I have a problem with my Sony laptop. I have Window XP Home edition installed and whenever I turn on the computer within a minute the CPU usage will go to 100%, with the System process taking between 80 and 100% of that. This effectively make the computer unusable. I have tried multiple different ways of formatting and reinstalling the operating system without success, all manner of virus, spyware and malware scans tell me the system is clean and I am at a loss for a resolution to this problem. I have disabled every none major part of the computer to try and remove any possible driver issues, and have previously updated them all to the latest versions. One thing I should mention is that in safe mode the computer runs fine, as I suppose would be expected but thought I should mention it.Any suggestions would be extremely welcome!1 person needs an answerI do too

This is a bit of a guess in the dark, but you may try going into Control Panel->Administrative Tools->Services and make sure your Indexing Service is turned off. Be sure to keep a log of whatever you turn off here so you can turn it back on if you need it later. I have really messed myself up making haphazard changes to this area of WinXP so beware!!!Also, what do you see when you Ctrl-Alt-Del->Task Manager->Processes and sort by CPU Usage?Warning:Absolutely no warranty express or implied comes with this post. The poster will not be held liable for any physical, mental, emotional or financial loss that results from the use of suggestions or information contained in this post. Entities that follow the advise in this post do so at their own risk.

Thanks for the reply, the indexing service is turned off and as I stated in the original post a process with an image name of System run under SYSTEM is taking all the CPU power up.

Hi Ludo,When did you first notice this behavior? Yesterday or longer? Did you update any Windows or Office Programs (Check in Windows Update section). IN SAFE MODE:If nothing else, stupid(?) microsoft and/or your ISP may have activated IPv6 service.To disable/Uninstall, go to MyComputer >right-Click Properties > Device Manager > Networking >>> Disable everything except WAN miniport (IPv4), WAN Miniport Networking Monitor, Networking Controller (for you network card). Then download/install:Bootvis: http://majorgeeks.com/download.php?det=664Autoruns: http://download.sysinternals.com/Files/Autoruns.zipCCleaner: http://download.piriform.com/ccsetup234.exeProcess Explorer: http://download.sysinternals.com/Files/ProcessExplorer.zipPageDefrag: http://download.sysinternals.com/Files/PageDefrag.zipDefraggler:http://download.piriform.com/dfsetup121.exeShellExView: http://www.snapfiles.com/get/shellexview.html Once that is done (all in SAFE MODE), disable as many items in AUTORUNS' HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run HKLM\SOFTWARE\Classes\Protocols\Handler HKLM\Software\Classes\*\ShellEx\ContextMenuHandlers HKLM\Software\Classes\Directory\Shellex\PropertySheetHandlers HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Shell Extensions\Approved HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Shell Extensions\Approved HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Browser Helper Objects Task Scheduler And as many NON-MICROSOFT shell extension in ShellExView. SHUTDOWNRESTART What this does is it removes unnecessary application startups, Windows Shell extensions, and Internet Explorer Shell extensions. Then, one-by-one start Windows/Internet Explorer Shell extension.Post back if you have trouble.

Thanks for the reply, the indexing service is turned off and as I stated in the original post a process with an image name of System run under SYSTEM is taking all the CPU power up.Ok, thanks. I have that process on my XP (Virtual Machine - I am actually running Win 7) also, but it takes less than 5% of CPU. Here is a thread that suggests buggy USB Drivers "can" cause the the "System" Image Name with user "System" to eat up too much CPU:http://channel9.msdn.com/forums/TechOff/183986-Process-SYSTEM-Run-By-SYSTEM-Using-100-CPU/?CommentID=184359Sorry, I misunderstood the original question.Best,Shawn

Thanks for the advice, I figured out what the problem was and it has been running normally now for two days. Turns out something has changed the bios and as soon as I restored it to factory settings no more problem. Would love to have known what did it though, but thanks for all the help.

Thanks for the advice, I figured out what the problem was and it has been running normally now for two days. Turns out something has changed the bios and as soon as I restored it to factory settings no more problem. Would love to have known what did it though, but thanks for all the help.Glad you got things working. For others' benefit, what parameter in the BIOS was changed?