What happened a month ago?

ORIGINAL: SteveStrummerUK

ORIGINAL: KainThornn

I'll take a screen grab cos I don't feel like typing that much bouncing between windows. I don't seem to be able to post it in line here so I may hafta email it or sumpin.

Here you go Kain - CLICK HERE - it's post #22

The window can't be made big enough to show all processes. I've gone through the list and everything is legit, printer stuff, superdrive stuff, game related stuff, security program stuff. As far as what happened a month ago I can't trace back to any particulrly significant actions.

That's still the big pickle here, I haven't added anything to the mix, CWGTP3 just decided to start being picky about some yet to be discovered issue. I had reduced the number of TSR type programs already and it worked briefly, it would record for a couple minutes before it started lagging. I've tried uninstalling and reinstalling CWGTP3 several times and it always reverts to this issue. I've tried a system restore to a time when I knew for certain it was still working. Cakewalk support certainly isn't, with their DO NOT REPLY emails that don't adress anything I haven't tried already.

ORIGINAL: SteveStrummerUK


Kain, why not try searching back through your system restore history - there might be something you thought innocuous at the time that may now stand out like a sore thumb from about a month ago.

Where do I find those?

There's probably a much better way to search through what's been changed to your system Kain - maybe someone else can show us both how to do it.

Here's how to find System Restore though:

Start > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > System Restore

Open it up and click on 'Show restore points older than 5 days' - depending on how it's set, you may see what changes were made to your Registry at the time GT3 started playing up.

Just to chime in here guys - when a computer starts to behave more sluggish than usual it could be time to check for spyware.

ORIGINAL: KainThornn

ORIGINAL: FingerBone Bill

Just to chime in here guys - when a computer starts to behave more sluggish than usual it could be time to check for spyware.

I have 5 programs that watch, I can say with great confidence I have no malware running, but thanks for the tip tho.

Mate - I work with this stuff all day and I'm not that confident!!


OK - Next thing I'd take a look at is Windows Task Manager.

Click on the Process Tab and you can see if there's anything gobbling up your CPU or Mem Usage (tip - clicking on the column header lists processes by that column)

There's also a performance graph in the Performance tab that shows you how the system is, well, performing - lots of other info there too.

98% of the time the cheif gobbler is "System Idle Process"

