System Idle process..? CPU usage 99%?

[niksuto]

My computer freezes up and tends to slow everything down after using it for a couple of hours on end. When I look in the processes tab in task manager the process with the highest count is "System Idle Process".(usually around 90) is this normal is it some bug or virus? Is there any way of keeping my CPU from firing up to 99% for no reason?


Thanks for reading.

 

greets,

[Hirad123]

Do you fold/have you ever folded.

[Sarcasm]

It does nothing. It's Window's way to use up all the clock cycles that aren't being used if I'm not mistaken.

[niksuto]

Do you fold/have you ever folded.

I have never done anything like that, nope.

[niksuto]

It does nothing. It's Window's way to use up all the clock cycles that aren't being used if I'm not mistaken.

It does a lot it seems. My laptop heats up and starts lagging. Quite annoying, only way to stop it is to restart the system which I'm not fond of doing.

[Sarcasm]

It does a lot it seems. My laptop heats up and starts lagging. Quite annoying, only way to stop it is to restart the system which I'm not fond of doing.

Well mines is showing itself at 89, and it's not generating any heat. It might be a bug with yours, but the Idle Process is just to eat up those cycles. And what's wrong with restarting a system?

[Levent]

Control Panel > Power Settings > Enable Balanced Power State.

also that process shows you the CPU time that cpu wasnt under load, it has nothing to do with overheating.

[niksuto]

Well mines is showing itself at 89, and it's not generating any heat. It might be a bug with yours, but the Idle Process is just to eat up those cycles. And what's wrong with restarting a system?

It really breaks my workflow haha, but then again taking a break from sitting at my desk the whole time might be a good thing.

[niksuto]

Control Panel > Power Settings > Enable Balanced Power State.

Could it be that the minimum processor state was set to 100? I didn't change this myself but it seems to be one of the differences between power saver and high performance. Should I be tweaking the minimum maybe?

[SkilledRebuilds]

"System Idle process" on EVERY computer will have high numbers like 99%, meaning its 99% idle.

Amongst the other process's in windows taking up a few percent here and there making System Idle go down a tad but back up to 98-99% again when idle.

 

"Because of the idle process's function, its CPU time measurement (visible through Task Manager) may make it appear to users that the idle process is monopolizing the CPU. However, the idle process does not use up computer resources (even when stated to be running at a high percent), but is actually a simple measure of how much CPU time is free to be utilized. If no ordinary thread is able to run on a free CPU, only then does the scheduler select that CPU's System Idle Process thread for execution. The idle process, in other words, is merely acting as a sort of placeholder during "free time"."

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/System_Idle_Process

[Levent]

Could it be that the minimum processor state was set to 100? I didn't change this myself but it seems to be one of the differences between power saver and high performance. Should I be tweaking the minimum maybe?

i thought that was it at first too but now i tried it it makes no difference it creates no real load for cpu under load but if you want cpu to run cool while idling set it %1 as minimum value 

[niksuto]

"System Idle process" on EVERY computer will have high numbers like 99%, meaning its 99% idle.

Amongst the other process's in windows taking up a few percent here and there making System Idle go down a tad but back up to 98-99% again when idle.

 

"Because of the idle process's function, its CPU time measurement (visible through Task Manager) may make it appear to users that the idle process is monopolizing the CPU. However, the idle process does not use up computer resources (even when stated to be running at a high percent), but is actually a simple measure of how much CPU time is free to be utilized. If no ordinary thread is able to run on a free CPU, only then does the scheduler select that CPU's System Idle Process thread for execution. The idle process, in other words, is merely acting as a sort of placeholder during "free time"."

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/System_Idle_Process

The problem I'm encountering is that there is as high of a usage as System Idle process is using. not sure if it's a bug or something else. 

[Darell3]

Im using a desktop and i only idle at 3-4%. Check your processes and check whats eating up all your CPU

[niksuto]

Im using a desktop and i only idle at 3-4%. Check your processes and check whats eating up all your CPU

I did check, and it's system idle process when my computer isn't crashing my CPU usage bounces between 5 and 30%

[Darell3]

I did check, and it's system idle process when my computer isn't crashing my CPU usage bounces between 5 and 30%

Do you have any widgets on your background etcc?

[niksuto]

Do you have any widgets on your background etcc?

I run rainmeter, but I've been having these problems way before I installed that.

[Darell3]

I run rainmeter, but I've been having these problems way before I installed that.

type 'msconfig' into run and go to services tab and uncheck some services that you think is not necessary and go to startup programs and stop some programs that you dont use etc..

[niksuto]

type 'msconfig' into run and go to services tab and uncheck some services that you think is not necessary and go to startup programs and stop some programs that you dont use etc..

I killed a bunch of stuff and disabled it. I'll see if it keeps reoccurring, if it does. It's time for A fresh install of Windows anyways, it's been a few months since I cleaned it up. 

[Darell3]

I killed a bunch of stuff and disabled it. I'll see if it keeps reoccurring, if it does. It's time for A fresh install of Windows anyways, it's been a few months since I cleaned it up. 

Ahhhok, do a clean up download and install CCleaner.

[Godlygamer23]

System Idle Process doesn't eat up CPU. It's only telling you that the CPU is running at so-and-so percentage idle. The higher the number, the lower the CPU usage.

[iPhoenix]

This is 100% normal behavior.  When the CPU is not being used, extra cycles are spent on this "empty" process.  You aren't actually using the CPU.  There is a reason why Windows 7 hides this process by default. 

[Godlygamer23]

This is 100% normal behavior. When the CPU is not being used, extra cycles are spent on this "empty" process. You aren't actually using the CPU. There is a reason why Windows 7 hides this process by default.

The process isn't using any cycles. It's simply displaying how much of the CPU isn't doing anything. If it were using all those extra cycles, idle temperatures would seem like load temperatures.

[colonel_mortis]

Down on the status bar at the bottom of task manager, look at CPU usage and it should be 100-system idle process usage. System idle process is, as everyone else has already pointed out, just a placeholder for what you're not using.

[niksuto]

Down on the status bar at the bottom of task manager, look at CPU usage and it should be 100-system idle process usage. System idle process is, as everyone else has already pointed out, just a placeholder for what you're not using.

I have been looking at these stats, and the ones of rain meter and even the windows CPU usage gadget they all show 99% when my computer slows down and pretty much crashes.

The problem being, that System Idle Process is the only thing in task manager that displays this much usage.

I know that it's a place holder, but it seems to be actually using those cycles. My computer becomes unusable because of all the cycles are being used.

[niksuto]

The process isn't using any cycles. It's simply displaying how much of the CPU isn't doing anything. If it were using all those extra cycles, idle temperatures would seem like load temperatures.

It is using up all my cycles. My laptop heats up, The fan starts going crazy and everything starts to slow down and crash.

 

It happens from time to time mostly after 4/5 hours of normal usage.