Laptop Cpu Runnung At 100%

[deejah]

cpu runnung at 100%

laptop also running hot

i think these two are somewhat connected

but even when the computer is cool

exlorer.exe will sometimes take over the processor to 100%

i suspect it is related to opening and playing video files

because when i do that then it seems to be i can recreate this intermittent problem

symptoms also included not being able to delete some files/folders or rename

and the dreaded slow/no response

windows sometimes says it had to close explorere exe

sometimes an old deleted file keeps reappearing on the desk top

which when that happens and the desktop screen refreshes i see the processor open up to well below 100%

ran 3 diff virus scans, negative

download sybot to install

online i found one guy who logged on as admin in safe mode and copied/deleted/renamed his desk top folder or something

i am a bit afraid of not being able to log on as admin, not be able to get my current logon back etc in other words i have never done this before

another guy got a fresh copy of exporer.exe

which sounds easy and less likely to break or change anything

but i wasn't able to find it online

another guy mentioned something getting changed/broken when playing media (AVI) files

does this sound easy or a non brainier to any wiz kids out there

if i was more deft maybe i could figure it out

can any folks help diagnose exactly the problem and how to fix please

location in pattatya

thanks

[katana]

As a first step, just to check explorer.exe is the genuine explorer.exe from Microsoft and not a virus, try r-clicking it and checking its properties.

For example, in Windows XP, the genuine explorer.exe resides in the Windows directory and should be from the 'Microsoft Corporation'.

Edited October 10, 2010 by katana

[Jiu-Jitsu]

Perhaps you should start with details of your machine and RAM installed.

[craigt3365]

On my laptop, explorer would take over and run at 100% of cpu. It showed as idle, but was consuming the cpu. I would close it out and restart it. But at times that did not work. So you have to start deleting any add-ons you have. Try it one by one. I am betting an add-on is the source of your problem?????

Google this issue also...plenty of info on the web about it. You can also try firefox or chrome. I find chrome takes up MUCH less cpu, starts faster, and IMHO, is easier to use.

[siamtexan]

I was able to fix the same problem you outlined....as already suggested, chrome being installed and set as the default clear away the issues...

[phuket Mike]

Without taking a closer look at your machine I would say you have a number of bad sectors on your hard disk and is causing firstly explorer to retry reads and writes to these areas over and over. This then causes the hard disk to get very hot over time. I know this because I had exactly that problem last week with my old Acer laptop.

What you need to do is firstly ensure you have a backup of all your data, if possible a full system backup, now I realise this won't be easy with your current problems but it is important.

The second step is to check the disk for errors and mark any bad sectors, this is done via the properties tools option from explorer. Windows cannot do this without restarting, when it restarts it will fire up chkdsk /f, which will check your hard disk and mark an sectors as bad. If you have a lot of bad sectors this can take some time. Hopefully this will complete and the system will come back okay.

If it doesn't do not despair, you can go out and buy a new hard disk stick it in your laptop install windows, and access your old hard disk via an simple cheap external storage box. Either way if you have a lot of bad sectors you will need to replace your hard disk.

Finally if your system comes back after the check disk which it should, mine did and I had a lot of bad areas, make sure you defrag your drive it will make the back up job a lot easier, I used Norton Ghost to back and restore and it likes a de fragmented disk.

[doctormann]

I was having a similar problem on my desktop.

If I used Real Player to download YouTube videos, once the download finished Windows Explorer hogged all of the CPU time and although the system didn't crash I couldn't really do anything. I had to terminate and restart the Explorer process. I subsequently uninstalled Real Player and used a different download method with no problems.

So, if you're running Real Player maybe that's the problem.

DM

[pookiki]

I was having the same problem with my laptop a few years ago. Running hot, and it would even crash when I used programs that required a lot of memory. I installed more RAM (1 gb) and never had a problem since. Makes your computer run a lot faster, too. Check to see how much RAM you have. If it is 586 or 712 mb, install more.

