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CPUusage 100% causing heating/restarting

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Hi,

More often than not, whenever I’m using Explorer (Windows, not Internet) and especially when I copy-paste stuff from one drive to another, the usage shoots up to 100%.
Then the processor heats up from 55 C to 75 C and before the copying ends, the comp restarts.
In fact, anything that barely makes the processor work hard will end up shooting the processor temperature above the critical limit, leading the Intel Active Monitor software to restart the computer.

Its becoming too painful and now I’ve been using my comp with Explorer off and the Task Manager window open. I also shifted my CPU cabinet and keep it open whenever I’m use my comp to allow for ventilation.

Please please PLEASE help!

Thanks,

Kamal

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Check your computer for malware.
Check you have the latest correct motherboard and IDE drivers installed.
If your CPU temperature is becoming critical during operation then there must be something wrong with the cooling. Check that the fan is spinning. Check the seating of the heatsink on the chip. Failing that buy a better cooler and use good quality thermal paste.

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My motherboard is 2.5 years old and it hasn’t given me any such problems except since the last 3-4 weeks. Its a standalone computer and I hardly ever install anything from outside so the chances of it suddenly getting a virus or other spyware is almost nil. There are two fans inside the cabinet – one directly attached over the processor and the other attached behind the Power button on the inside of the cabinet. Both of these fans are working fine all the time.

I need to check the seating of the heatsink of the chip (after understanding what it means) and also find out what thermal paste is.

Any other suggestions?!

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First off, don’t discount the advice from the first poster. You can get malware just by connecting to the Internet – some comes from webpages with Active X, some comes from RPC calls if you don’t have the latest MS Windows patches. You don’t have to install something or double click on something to get malware. Get one of the free tools like Spybot and check.

Having a CPU shoot to 100% while doing a copy is not normal at all – something else is going on.

As for keeping the CPU cool, opening the case often does not help at all. It makes the fans blowing air out less efficient. Look and see if you can add another fan to the case – fans are cheap and its a much better solution.

Hope that helps.

James

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Thermal paste is a gel that is used to conduct heat from the top of the chip’s case to the heat sink. It’s available at Radio Shack and other electronic parts vendors.

if you had to open your case to cool the ssytem, I would suspect that one of the fans is not operating correctly. Get a can of compressed air, take the system outside and blow the dust out of the fans. Also, blow the dust out of the power supply.

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As the others before me are suggesting, clean awya the dust, clean the top of the CPU and the bottom of the Heatsink, then use Thermal Paste (not too much). Then make sure the Heatsink is seated firmly on top of you CPU. Another thing which will help is to add more memory to your system. This will keep it from having to do too much swapping. Make sure your disk has enough free space, delete temporary data, then do a defrag.

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Finally got it fixed. Had to open up the heatsink and found that the bottom metal patch had evaporated. Applied some thermal paste. Seems okay now.
Thanks a lot, everyone.

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If this is a stand alone computer that has never been connected to the internet, the odds of a virus or mal-ware are lower but not zero.

Have you ever installed any “free-ware” programs?
Desktop themes in particular are often bundled with mal-ware.
Even a few commercial programs come with spy-ware.

Still, 55?C is high for an idle CPU temp.

2 1/2 years is long enough for a CPU fan to start to fail.
We run a number of computers 24/7, and our most common failure is cooling fans.

I would start with a new CPU heat-sink and fan.
Most come with a little tube of thermal compound.

Use just enough thermal compound to form a thin layer over the surface of the CPU that makes contact with the heat-sink.

Some CPU heat-sinks have a small colored foamy plastic looking sheet on the surface that connects with the CPU. This is a thermal pad, and works the same as thermal paste.

Another thing to check is the setting for the CPU core voltage. If this is set high, it will cause the CPU to run much hotter than normal.

Chas

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All good responses, but here’s a quick and cheap suggestion.

Check cooling fins in heat sink. I have seen many CPU coolers where the fins were completely clogged with dust and grime. Although the fan was blowing, little or no air was passing through the cooling fins.

If such is the case, blow out as much as possible using canned air. In particularly severe cases, removal and manual cleaning of the CPU cooler is necessary.

Dalton

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Im going to go with some of the other answers. When I have heat troubles with my towers I simply pull the sides off, walk my lazy ars out to the garage, and use the air compressor to blow all the crap out of them. Then, if i find that it is software, I look for “strange???” processes running. Do a Google on whatever wild process is running. Then deal with it the way that the site suggests.

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Just because the fans are turning doesn’t mean they are providing the amount of air necessary to cool the components.

Unhook the computer and take it out side. Using DRY!! compressed air blow out the powersupply and blow off the blades on the fan for the CPU.

You will be shocked by the amount of dust that will come out.

Dust inhibits the airflow, collecting on the fins of the heaksink it keeps heat in.

Good Luck Lee

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