My CPU usage is up and I don't know why, possible virus. Please help!

[Madmaxneo]

I am having trouble with high CPU usage (40%) during idle. I have tried many things on the advice of others but so far nothing has worked.
It seems like a couple of items in task manager may be involved. One is associated with scvhost and the other is a sound blaster audio service. But they are each taking up about 15% cpu usage all the time, which isn't normal
My system:
Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit
Core 2 Quad q6700 OCd to 3.4 ghz.
8gb of RAM
GTX 750Ti video card
I have a USB 3.0 PCIe card and a SATA 3 6gb PCIe card that all my drives are running off of right now.

Chrome is my primary browser
This is a summary of what I have done so far:
1. Ran a deep scan with my licensed AVG, found nothing.
2. Uninstalled AVG and installed MSE to see if that helped. It didn't but my PC boots faster now
3. Removed an external drive to see if that helped and I thought it did but the problem came back on the next reboot
4. I restarted my machine 3 times and it finally booted up and the CPU usage stayed low.
5. I was going through my game clients and when I clicked on Uplay it did an update then failed to start and it would not start after that. A short time later I got a BSOD while playing Starcraft 2.
6. After reboot everything ran fine and was able to play a Starcraft 2 scenario no problem. Afterwards the idle CPU usage is back up to 40%.
7. I did some more research found some interesting things in relation to viruses but nothing turned out to be what was causing my issues.
8. I uninstalled some programs that I haven't used in awhile like Team Viewer and a few others to see if that helped but no success.
9. I ran a scan using Anti Malware bytes (non paid version) and it found quite a few items that were questionable (like some kind of rocket extension for Chrome)and removed them. But it didn't help.
10. Ran Security Task Manager and it found one driver to be suspect but it would not tell me which driver it was and did nothing else except ask for me to purchase the full license. I can't afford it right now.
Twice during the above process Windows update reported a number of updates that were directly related to security issues. I thought one time had helped but it didn't.


and that is where I am at now. I am still having the 40% CPU load at idle. I can tell this because I have a Logitech G13 game pad which is set to show me CPU and RAM usage. I double check what it shows me and with task manager and that shows a little higher CPU usage at about 43%.

There are a few things it could be:
A. One person on Techspot said it might be my PSU going bad, it is a possibility.
B. It may be that driver that Security Task Manager said is suspect but I have no way of knowing unless someone can point me to another program that may help find and remove it.
C. It may be the soundblaster drivers as there have been problems with their drivers in the past and I have encountered a few of them. After this post I will un-install then re-install and see if that helps.

Here is a link to the Techspot thread if someone is interested: http/
That goes into everything I posted above a little more.

I hope someone here can help!

Bruce

 

[Havo_k]

try scanning first with ccleaner and then malwarebytes anti malware program.

 

[Brillis Wuce]

Things I can think of...

1. Use MalwareBytes, CCleaner and HijackThis to scan for malware. An antivirus can't pick up advanced malware.
2. Go into your BIOS and check your voltage settings. This could give you a sign if your PSU is going bad.
3. Run a stress test for a good amount of time (Furmark, Unigine). If your PC crashes, there's a good chance it's your PSU.
4. Try using a restore point to a period when this problem didn't exist.
5. Follow all cables in your case to verify they're securely fastened, and reseat anything extra.

 

[Madmaxneo]

Oh, I did forget that I have a fully licensed version of CCleaner and have run it several times after uninstalling every program.
1. I have never heard of Hijack This but I will check it out.
2. Ha I didn't think about that.
3. I have Sisoftware Sandra Lite to run a test. But it might have to wait until tomorrow no time tonight.
4. It's hard to say when this started and I have not set a restore point in awhile. I think I disabled it awhile back because of some other problem and may have forgotten to enable it again.
5. I was planning on pulling out my case this weekend, yes it is a pain to do because it is kind of cramped in here. That will change once I get my new desk.
When I find something I will let you know.