[deejah]

thanks folks

a lot of good suggestions

i did run a chkdsk a few times

the first time errors were found

but after that none

apologies for typing error

should have read:

windows sometimes says it has to close explorere exe

which when that happens and the desktop screen refreshes i see the processor open up to well below 100%

most of the problems or issues are with windows and files

i did install realtime, but dont use it much

could it be causing problems without running at all?

like a registry entry?

not sure changing browsers will help as problems occur while not on the internet but simply on the computer

specs

acer aspire 5500z

xp sp 3

intel pentium m

1.73 ghz

795 mhz .99 g ram

anyone got a used laptop out there they want to sell?

or an external harddrive

or a laptop cooler

time to get down to brass tacks

wish i knew exactly how o diagnose the problem

but i do have many things to try

[Jiu-Jitsu]

thanks folks

a lot of good suggestions

i did run a chkdsk a few times

the first time errors were found

but after that none

apologies for typing error

should have read:

windows sometimes says it has to close explorere exe

which when that happens and the desktop screen refreshes i see the processor open up to well below 100%

most of the problems or issues are with windows and files

i did install realtime, but dont use it much

could it be causing problems without running at all?

like a registry entry?

not sure changing browsers will help as problems occur while not on the internet but simply on the computer

specs

acer aspire 5500z

xp sp 3

intel pentium m

1.73 ghz

795 mhz .99 g ram

anyone got a used laptop out there they want to sell?

or an external harddrive

or a laptop cooler

time to get down to brass tacks

wish i knew exactly how o diagnose the problem

but i do have many things to try

Perhaps the quickest and best option is to carry out a Clean Install or better still, a hard drive swap and a clean install.

It doesn't need any technical knowledge, just the ability to follow instructions.

As to an external HDD, you can solve all of your problems by simply removing your old HDD from the laptop and placing it in to a caddy(250 baht). In effect you will have a portable USB external drive.

Then purchase a new HDD, place that into the laptop, install XP and Drivers. You can then plug the external drive into a USB port and move your important data over at your leisure. No need for anyone else to have access to your important data.

Hardware House International have an caddy for (PHILIPS SDE1270SC/97 IDE (Black) 2.5 inch Enclosure 1 Yr guarantee 160 baht)

They look like this:

Very simple to pop your old HDD in, in order to create portable storage and most importantly; allow you to keep and transfer your important files to a new install without needing to 'back up' beforehand.

They don't have prices for hard drives up, but you need an IDE/PATA drive such as this one: WD Scorpio Blue WD2500BEVE 250GB PATA Transfer Rate 100MB/s 5400RPM Buffer 8MB

Budget around 2500 baht for both the new hard drive and caddy and you won't be far out.

By the end of the day, as long as you have eliminated any dust from clogging up the vents, you will have it running better than it ever did before. You'll have a lot more hard drive capacity and all of your important files on your new external hard drive.

All for the princely sum of 2500 baht. Considering that it would cost you 2000 baht or so to purchase just a portable external drive on it's own, I think it is a very cost effective solution.

[deejah]

uninstalled realplayer

running much better

thanks all

[Chicog]

Install VLC, it will play pretty much anything you throw at it, including RealPlayer.

[deejah]

yes have vlc and use km too cause km loads quicker uses less memory maybe and its own good features

occasionally use quciktime for the rare mov file

the only reason i installed realplayer is because i came across a web page that needed it to show its video

plus it has a nice download tool that will download some imbedded videos that download player i installed on firefox will not

there are still some videos that i could not download and save from web pages with either

but i am sure there are other aps out there that will capture them and the ones i couldnt capture with download manager but could with realplayer

just haven't got that far yet

any suggestions for

light (memory usage) and free pgm that can cpature most any onscreen video in firefox (or ie)

[BB1950]

yes have vlc and use km too cause km loads quicker uses less memory maybe and its own good features

occasionally use quciktime for the rare mov file

the only reason i installed realplayer is because i came across a web page that needed it to show its video

plus it has a nice download tool that will download some imbedded videos that download player i installed on firefox will not

there are still some videos that i could not download and save from web pages with either

but i am sure there are other aps out there that will capture them and the ones i couldnt capture with download manager but could with realplayer

just haven't got that far yet

any suggestions for

light (memory usage) and free pgm that can cpature most any onscreen video in firefox (or ie)

You might want to check out the FlashGot addon for FireFox or Orbit Downloader to see if you download the streams you want.

This site offers some other methods to record video streams:

http://all-streaming...-video-rtmp.htm