# General CPU Slow Down After Using VLC Media Player



## Fiyah (Apr 6, 2012)

Hello,

So recently I have noticed that I have been having stuttering and stopping problems with VLC media player 2,0.1 when I play videos that start to stutter and then freeze the computer. Then I noticed that my computer when get really slow overall after I shut down VLC media player once the slow down occurred. I tried to use Windows Media Player but encountered the same issues. This led me to try to see if the problem was some sort of infection so I ran a partial McAfee scan, Malware Bytes scan, SuperAntiSpyware scan, and finally a SpyBot scan all of which found different things but none that solved that problem. Eventually this led to me trying to upgrade my Windows XP to Windows 7 to see if that alleviated the problem, which it hasn't. I would really appreciate any help I can get on this matter. Currently my CPU usage according to System Task Manager is 100% even though nothing significant is running.

Thank you in advance.


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## Phantom010 (Mar 9, 2009)

What process(es) is/are showing high CPU usage?


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## Fiyah (Apr 6, 2012)

Thanks for the help! Just google chrome and explorer.exe are the two highest processes at about 25000 kb each. I was trying to post a HiJackThis file, but the program is not saving a log file for me.


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## Oddba11 (May 13, 2011)

"25000 kb each would indicate the amount of RAM/memory used. But isn't what was asked.

Check the cpu usage.


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## Fiyah (Apr 6, 2012)

So I rechecked it and it was 15-40% CPU usage when working normally, but jumped to 90-100 with slow down of everything even after VLC closed.


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## Phantom010 (Mar 9, 2009)

Open the *Task Manager* (CTRL+ALT+DEL) and choose the *Processes* tab.

Can you see which process is using the most CPU?


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## Fiyah (Apr 6, 2012)

Thank you for all the help. Well when it's running VLC media player is the highest running process and a process for Windows Defender is second. I have posted a text file from Process Explorer below.

Process PID CPU Private Bytes Working Set Description Company Name
vlc.exe 2840 35.22 124,192 K 102,460 K VLC media player the VideoLAN Team
svchost.exe 2976 79,260 K 14,192 K Host Process for Windows Services Microsoft Corporation
svchost.exe 864 < 0.01 50,704 K 58,336 K Host Process for Windows Services Microsoft Corporation
explorer.exe 2012 0.23 47,292 K 51,904 K Windows Explorer Microsoft Corporation
dwm.exe 1768 15.36 40,832 K 20,900 K Desktop Window Manager Microsoft Corporation
svchost.exe 788 20,360 K 20,472 K Host Process for Windows Services Microsoft Corporation
SearchIndexer.exe 2316 19,636 K 14,620 K Microsoft Windows Search Indexer Microsoft Corporation
procexp.exe 1776 30.71 15,908 K 26,068 K Sysinternals Process Explorer Sysinternals - www.sysinternals.com
audiodg.exe 4048 5.88 15,800 K 14,364 K 
svchost.exe 896 0.68 14,472 K 26,728 K Host Process for Windows Services Microsoft Corporation
svchost.exe 1308 0.12 14,092 K 16,708 K Host Process for Windows Services Microsoft Corporation
svchost.exe 1484 10,624 K 11,444 K Host Process for Windows Services Microsoft Corporation
svchost.exe 2832 0.02 8,720 K 10,368 K Host Process for Windows Services Microsoft Corporation
wmpnetwk.exe 2428 0.03 8,616 K 8,008 K Windows Media Player Network Sharing Service Microsoft Corporation
taskhost.exe 1336 7,004 K 6,892 K Host Process for Windows Tasks Microsoft Corporation
svchost.exe 1452 0.13 6,828 K 14,124 K Host Process for Windows Services Microsoft Corporation
svchost.exe 1064 0.02 6,532 K 11,508 K Host Process for Windows Services Microsoft Corporation
services.exe 488 4,768 K 7,096 K 
spoolsv.exe 1416 4,548 K 8,456 K Spooler SubSystem App Microsoft Corporation
lsass.exe 532 3,196 K 8,304 K Local Security Authority Process Microsoft Corporation
svchost.exe 736 2,940 K 5,824 K Host Process for Windows Services Microsoft Corporation
svchost.exe 664 2,856 K 6,676 K Host Process for Windows Services Microsoft Corporation
rpcld.exe 1496 2,664 K 6,280 K 
AppleMobileDeviceService.exe 360 0.05 2,464 K 7,932 K MobileDeviceService Apple Inc.
csrss.exe 440 1.77 1,840 K 13,464 K 
iPodService.exe 2132 0.10 1,760 K 4,904 K iPodService Module (32-bit) Apple Inc.
winlogon.exe 520 1,688 K 4,576 K 
rpcnet.exe 1648 1,592 K 4,740 K rpcnet Absolute Software Corp.
mDNSResponder.exe 3228 1,488 K 4,200 K Bonjour Service Apple Inc.
csrss.exe 380 0.01 1,324 K 3,152 K 
lsm.exe 540 1,236 K 2,880 K 
WUDFHost.exe 1168 1,044 K 3,800 K 
wininit.exe 432 1,040 K 3,400 K 
smss.exe 300 264 K 756 K 
System 4 1.13 52 K 2,312 K 
System Idle Process 0 0 K 24 K 
Interrupts n/a 2.96 0 K 0 K Hardware Interrupts and DPCs


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## Phantom010 (Mar 9, 2009)

I agree that a working set of 102,460 K seems pretty high.

When running Windows Media Player instead of VLC, is the working set as high (the one for WMP)?


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## Fiyah (Apr 6, 2012)

So far windows media player seems to be working fine with a codec pack. Any suggestions for what I can do to use VLC media player or an alternative.


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## Phantom010 (Mar 9, 2009)

Personally, with the right codecs, I can play just about anything with Windows Media Player.

You can also try *KMPlayer* or *GOM Media Player*.


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## Fiyah (Apr 6, 2012)

Any recommendations on codec packs? I was wondering if maybe you can recommend another program with VLC player like flexibility and especially the ability to speed up videos with pitch adjustment?


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## Phantom010 (Mar 9, 2009)

I use the *K-Lite Codec Pack*.


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## Oddba11 (May 13, 2011)

I'd suggest NOT using a coded pack. They work fine most of the time, but when they don't or there are video issues, the only fix is often a fresh OS install. Not too mention all of the bloat to the HDD AND the registry.

If a file won't play, determine which codec is needed and install the missing codec. The majority of files use WMV or Divx. The few that don't are easily installed without much effort.


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## Phantom010 (Mar 9, 2009)

You never know which codec you need unless you're using special software like GSpot, which you need to understand first... Then, you need to find the codec...

I've been using K-Lite for many years and can play anything on Windows Media Player.


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## Oddba11 (May 13, 2011)

I've used it without issue as well in the past. I've also seen horror stories of video playback issues after it's installed. And I've seen first hand all of the bloat that it install.

Checking a video with gSpot or MediaInfo to see which codec is used isn't a big deal. And it's not often you find non-standard videos that require codecs anyway. After you eliminate Divx and Quicktime, there isn't much left that the normal user encounters. No reason to install two dozen codecs, other software/players, and bloat the registry to save a few minutes of work.

In any case, it's just my suggestion. Many users take the easy way out. I'd rather learn what's going on and be educated.


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## Phantom010 (Mar 9, 2009)

Oddba11 said:


> And I've seen first hand all of the bloat that it install.


I agree. That's why I always install the *Basic* version. Then again, it's still a little too bloated. I don't understand most tools included.


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