{RESOLVED}CPU usage 100%

My Athlon 1.333 with 512 MB RAM has suddenly slowed down. In taskmanager CPU usage is continuously 100%, even with no apps running. I have about 30 processes going, but WinMgmt.exe is the only one showing CPU usage (at 99%). The computer's also running about 5 degrees hotter than normal. A virus scan showed nothing. I've been running zone alarm and Norton antivirus for months with no problem.
Any help or ideas is appreciated!

 

It is running hotter because the app is pegged at 100% and CPU's run hotter the more prcessing they do opposed to sitting idle. Crack the case just in case and look at your cooling situation...that could be causing everything you are describing.

 

Yes, I'm sure the extra heat is from the processor working harder. I keep the case open and everything's normal. With MotherBoardMonitor I'm getting 43 degrees processor temp when I used to get 38. I'm assuming that something is causing WinMgmt.exe to run continuously, stressing the CPU, but I have no idea what could suddenly be doing this.

 

Is that 43 degrees celcius or ferenheit? I guess 100 F is pretty cool for your athlon. Winmgmt is a performance counter. Is it sitting in your startup group?

 

Yes, it's 43 degrees celcius, which should be cool enough. I'm not sure how to access the startup group but with StartupCPL Winmgmet.exe is not listed as a startup program. I've tried going to Computer Management in Admin Tools of the Control Panel but Computer Management won't open (the other admin tools do). Under 'Application Event Viewer' in Component Services there's a lot of error and warning messages for WinMgmt. What this means I'm not sure.

 

GO into the services applet and look for the winmgmt service. It is probably set to run as a service when Windoze starts. What does the event log say about the wmgmt errors?

 

It is mainly used for remote monitoring in the enterprise. If this does not describe you, then I would just disable it.

 

You led me right to the problem. WinMgmt.exe was set to run automatically; I changed it to 'manual' and everything went back to normal. Computer running 5 degrees cooler and CPU usage stays way below 30%. And no more crashes. Many thanks!