alg.exe Not Available 3936 8 Not Available Not Available 19-Nov-08 10:45 Not Available Not Available Not Available
csrss.exe Not Available 1304 13 Not Available Not Available 19-Nov-08 10:45 Not Available Not Available Not Available
svchost.exe Not Available 1656 8 Not Available Not Available 19-Nov-08 10:45 Not Available Not Available Not Available
svchost.exe Not Available 1924 8 Not Available Not Available 19-Nov-08 10:45 Not Available Not Available Not Available
svchost.exe Not Available 1956 8 Not Available Not Available 19-Nov-08 10:45 Not Available Not Available Not Available
svchost.exe Not Available 5888 8 Not Available Not Available 19-Nov-08 11:49 Not Available Not Available Not Available
system Not Available 4 8 0 1413120 Not Available Not Available Not Available Not Available
system idle process Not Available 0 0 Not Available Not Available Not Available Not Available Not Available Not Available
wmiprvse.exe Not Available 5292 8 Not Available Not Available 19-Nov-08 16:56 Not Available Not Available Not Available
lssrvc.exe c:\program files\common files\lightscribe\lssrvc.exe 456 8 204800 1413120 19-Nov-08 10:45 1.14.17.1 72.00 KB (73,728 bytes) 09-Jun-08 12:21
communications_helper.exe c:\program files\common files\logishrd\lcommgr\communications_helper.exe 2476 8 204800 1413120 19-Nov-08 11:00 1.64.1265.0 551.77 KB (565,008 bytes) 14-Aug-08 17:11
cocimanager.exe c:\program files\common files\logishrd\lqcvfx\cocimanager.exe 388 8 204800 1413120 19-Nov-08 11:01 11.80.1065.0 436.77 KB (447,248 bytes) 14-Aug-08 17:11
lvcomser.exe c:\program files\common files\logishrd\lvcomser\lvcomser.exe 548 8 204800 1413120 19-Nov-08 10:45 1.17.1048.0 182.52 KB (186,904 bytes) 26-Jul-08 08:23
lvprcsrv.exe c:\program files\common files\logishrd\lvmvfm\lvprcsrv.exe 748 8 204800 1413120 19-Nov-08 10:45 11.80.1048.0 146.52 KB (150,040 bytes) 26-Jul-08 08:25
richvideo.exe c:\program files\cyberlink\shared files\richvideo.exe 1288 8 204800 1413120 19-Nov-08 10:45 1.1.0808 164.00 KB (167,936 bytes) 25-Jun-08 10:20
iexplore.exe c:\program files\internet explorer\iexplore.exe 3684 8 204800 1413120 19-Nov-08 16:58 7.00.6000.16735 (vista_gdr.080820-1506) 620.95 KB (635,848 bytes) 15-Feb-08 21:01
jusched.exe c:\program files\java\jre1.6.0_07\bin\jusched.exe 1356 8 204800 1413120 19-Nov-08 11:00 6.0.70.6 141.39 KB (144,784 bytes) 18-Aug-08 08:56
lwemon.exe c:\program files\logitech\gaming software\lwemon.exe 3360 8 204800 1413120 19-Nov-08 11:00 5.02.116 86.51 KB (88,584 bytes) 04-Apr-08 11:38
mvraidsvc.exe c:\program files\marvell\61xx\svc\mvraidsvc.exe 752 8 204800 1413120 19-Nov-08 10:45 1.0.0.7 112.00 KB (114,688 bytes) 09-Aug-06 22:46
type32.exe c:\program files\microsoft intellitype pro\type32.exe 2080 8 204800 1413120 19-Nov-08 11:00 5.20.413.0 168.00 KB (172,032 bytes) 03-Jun-04 04:51
tmrubotted.exe c:\program files\trend micro\rubotted\tmrubotted.exe 1848 8 204800 1413120 19-Nov-08 10:45 1.0.0.1175 505.33 KB (517,456 bytes) 16-Jun-08 13:28
tmrubottedtray.exe c:\program files\trend micro\rubotted\tmrubottedtray.exe 2120 8 204800 1413120 19-Nov-08 11:00 1.0.0.1175 281.34 KB (288,088 bytes) 16-Jun-08 13:28
wmplayer.exe c:\program files\windows media player\wmplayer.exe 5448 8 204800 1413120 19-Nov-08 17:06 11.0.5721.5145 (WMP_11.061018-2006) 62.50 KB (64,000 bytes) 15-Feb-08 21:02
