I'm using WinXP, and I notice that in the Task Manager, on the Performance tab my CPU usage is 100%. But When I go to the Processes tab, and sort by CPU System Idle Process is taking up 90%. I've double checked that things like AVG anti-virus isn't actively scanning, and that jkdefrag is not defragging. But I know something is taking CPU cycles, because the machine is very slow. How do I determine which process is hammering the CPU if it doesn't show in the Process List?
Windows – Task Manager shows 100% CPU utilization, but nothing in process list does
cpu usagetask-managerwindows xp
Related Solutions
The system idle process is a program that is an infinite loop of IDLE commands with the priority lower than the lowest possible priority.
Your CPU can never "stop" so to speak, however there is usually an IDLE command (or something similar) that can be run on a CPU.
The IDLE command is simply a command that is meant to use the smallest number of circuits possible on your CPU, thus keeping its temperature as low as possible.
System
If this process is causing high CPU usage, it's a driver. See these questions for further analysis support:
- How do I get to the root cause of high Deferred Procedure Calls?
- How do I troubleshoot a Windows freeze or slowness?
- What is the proper way of debugging a slow Windows installation?
System Idle Process
This process will use all remaining CPU resources that were not used by any other process. That's actually how CPU load is measured in the first place.
If the CPU spends 20% of it's time processing the Idle Process, then it's under 80% load. This process is nothing to worry about.
services.exe
services.exe is the service control manager and shouldn't really be causing you any trouble.
What could cause trouble is svchost.exe which is the host process for Windows services. Every service in Windows is started through an instances of svchost.exe. So if a svchost.exe is causing high CPU load, it's a service running wild.
You can use Process Explorer to determine which services run inside a service host by simply hovering over the process:
Best Answer
Process Explorer is a much better tool for inspecting processes than the built-in Task Manager. While it might not answer your question completely, it may give you more insight into the problem.