Bruce

 

[StaticDrift]

Man I used to have this issue. Go to task manager, then go to processes, then look for something that has a high cpu usage, right click, go to the location and delete it , even if it is .dll. that worked for my fx 6200. Guranteed it will work for u

 

[scout_03]

i suggest you try this use avast free it have a scan module you could activate as start so it will scan system before the os load on after use ccleaner and malwarebytes free , then this one for the minidump files in plain text http/www.resplendence.com/whocrashed the other on the sensor page and report result http/www.hwinfo.com/download.php and use the hdd test to to check the drive .

 

[Madmaxneo]

i suggest you try this use avast free it have a scan module you could activate as start so it will scan system before the os load on after use ccleaner and malwarebytes free , then this one for the minidump files in plain text http/www.resplendence.com/whocrashed the other on the sensor page and report result http/www.hwinfo.com/download.php and use the hdd test to to check the drive .

I checked the voltage on start up and it all looks good everything is steady. I was also in the process of un-installing the sound blaster programs and the first one I uninstalled was one called Sound Blaster Extras. It was right below the sound blaster Zx one. After I rebooted my CPU usage is back down to almost 0%. Which is promising. I also ran the registry cleaner of CCleaner and it found an unused activeXcom reference in the registry. Maybe that was the culprit. I went and checked and it seems my sound card is still running fine along with still having all of my Sound Blaster control panel functions as I haven't yet deleted the primary program. I am going to try avast free (haven't used that one in awhile) and see what comes up. I will also check out the other two.

The most promising thing so far is that since uninstalling that Sound Blaster extras I have gone through two restarts and so far everything has been fine after both restarts. Any other time I tried this and it worked once another restart would set it back to high cpu usage.

 

[scout_03]

another one i also use and does a good finding thing that ccleaner does not it is this one free http/www.glarysoft.com/

 

[Brillis Wuce]

In CCleaner, look under the Options tab for the Startup section. Remove anything that's not necessary for you in there. CCleaner's version is nice because it's tied in with the registry.

 

[Madmaxneo]

In CCleaner, look under the Options tab for the Startup section. Remove anything that's not necessary for you in there. CCleaner's version is nice because it's tied in with the registry.

That was one of the first things I checked and all is good. Though now I am thinking of disabling avast on startup because it seems to take up some RAM at different times. I re-installed all the Soundblaster Z app and everything still seems to be running smooth. Though my RAM usage seems to be up.

I did run the Avast on start up and I am thinking it didn't find anything because no warning came up and from what I could understand in the text file it saved there seems to be nothing in there either.

@StaticDrift I did that and that is when Windows gave me a warning that a plug and play service has stopped working and had to restart, then it restarted automatically. That is because it was svchost. The other one that was running high was a sound blaster service.

I think that the Sound blaster drivers were corrupted and it got fixed when I uninstalled everything and then re-installed it all. Though the sound blaster updater service did not run correct had a "critical fail" as their warning put it but all is running great so far. I will have to wait until tomorrow and see if it is all still good. I will update as needed.

@scout_03 I have Glary utilities though I haven't installed it yet. Not sure if I will I don't care for to many programs running on start up or in the background while the PC is on. Right now my RAM is up to 33% and it all because of Chrome. Thanks for help so far everyone.

 

[scout_03]

for browser i dont use chrome but firefox and keep only ie for windows update , glary wil tell you witch one run on start up and that you could disable and you could uninstall if after and use it when you want .

 

[Madmaxneo]

for browser i dont use chrome but firefox and keep only ie for windows update , glary wil tell you witch one run on start up and that you could disable and you could uninstall if after and use it when you want .

I'm not sure what you are saying to do. Chrome along with quite a few other programs is disabled in the start menu. I don't like having a lot of programs start with windows. Also, I like using chrome because of it's sync capabilities amongst other things.

It seems I was able to resolve the issue by completely uninstalling then re-installing all the Soundblaster programs. I also ran CCleaner before re-installing everything. So far all has been good for over a day and at least 4 start ups. I contacted soundblaster support on this and should hear back within the next week.
Thanks for all the help!

 

[scout_03]

ok be on if you need again .

 

[scout_03]

the ccleaner and glary could be set not to start up with windows but on demand check in there parameters .