PF usage? :$

[deadcert]

Actually i don't know what to call my thread or what i want help with. :S :$

My pc is left on 24/7. I came down this morning and the fans were running loudly which alarmed me for starters and is not usual. I restarted my pc which shut them up. I opened up msn and IE with 3 tabs open and the fans went loud again and my pc was very slow. I looked at the windows task manager and the PF usage bit was really high - it was at 2.00 gb...i don't actually know what this stands for...I don't a lot about these things :$
Anyhow, I closed down IE and opened firefox instead. For about 5 minutes everything was quiet and fine then it did the same as before and everything is really slow. The PF usage (this might not even be relevant but I've never seen it high like that before and i was just trying to spot what was wrong) was high but not quite as high in IE. I've done a couple of screenshots which I'll post in a moment.
I have msn running right now and 2 tabs open on firefox and everything is quiet but as soon as i start to work on them or refresh them everything gets noisy.
Can anyone help? Am i panicking about nothing? :$
Sorry for the long post but I'm not good with technical things.(f)

http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i307/deadcert/ugh2.jpg

hopefully this is a little pic of the system running with firefox and msn.

http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i307/deadcert/better.jpg

and this should be one of it after i closed firefox down.

Help anyone? (f)

[deadcert]

Sorry for double post (f)

I just opened another tab on firefox and the cpu usage went high and fans going again.

I have got a pic if you need it but basically cpu went to 100% and PF usage was on 1.08GB.

I closed one of the tabs and everything has gone quiet again. Is it just overloaded with stuff? If it is where do I look to find out?

Thanks in advance.(f)

[deadcert]

I did look at that smokie...I don't know what half of them are...lots of silly letters which mean nothing to me :S

[TJ60]

I've got the same problem right now, and i don't know 3/4 of what they stand for:$

[deadcert]

I'm googling them all at the moment :$

I've only managed to get rid of two so far...quite a few seem connected with my panda AV. I'll keep going and i'm making a note of them all.

[deadcert]

Maybe i exaggerated, I've checked 22 so far and 6 have been panda...it seemed a lot to me.

[TJ60]

yea i've got the same problem as carol, 450mb pf usage when i have msn and Ie7 open. I have like 50 something processes running:$

[tca]

msn and IE are huge processor hogs, i have this problem quite commonly, i nuxed half my process list n just leave the computer be for a couple of hours

usually fixes it for me

[Zeus]

http://www.liutilities.com/products/wintaskspro/processlibrary/system/

here is a list of system processes and it recommends what to do with them if you have em running.

[Santo]

Uhmm im thinking that dusting the fans and the motherboard might be a good thing. From my expirience also when ever a fan starts to go loud and dusting them does nothing usually means the power supply is a bit loose or might be frying.

[TraPStaR]

Panda has been known for Memory useage but not normally overheating a PC... I used to run Panda and it has like 10 - 12 processes... if you want to test it as a problem... uninstall it for a day and get a free AV such as Zonealarm trial, AVG, Avast.... anything along those lines while your testing this....

If this is a laptop i would recommend buying a cheap fan cooling system thats powered by USB for under it since you leave it on 24/7.

If this is a desktop.... try cleaning the fan areas inside the computer as well as the vents. Clean the RAM also with a NON STATIC cloth. (unplug computer)
Clean the Heatsink thats with the Processor and the fan for the processor also. Buy a can or compressed air for a couple dollars and spray everything out after you cleaned it all by hand with a NON STATIC cloth then plug it back in and see if that helps.

Part of maintaining the PC is keep the components cleaned inside.... dust build up causes noises, overheating, memory loss, PF increase, and Processor usage...

If you dont feel comfortable doing these things, find a friend that would, its normally harmless and can't really do any damage... just NO MAGNETS NEAR THE PC... lol

Let me know the make and model and i could even walk ya through it more than likely...

[the myth]

my comp runs 24 processes at 198mb

fire wall,msn,dopewars and dw fourm all running right now not to mention task manger and yes i use ie7

50 processes
that seams like way to many

[Pleb]

There's a handy little program called Autoruns which you can get here (http://www.microsoft.com/technet/sysinternals/utilities/Autoruns.mspx)

It shows everything that runs at startup and lets you disable any process.

[Santo]

Yep, i have 48 process, and have msn with 3 windows open, ie7 with 2 tabs open, outlook and autocad open, i think that having a lot of proiles in a computer also increases the number of process because many windows tasks open in each profile, causing slow downs and cpu usage

[Dietryin]

Yep, i have 48 process, and have msn with 3 windows open, ie7 with 2 tabs open, outlook and autocad open, i think that having a lot of proiles in a computer also increases the number of process because many windows tasks open in each profile, causing slow downs and cpu usage

i dont now how to even find how many i got running :(
how do i get that page up ?