yahoomessenger.exe c:\progra~1\yahoo!\messen~1\yahoom~1.exe 5404 8 204800 1413120 19-Nov-08 16:56 9,0,0,1389 4.07 MB (4,269,296 bytes) 17-Feb-08 23:27
explorer.exe c:\windows\explorer.exe 172 8 204800 1413120 19-Nov-08 11:00 6.00.2900.5512 (xpsp.080413-2105) 1,009.50 KB (1,033,728 bytes) 23-Aug-01 07:00
helpctr.exe c:\windows\pchealth\helpctr\binaries\helpctr.exe 5216 8 204800 1413120 19-Nov-08 17:53 5.1.2600.5512 (xpsp.080413-2108) 751.00 KB (769,024 bytes) 15-Feb-08 21:02
helpsvc.exe c:\windows\pchealth\helpctr\binaries\helpsvc.exe 4712 8 204800 1413120 19-Nov-08 17:53 5.1.2600.5512 (xpsp.080413-2108) 727.00 KB (744,448 bytes) 15-Feb-08 21:02
calc.exe c:\windows\system32\calc.exe 5420 8 204800 1413120 19-Nov-08 17:19 5.1.2600.0 (xpclient.010817-1148) 112.00 KB (114,688 bytes) 15-Feb-08 21:00
ctfmon.exe c:\windows\system32\ctfmon.exe 3372 8 204800 1413120 19-Nov-08 11:00 5.1.2600.5512 (xpsp.080413-2105) 15.00 KB (15,360 bytes) 23-Aug-01 07:00
ctsvccda.exe c:\windows\system32\ctsvccda.exe 732 8 204800 1413120 19-Nov-08 10:45 1.0.1.0 43.00 KB (44,032 bytes) 19-Sep-08 18:33
hpzipm12.exe c:\windows\system32\hpzipm12.exe 1188 8 204800 1413120 19-Nov-08 10:45 10, 1, 1, 5 68.00 KB (69,632 bytes) 07-Jun-08 11:16
inetinfo.exe c:\windows\system32\inetsrv\inetinfo.exe 772 8 204800 1413120 19-Nov-08 10:45 5.1.2600.5512 (xpsp.080413-0852) 15.00 KB (15,360 bytes) 15-Feb-08 21:12
lsass.exe c:\windows\system32\lsass.exe 1400 9 204800 1413120 19-Nov-08 10:45 5.1.2600.5512 (xpsp.080413-2113) 13.00 KB (13,312 bytes) 23-Aug-01 07:00
nvsvc32.exe c:\windows\system32\nvsvc32.exe 896 8 204800 1413120 19-Nov-08 10:45 6.14.11.7824 160.07 KB (163,908 bytes) 28-Jun-07 11:43
rundll32.exe c:\windows\system32\rundll32.exe 2448 8 204800 1413120 19-Nov-08 11:00 5.1.2600.5512 (xpsp.080413-2105) 32.50 KB (33,280 bytes) 23-Aug-01 07:00
rundll32.exe c:\windows\system32\rundll32.exe 2512 8 204800 1413120 19-Nov-08 11:00 5.1.2600.5512 (xpsp.080413-2105) 32.50 KB (33,280 bytes) 23-Aug-01 07:00
services.exe c:\windows\system32\services.exe 1380 9 204800 1413120 19-Nov-08 10:45 5.1.2600.5512 (xpsp.080413-2111) 106.00 KB (108,544 bytes) 23-Aug-01 07:00
smss.exe c:\windows\system32\smss.exe 1244 11 204800 1413120 19-Nov-08 10:45 5.1.2600.5512 (xpsp.080413-2111) 49.50 KB (50,688 bytes) 23-Aug-01 07:00
snmp.exe c:\windows\system32\snmp.exe 140 8 204800 1413120 19-Nov-08 10:45 5.1.2600.5512 (xpsp.080413-0852) 32.50 KB (33,280 bytes) 15-Feb-08 21:12
hpztsb07.exe c:\windows\system32\spool\drivers\w32x86\3\hpztsb07.exe 4040 8 204800 1413120 19-Nov-08 11:00 2,143,0,0 184.00 KB (188,416 bytes) 28-Feb-08 21:42
spoolsv.exe c:\windows\system32\spoolsv.exe 620 8 204800 1413120 19-Nov-08 10:45 5.1.2600.5512 (xpsp.080413-0852) 56.50 KB (57,856 bytes) 23-Aug-01 07:00
svchost.exe c:\windows\system32\svchost.exe 1568 8 204800 1413120 19-Nov-08 10:45 5.1.2600.5512 (xpsp.080413-2111) 14.00 KB (14,336 bytes) 23-Aug-01 07:00
svchost.exe c:\windows\system32\svchost.exe 1740 8 204800 1413120 19-Nov-08 10:45 5.1.2600.5512 (xpsp.080413-2111) 14.00 KB (14,336 bytes) 23-Aug-01 07:00
svchost.exe c:\windows\system32\svchost.exe 1780 8 204800 1413120 19-Nov-08 10:45 5.1.2600.5512 (xpsp.080413-2111) 14.00 KB (14,336 bytes) 23-Aug-01 07:00
