PC CPU at 100%

[tommy]

I recently replaced a bad power supply and then re-installed windows , now after the new install and when windows loads (slowly) my cpu is at 100% at all times.

There really is no process that is taking up all the power except for system idle process... with the bare minimum running my cpu goes as low as 20% (sometimes but normally at 100%) but with any program starting to load it's always at 100%, even my mouse movement raises the percentage.

The whole computer is moving very slow and i'm barely able to open programs.

Any help guys?

Win xp-sp2
amd 64 3200+ 1gb ram

[shmokes]

You need to look at the processes when it's showing your CPU at 100% load.  If you system idle process is showing high numbers like 78% or 90% that means your CPU is not running at 100%.  System idle process doesn't count against CPU usage, it is merely a measure of how much idle processing bandwidth currently available. 

With that said, on a new install my first instinct would be drivers, specifically motherboard drivers.  Head to your motherboard manufacturer's website and download the most recent chipset drivers, as well as the most recent bios.  Also, make sure you've got updated drivers for any other hardware.

[Grasshopper]

It could be a driver issue but first of all I'd check the obvious things.

In my experience when a computer is running very slowly in 95% of cases it's either caused by a virus of lack of memory (both RAM and disk).

You appear to have plenty of RAM so unless you've dislodged one of the RAM chips (unlikely) you can eliminate that.

If you haven't accessed the internet since the reinstall then you can probably also eliminate a virus as the cause.

Is your hard disk full? If it is then this could affect Windows ability to page memory to disk. Also, is your paging file set at a sensible size? Again these are unlikely to be issues after a reinstall but are still worth eliminating as possible causes.

[TadChower]

I know this may sound odd, but did you format the drive prior to the reinstall?

[ChadTower]

With a fresh Windows install, if there is something odd going on, it's usually faster just to start over than to spend a week debugging an issue that could very well lead you to do the reinstall anyway. 

If you choose that, before you do the windows install, boot with a dos floppy and delete all partitions.  Recreate primary, hard format it, then do a fresh windows install from there.  Let it run for a day and see if the issue is there again.  If not, install your apps one at a time, letting it run at least a few hours between, and check for that issue each time.  Eventually, if the issue comes back, you'll have few enough variables that you'll know what caused it.

[tommy]

I reformated the disk, the PC is even installing windows slowy with my windows cd.

I never had problems with windows running fine on a fresh install before, maybe something my bad power supply caused?

Only thing that is running high now is my explorer.exe

Any other ideas from this new info?

Thanks

[richms]

Thermal throttling can cause behaviour like this to happen.

See if you can get anything to check cpu temperature for your motherboard

[M3talhead]

Thermal throttling can cause behaviour like this to happen.

See if you can get anything to check cpu temperature for your motherboard

And building on that, when was the last time you cleaned the fans or heatsinks? Dust caked over a motherboard has a blanketing effect, trapping heat and rasing the temp of every component in the chassis.

[danny_galaga]

If you choose that, before you do the windows install, boot with a dos floppy

whats a floppy?

[shmokes]

You can kill partitions and create/format new ones from within the XP install program (which is running on DOS anyway). 

[ChadTower]

That's true... it doesn't feel the same, though.  Using the boot floppy and reformatting straight from there like using a flamethrower.  Doing it from the XP install feels more like a broom.

[Ed_McCarron]

You can kill partitions and create/format new ones from within the XP install program (which is running on DOS anyway). 

Hm.  Would those partitions keep you from seeing the lightbulbs?