[Santo]

ctrl+alt+del

[Dietryin]

ctrl+alt+del
very nice thanks

ok can i fuck any thing up on this page ?

[TJ60]

my comp runs 24 processes at 198mb

fire wall,msn,dopewars and dw fourm all running right now not to mention task manger and yes i use ie7

50 processes
that seams like way to many

Trapstar saw my Process page yesterday..that was after i was naming them one by one and got tired of typing lol


smokie the latest version of msn

[Dymond]

Well first question for Deadcert is Laptop or Desktop machine? My laptop fans spin up all the time when I doing something CPU intensive.

Secondly because the pagefile is large does not neccessarily mean its being used..That is the reserved HD space windows sets aside in case you start doing things that require more ram than you currently have available. The pagefile is also known as the swapfile too in case your wondering what the hell it is.

I think the down in dirty of DC's problem is finding out what is pegging the CPU although her screen shots don't show the CPU getting maxed. So I would begin by looking at some external issues such as clogged power supplies, CPU fans,northbridge chipsets etc...

[tca]

i average 43 processes

[deadcert]

Panda has been known for Memory useage but not normally overheating a PC... I used to run Panda and it has like 10 - 12 processes... if you want to test it as a problem... uninstall it for a day and get a free AV such as Zonealarm trial, AVG, Avast.... anything along those lines while your testing this....

If this is a desktop.... try cleaning the fan areas inside the computer as well as the vents. Clean the RAM also with a NON STATIC cloth. (unplug computer)
Clean the Heatsink thats with the Processor and the fan for the processor also. Buy a can or compressed air for a couple dollars and spray everything out after you cleaned it all by hand with a NON STATIC cloth then plug it back in and see if that helps.

Part of maintaining the PC is keep the components cleaned inside.... dust build up causes noises, overheating, memory loss, PF increase, and Processor usage...

If you dont feel comfortable doing these things, find a friend that would, its normally harmless and can't really do any damage... just NO MAGNETS NEAR THE PC... lol

Let me know the make and model and i could even walk ya through it more than likely...
Thank you for your reply (f)
I'm not convinced that panda is causing a problem although it ended up being 9 out of the 52 processes that were running at the times I googled them all but i won't rule it out as something to keep an eye on.

I didn't think to say it isn't a laptop...it is a desktop.

I had no intention of opening up myself and fiddling inside at all but whilst talking to a friend last night i fiddled with it and just one screw had the side off. :$

He held my hand as i dusted it out...some of that compressed air would have been handy but I tried to be gentle and blew. It definitely needed a clean out :$

At the time of cleaning my pc had been running quietly all afternoon. Since cleaning it the cpu usage goes up for no reason...when I say this, I mean that i am not opening a program or doing anything. :S I think i'll give it some time to adjust to being clean lol
Well first question for Deadcert is Laptop or Desktop machine? My laptop fans spin up all the time when I doing something CPU intensive.

Secondly because the pagefile is large does not neccessarily mean its being used..That is the reserved HD space windows sets aside in case you start doing things that require more ram than you currently have available. The pagefile is also known as the swapfile too in case your wondering what the hell it is.

I think the down in dirty of DC's problem is finding out what is pegging the CPU although her screen shots don't show the CPU getting maxed. So I would begin by looking at some external issues such as clogged power supplies, CPU fans,northbridge chipsets etc...
hello dymond, desktop. :)
pleb sent me a very detailed explanation of pf usage (thank you, p) and with yours as well I have a much greater understanding of it than i did yesterday. (f)
Yes, I think you are right that I need to find out what is 'pegging' (starting off??) my cpu usage. If you look at the 1st pic I posted although the usage shown is low if you look at the graph it shows the erratic nature of the cpu and therefore the fans. I took another screenshot this morning which shows it as high for some time and at 100%.
As you can see above, i told Trapstar that I had given it a general clean out last night, paying special attention to the fans. I've just googled northbridge chipsets and it means very little to me :$

Thank you for your help, I'm still not too sure what is making the fans go intermittantly...although I have 50-odd processes the only one showing any significant cpu usage is the System Idle Process which is at 99.
The only other thing that i really notice is that when I refresh a page the cpu usage goes up and the fans come on which isn't something I am used to it doing.

