C2D T7200 Processing Problems

Hello,
First I'll give details of my computer, then describe the problem I'm having...

-Dell XPS1210
-C2D T7200 2.0ghz
-2GB RAM
-Nvidia Gefore Go 7400 (unfortunately that's the best I could get)
-80gb, 7200RPM hard drive with about 20gb's free space
-Vista Home

Now the problem, along with the past normalities:


PAST:
When I got the computer prior to coming to Japan to study abroad, the computer was extremely fast, and almost never had any problems with processing capability. It rarely if ever slowed down regardless of what I was running.

In the past I was able to run an antivirus prog, windows defender, anti-spyware, windows sidebar (with around 5 things in the side bar), IE with anywhere from 3-8 tabs, windows live messenger, The Lord of the Rings Online game, and windows media player for some music. Only occasionally would the graphics during the game slow, but other than that I had no problems. Also my CPU% usage never hit 100%. Nor did the frequency if I remember right.

NOW/PROBLEM:
However within the past month or so I've noticed some problems. It seems I'm often hitting 100% CPU usage and staying there, and everything seems bogged down. This would be only from running anti-virus prog, anti-spy, windows defender, windows sidebar, windows media for watching something or listening to music, and internet explorer. Even if I cut some of those out, but left windows media player or media center going I'd still have the problem. Sometimes I'd have it with just internet explorer (facebook.com).

I decided maybe I got something on the computer that my anti-virus hasn't detected since defrags and disk cleanups didn't help... so I reformatted. Right after the reformat I put avast anti virus on and used windows defender. I haven't added any additional anti-spy stuff yet, not really sure whats all that good anymore. Also using windows live messenger.

After the reformat and reinstall I'm still experiencing the same problem. I'm only running anywhere from 35-40 processes. CPU frequency seems to almost always be stuck at 50%, only just a minute ago did it jump to 66%. I don't know how to control that... is that a way?

I'm almost always running around 100% CPU usage when I'm multitasking. Or even just using windows media center or player, and windows live messenger. Or a game (LOTRO) and windows live...

I can't seem to find a way to fix this. It makes the computer run dreadfully slow. Enough that i want to throw the laptop (I never would of course). I almost never see my RAM usage go above 45%.

Any help would be appreciated... I have no idea why this is happening, even after the reformat. I've run various diagnostics through vista and nothing seems to be causing any problems or faulty hardware...

Thanks for the help.

 

Just a question but are you getting speedstepped? Have you monitored what your ACTUAL CPU frequency is? I.e. your machine may be throttling your CPU down to save power but it could be causing you to constantly run the CPU at a higher amount because of this. Just a thought.

 

"Ctrl" + "Alt" + "Del" to pull up Task Manager, click "processes" what is using your CPU.

 

First, defrag your computer, then use a registry cleaner and get rid of the buildup. Use a few more programs to sweep for viruses/spyware, like AVG or Spybot. Finally, use HijackThis to create a log and post it up on that website so people can help you out further.