PC problem.

[James.UK]

Moderators... If this is too far off topic.. Maybe someone can give me a link to a techie site where I can get help with this problem. (erm one I can understand please!).. Plzz email me with any help you may have, then I will delete the posting.. thanks..

I have a Major PC problem.. Recently my PC keeps running a process called svchost.exe. ( user name SYSTEM) it's the 2nd one down of the two identically named processes on the list you get by --pressing alt-Ctr-Del at the same time, then clicking the tab at the top named Processes..

When it decides to run it uses 99% of my CPU, (system idle process at the foot of the list reads 00!) as a result my PC becomes virtually useless.. Switching svchost.exe off prevents me from accessing the internet, or running many of my programmes..

I have tried.. regclean.. to no avail.. I have also tried C:\ properties\tools\error checking\check now\automatically fix file system errors.. I then have to reboot and it sorts itself out ok, but, only for a while (hours usually) then the problem comes back again i.e. svchost. exe starts running again!

I am running WinXP pro SP 1 and 2.... CPU.3.2+... 1 GIG ram.. C: 20 GIG 30% free space.. D: 40 GIG 75% free space.. Internet connection is via... AOL 9 with a BT voyager1000 DSL modem.

Does anyone have any idea how to sort this problem without me having to reinstall WinXP etc etc? Any ideas would be very welcome.

Thank you..
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[OwenP]

Take a quick look here http://www.liutilities.com/products/win ... y/svchost/

A search on google will bring up other similar sites.

If as it suggests on that website it is a malicious version, I'm not sure how you remove it.

If its a genuine one though, try lowering its priority in the task manager, to do this right click on the process and go to the priority menu, select your option.

What else are you running when svchost is using cpu time, and is it showing 99 (ish) in the cpu column of task manager?

[James.UK]

Hi Owen.. Thanks for the information..

>>>What else are you running when svchost is using cpu time, and is it showing 99 (ish) in the cpu column of task manager?<<<

Nothing, svchost is often running at 99% when I boot up (but its not on my start menu) I then have to turn svchost off, do the "fix file errors" bit and reboot. That allows my PC to boot up normaly and run ok for a while..

My idle CPU reading is normaly in the 98% range.. Oddly enough today I turned svchost off, and it remained on the list, just stopped using any power and my PC (so far) is running normaly? I hope it continues that way!. lol..

Unfortunately my problem seems to be pretty common, at the moment I am trying the ideas given on this site given below.. I will be back with a progress report asap.. WARNING> If you get this problem DO NOT DELETE THE FILE!! it controls most Dll's and is needed to run all Win platforms..

http://ask-leo.com/svchost_and_svchoste ... _more.html

[James.UK]

Update.. after reading through loads of websites and eliminating lots of possibilities, it seems my problem was caused by my turning on windows automatic updates and allowing their downloads to be installed..

I have run several anti virus progs and no problems have shown up..

I have turned off Windows auto update and hope that cures the problem. I will post again in a few days to let you know..

Thanks for the help..
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[nick]

I've had this problem too, and it was caused by Microsoft Update.

The problem seems to be caused by using the newer "Microsoft Update" site (which also checks for updates on other MS stuff, Office etc in addition to Windows) rather than the original "Windows Update". I found reverting back to Windows Update as the default stopped it, even with auto update still turned on.

[alan s]

Being a sadist, nobody is going to delete these posts; why not go Firefox, flip Gatesy the bird and live happily ever after?


Alan S

[James.UK]

Hi Alans.. Going Firefox, Godzilla etc wont help..

It's not a browser problem, its a problem with microsofts software..

If I use Linux or Applemac platforms, none of my most popular and usefull software will work So I am stuck with Microsoft..

The good news is, turning off my WinXP auto updates has solved the problem

Now I will have to manualy go to the site for any updates I may need in the future. But thats not a major issue, its easy to do..

