CPU Problem

[Nition]

Hey, ok I'm having this problem on my pc atm where it runs at 100% cpu usage all the the time. Like I won't have anything running at all and I'll try open facebook for example and it takes about 5minutes to open. No matter what I run it eats all the cpu making doing anything other than talking on skype and browsing the internet all but impossible.
I've wiped the harddrive back to the conditions it was in when I got it from the factory with no luck. Being a dell computer I could run the diagnostics tool they use and check all the hardware on the pc for any faults. Came back clean with no errors (I was guided through this on the phone by dell themselves so I shouldn't have got this wrong). Finally Ive rewiped my harddrive and clean installed windows 7 on it (when i got the laptop it was running vista but with a free upgrade to windows 7 on release as it was out in like a month). This means I have nothing on the harddrive apart from the operating system, no drivers, nothing. Still 100% cpu usage doing the most menial of tasks. Considering this is a £3000 gaming laptop it shouldn't have this problem. Dells helpline is closed for the weekend which is why im coming here to see if anyone has had this problem before or knows what might be the problem. Ive checked the BIOS overclocking etc and everything is running (or says there that it is) at the correct speed, but it clearly isn't when I'm using it.
Im running a M17x Alienware laptop with windows 7 operating system (originally vista).

[vesseblah]

Maybe you've disabled all power saving features from BIOS or windows? It's named as Speed Step in BIOS I think, and in windows power configuration you can se the percentages of CPU power during idle.

[Nition]

nope, that doesnt seem to be the problem, everything is set as it should be.
and its not just idle, ofc running wow for example pretty much kills it. Hell even running my webcam causes it to spasm and stop responding on pretty much everything.

[Lickmun]

Check task manager, what process(es) are using a large amount of CPU?

[Nickle]

Is there any program thats eating up the CPU a ton? Usually if you're just sitting there idle and have like 50-100% usage either a background scan is running or you have a virus.

But if you wiped the hard drive, shouldn't be a virus...

[vesseblah]

Then it's probably some malfunction in the CPU fan/heatsink, or temperature sensors in the motherboard.

Check the heatsink and fan for dust & shit, especially if you have hairy pets or smokers near the laptop. Also you could try to boot the laptop with some linux live CD, and see if those too push the CPU usage to 100%. If you dont see any obvious problems and the warranty is still on, get it to repair shop.

[Nition]

its deffinatly not a virus, ive wiped the harddrive twice now.
Yes, ive been checking the task manager, and its whatever Ive got open that uses all the cpu. If I have nothing running, then it will fluctuate between 0% and 40%. As soon as I open webbrowser it jumps straight to 100% usage.
The anoying thing is when trying to determine what it actually is in the process list, because everything is jumping around like crazy (the whole thing fluctuating continuously) its damn hard to see whats causing it.

---------- Post added 2011-01-22 at 06:58 PM ----------

Then it's probably some malfunction in the CPU fan/heatsink, or temperature sensors in the motherboard.

Check the heatsink and fan for dust & shit, especially if you have hairy pets or smokers near the laptop. If you dont see any obvious problems and the warranty is still on, get it to repair shop.

well I ran the dell diagnostics tool and it came back saying there were no problems. I also dont wanna go poking around in there as dell will just void my warrenty. Yes I have warrenty on it, its just trying to convince dell that there is actually somthing wrong with it...

[vesseblah]

The anoying thing is when trying to determine what it actually is in the process list, because everything is jumping around like crazy (the whole thing fluctuating continuously) its damn hard to see whats causing it.

Try sorting the process list by memory usage or name instead of CPU usage, then it stops fluctuating and you can browse it easier.

[Nition]

Try sorting the process list by memory usage or name instead of CPU usage, then it stops fluctuating and you can browse it easier.

ye thats what im doing lol. Normally by cpu usage as thats what im trying to check, and its pretty much impossible, ill check now for you :P

---------- Post added 2011-01-22 at 07:01 PM ----------

ye its like internet explorer using 40% and skype using 30% and then a whole host of other little things using like 4/5% to make it to 100%. And you might say well your using it so its going to use cpu, well its a freaking overpriced websearch provider if thats all its able to do :P

---------- Post added 2011-01-23 at 01:31 AM ----------

bump for the children XD

[Nition]

ok i managed to solve the problem this morning.
Basically my laptop has a built in system called Stealth Mode. Basically shuts down all of my cores in my cpu apart from 1. That was why it was running slow. The reason I didnt find it sooner was because when I wiped my harddrive it kept the stealth mode enabled, but removed the drivers allowing me to change it :P kinda anoying