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Thread ID: 117734 2011-05-02 21:24:00 Limit the CPU usage of a system process jwil1 (65) Press F1
Post ID Timestamp Content User
1198919 2011-05-02 21:24:00 Hi,

How can I limit the CPU usage of a system process (in Task Manager it shows SYSTEM as the user name)? I have tried setting a lower priority on it, but it returns 'Access denied', and have tried using small apps to limit the CPU usage of the process, but they all return Access Denied, presumably because its a system process.

Where can I go from here????

Thanks :)

Edit: I'm running an account with full admin rights
jwil1 (65)
1198920 2011-05-02 21:29:00 Select set affinity on whatever process Speedy Gonzales (78)
1198921 2011-05-02 21:33:00 It only has 1 CPU with 1 core (its a VM) and as such I can't set affinity on the process jwil1 (65)
1198922 2011-05-02 21:58:00 So what do you mean by limit cpu usage then Speedy Gonzales (78)
1198923 2011-05-02 21:59:00 I'm assuming he means cap it at a certain % of CPU load for that process.
A better question, though, is what process, and why do you feel you need to restrict it?
inphinity (7274)
1198924 2011-05-02 23:54:00 Its call logging software that is broadcasting to find a PABX that's on a different VLAN, which of couse it can't find. I have put in the static IP of the PABX but it still broadcasts looking for a PABX - this causes the CPU usage to be constantly at 100%. jwil1 (65)
1198925 2011-05-03 00:10:00 Probably doesnt work in a VM Speedy Gonzales (78)
1198926 2011-05-03 00:22:00 It has been tested in the exact same configuration - in a VMware VM, same version of software, same PABX without issues. Doesn't happen anywhere else but here. jwil1 (65)
1198927 2011-05-03 00:35:00 Might be in Vmware's settings. Dont know, I've never used it Speedy Gonzales (78)
1198928 2011-05-03 01:42:00 Might be in Vmware's settings. Dont know, I've never used itIt won't be in VMWare's settings; he's talking about a process in a VMWare guest. Windows uses its own CPU scheduler to manage processes, not VMWare's.

Jwil1: Windows is rubbish at this, but can prioritise to some extent. You can't limit the process to a max percentage of CPU utilisation, but you can set its priority lower than everything else. There are Windows various equivalents of renice available that should be able to achieve this for you.

Take a look at phunterd (yakko.cs.wmich.edu) - I haven't used it before, but it does look like an ideal fit for what you need. You may also wish to look at Process Lasso (www.bitsum.com) (same comment applies).

Edit: I must say though it does sound like the software is badly written; if it's just looking for something on the network, then the symptoms you've described sound like it's using a spinlock while waiting for a response, or doing a *really* crap job of polling for data.
Erayd (23)
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