From the information I read on various websites about this problem, I am fairly certain that somehow, someone has put a malicious copy of svchost. exe on Microsofts download site, as in all cases I read about the problems started after people auto downloaded and installed msn updates.. But that's just my personal theory. It could simply be that Microsoft accidentaly built a fault into their own software..
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[myglaren]

Did you solve your problem James

If not, or even if you did, install Spybot Search & Destroy
Run it in advanced mode, don't let the warning scare you off, I have experimentally tried to destroy an XP installation with it and failed although it is theoretically possible.
Go to TOOLS and in the main page there click on everything so that all options appear in the left hand panel.
Select 'startup files' or however they word it (I'm on a Linux machine at the minute and can't access Spybot S&D)
Before staring, click the right bordr, which opens an information panel, as you select the various startup programs descriptions appear in the info panel. Not everything has a description unfortunatel.
The good part is that by unticking the various programs in the list, they will not be started on next boot up. You can do this without the constant restarts necessary usung sysconfig. If something you find you ned doesn't work, just re-tick it.
You will often find entries there that sysconfig knows nothing about.
There are, as you will discover, tons of tools in Spybot S&D that are acually the best part of it. The actual spyware detection and elimination, while usefull, is actually performed better by other free programs.
A similar tool is CCleaner but watch where you download this, some sites attach a heap of crap onto it.
While we are on the subject, an excellent antispyware program is Superantispyware
Not very quick but thorough. Be sure to choose the free one.

[James.UK]

Hiya Myglaren.

Did I solve it? NO! lol.. but I have managed to find a way to keep svchost turned off. (nice avatar btw) It appears that svcvhost is a rouge copy of a genuine file that you have to have, unfortunately it is impossible to tell which one is the rouge copy!! Delete the wrong one and your PC wont run properly.

Thanks for all the information about Spybot! My problem with Spybot is that once it's done its job, I don't understand it's report? I get a list of stuff but have no idea what I can safely remove.. Sooo I have to play it safe and leave the stuff where it is

As for my svchost problem, I can stop it running by turning off Win up-dates. But it does mean I can no longer get any!! lol.. If I go to Microsofts home page and look for patches, it verifies my PC ok, but the second it tries to scan for installed updates svchost kicks in and stops my PC running!. duhhh.

Closing svchost once it's running, disconnects me from the internet and I have to reboot to get back online.. Using msconfig I have removed all progs except the essentials, e.g. anti virus. AOL, etc.. There are only about 5 programmes ticked..

But as you say, I get lots more on my "Task manager list" some of which I close if I intend to be online for a long time.. Pcpitstop is good from that point of view, it gives me a list of "required and non essentials" when I use it, I find it a very usefull programme..

Across the board, this is an excellant PC, it rarely gives me trouble, and is very very fast, both on and offline..

Slight change of topic.. Last year I kept getting refs to IE5 when seeking virus stuff on my PC?? I did not think I had that on this PC.. But I do!! lol It saves lots of cookies, links, history, and other stuff for some reason, and it is very well hidden!!

To get into it :- C\:>Docs and settings>Then the file with your user name on it, in my case> James>local settings>temporary internet files.. and then-- in the address bar at the top add \content.IE5 and click "go" on the right.. PRESTO!! a hidden folder appears I simply delete everything in there, if it won't go, then I use a lil free programme I downloaded called "Unlocker" and then it will delete easily.. The first time i found it, it contained about 20 sub folders!! took me ages to delete it all.. lol..

Thanks again for the info, I will go run Spybot, and see if I can understand it, but don't go holding your breath!! lol..
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[myglaren]

You don't seem to be doing too badly James.
svchhost is a pain for a lot of people. I haven't really had any problems with it on my XP machine but did turn it off for a while with do ill-effects. It certainly didn't hog the processor like yours does.
Never bothered to look on the Vista machine, which is coming up for retirement anyway. Pile of crap!

The avatar is my favourite Frenchie, Mylène Farmer. Even better than their cars but less well known!

