How to Troubleshoot High CPU Usage

Programs that require many CPU cycles can cause the CPU usage on the system to increase or spike above normal. When the CPU usage on your system is at a high level, such as 100 percent, the computer will appear stuck or frozen until programs no longer require as many CPU cycles. You can troubleshoot high CPU usage by using the Windows Task Manager or a third party program such as Cacheman.

Difficulty: Moderate

 Instructions:

Windows Task Manager

1. 1
   Press "Ctrl," "Alt" and "Delete" at the same time to display the Windows Task Manager.
2. 2
   Go to the Process tab to see a list of currently running processes on your computer.
3. 3
   Look in the CPU column and locate programs that are using many CPU cycles. High CPU cycles can cause the CPU usage of a program to increase.
4. 4
   Right-click on the program and highlight "Set Priority" from the context menu. Select the "low" or "below normal" option to change the priority of the program.
5. 5
   Repeat Steps 3 and 4 to change the priority of other programs with high CPU usage.

Cacheman

6. 1
   Download the Cacheman program (see Resources). Save the program to your desktop and double-click the setup file to install the program.
7. 2
   Double-click the Cacheman icon on the desktop to open the program.
8. 3
   Locate a program with high CPU usage from the CPU Usage column. Right-click on the program and highlight "Set Priority" from the context menu.
9. 4
   Select "low" or "below normal" to lower the CPU usage of the program.
10. 5
    Repeat Steps 3 and 4 to change the priority of other programs with high CPU usage.

How to Fix a Computer That Keeps Restarting

Have you ever had a computer that restarted over and over again?
Did you think that it was a virus? Well, in many cases in may or it may not be. First off,
there are many factors of your computer restarting. If it was a virus, your computer would
tell you that there is no operating system found. Or, you get the Blue Screen of death.
IN the following steps, I will show you how to prevent from your computer restarting from
the logo page.

Difficulty: Moderate

 

 Instructions:

 

           Things You'll Need:

•                     Paper Towel
•                     Anti Virus Protection
•                     Q-tips

1. 1
   Honestly, by this point you do not need a Virus protection as you can not enter the windows operating system. I have repaired many computers with this situation and trust me, it is quite simple.
2. 2
   
   Check the Fans
   When you turn on your computer, make sure that the fan in running in the very beginning. If it is a virus that attacked your computer, your fan will continue running without anything on the screen. Your fan is located in the back of the computer. That is where the power supply is at.
3. 3
   If your fan is still running, you must reinstall your windows operating system. Please note, do not do this until you read my next article, "How to save your files from an unworking PC".
4. 4
   
   Unplug PC
   If your fan is not running, then this is good news for now. You must turn off all the power from your computer. I recommend you unplug the power cord behind the PC. You are going to have to open your PC
5. 5
   
   Dust on CPU FAN.
   The other reason your computer might be turning off is because the computer is over heating. The CPU is not getting a lot of air flow, when you turn on the computer, and when it goes into the operating system, the PC temperature goes up high, that's why computers need fans. But what is causing the PC to over heat? Well, its DUST!!!
6. 6
   
   another cpu fan with dust
   Its time for a PC clean up. Get your paper towel and q-tips. Have your magnetic strip handy, or if you don't have a magnetic strip, touch the power supply to ground your self from any electro magnetic shock.
7. 7
   
   Clean CPU Fan
   Get your q-tips and clean the Dust off your CPU fan. The air is not going through to the CPU, that's why the computer shuts it self down, so that the computer would not catch on fire. Clean every hole on the computer case, make sure its clear for air to enter. Your CPU fan should look like the picture.
8. 8
   Clean all dust off of the computer case. Once you are done, close the computer and plug everything back in. Start your PC is it should load up.
9. 9
   
   If non of this worked, you must open the computer case again and make sure all the Divers are plug in securely. Many times a technician installs a new drive or RAM into your system and it wasn't properly installed. Your computer will not start. Make sure the RAMs are nicely secured in the PCI slot. Make sure the 2 white side handles are inserted correctly on the ram as shown on the picture. Close your case and start your computer. That should work.
10. 10
    
    Motherboard
    If that did not work, it may be your RAM or Motherboard. You must go buy a new motherboard or Ram. I suggest you take it to a technician to install the motherboard, but if you know how to install a new one, good for your. Remember to back up your data. Very Important.

Steps to Remove Win32:Rootkit-gen[Rtk] Virus

Symptoms of the problem:

•    Win32:Rootkit-gen[Rtk] virus infection notice.
•    Resides in ur0.com file which happens to be a virus itself.
•    Also resides in System Volume Information folder.
•    May also prevent double click opening of a drive.