I'm terribly sorry about this long post :$ Thank you everyone for your replies..I've learnt quite a bit about my pc in the last 24 hours even if it isn't quite right yet. :) (f)

[-=REMO=-]

I can't believe nobody has suggested this in 2 1/2 pages...SPYWARE!

Sounds to me like you've got some hardcore spyware on your system, deadcert. I've tried to replicate what you're describing and haven't been able to come close 1 gb of page file usage let alone 1.5 (and yes Dy, PF usage is how much is used, not how much is allocated) admittedly I haven't installed Panda AV as I have no desire to remove my current AV, however I would imagine that that's not the cause of your problem.

High page file usage when performing actions on the internet such as page refreshes, and CPU usage spikes, suggest to me that you've got either a virus or spyware trying to send information out to it's creator but trying to pretend that your browser is using the system resources. Seeing as you have Anti-virus installed I would imagine that it's spyware, trying running spybot (http://www.spybot.info/) and seeing if something shows up, and possibly some other anti-spyware programs (I'm a bit out of the loop on this stuff so if some other people could make some sugggestions...) and see if that fixes your problem, if not it might be worth trying some other anti-virus as panda may be missing something...

[anti-duck]

Sorry in advance for the long rambling post, I have a lot of words in me :P

1. We've already heard what the pagefile is, it's just a spot on the harddisk for storing information temporarily once the main memory runs out. I don't think anyone has mentioned that one of the first things Firefox does when it starts up is reserve as much of the pagefile as it can for storing data temporarily. This explaing why your PF usage goes up to the max when you load up Firefox. This doesn't slow down your system in any way, Firefox is just using resources that would otherwise go to waste, and it's nothing to worry about.

2. I'm sure you already guessed this but the 'system idle' process in the task manager isn't a real program, it's just the amount of time your CPU is spending doing nothing. If none of your the programs are doing work that should be around 99%.

3. When you load a webpage your computer is doing a lot of work to figure out what the page looks like. During this time the usage will typically go up very high and once it's finished loading the page it'll drop back to zero again. The spikes in CPU usage are most likely just from where you're loading a webpage. Just playing around with my system I can make it go from 1% usage to 48% just by hitting the preview button below this post. There's lots of other reasons for CPU usage to spike as well, virus scanners kicking in, messenger programs doing background work and all sorts of other stuff so it's probably nothing to worry about. Also you can sort processes by CPU usage under the 'Processes' tab by clicking on the 'CPU Usage' heading to see what's causing the spikes in CPU usage.

4. As others have mentioned the fans are kicking in because the CPU is getting too hot. The more work your computer does the more heat it generates, typically CPU's operate around 30-50 C when idling but a friend of mine has a laptop that hits 95 C when it's working hard. Heat buildup is dangerous so the fans are turning on to dissipate it. Cleaning out all the dust should help because dust can clog air vents.

It might help to download to monitor the CPU temperature and fan speed. If you have an Intel machine (anything with a Pentium) try downloading Intel Active Monitor (http://www.intel.com/design/motherbd/active.htm) and seeing what temperature your computer is running at. If you have and AMD machine give SpeedFan (http://www.almico.com/sfdownload.php) a try. Have a play with it, see what happens to the temperature as you use the computer and report back :)

Also I have 69 processes running right now :cool:

[deadcert]

Hello Remo, I did AV and spyware checks yesterday but I've done them again today...everything clear, thank you (f)

____________________

Hello michael, thank you for letting some of your words out lol

Sorry in advance for the long post that I'm just about to do :)
no.1 - it has taken several explanations but I'm finally understanding.
no.2 - yes :$
no.3 - thanks to someone else (i've been very lucky with all this help (f) ) explaining the CPU usage to me yesterday and how just loading a page would make it go up I now understand that too. I'm now guilty of obsessively watching the CPU usage :$
no.4 - yay, something else to obsess over :$ No, all joking aside this has to be a good idea to look at the temperatures (f)
I tried to download the one for intel pentium but it gave me a warning message and said I didn't have a pentium...which i do :S so I downloaded the other one.

Test results:
SpeedFan whilst running msn, 1 IE window and SpeedFan:

Fan1: 1254 RPM
Fan2: 1707 RPM
Temperatures:
Ambient: 31C (ticked)
Remote1: 53C (little flame by it - oh dear)
Remote2: 31C (ticked)
HD0: 42C (ticked)
Temp1: 48C (ticked)
CPU low and quiet during this time.