svchost.exe c:\windows\system32\svchost.exe 296 8 204800 1413120 19-Nov-08 10:45 5.1.2600.5512 (xpsp.080413-2111) 14.00 KB (14,336 bytes) 23-Aug-01 07:00
tcpsvcs.exe c:\windows\system32\tcpsvcs.exe 2028 8 204800 1413120 19-Nov-08 10:45 5.1.2600.0 (xpclient.010817-1148) 19.00 KB (19,456 bytes) 23-Aug-01 07:00
winlogon.exe c:\windows\system32\winlogon.exe 1328 13 204800 1413120 19-Nov-08 10:45 5.1.2600.5512 (xpsp.080413-2113) 496.00 KB (507,904 bytes) 23-Aug-01 07:00
steam.exe e:\gary's ****\hl2\steem\steam.exe 252 8 204800 1413120 19-Nov-08 11:01 Not Available Not Available Not Available
aawservice.exe e:\install\ad aware\program\aawservice.exe 380 8 204800 1413120 19-Nov-08 10:45 7,1,0,12 597.33 KB (611,664 bytes) 07-Jul-08 10:15
avgemc.exe e:\install\avg\program\avgemc.exe 2788 8 204800 1413120 19-Nov-08 10:45 8.0.0.159 854.77 KB (875,288 bytes) 17-Jul-08 22:44
avgrsx.exe e:\install\avg\program\avgrsx.exe 2304 8 204800 1413120 19-Nov-08 10:45 8.0.0.134 280.27 KB (287,000 bytes) 03-May-08 11:40
avgtray.exe e:\install\avg\program\avgtray.exe 2108 8 204800 1413120 19-Nov-08 11:00 8.0.0.172 1.18 MB (1,234,712 bytes) 17-Jul-08 22:44
avgwdsvc.exe e:\install\avg\program\avgwdsvc.exe 716 8 204800 1413120 19-Nov-08 10:45 8.0.0.145 226.27 KB (231,704 bytes) 17-Jul-08 22:44
ctsysvol.exe e:\install\creative\sbaudigy\surround mixer\ctsysvol.exe 3264 8 204800 1413120 19-Nov-08 11:00 1.4.8.0 56.00 KB (57,344 bytes) 19-Sep-08 18:14
pdvdserv.exe e:\install\cyberlink\powerdvd\pdvdserv.exe 3864 8 204800 1413120 19-Nov-08 11:00 7.00.2320 55.59 KB (56,928 bytes) 25-Jun-08 10:20
firefox.exe e:\install\firefox\program\firefox.exe 4884 8 204800 1413120 19-Nov-08 16:32 1.9.0.4 300.50 KB (307,712 bytes) 16-Feb-08 06:03
fwupdate.exe e:\install\lg\fwupdate.exe 3988 8 204800 1413120 19-Nov-08 11:00 Not Available 244.00 KB (249,856 bytes) 25-Jun-08 09:57
quickcam.exe e:\install\logitech\cam\quickcam.exe 532 8 204800 1413120 19-Nov-08 11:00 11.80.1065.0 2.30 MB (2,407,184 bytes) 14-Aug-08 17:15
msascui.exe e:\install\microsoft security\defender\msascui.exe 292 8 204800 1413120 19-Nov-08 11:00 1.1.1593.0 846.27 KB (866,584 bytes) 03-Nov-06 22:20
msmpeng.exe e:\install\microsoft security\defender\msmpeng.exe 1700 8 204800 1413120 19-Nov-08 10:45 1.1.1593.0 13.27 KB (13,592 bytes) 03-Nov-06 22:19
incd.exe e:\install\nero 7\incd\incd.exe 3648 8 204800 1413120 19-Nov-08 11:00 5, 5, 2, 8 1.01 MB (1,057,328 bytes) 15-May-07 17:55
incdsrv.exe e:\install\nero 7\incd\incdsrv.exe 808 8 4194304 8388608 19-Nov-08 10:45 5, 5, 2, 8 1.48 MB (1,550,896 bytes) 15-May-07 17:55
nbhgui.exe e:\install\nero 7\incd\nbhgui.exe 1232 8 204800 1413120 19-Nov-08 11:00 5, 5, 2, 8 1.55 MB (1,628,208 bytes) 15-May-07 17:55
paltalk.exe e:\install\paltalk\program\paltalk.exe 5684 8 204800 1413120 19-Nov-08 15:51 9.92.2952.1026 9.97 MB (10,452,992 bytes) 08-May-08 17:17
teatimer.exe e:\install\spybot sd\program\teatimer.exe 3572 4 204800 1413120 19-Nov-08 11:00 1, 6, 3, 25 1.75 MB (1,833,296 bytes) 16-Feb-08 05:48
iwingamesinstaller.exe e:\install\wordscape\iwin games\iwingamesinstaller.exe 1100 8 204800 1413120 19-Nov-08 10:45 1, 0, 0, 2 76.27 KB (78,104 bytes) 09-Sep-08 11:37

