Posted on 08/13/2018 6:36:01 AM PDT by savedbygrace
My PC has been running slowly at times during the past several months. Some time ago, I thought I had done enough troubleshooting to conclude I needed more RAM, so I added 4GB and now have 8GB.
However, the slowness continues. Now I see that when I am loading a new web page in my browser, or a web page update with new content, the CPU usage goes up to 70-90%, and that is when it slows for a while.
I have tried using Waterfox (64-bit version of Firefox) and Edge with the same symptoms and results, so it isn't being caused by the browser.
RAM is nowhere near 100% in use when the slowness happens, or at anytime.
I have a Lenova All-in-One PC that has an Intel Pentium G2030 dual core 3.00GHz processor. The 1TB hard drive has 800GB free space.
Why would the CPU use increase to upwards of 90% at times? Is that normal, or could it be an indication that the PC or the CPU has a problem?
Or is there a setting or two somewhere that would help with this issue?
I forgot to add, after you clear your browser history, close it, wait a few seconds for everything to quiet down, and then restart the browser.
8 gigabytes of memory sounds like a lot but it all depends on what OS your using,what utilities and antivirus programs are running in the background and what kind of ads are running when your using your browser.
Some of those ads will kill your cpu performance big time.
64-bit processor and OS.
Install Ublock Origin and Gostery as plug ins in a plain vanilla firefox. Breitbart, a particularly slow loading site went from more than 5 seconds to sub half second.
These two plugins block the adds and data analytics on the web.
The hard drive may be going bad. Had any shocks or hits to the computer? Once it gets going damage increases exponentially over time and sectors start going bad faster than the system can mark them. It slows down the system because the error recovery on the data takes a lot of processing. Also the computer caches data to the hard drive and when it stores to damaged areas that cache is ruined so it burns CPU cycles rebuilding the lost data that was supposed to let it quickly pick up on a task where it left off.
When my computers mysteriously start slowing and I cannot trace it to a specific program it is the HDD failing.
You need at LEAST 4 cores before worrying about CPU usage. Win10 is a hog. I’m running a 6 core AMD (with a SSD and 24 GB of RAM (overkill)) and have zero CPU issues.
always a good idea to check the system event log periodically.
windows key + r
type “eventvwr.exe”
select “system”
filter current log, select event level “error”
any version of windows.
If you are running hot try cleaning out dust with compressed air.
When my computer chokes up an runs slow, a quick check of Task Manager shows it is almost always someone (usually Microsoft or Adobe) force downloading an update while I’m trying to work.
Second guess is a virus; run a full Windows Defender scan overnight and see if anything turns up. Follow up with the free versions of Malwarebytes and Spybot; if all 3 show nothing, you are probably fine on the malware/spyware/virus front.
CTRL+SHFT+ESC does the sends you straight to the task manager (skips a step)...
oops, meant it does the same thing (AND skips a step)..
Other than heat/overheating, my best guess is that after clearing your internet cache/history, then you may need an updated network controller driver. Determine what the controller is (wired/wireless), find what make/model it is (you should be able to figure this out in the properties page of the controller by going through the network and sharing center) and then look for an updated driver. Otherwise search for a tutorial on how to determine what NIC or wireless card you have.
Might be easiest to go to Lenovo’s website and let them figure it out for you or enter the tag number/whatever there.
When I have used all the investigative methods mentioned by others in this thread... it has almost always led back to Windows 10 itself. Typically it has something to do with some sort of update process gone bad. This is the primary reason why I hate the control that the All Knowing A$$hats at Microsoft have taken away from users. I am shocked that no one has mentioned this earlier in the thread.
Beat me to it while I was writing mine on a tablet.
Yes, by all means check Task Manager.
But, I have to laugh about all of the comments asking you to check cooling, because of something that happened to a hardware-challenged friend a dozen or so years ago.
This guy was a software guy with a particular expertise in Lotus Notes. But, his computer started to exhibit this behavior where it would run for a few minutes, slow down, and then start to make all sorts of errors. His other software friends had him play with the disk, make new “clean” partitions, etc., but nothing helped.
So, I was over there with my high-school kids, and we decided to take the cover off (it was a full-size tower). Yep... it was the cooling. So much lint had accumulated that the fan had burned out completely, and the video card (which was on a phenolic rather than fiberglass substrate) had huge brown burn marks.
We vacuumed it out, put in a new fan, and it was good to go. My friend was totally humiliated watching my kids yuck it up when they saw the problem.
So, by all means check your cooling. By itself, you wouldn’t expect cooling to make you use 90% of CPU when you load a page, but if you’re throttled down ... well that’s different because the CPU would be running at half speed.
Again, Task Manager first, physical inspection next.
With all the mentions of antivirus software:
When you’re in task manager see how many different antivirus programs are running. Running more than one can clog up a CPU.
I’ve found many of the “scanners” like to add their real time antivirus package to be “helpful”.
Large disk drives can get pretty fragmented over time and slow down the response time. It's the first thing I check whenever my Firefox browser (and other things) seem to be bogging down.
Had to show the wife that she needed it (defrag) as well, as she had the same problem.
Auslogic free defrag program also will visually present just how defragmented you disk is when you run it.
Good luck, whatever you find it to be.
CPU & PC temps are 43C, which is 111F. Is that high?
No, it’s not high.
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