Is my CPU faulty?

[vipergrm]

Hi guys,

Recently I've been getting a really annoying problem with my PC whereby the mouse freezes intermittently and then continues working normally. It is especially bad when installing an app or when windows is loading. I have included a video of the problem below:

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/grant_m...8012009021.mp4

As you can see, CPU usage shoots up to over 50 percent and the mouse cursor hangs for a second in a stuttering-like affect. I have completely re-installed Windows several times and also tried another hard drive. Is there a tool I can use to determine if the CPU is faulty? The CPU is a Core 2 Duo E6400 (2.13 Ghz)

Thanks for your support!

 

[Necro]

Hi,
I tried the video but it doesn't work (for me, could be the work firewall).
From what you described, do you know which process in task manager seems to be eating up 50% of your CPU time?
Also, have you tried another mouse?

 

[MrMoses]

If you suspect the CPU.

Run a program called "Prime 95" and put the CPU through its paces.

if the CPU is stable after hours of Prime, then I doubt that anything is wrong with it.

or

replcace the cpu and see if the problem still persists.



Never Overclock the CPU OK!

 

[ConTRo13R]

Sounds more ram problem to me than cpu

Loading windows isnt cpu intensive, mainly ram and hard drive usage when booting windows

 

[vipergrm]

Hi guys, this is really, really odd. I ran all the testing tools I could find. I installed Windows on another hard drive and I am getting the same problem. I ran Prime95 for an hour and it detected no errors. I also ran HD Tune on both hard drives I have tried to install on and no problems there either. Memtest also does not show a single error when I ran it for an hour or so.

I really am completely baffled by this. The problem is very much intermittant. The only way I can make it stutter is by installing a program or making the computer work harder. I am using the PC right now and it is fine, but I know within minutes or seconds it will start up again.

The task manager does not indicate accurately what process it is using unfortunately. Is there a hardware tool I can get that will monitor the CPU usage more accurately?

Thanks all!

 

[MrMoses]

Not aware of such a program ^^

I suspect your Motherboard maybe playing up!

However!

If you have a friend who has a compatible system, I suggest you try and test your CPU in their system and see if the problem still persists.


use process of elimination to track down the faulty component.

 

[vipergrm]

Ok, I've found the cause of the problem. I downloaded a free program called 'Process Explorer' as it gives you a much more thorough indication of what the CPU is doing. When the CPU was spiking it was listed as a 'hardware interrupt' but it was not able to tell me which piece of hardware was causing the problem. After many more attempts to troubleshoot this, I found the problem almost by accident. It happened intermittantly but as soon as I opened the DVD drawer it started hanging again. I disabled the DVD ROM drive and BINGO!!! Everything started working like a dream.

I decided to look more into this and discovered that somehow, my DVD ROM drive is in 'PIO' mode. I guess this may have happened when I flashed the BIOS as it will stay in this mode no matter how many times I re-install the operating system from fresh. I need to change it to 'DMA' so that the CPU spikes will no longer be an issue but so dar I have not been able to find an option to do this. Apparently, I need to do it from the IDE controller in Device Manager but I do not have a setting for this. Is this because I am using RAID as well as IDE?

If anyone has any suggestions on how I do this I would really appreciate it. For now, I have the DVD drive disabled until I can force it into DMA mode. Thanks all for your help