Sounds like one of your applications is "hogging" your available RAM.  

-----Original Message-----
From: Personal Computer Hardware discussion List
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Mark Doll
Sent: Thursday, October 04, 2007 12:43 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [PCBUILD] HIGH CPU USAGE

Im having a major problem with high cpu usage.
My computer is a Dell 4600 , 3.00 gigahertz Intel Pentium 4, 896  Megabytes
InNV stalled Memory, Maxtor 4R120L0 [Hard drive],WDC WD800BB-75JHC0 [Hard
drive,NividaGeForce FX 5200, and a Creative SB Audigy LS sound card.
I used to play poker on line, download movies from Ares and Lime  wire,check
my e-mail, and convert a movie file and my cpu would hit around  70%, which
I thought was quite good.
Now if im playing poker on line and even try to run my Avg virus scan ,  it
pegs at 100% cpu, and slows down the computer so bad, it will  barely run.
Heres what Ive done to try and fix the problem.


Subject: 100% cpu usage

Reply:
The main cause I have found is actually a problem with the way explorer
handles avi files! Let me explain a bit, it you have an incomplete avi
file, or a damaged avi file, explorer will read it frame by frame to
determine it's properties (such as video size, length etc..) You can confirm
this by starting the task manager next time it happens,  I know it will
takes ages to open but be patient! if you see that  explorer.exe is the
process using all your CPU do the following:
1. Open up regedit
2. Goto
 HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\SystemFileAssociations\.avi\shellex\PropertyHandler
3. Delete the "Default" value which should be
"{87D62D94-71B3-4b9a-9489-5FE6850DC73E}"
I did this and it worked.Everything went back to normal for awhile.Then  my
computer crashed( long story ), so I did a complete reinstall of  oper
system.Problems back, so did the reg thing again, but this time it  didnt
work.
I contacted dell( comp still under warenty}. Make a long story short,  Dell
replaced the hard drive, motherboard, processer, fan, heat sink,  and the
ram.
Still have same problem, so I kept thinking I must have a virus or  worm.I f
disk and reformatted the hard drive and installed oper system  again, and
still have high cpu usage when i try to do almost anything on my  computer.
By the way it doesnt matter which hard drive I boot to, same problem on
both.
 Any help would be greatly appericated, thank you.

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