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Thread ID: 71847 2006-08-19 06:00:00 High, Constant CPU Usage Sherman (9181) Press F1
Post ID Timestamp Content User
479416 2006-08-20 05:19:00 So it's not the easy answer...

I'd suggest it's most likely to be driver/hardware related so you could try:

- Disconnect from the internet & shut off all programs possible including background programs like antispyware/antivirus etc - you will need to use task manager to get rid of some of them - check for any change

- Disconnect any attached equipment including your printer and scanner, USB stuff etc - check for any change

- Open Device Manager and try disabling hardware items which might cause this issue, like the USB controller, other communication and hardware ports and port controllers incl firewire etc, CD-ROM drive, etc. It's enough to disable them, check process explorer, and re-enable them.

- In Device manager select view->show hidden devices

- Expand Non-Plug and Play drivers, look for anything unwanted (including some DRM/copy protection drivers like Starforce), compare the list against this 'virgin' one: forum.sysinternals.com and try disabling suspect ones - google will tell you if they are genuine - check for any change

- You can have process explorer open throughout this so as to keep an eye on the CPU.

- If you still have no joy I would get the latest motherboard & video card drivers and update - it could be the IDE controller for your hard drive, not something you can try disabling easily! You could also try the latest BIOS update too. 		silvero (11011)
479417 2006-08-21 04:24:00 Firewall and anti-virus programs are notorious for this too.
You should definitely beware running two AV or firewall aps at once.

1 Disconnect from the net.
2 Right-click everything in the taskbar a to shut them down.
3 ensure the XP firewall is disabled
4 ensure you've disabled you virus checker

Now check your CPU usage. Any better now?

Don't forget to get some protection running again before going back online. 		Paul.Cov (425)
479418 2006-08-24 23:02:00 Appears the most popular problem is with an IDE device reverting to PIO, I just had this problem with my computer the other day, the short story is:

-Go to Device Manager (right-click my computer, select manage, select device manager)
- Expand IDE ATA/ATAPI Controller
- For each IDE Channel, usually Primary and Secondary, right click and select Properties, go to the Advanced Settings tab and look at Current Transfer Mode, if it says PIO then this is probably your problem.

Uninstall the IDE controller, scan for hardware changes, reinstall and check again, it should say DMA or Ultra DMA.

If your IDE channels are already running [Ultra]DMA then this isn't the answer, but a driver issue is likely, check for the latest BIOS and device drivers for your hardware.


Thank you thank you thank you silvero. I have my computer back.

This is exactly what my problem was. Wonder how it got set to PIO after 2 1/2 years.

BTW, for the other poster, device manager reported my "transfer mode" as "DMA if available", but the "current transfer mode" was set to PIO.

Follow silerro's instructions and get back to normal.


Thanks again 		ogwizard (11013)
479419 2006-08-25 01:41:00 The reason it changed to PIO after all this time is probably just a bad disk - if Windows gets a series of transfer errors on an IDE drive, it automagically slows transfer down to PIO to help reduce errors, and it doesn't change the setting back.

Glad to hear your problem is sorted ogwizard! 		silvero (11011)
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