Speedfan whilst running msn, 2 IE windows (refreshing one window twice) and running one program - adaware:

Fan1: 2731 RPM
Fan2: 4096 RPM
Temperatures:
Ambient: 31C (ticked)
Remote1: 66C (little flame by it - oh dear)
Remote2: 31C (ticked)
HD0: 42C (ticked)
Temp1: 48C (ticked)
CPU jigging about between 50 and 70 but spiking up occasionally to higher - the Remote1 temp also spiked up to 74 and Fan2 went up to 4276 at one point.

Remote1 seems to show something wrong with the little flame.

[Dymond]

DC..it does look like you have variable fans just like my laptop does..The more load you put on the processor (and the warmer it gets) the faster the fans will spin to dissipate heat. I'm wondering where ole Remote 1 is though...kind of a hot spot! Could be by the hard drive..those tend to get a bit warm during use. I was wondering..You never mentioned what kind of processor and how much memory you have. You can easily see those by Right-clicking on 'My Computer' and choosing properties. It will show right there on the general tab under 'Computer'.

[deadcert]

DC..it does look like you have variable fans just like my laptop does..The more load you put on the processor (and the warmer it gets) the faster the fans will spin to dissipate heat. I'm wondering where ole Remote 1 is though...kind of a hot spot! Could be by the hard drive..those tend to get a bit warm during use. I was wondering..You never mentioned what kind of processor and how much memory you have. You can easily see those by Right-clicking on 'My Computer' and choosing properties. It will show right there on the general tab under 'Computer'.

hello :)

info from My Computer:
Windows XP home edition
Pentium(R) 4 CPU 3.06GHz
3.07GHz 0.99 GB Ram

Also I've sent you a PM dymond. (f)

[-=REMO=-]

I don't think anyone has mentioned that one of the first things Firefox does when it starts up is reserve as much of the pagefile as it can for storing data temporarily. This explaing why your PF usage goes up to the max when you load up Firefox. This doesn't slow down your system in any way, Firefox is just using resources that would otherwise go to waste, and it's nothing to worry about.

Problem with that theory is that firefox doesn't work like that, it only reserves about 50mb-100mb not 500mb-1gb, hell, it doesn't even reserve all my RAM let alone all my possible page file. Unless of course you're running and older version.

What version of Firefox are you running deadcert? If it's older 2.0 I'd recommend getting the latest version, that might solve your problems.

[Dymond]

She's got about a GB of RAM buit less than 1/2 available.

[deadcert]

What version of Firefox are you running deadcert? If it's older 2.0 I'd recommend getting the latest version, that might solve your problems.

I'm running version 2 of firefox and version 7 of IE.

[steff]

You should try Opera - purely to see if it happens with all browsers.

[deadcert]

Me again :$ lol

Steff, I haven't tried opera...maybe i will :)

Having spent the last couple of days watching SpeedFan and my pc still doing the same thing I was preparing to ring HP this morning and thinking I might need it to be looked at and possibly taken away from me :S

Anyhow, i didn't turn it off last night...old habits die hard, I forgot.

This morning, I have all the usual things on but it is happier. When the CPU usage goes high there is a gentle whirr of the fans but not loud whirring or high speeds. I'm watching speedfan and can see they are staying calm.

I haven't configured Speedfan as I don't know what the ideal settings of the pc are but the Remote1 temperature had dropped to below 50C which I have now discovered is the trigger for a 'flame' to appear as that is what it is configured for. The instructions say that isn't necessarily cause for concern but I don't know what the ideal temp. should be so I won't fiddle with the settings.

I've run my pc with various programmes, I've refreshed pages and the fans are kicking in when they need to and not in such a crazy way. They are kicking in when I have lots of things running and push it...not just when I refresh a page and when the fans do go louder they seem to get things under control in a quicker time.

So, my fingers are crossed that it has decided it is happier all on it's own but I'll be keeping my eye on it lol.

Thank you for all advice and help given (f)...I've learnt a bit which I maybe should have learnt a long time ago instead of just thinking that making my AV and firewall are always up to date was enough :$ lol.

I'm not promising that i won't be back to whinge if it starts making me jump again lol. Thanks again for putting up with me and my long posts :) (f)

[deadcert]

Carol do you have a thermometer on your cpu?

I don't know, Scott but i'm using SpeedFan which michael talked about up there ^^^ in his post. Speedfan shows the speed of the fans, and the temperatures of things. Here is a screen shot of it this morning being happy lol.


http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i307/deadcert/happypc.jpg

[steff]

Steff, I haven't tried opera...maybe i will :)

If you do it'll give you an idea of whether it's a browser memry leak (?) or if it's your PC in general.

[Dymond]

DC..Honestly if the PC is in warranty it wouldn't hurt to give HP a call and explain to them what is happening..