# My Computer is Overworking



## Jay9980 (Mar 12, 2014)

Hello to all,

So I purchased a second-hand ASUS notebook recently, hoping to use it for basic university work. I have made sure that the drive was wiped clean, leaving only the programs that I wanted to keep (it came with a version of Microsoft Office 2013 Pro). 

However, a couple of weeks after I began to use it, the memory and disk categories in the Task Manager began to show readings of 90-100% capacity, and the entire system started to lag. I have gone through various windows and possible solutions, trying to locate the program(s) which were causing the problem. As far as I can tell, the main culprits are the antimalware and the Service Hosts. It has got to the point where it pretty much sits constantly at around 50% while idle, and the disk jumps up to unprecedented heights every now and then, once again displaying the Service Host (usually it's the Local System (Network Restricted), but sometimes it's just the Local System).

I have run scans with a few different programs and there doesn't appear to be any malware (I even went through a few places manually to se if I could find anything dodgy).

I have tried rebooting and seeing whether that makes a difference, but after a few seconds it begins hitting the 48-50% usage of memory again. I would like to know how to find out which system program is causing the random jumps in my usage, and how to slow them down/stop them from killing me in the middle of study. As for the malware, I probably need to find an alternative, as it's just being annoying more than anything.

Thanks for any responses!


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## golddust (Jan 2, 2005)

Is it running antivirus software? If a subscription type like Norton or McAfee, is it paid for and up to date? If not, you could be severely infected. Try another like Avast (free version). You'll need the removal tool for the first (Ex: Norton Removal Tool) which you can get by Googling it.


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## Jay9980 (Mar 12, 2014)

Hi golddust,

Yes, it's running an antivirus program (I think it's the default one the comes with Windows 8 - Defender), and it says there are no threats detected. I have also done scans with Housecall to make sure that I'm not missing anything, and manually went through the processes in Task Manager to see if I could find any red flags.


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## Jay9980 (Mar 12, 2014)

Antman said:


> Check size of HOSTS file at C:\Windows\System32\Drivers\etc\
> 
> If larger than 1MB, either rename HOSTS or disable DNS Client service.


I've taken a look at the HOSTS file and it says it's 1KB. So I've disabled the DNS Client service anyway.

This is starting to really frustrate me. I have five browser tabs open and the Memory is at 69%.


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## Jay9980 (Mar 12, 2014)

This is a picture of the Task Manager when disc space usage jumps to unimaginable heights.

I had nothing except the Task Manager and Calendar open. 

I use Opera Next as my browser.

I do not believe that the browser is the culprit, as at most it adds maybe 5-10% usage on with a fair amount of tabs open.


This state of high disk usage lasted for about ten seconds and then returned to zero, and then went through the cycle a few more times. I'm not sure what conditions set it off.


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## Jay9980 (Mar 12, 2014)

I'll check it out when I get home this evening.


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