ETA:
Your Accord seems a mite thirsty! I had a 2.0iLS of the same vintage and contrary to popular wisdom it returned 32~34mpg unconditional on how it was run.
I drove like an old lady for a while, then boosted it a bit. even at double the speed limit it remained the same.

[James.UK]

Ello Myglaren.

Was your Accord an automatic? Everyone tells me it should be better on mpg but --- My mechanic has had it in to check, and he can't find anything wrong with it.. To make things worse, his Dad just sold his Accord (same age - model) because it was so heavy on fuel! dohhh.. Now father and son are both driving VW Passat Diesels.. I can't follow suite because VW autoboxes are very unreliable and expensive to fix..

Just had M&S refuse to insure my ZX because -- I fitted foglights, and swopped wheels for the ally Volcane type off my old car.. They now claim it's "non standard" and wont insure me!! waaahhh ... lol.. The Co I am with, the one with erm a very very long nose and huge ears? is very expensive so I am looking to swop..
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[myglaren]

No, it was manual which may account for the difference but I thought that mine was thirsty enough.

I was actually going to buy a 2.2 VTEC estate but the guy was so hard to get hold of I ended up with the C5.

I'm currently insured through Liverpool Victoria and find them most accomodating. I might be able to shave a few bob off the premium but they are so good to deal with that I certainly wouldn't bother for less than around £100.

I had a non-standard car a few years back. Volvo 265 that had had the engine and gearbox swapped for a 2.1 ? four-banger. The insurance was double and I had to get an engineer's report on it before I could get cover at all. I walked right in to that one.
With hindsight it would have been more economical to bung another 3L V6 into it.

[pug_owner2002]

James,

I've insured my car with Swiftcover this time, not had to claim yet but as they are part of the AXA group I beleive there'd be no issues.
They dropped my premium from £450 to £270.

[MikeT]

Hi James,

svchost is a legitimate system process that handless library (dll's) requests among other duties. You can have several instances of svchost running - all legitimate.

It's not a good idea to go without windows update so you need to sort this rather than ignore it.

There are several options open to you. The first thing I would do would be to run sfc.exe http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310747

I expect you will need to have admin rights to run (not sure) and it can take a long time to complete so best planned for when you don't need the pc. If it ever asks for the setup CD, it's usually best to point it back at the C drive cache path if you can (see the pop-up window at the time). %Systemroot%\System32\Dllcache

You can delete your temporary internet files from your browser TOOLS> INTERNET OPTIONS then click on DELETE FILES. It's only hidden to tidy up the folder view, it's nothing sinister though the files in there could be.

You can also set the cache size - new files will just overwrite old ones - to save some disk space. The idea of cached files is to copy files from a web page so that next time you go there you don't have to download the files again, saving you time.

[James.UK]

Thanks for the insurance info.. I have actually got it via M&S in the end by using their website instead of ringing them.. heh heh..

myglaren In my experience no one tells the truth about the mileage you get from automatics! lol.. Personaly, my ZX is the only auto that I have ever owned that did more than 30 mpg ave.. And I have been driving autos for 50 years, starting with the old Daimler DB Borg Warner And Armstrong Siddley pre-selector gearboxes. My first car was a Daimler DB.18.. with cable brakes that took forever to stop!!

Hiya Mike, my IE5 folder does not get emptied when I use the tools>internet options> route. I have to go in and do it manually, otherwise it just keeps on growing.. lol ..

As you say, I have lots of svchost progs on my list but only one causes me problems, it's a svchost system whatsit. I went to MS home page and tried to download patches, that svchost jumped to 98% CPU use! so i closed the site down and returned to my desktop, svchost dropped to 00 ?? I then came onto this site, svchost still reads 00 odd huh? seems it doesn't like Microsofts home page!! lol..

I havent a clue how to point it back at the C drive cache path??? or to find %systemroot% though I think that file is in C:\>Windows somewhere..

Sorry to sound such a plonker but I have had no training on computers. and most techie stuff sounds completely alien to me! lol..
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