PC slows down with almost 90% CPU usage

Hi, I'm having this issue since past couple of months.

Have Win10 as OS.
160GB SATA HDD.
i5
16GB RAM DDR3

If I open Chrome (4-5 tabs at max), FF (2-3 tabs at max), Whatsapp(desktop version) at the same time, PC kinda starts crwaling.
Oh, uTorrent and KIS(Kaspersky) is always running at background.

I've checked in process monitor, Chrome alone brings CPU usage to at times 100%. This does not stay but is frequent.

I've a office laptop with similar config, but that runs smoothly with even more load!.

I wonder what is going on in my system?

Any idea guys?

Could you share detailed specifications and a screenshot of task manager/resource monitor?

i5-4440 @3.10GHz
GFX card AMD Radeon 7700

I'll post screenshot later.

Also, what are you opening in those browser windows? Like playing 1080 or above videos?

Which if any chrome extensions are installed ? Problem happens when chrome is closed ? Use using vivaldi instead of chrome. Clear chrome history and cache.

Can you try with other browsers FF or Opera and don't use Chrome for few days.

Ok, I'll try to avoid Chrome for few days.
Got used to it.

W

There is a task manager inside chrome too,you can open it by settings--more tools.Just see which process/tab is causing heavy cpu usage.

I think I've found the solution.

Disable Microsoft Compatibility Telemetry Causing 100% Disk Usage - Cyber Geek Software %

Removed Telemetry. Post reboot, 5min passed till writing here.
No freezing yet.

I'll update here if this stays or just a pause b4 next freeze!

W

A temporary solution,only permanent fix is getting ssd which is recommended anyway nowadays.Once you experience a pc with ssd,you will never go back to running os on a hdd.My freind got 480gb kingston ssd for 3100 during amazon's last oct sale.

Ok, this seems to be working for me.

40 Mins since this was done and no freezing.
Previous a split second whole system freeze every 3-4 minutes.

whitestar_999 said:
A temporary solution,only permanent fix is getting ssd which is recommended anyway nowadays.Once you experience a pc with ssd,you will never go back to running os on a hdd.My freind got 480gb kingston ssd for 3100 during amazon's last oct sale.

An SSD is not required to offset the processing overhead caused by something as Telemetry. Telemetry should be turned off by default, and should be opt in.
One of the biggest reason for those people who choose nix over bindows.

W

Vyom said:
An SSD is not required to offset the processing overhead caused by something as Telemetry. Telemetry should be turned off by default, and should be opt in.
One of the biggest reason for those people who choose nix over bindows.

Trying to fight telemetry on win 10 is like trying to kill a cockroach infection by killing a few cockroaches,it is doomed to fail.

Other than that,telemetry is not the only reason for such 100% disk/cpu usage on win 10. There is no reason to run an os on hdd nowadays unless someone absolutely can't afford 1.5k or simply does not care about overall user experience.

Yes, SSD is absolutely necessary now a days for faster read/write speed and overall smooth user experience.
But the 100% utilization is not at all a SSD can handle or will resolve completely. and once a process has frozen the system no matter SSD or HDD the system will still take time to come to normal working state.

Back in the old days we use to have HDD the only source of storage with OS installed on it and WIndows 7 was nicely optimized to give a smooth user experience with no freeze & BSOD. Though not 100% perfect but still it was accepted by every Windows lover out there.

@rhitwick : Buy a SSD if you haven't. You will never go back on HDD again.
Most of the time I found that the website script hangs the system and also increases utilization of the CPU.

Hmmm.

I would like to try.

Installing Win10 again is going to be a challange.
Mine was upgraded from Win7. Not sure how to install this again.

W

rhitwick said:
Hmmm.

I would like to try.

Installing Win10 again is going to be a challange.
Mine was upgraded from Win7. Not sure how to install this again.

All activation info of win 10 home/pro(& some other supported versions) is now saved on MS servers so in case of any future reinstall all one needs to do is connect to net & as long as hardware is unchanged(aka mobo,processor,lan) the system will be automatically reactivated.

You can download the win 10 iso/create bootable pen drive directly from MS site too.

rhitwick said:
Hmmm.

I would like to try.

Installing Win10 again is going to be a challange.
Mine was upgraded from Win7. Not sure how to install this again.

Not promoting piracy but there's stripped down version of windows without telemetry and loads of other unnecessary stuff. Make a bootable pen drive using Rufus .. works fine with any version of windows 10.

W

topgear said:
Not promoting piracy but there's stripped down version of windows without telemetry and loads of other unnecessary stuff. Make a bootable pen drive using Rufus .. works fine with any version of windows 10.

