I am using Thinkpad X61 with Windows XP SP3. I found my CPU usage is always very high (more than 50%), shown in the performance tab in the windows task manager. However, if I look at the "Processes" tab, none of the programs are using CPU and the "system Idle process" uses more than 90% of CPU. I know for my other computers, in "system Idle process" uses more than 90% of CPU, the real CPU usage should be less than 10%. Is there any fix for this? I tried to scan viruses, it was clean based on Norton Internet Security. Any suggestions would be highly appreciated!1 person needs an answerI do too

"Idle" means "doing nothing". If your computer is slow, it is for another reason. Some reasons for computer slowness: 1. Computer hasn't been maintained - http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Maintenance 2. Computer is infected with malware - http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Removing_Malware 3. Hard drive is too full. Remove unnecessary stuff, uninstall unused programs. Don't forget to back up! http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Backing_Up 4. Flaky third-party software. Toolbars and add-ons are particular culprits in this area. Uninstall toolbars (Google, Yahoo, ISP-branded, etc.) and look carefully at what add-ons are in use in your browser(s). 5. Computer has too many unnecessary programs/processes running in the background. Manage your Startup: For XP - How to Troubleshoot By Using the Msconfig Utility in Windows XP - http://support.microsoft.com/?id=310560 The free Autoruns program is very useful for managing your Startup - http://www.microsoft.com/technet/sysinternals/default.mspx For Vista/Windows7 - Start Orb>Search box>type: msconfig and when it appears in the Results box above, right-click and choose "Run as Administrator". Autoruns is also very useful. 6. User is running a bloated/invasive antivirus program such as ones from Norton and McAfee. Replace with a better program. I recommend either NOD32 (commercial) or Avast (free). Avira is also good but the free version has an unpleasant nag screen (Google for instructions as to how to disable this). User may also be running more than one real-time antivirus/firewall/security program. 7. User has installed new programs that are processor and/or memory-intensive (Photoshop, AutoCAD, Mathmatica or the like) and doesn't have the necessary hardware power. 8. Hard drive is failing and is in PIO Mode. This is very dramatically slow (like being back in 1985). See Hans-Georg Michna's information here - http://winhlp.com/?q=node/10 In addition to the above, also see http://miekiemoes.blogspot.com/2008/02/help-my-computer-is-slow.html Note: If computer has always been slow, in addition to items above user may have purchased a machine with a less powerful processor and not enough RAM (memory). For normal computer use, 512MB-1GB is usually sufficient for XP; Vista should have a minimum of 2GB; Windows 7 is less demanding than Vista but the minimum of 2GB should also be used.MS-MVP - Elephant Boy Computers - Don't Panic!

Use Process Explorer to check CPU usage. I wonder if you're experiencing high CPU usage due to interrupts or DPCs (as Malkeleah alluded to one manifestation of, with #8) . Post back with results.