my laptop is processors are running at really high %'s

my processors are running really high usage. i cant figure out why. before tonight they were runing at about .2%-3% usage. now all the sudden they run between 20%-80% all the time. running Firefox makes it run at 80%. i tried shutting it down and letting it sit for tell it cooled off. but i started it back up and bam!. running even higher. its running so hot now. running at 55c with no load on them. i don't know what to do. any suggestions?

heres my pcs specs

AMD turion 64x2 tl 60 2.0 ghz
3GB ram ddr2
vista home premium
15.4 in screen
160hd. not shure what rpm think its 5400
nvidia 7150M 256mb graphics card. they need to fix those drivers it only runs at 128. any one know the fix for that yet too?

if u need anymore info just ask and tell me where to find it and ill aquire it for u.

 

now its running between 14-20% still odd considering it was running really low the last 2 weeks like i said .2-3% no load but background processoes. and running under current load of firefox and msn msg it was running at like 10% or less. more like 5% but still. and it ran at about 38-45C under low-nil load. 75% at farcry mid settings well defraging at same time.

 

It might be malware (a virus or spyware program). Using Task Manager, can you tell us which process using the most CPU time?

 

i forgot to metion i did that. biggest process is called system, it takes up 10% but that wasent there 2 days ago when i looked at it. i used resorces manager to tell what was using what %'s. but by viewing the processes in the task manager it says that DWM (desktop window manager) is using 45000k of memory.

 

and by watching system for longer than i did before it goes up and down between .29% to about 12% of cpu's. and i did the math and added up what all the processes are using and it adds up to about 8 not the 14-20% speed fan and task manager says its using.

 

Have you run a full system scan with an antivirus program?

There is conflicting information on the system.exe process; but I doubt that it is a system process. More information on this process:

http://www.symantec.com/security_response/writeup.jsp?docid=2005-042211-4441-99

Also:

http://www.file.net/process/system.exe.html

 

yes i run my antivirus 2x a day. its antivira personal edition.
i also run the comodo firewall spyware/virus/other bad things but im not maming a list scaner.
i run ad aware personal edtion
and glary utilitys protection stuff.
i terminated the system.exe process.
well thx for that link. i will block it from starting now.
my laptops processor's usage dropped a little. but its still pretty high considering im not running much but msn msg and firefox.
and background processes. but hopefully blocking that system.exe will stop the 80% thing well im doing nothing. anything else i can run that might help lower usage.

 

Can you name the next 5 processes that are using a lot of CPU time?

 

im so confused by this. just 30sec ago it was running at 100% and it had been for the last 10min. and now all the sudden its at 0.2-3% like it should be. i really have no idea whats wrong with it. could it possibly be super fetch?
and its not so much the processor usage that bothers me, its the fact that because of that its getting pretty hot.

and when its running that high the processes other than system.exe whic i now terminated and quarentiend

firefox 0.5-3 if im loading a page
system (NT kernal and system) -0.5-2%
Resource monitor- with a consistant 1.25%
task manage with a consistant 1.21%
synTPEnh (synaptic touchpad enhancment) 0.25%

there the top 5. sometimes other processes jump up. but not above 2% usage. and never for more than a second.

so where is the extra usage coming from?

 

That list looks pretty normal. Btw, it is normal for CPU usage to erratically spike occasionally; do you mean to say that it consistently stays at 100%?

For now, follow this general checklist for overheating:

1) Check your power settings in Vista
2) Make sure that your fans are working
3) Make sure the vents are not obstructed
4) Clean the unit of any dust using a powerful vacuum cleaner and a canister of compressed air

5) Is the heat actually coming from the CPU?

 

yes it will constantly run between 70-100% when nothing is running and than about 5min after start up it drops.
all fans work
power settings set to performance
nope not very obstucted
new laptop no dust really at all
yes heat is coming from processor 2 im using speed fan to measure temp. processor one is staying cold about 30-35c well processor 2 is 50-55c with no load. and my room is about 65-70F so its not extreamly hot
but now its running at what it should be for the load its under. last night it was alot worse than it is this morning tho. last night is was almost constantly really high, about 60-100% no load way after start up.

 

That is weird. In any case, I am out of ideas. The last thing you can try to do is turn off or exit every single process/program that you're running and find which one is causing this CPU usage by elimination.

 

good idea.but i know which ones are using what amounts.
but right now it running like it should. not at the really high %'s like it does somehtimes. thx for all your help. mabye some one else can shine more light on the subject?

 

i think i figured out what is doing it just aft start up. i believe thats super fetch. cause it stoped after about 3min and dropped down to normal usage.
but it was called.
system (NT kernal and system) was using 30% of processor 2 and 20 % of 1. and than it drops down to normal usage. and the system.exe was what was doing it last night i believe. and i eleiminated that. so now everything is running as it should.