x200/vista - CPU constantly at 100%

my relatively new (2 weeks) x200 is constantly running at 100% CPU usage, resulting in slow performance, and very bad battery life (2 hours on full charge w/ 6 cell med brightness & wifi on.) It is also affecting my video playing with Media Player Classic (all i use), will freeze and lag when cpu fluctuates around 90-100%

programs i have installed:

-windows sidebar: with CPU meter ram meter, calc, all the lenovo add-ons, 2
notepads, calender, calculator
-security programs: Avira antivir w/ Antivir Guard ,BOClean, Spyware blaster, Comodo Firewall Plus, Malwarebytes Anti-Malware, Spybot S&D (+teatimer)
-misc(running): limewire, aim, objectbar, Process Expolorer (from Sysinternals)
-92 proccess running in task manager


can anybody help reduce my cpu usage? the battery life and video lagging is killing me

 

I would start by disabling limewire from running automatically or in the background. Also, use Black Viper's list to tweak running services. Go through your startup with Startup Inspector and weed out the bloatware. Use CCleaner to clean up. Also, load up the task manager and see what program(s) are at the most CPU usage. That will be your answer, in short.

 

i have followed and disabled everything under blackviper's "safe to disable" list.
i use ccleaner every day
I'm not sure whether limewire starting up automatically and me starting it manually will have anything to do with reducing the CPU utilization... (it will still be on eventually)

i'm not talking about startup time, i'm talking about high CPU utilization while in use. or @ idle.

 

Yeah... do that.

Press shift-ctrl-Esc to open task manager, then go to the Processes tab, and click the "Show for all users" button at the bottom. Then click on the CPU column heading to sort the tasks by CPU usage.

 

Holy fack...why so much security? Seems like the primary purpose of your computer right now is to fight baddies

It sounds to me like you more or less know what you are doing...maybe you should consider scrapping all this crap?

I've run my systems with absolutely no antivirus/firewall/anti-malware since windows 3.10 and have never once had a virus/malware/spyware or any sort of security problem. IMHO all of the antivirus etc software is consistently more intrusive on a system compared with actually getting a virus now and again. But like I said, IMO if you have any idea what you are doing online then there is no need for running anti-anything software.

Of course this advice won't sit well with everyone. No need to flame - just a suggestion.

Regarding the high CPU usage - swarmer's advice above is necesssary to follow. In addition, are you running any microsoft live software? I noticed there is a bug in one of the latest beta builds of the live suite which causes 100% CPU use. I think the culprit is live photo gallery beta, but only when other live services are running (messenger and mail for example). Anyway, something to check.

 

yea i'm thinking of doing a factory restore back to the original state.

do i need these lenovo programs??
-access connections
-power manager
-presentation director
-mobile broadband connect
-access Help
-keyboard customizer
-message center
-productivity center


what do u guys keep? i'm thinking only power manager, rescue&recovery, and system update

 

Access Connections and Presentation Director are really nice if you work in several different environments. I can manage all sorts of network connections and display setups with different firewall, static IPs, proxies, homepage, wallpapers, monitor orientations, etc. for each location. However, if you only use 1 or 2 of the same internet connections and displays regularly, then you can probably drop Access Connections and Presentation Director.

 

yea i'm sure they're really useful and powerful programs, but i ONLY use my laptop in home environments, school, and public wifi.

the only time i plan to connect my laptop to a TV is probably once a month. will a presentation director still make things easier for me? can't i ust plug in the VGA cable, sound into the headphones and BAM!??

 

Have you done this yet....?