ORIGINAL: FingerBone Bill

Yeah but there's a lot of stuff in there that can start chewing up resources if and when they feel like it.

I notice you're a "gamer" - for example "steam.exe", that doesn't need to be running - anything that is running can potentially use up resources, maybe not now but sooner or later.

Try running Task Manager while you use Cakewalk and see if anything starts using CPU or memory when you hit a problem?

When it bogs, the System Idle is at 99%. Sometimes the Dr Watson app is up in the 50's, but not often.

ORIGINAL: FingerBone Bill

System Idle is good when its high.

Sounds like the computer is creating a Dr Watson entry - which means there's a problem somewhere

Have a look in C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Microsoft\Dr Watson\drwtsn32.log - it'll be a big file. Check out the latest entries at the bottom of the file. Maybe you'll get a clue to what's conflicting.

Don't paste a copy of the whole file here - it'll be huge and I can't decode it anyway.

Dr Watson only sticks his head out when there's a proper crash, he's not on when CWGTP3 is slugging along. My whole machine drags bad when system idle is high so why it's good I'm not understanding. When I run Hammer (world creating program for the Half Life 2 series) it bogs down because of the large scale processing it does when compiling maps, and the system idle pegs at 99%. Personally I'm thinking it's Microshaft trying to annoy the XP user in hopes of selling us Vista

When I had my old Audigy, I had to uninstall all their extra BS that came with their driver, I found just the WDM driver on Creative labs support site. It sure helped out alot.

ORIGINAL: RobertB

That is very unusual behavior.
As Bill said, it's good for system idle to be high. That shows how much of your system is standing by, waiting for something to do.
System idle is not using resources, but showing unused resources.
And that's where it looks strange. It would appear that your system is not "bogging down" from too many processes, it just isn't processing anything, or very little.
When you are doing large scale processing, system idle should drop very low, and the process that is running should show a high percentage.
Even then, you should see spikes and valleys in the performance graph. A hung process can take the CPU to 100%, and if that lasts long enough, plan on a crash, or lock-up.
What you are describing is the exact opposite of what one might expect.
What happened a month ago? Thunderstorms, power surges or outages?
Overheating? Can you monitor temperatures and voltage on your motherboard/CPU? You may have a utility for this.
Chipset drivers installed and up to date? Adequate PSU? Dust clogging cooling fins?
Do you leave the computer on and allow it to go into sleep mode?
That machine shouldn't even flinch running GTP3, even running lots of effects.

When it's bogging the system idle shows high. If the system is actually idling the system idle shows very low. It used to not flinch running CWGTP3 with reverb etc... 700W modular PS. 4 fans on case (2 in 2 out) one on the CPU plus the PS fans. Little if any dust.