LTSC version? It is good enough for typical uses & for those who never plan on using apps/games from MS store.For gamers though it may not be enough considering some latest driver/os changes won't be coming to LTSC(e.g.the latest ryzen thread scheduler patch by microsoft which improved the performance of ryzen processors won't be coming to LTSC).

as far as I am concerned LTSC is only sane version. No cortana, reduced telemetry, no breaking updates or random GUI changes. and no forced candycrush. performance has to be better

W

cute.bandar said:
as far as I am concerned LTSC is only sane version. No cortana, reduced telemetry, no breaking updates or random GUI changes. and no forced candycrush. performance has to be better

It is but it has one annoying bug currently,when the default program is changed to some 3rd part program(e.g.browser,video player etc) then one gets a notification when such file is opened on double clicking for the first time after every login.

P.S. its inbuilt image viewer is also paint which is not good but install this which is much better ImageGlass - A lightweight, versatile image viewer

whitestar_999 said:
P.S. its inbuilt image viewer is also paint which is not good but install this which is much better ImageGlass - A lightweight, versatile image viewer

Thanks man. In built image viewer of Win 10 literally suck.

It is but it has one annoying bug currently,when the default program is changed to some 3rd part program(e.g.browser,video player etc) then one gets a notification when such file is opened on double clicking for the first time after every login.

Oh interesting. Even windows 8.1 has this issue. I never really gave any attention to it, as I always hibernate, so these notifications don't appear often.
ImageGlass is nice. But I like Potplayer, it is a audio video player, but it works well for images too. Its best feature is auto hiding UI. So when the mouse is not on the window, only images appear, which looks very neat. Bringing the mouse on the window makes the the UI appear, so it can be used normally.
Screenie:
*i.imgur.com/b9vzknz.png

W

I know but the thing is that not all images work correctly(sometimes orientation) with the madvr renderer that I use so I don't use it as image viewer plus I like to keep photo viewer & video player program separate(just personal preference & a bit easier to do some troubleshooting).

whitestar_999 said:
LTSC version? It is good enough for typical uses & for those who never plan on using apps/games from MS store.For gamers though it may not be enough considering some latest driver/os changes won't be coming to LTSC(e.g.the latest ryzen thread scheduler patch by microsoft which improved the performance of ryzen processors won't be coming to LTSC).

Nah, I was talking about about heavily modified home ( **ahem** ) edition.

W

topgear said:
Nah, I was talking about about heavily modified home ( **ahem** ) edition.

Home version is pretty useless,try pro/enterprise version with MTK toolkit to customize it.Check mydigitallife forums,best place for all things windows/MS related related to tweaking & "ahem" methods for research purposes(DAZ,the same "ahem loader" creator, is an admin of this forum). Need registration to see all good posts but it is worth it so I suggest registering there.

whitestar_999 said:
Home version is pretty useless,try pro/enterprise version with MTK toolkit to customize it.Check mydigitallife forums,best place for all things windows/MS related related to tweaking & "ahem" methods for research purposes(DAZ,the same "ahem loader" creator, is an admin of this forum). Need registration to see all good posts but it is worth it so I suggest registering there.

Team-OS forum is also good for such educational purposes

W

topgear said:
Team-OS forum is also good for such educational purposes

May be but as far as I know,all the widely used "kms solutions"(& many win 10 tweaks especially privacy related) originated from mdl forums.

Decided to do a "Reset" on my Win10.

Seems there are two types of system reset( 3 actually)

1. Reset (minimal impact but clean install)
2. Fresh Start (reinstalls keeping some apps)
3. New Start (Complete new setup)

Plan to proceed in this order. If one fails move to another.

Let me know if anyone tried option one ever. Would like to know the experience.

Try this Process Manager, if u haven't already.
This is one of the best Process manager than the default Task Manager.

Process Lasso

rhitwick said:
1. Reset (minimal impact but clean install)
2. Fresh Start (reinstalls keeping some apps)
3. New Start (Complete new setup)

With "Windows" I think 3rd should be the *only* option. Take backups and then backup of those backups.

Vyom said:
With "Windows" I think 3rd should be the *only* option. Take backups and then backup of those backups.

lol, correct.

Took backup. However this time most of my files were already synced with OneDrive so, less effort in backup.

Did reset of Windows last night.

It removed all 3rd party applications (even those downloaded from MS Store).
But, kept all My Documents files.

System feels a lot less laggy now.

FF, and Opera were synced so, extension installation and losing bookmarks are not of concern this time.

System was up and usable by 3PM today.