clean install, on the other hand it could be a hardware fault!

Be a part of the DaniWeb community

We're a friendly, industry-focused community of developers, IT pros, digital marketers, and technology enthusiasts meeting, networking, learning, and sharing knowledge.