Solution:

Steps to remove ur0.com virus
•    Run Task Manager, delete the ur0.com process, if any.
•    Run msconfig in the Run box and remove the virus file from startup list, if any.
•    Reboot into safe mode, search the ur0.com file, and remember to include hidden files option as well.
•    Permanently delete the files found.

Steps to remove Win32:Rootkit-gen[Rtk] Virus
•    The only reason why this virus infects the PC again is that, it has been saved in the System Restore files.
•    So turn off the System Restore now (Right click on My Computer-> Properties-> System Restore tab-> click on Turn off System Restore on all drives).
•    Reboot the PC to let the restore files to get deleted.
•    Now just turn on the system restore.

The virus has been removed!!

How to Break a BIOS Password

Break BIOS Password for Desktop :

If it's a desktop PC, erasing the cmos memory will usually clear it.

Steps:
1. Power off the computer and make sure that it is unplugged.

2. Open up your computer case. You need physical access to the motherboard to complete this procedure.

3. Find a circular, (mostly) silver metallic object on the motherboard. This is the CMOS battery.

4. CAREFULLY remove the CMOS battery and leave it out for about 120- 180 seconds. This will flush the CMOS memory which stores the BIOS password and all other configuration. (See Warnings)

5. Set the battery back into place and power on the computer.

6. The computer should then warn you that the CMOS configuration could not be found. You can either reconfigure it yourself or restore defaults. Restoring the default configuration should be fine.

7. You will notice that the BIOS password has been cleared and you can boot without it. You may reset the BIOS password to something else by going into the BIOS configuration and setting a new User Password.


Alternate Methos: (More Dificult)

Remove a jumper: There's a jumper on your motherboard that you'll need to identify and remove. Most motherboards make your job easier by actually labeling the correct jumper as "BIOS config" or something similar. (it looks like a small plastic thingy on 2 pins with 1 pin beside it, within a 1" of the battery). If you're having trouble looking for it, look in the motherboard manual.After you have found it, carefuly pull straight up on it, and place it on the 2-3 pins(it was on the 1-2 pins). With the battery removed and the jumper moved, turn the computer on, and check to see if you can get into the bios. If you are able to, turn the computer off, put the jumper back on pins 1-2, and put the battery back in. Lastly put the case together and you are done.

Note: Don't forget to configure the BIOS (if you know how) after this process. If you you don't know how, just hold the "delete" button when starting your PC and when the blue screen appears, find the load safe defaults settings and press:

* ENTER button

* Y button

* F10 button

Break BIOS Password for Laptop :

Remember that laptops can be trickier, especially if it's a newer model. If it has a security chip on the motherboard forget about it. You either have to physically remove the chip or contact the mfg for the "master" password. If you can boot up off of a cd or floppy try any of these methods:

1. Create a Win98SE bootable media "or anything that lets you boot into MS-DOS" and boot off of it.

2. When the A:\> prompt appears type debug and press enter.

3. You will then only see a "-".

4. Type o 70 2E "include the spaces" and press Enter.

5. Type o 71 ff "include the spaces" and press Enter.

6. Type q and press Enter.

7. Here are a list of common mfg backdoor passwords

* AWARD BIOS

AWARD SW, AWARD_SW, Award SW, AWARD PW, _award, awkward, J64, j256, j262, j332, j322, 01322222, 589589, 589721, 595595, 598598, HLT, SER, SKY_FOX, aLLy, aLLY, Condo, CONCAT, TTPTHA, aPAf, HLT, KDD, ZBAAACA, ZAAADA, ZJAAADC,

* AMI BIOS

AMI, A.M.I., AMI SW, AMI_SW, BIOS, PASSWORD, HEWITT RAND, Oder

Softwares to Break BIOS Password:

If your system boots but the BIOS password is still in place, there are several programs you can load that are designed to crack the passwords or clear them altogether. The encryption on BIOS passwords is not very complex. Following are links to a few of these free programs:

How to View Windows Minidump Files

What is a MiniDump File? 

When you encounter a BSOD (Blue Screen of Death) in Windows the computer will save information regarding the error message in a log file. This log file or minidump file is saved in the Minidump subdirectory under Windows (C:\Windows\MiniDump). Generally the information saved in this minidump file can help pinpoint the cause of the blue screen error message and help you in resolving the problem.

However, the minidump file is not saved in a text format, so if you try to open the file in a text editor like Notepad you won't be able to decipher the information and understand it.

So, how do you view a minidump file and decipher the contents? Microsoft distributes several utilities that allow you to do this, but you have to download them. The following information will help you configure your system to save minidump files, download and install the debugging tools, and view the minidump files.

