"System" process causes CPU to jump to +50% every few minutes

[tk77]

I am using an IBM Thinkpad T41.

I've checked the event log and there are two errors I see. 1. Something about Automatic certificate enrollment for local system failed to contact the active directory. 2. Windows cannot obtain the domain controller name for your computer network.

I am logged into the computer using an account in my company's domain but I am not onsite so not connected to the domain.

 

[lynchknot]

If it hasn't been mentioned already this may be a good tool to help: http://www.sysinternals.com/Utilities/ProcessExplorer.html

 

[kcnychief]

So I would assume you have a cached domain login?

Both of those errors point to the fact that you simply aren't connected to the network, and your login times out looking for the PDC (Primary Domain Controller).

Those errors should not appear when at work and hitched into the domain.

Do you know of any similar instances with T41's from work?

 

[tk77]

I emailed our IT guy and he stated that I am the only one experiencing this.

I may be onto something. As I was playing around , I decided to disable my wireless network card. I have been running my computer without for 30 mins or so and I am not getting the symptoms. I'm going to verify that I have the latest driver (I thought I did).

Any idea why my built in wireless will cause issues?

 

[Petros]

My in-laws were having the same problem with their computer. They only noticed it when playing games. Turned out to be the network card (not a wireless, though, like yours is). They have an old Dell Dimension 1.8 GHz Pentium.

 

[tk77]

I am pretty sure it is not the actual hardware (the built-in wireless card on the laptop). I swapped my hard drive with another laptop and I was getting the same spikes. So I am hoping the problem will go away once I find and reinstall the driver.

 

[kcnychief]

I emailed our IT guy and he stated that I am the only one experiencing this.

I may be onto something. As I was playing around , I decided to disable my wireless network card. I have been running my computer without for 30 mins or so and I am not getting the symptoms. I'm going to verify that I have the latest driver (I thought I did).

Any idea why my built in wireless will cause issues?

Hard to answer without knowing the specific hardware, driver version and environment that it may be used in.

I would caution on going to the web to get the latest drivers - sometimes the configuration is environment specific and your IT people may have things configured a certain way.

I know I do :smoker:

 

[lynchknot]

If it hasn't been mentioned already this may be a good tool to help: http://www.sysinternals.com/Utilities/ProcessExplorer.html

Ok well, I thought I would mention it because instead of guessing this tool will tell you which handles and DLLs processes have opened or loaded.

 

[tk77]

Thanks, I will check it out and post the results here.

 

[lynchknot]

I'm currently having high cpu issues as well and if you see my thread, taskmanager was useless.

 

[KingNight]

I am also having a similar problem;

Ok, so every 10 seconds or so in Task Manager, the 'System' process is going up to 30-60 CPU Usage. I only noticed this because from yesterday, every game I try to play, (CS:S, UT, Freelancer) gets a short, sudden FPS drop every 10 seconds, making it more or less unplayable. Any ideas why this might be happening? The only things I have installed (2 days ago.) were Red Alert2 + Freelancer, but this did not happen in any games I played after I installed Freelancer. Red Alert 2 is uninstalled now, and I was going to uninstall Freelancer but I can't see how this is related in anyway. My CPU Temperature never goes over 57 degrees on a really hot day, it is an AMD64bit Athlon 2800 (1.8ghz). Graphics card is a Radeon 9800 Pro, running latest Catalyst drivers, Motherboard is an Asus K8N, using on board sound, Windows XP Pro. Anyone have any ideas why this might be happening and how to fix it? I have studied it in Process Explorer, and when the CPU Usage spikes, I do not see a particular thread with the same CPU Spike, like it is in the link below.

To the topic starter: Try checking out this link using the Process Explorer Program already pasted; http://www.sysinternals.com/blog/2005/07/case-of-periodic-system-hangs.html

It didn't help me but it could be the cause of your problem.



** EDIT **

Ok so I've fixed my problem, seemed it was either Nod32 being stupid OR some random Spyware on my System, or a combination of both; I installed Kaspersky and it seems to have cleared a spyware and now I no longer have the spikes.