System idle process

  • Thread starter Thread starter RuthlessIX
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RuthlessIX

I use my laptop to play an MMoRPG Game and I noticed it runs extremely slower
than a few months back. I also noticed the System Idle Process is running and
using 90% of the cpu. Is there anything I can do to speed up my computer or
to stop the System Idle Process from using up all the CPU?
 
The idle process is running because system has nothing else it can do until
some other process such as a disk retrieval or receipt of some data over the
network completes. If you do not defrag your disk regularly maybe you
should do so to reduce the clock time required to retrieve a file from
disk.
 
So defragmenting the disks may fix the problem? It is on Windows Vista and it
had been defragmenting often as far as I know.
 
It sounds like defragging again will not resolve the issue.
Apparently the game is waiting for data to come off of either the program
file on the disk of from the paging file.
How much main memory do you have?
How big is your paging file?
Do you have a ReadyBoost flash drive/card installed?
 
I use my laptop to play an MMoRPG Game and I noticed it runs extremely slower
than a few months back. I also noticed the System Idle Process is running and
using 90% of the cpu. Is there anything I can do to speed up my computer or
to stop the System Idle Process from using up all the CPU?
Click to expand...


"System Idle Process" is not any problem at all. That's just the name
for what the system is doing when it's not doing anything. It's there
to make the total add up to 100%.

Look elsewhere for the cause of your slowdown. These days that's often
symptomatic of malware infection. I recommend that you begin
troubleshooting by going to MVP Malke's malware removal site at
http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Removing_Malware and
following the instructions there.
 
RuthlessIX said:
I use my laptop to play an MMoRPG Game and I noticed it runs extremely slower
than a few months back. I also noticed the System Idle Process is running and
using 90% of the cpu. Is there anything I can do to speed up my computer or
to stop the System Idle Process from using up all the CPU?
Click to expand...


Break out a dictionary and look up the word "idle," sometime. ;-}
The "System Idle Process" metric is the amount/percentage of time that
your CPU has *nothing* to do. A reading of 98-99% is generally
considered a good thing, and readings above 90% are normal. Think of
it like a car's engine idling in your driveway before you place the
car in gear.


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~ Denis Diderot
 
Hi, Yancy.

And do you turn off your car's key when the traffic light turns red? Or do
you let the engine idle until the light turns green?

That's what the "system idle process" is doing much of the day. Computers
are so fast that, even for the fastest typist writing a letter in Word, for
example, MOST of the computer's time is spent waiting for the next
keystroke. Idling. And the faster the computer, the more time it has to
idle. Even when multi-tasking a dozen applications at once, the computer
usually has plenty of "free" time when it is just idling, waiting to see if
we are going to press the Start button or do something else to interrupt it.
and I've NEVER had Systerm Idle Process until the last two or three
weeks.
Click to expand...

Then you must not have ever looked for it before. Because it HAS been
idling.

In Task Manager, on the Processes tab, make sure the CPU column is displayed
and sorted with the biggest number at the top. If you don't see "System
Idle Process" at the top, then look at the bottom of this window to the box
labeled, "Show processes from all users". Check this box and watch the
display change. Don't be surprised if you see System Idle Process at the
top with a BIG number in the CPU column. At this moment, I have a
half-dozen applications running in the background, plus I'm drafting this
post, and, of course, Task Manager itself is running. Still the System Idle
Process is getting 98-99% of CPU time. The CPU is just idling, waiting for
me to "step on the gas" - to give it something MORE to do. ;^}

It's A Good Thing!

RC
--
R. C. White, CPA
San Marcos, TX
(e-mail address removed)
Microsoft Windows MVP
(Running Windows Live Mail 2009 in Win7 Ultimate x64 7000)
 
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