My Dell Dimension 9150 desktop using Windows XP has Pentium (R) D CPU 2.8 GHZ, 3.0 G Ram, with 148 GB hard drive with 138 GB free is constantly locking up and losing internet connectivity when no more than two small applications being used. CPU use spikes suddenly from around 2% to 8 % normal to 95% to 100%. What could cause the huge spikes that occur every few minutes?

3/11/2009 6:48:23 PM

Go into Task Manager and click on the Processes tab and just monitor the CPU column. Obviously just ignore System Idle Process.

3/11/2009 7:57:33 PM

Thanks for suggestion. I am unalbe to monitor 41 applications quickly enough. I was able to see that TeaTimer.exe spiked from 0 to 29% and IntuitUpdateService spiked from 0 to 22%. What is TeaTimer?

3/11/2009 8:18:59 PM

the integrated 'wtf r u doin?' function of spybot snd

3/11/2009 8:30:34 PM

Thanks. Are you recommending that I delete spybot? I did catch iexplore.exe spiking to 54%. Are these spikes in normal expected range for this fairly large capacity desktop?

3/11/2009 8:33:57 PM

uh, sort the damn things by which is using the most. note ones that spike or are constantly at the top. this isn't rocket science.

3/11/2009 8:50:58 PM

yeah, sort them by CPU utilization by clicking on the CPU column

look and see which ones hover around the top

it shouldn't be locking up like that, there's something else going on

3/11/2009 8:57:16 PM

HEY EVAN

WHY DON'T YOU COPY MY POST OR SOMETHING

jk

3/11/2009 8:58:52 PM

For us that are not tech savvy this is close to rocket science and that is why I am seeking help. I do not know how to sort the processes or slow down the monitoring speed. My old laptop which was not nearly as fast and did not have as much RAM as this Dell Dimension did not lockup on spikes like the desktop is now doing and I am trying to figure out what I can do to eliminate the lockups.

3/11/2009 9:00:39 PM

you click at the top of the categories to make it sort.

3/11/2009 9:01:21 PM

Thanks for the tip on how to sort the processes. I have detected iexplore.exe and TeaTimer.exe both spiking around 50% to 54%. Do these spike ranges seem normal for a desktop with 3.0 G Ram?

3/11/2009 9:12:21 PM

what the hell is teatimer? have you installed something that you would relate to being called TeaTimer??


nvm. http://www.file.net/process/teatimer.exe.html

k nvmi guess it has some good features. but still takes a lot of resources. personally i'd get rid of it.

[Edited on March 11, 2009 at 9:19 PM. Reason : asf]

3/11/2009 9:18:53 PM

Reinstall spybot if you want without checking the teatimer option. I never use it on client's machines because usually it just takes up CPU cycles and it's fucking annoying.

iexplore might be spiking because of some adware/malware you picked up.

http://www.malwarebytes.org/ download, install and run this

http://live.sunbeltsoftware.com/Download/ download, extract, run this

Quote :

"Method 4: Reset Internet Explorer 7 settings To determine whether a performance issue or an error message is caused by configuration settings, reset Internet Explorer 7 to its default configuration. This was its state when Windows Vista was originally installed. To do this, follow these steps: 1. Open Internet Explorer 7. 2. Click Tools, and then click Internet Options. 3. Click the Advanced tab. 4. Under Reset Internet Explorer Settings, click Reset. For more information about the changes that occur when you reset Internet Explorer 7 settings, see the following article in Windows Help:"

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/936213

3/11/2009 9:29:53 PM

Thanks for all of the helpful advice. I need to sort through my options. I truly appreciate the assistance.

3/11/2009 9:41:21 PM

tech talk: actually helpful sometimes

3/11/2009 10:00:38 PM