When our computer becomes un responsive either intermittently or continuously it is known as high CPU usage. In such a state the system does not react to any command and the user become idle. In many scenarios the system tends to go slower and slower which may occur due to parallel processing of various software based application which reflects more usage of CPU.
Probables of high CPU usage
When a computer is switched on it boots up fine however when one take the cursor to any icons like windows explorer, my computer ,my documents or any icons in the desktop and clicks it the cursor sometimes changes to an hour glass and remains as it is for several seconds or minutes before it again goes back to the original cursor state .In such a scenario the desired activity do not run and the Windows Task Manager shows explorer.exe at high CPU usage percentage .On repetition of this process the Windows Task Manager shows explorer.exe at even higher CPU usage percentage. High CPU usage can be experienced when one connect to internet through an internal modem .Internal modems have more software component than hardware modem and hence depend more on the CPU to operate . This impacts the system and loads the cpu from light to moderate range decreasing the computer’s performance.
When user print on LPT printer port ,it uses 100 percent CPU till the print job is completed .As a result all other programs slow down drastically that it seems that the system is completely unresponsive . This abnormal behavior affects user who have many programs/application running at one time. Sometime when one resumes his/her laptop from hibernation the laptop may seem to stop responding and Windows Task Manager sometime show 100 percent CPU usage until the user reboot the laptop.
Sometimes when an user installs a real one player software in the system / computer one may feel the performance/speed of the system going down and it takes more time to for windows to load on the system than expected .upon pressing CTRL+ALT+DELETE to open Task manager and eventually clicking the process tab user may find that it shows 100% CPU usage. In such condition it is advisable to end the application /process for a faster recovery and system response.
It is been apparent that we normally come across a high CPU usage when we load software application in the computer / laptop. Hardware installation do not cause much of this problem as for any software application the dependency on the systems’ CPU is much making the CPU busy from rest of the required application and hence the system becomes unresponsive and idle. One way to overcome this high CPU usage is to open very limited software application at the same time or simultaneously or use a computer or laptop with more RAM. If encountering this problem it is advisable to press CTRL+ALT+DELETE to open Task manager and thereafter pressing the process tab the user comes to know which application is using a high CPU and accordingly can end that process to overcome it . Alternately one can press the application Tab in the Task manager window and come to know which application is not responding and accordingly it is advisable to end that application for a better responsive system. If one experience this problem multiple times by opening any application it is advisable to uninstall that application for a better responsive system.