Configuring Windows to Save MiniDump Files

First of all, you need to configure Windows to save these important log files. Most of the time, this is already done automatically, however follow these steps to make sure these log files are being saved.

1) Click on Start

2) Right-click on My Computer

3) Click on Properties

4)  In Windows XP, click on the Advanced tab. In Windows Vista, click on the Advanced System Systems option on the left side of the screen.

5) Under Startup and Recovery, Click on the Setting button

6) Under the System Failure section, you'll see the options for the memory dump file. Write an event to the system log should be checked along with Send an Administrative Alert. The debugging information should be set to the Small Memory dump (64K) and generally the Small Dump Directory is set to %SystemRoot%\Minidump. In most cases this is the C:\Windows\Minidump directory.

As far as the third check box is concerned, if this is checked the computer will automatically restart when a blue screen error message is encountered. So, if your computer is booting into Windows, then rebooting automatically most likely you are getting some sort of blue screen error message and its forcing the computer to restart. If you uncheck this box, then the message itself will appear so you can retrieve important details about the error.


Download and Installing the Debugging Tools to Read Minidump Files

In order to view the Minidump files, you have to download the following tools.

Debugging Tools for Windows including WinDbg

Although most of the time its not necessary, you can download the Symbol packages as well as the Debugging Tools so you can read the Minidump logs easier. Once you've downloaded the Debugging Tools for the correct version of Windows and installed them, open the WinDbg program by following these steps.

1) Click on Start
2) Click on All Programs
3) Click on Debugging Tools for Windows group
4) Click on WinDbg to open

The screen should look similar to the one below.



Deciphering the Minidump Files

In the WinDbg program, click on File, then click on Open Crash Dump

Browse to the following directory on your hard drive and open a minidump log. The drive letter will be whichever drive you installed Windows on. In most cases, this is drive C.

C:\Windows\Minidump

After you open a minidump file in WinDbg, scroll to the bottom of the file. You should see a line that says Probably caused by:, followed by a filename. This is the problem file. In my case the file was related to the ELock Program in the Acer Empowering Technology set of tools. I simply uninstalled this program from the computer and the blue screen and problem went away.

Probably caused by : eLock2FSCTLDriver.sys ( eLock2FSCTLDriver+11332 )

Although you may not recognize the file that is causing the problem, it definitely helps in tracking down a solution for the blue screen error message and resolving the issues.

How to Fix Computer Continuously Rebooting After XP SP3 is installed

Stop Error 0x0000007E After SP3 is installed

I've had a few computers that will not boot correctly after I've installed Windows XP Service Pack 3 on them. The computer finishes the install and then prompts for a reboot. The computer will start to reboot then give a BSOD Stop Error for a second and reboot again. This process will continue unless the computer is started in Safe Mode. In Safe mode the computer boots correctly and everything seems fine.

This problem only appears on some systems after upgrading to SP3. This particular problem on systems that have been prepared with SysPrep. The sysprep image was created on an Intel based computer, and then the sysprep image is deployed on a Non-Intel system such as an AMD processor.  In these cases, the registry entry for Intelppm is incorrectly set and causes the computer to go into a continuous reboot after the service pack has installed.

How Can I Solve This Problem?

Follow these steps to resolve this issue with the computer not booting correctly after SP3 is installed.

1) Start your computer in Safe Mode.

2) Click on Start, Run, and type REGEDIT and press Enter. This will open the Registry Editor.

3) Click the pluses(+) next to the following registry keys to navigate to the correct spot.

•  HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
• SYSTEM
• CurrentControlSet
• Services
• Intelppm

4) In the right hand column find the entry titled START and double-click on it

5) Change the number to 4 and click Ok

6) Close the Registry Editor

7) Shut down your computer and restart

This time the computer should restart normally and finish the installation of SP3.

Launch System Restore from a command prompt !!

If your Windows XP system begins acting strange, a typical fix is to use System Restore to remove any system changes made since the last time you created a Restore Point. However, what if the problem is so bad that you can't start Windows XP normally, or even start the system in Safe Mode?

The good news is you can run System Restore from a command prompt. Here's how:

1. Restart your computer and press [F8] during the initial startup.
2. When you see the Windows Advanced Options Menu, select the Safe Mode with a Command Prompt option.
3. Select the Windows XP operating system.
4. Log on to your computer with an administrator account or with an account that has administrator credentials.
5. Type the following command at a command prompt:
C:\windows\system32\restore\rstrui.exe

When you see the System Restore window, the graphics may look odd, but you can still follow the onscreen instructions to restore your computer to an earlier state.