[Krissty]

Hi! This is the first time I've resorted to such kind of forums, so please bear with me as my computer knowledge is not that brilliant. Also please excuse my non-scientific approach to explaining the problem and the wall of text. I do hope it makes any sense at all.

 

The problem that I've had for a year or even more now is that something clogs up the CPU and makes the computer extremely slow. Initially I got complete PC freezes and sometimes BSODs even, but those I have managed to solve along the way as it seems.

 

The main issue still remains. The description of the problem would be - I pretty much have a constant audio going on when on the computer (working with video files, watching some youtube or listening to a web radio) so it's most noticable with the sound first - once the clogging starts it gets all slowed down and robotic. When I still had the complete freezes going (complete freeze, nothing is reacting and have to force restart) the sound that was coming trough the headphones at that point would be so violent (even the volume of it changed and could be heard in the next room even - sometimes happened when I wasn't at the PC even) I am surprised I didn't get my eardrums popped. The programs, mouse and keyboard reaction is extremely slow at that point too. Getting to the Task Manager alone takes quite some time. But after googling on how to do things and all, I discovered that it's one of the scvhost.exe things that is spiking the CPU to 50%-70% alone. If I go to the process that this scvhost is responsible for, it's the Cryptographic services. I've tried disabling it in the Windows Process list, but it keeps turning on anyways. If I turn it off at the startup of Windows it sometimes gets started by something and sometimes it doesn't. But if it's disabled, I don't see a lot of issues (sometimes the DNS service does the same thing, but that is a lot more rare and happens for a lot shorter moment). And, yes - after 5-10 minutes everything calms down if I don't do anything and is calm for some time.

 

Things I've done so far (I can't even remember all) - all the scans for malware, adware, viruses, MemTest overnight a couple of times, CC cleaner. I've ran the Windows updates (had them turned off for a while), updated the drivers, uninstalled anything that I had not used for a while. Looked at the hosts file as well. Pretty much everything that has been suggested to people with scvhost.exe high CPU usage on other web sources and forums. And none have shown any issues at all - no malware, adware, hosts file okay, etc.

 

So, I guess, I've found the culprit (at least I hope so ) - the Cryptographic services, but I have no idea what is causing it to act up and how to fix it as I have not been able to find anyone reporting such a problem (only the ones where this service is not working and people can't update Windows because of that - which is not my case).

 

Not sure what kind of details you'd need to identify the possible problem, but I'll write down some computer info just in case:

AMD Athlon™ II X4 645 Processor 2,20 GHz

RAM: 4,00GB (3,25 GB usable)

32-bit Operating System (Windows 7 Ultimate)

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560

 

Is there anything else that would be important when it comes to the specs?

 

Thank you in advance!

Edited by Krissty, 12 October 2014 - 03:38 AM.

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      Krissty

 

Can you post a screenshot of Disk Manager for us;

 

 

1.        Click on the Start button and then choose Control Panel.

2.        Click on the System and Security link.

Note: If you're viewing the Large icons or Small iconsview of Control Panel, you won't see this link so just click on the Administrative Tools icon and skip to Step 4.

3.        In the System and Security window, click on the Administrative Tools heading located near the bottom of the window.

4.        In the Administrative Tools window, double-click on the Computer Management icon.

5.        When Computer Management opens, click on Disk Management on the left side of the window, located under Storage.

After a brief loading period, Disk Management should now appear on the right side of the Computer Management window.

Note: If you don't see Disk Management listed, you may need to click on the |> icon to the left of the Storage icon.

 

To capture and post a screenshot;

 

Click on the ALT key + PRT SCR key..its on the top row..right hand side..now click on start...all programs...accessories...paint....left click in the white area ...press CTRL + V...click on file...click on save...save it to your desktop...name it something related to the screen your capturing... BE SURE TO SAVE IT AS A .JPG ...otherwise it may be to big to upload... then after typing in any response you have... click on browse...desktop...find the screenshot..select it and click on the upload button...then on the lower left...after it says upload successful...click on add reply like you normally would.
 

Screenshot instructions are provided to assist those that may read this topic but are not yet aware of the “how to”.

[phillpower2]

      Krissty

 

Can you post a screenshot of Disk Manager for us;

 

 

1.        Click on the Start button and then choose Control Panel.

2.        Click on the System and Security link.

Note: If you're viewing the Large icons or Small iconsview of Control Panel, you won't see this link so just click on the Administrative Tools icon and skip to Step 4.

3.        In the System and Security window, click on the Administrative Tools heading located near the bottom of the window.

4.        In the Administrative Tools window, double-click on the Computer Management icon.

5.        When Computer Management opens, click on Disk Management on the left side of the window, located under Storage.

After a brief loading period, Disk Management should now appear on the right side of the Computer Management window.

Note: If you don't see Disk Management listed, you may need to click on the |> icon to the left of the Storage icon.

 

To capture and post a screenshot;

 

Click on the ALT key + PRT SCR key..its on the top row..right hand side..now click on start...all programs...accessories...paint....left click in the white area ...press CTRL + V...click on file...click on save...save it to your desktop...name it something related to the screen your capturing... BE SURE TO SAVE IT AS A .JPG ...otherwise it may be to big to upload... then after typing in any response you have... click on browse...desktop...find the screenshot..select it and click on the upload button...then on the lower left...after it says upload successful...click on add reply like you normally would.
 

Screenshot instructions are provided to assist those that may read this topic but are not yet aware of the “how to”.

[Krissty]

Thank you for replying to my request, phillpower2!

I am attaching the screenshot of the disc management.

[phillpower2]

Thanks for the screenshot which shows the HDD to be healthy and to have plenty of free storage space available.

 

Run chkdsk and System File Checker (SFC) from the Recovery Console, if you do not have a disk refer to the ISO details below;

• Boot your Vista or Windows 7 installation DVD
• When you see "Press any key to boot from CD or DVD", press Enter
• At the "Install Windows" screen, click on Repair your computer at lower left
• At the System Recovery Options screen, make note of the drive letter assigned to your boot drive (normally C:) and click Next
• At the Chose a Recovery Tool window, click on Command Prompt. You will be sitting at X:\Sources directory
• Run chkdsk or SFC
  • If you did not note the drive letter of your boot disk, you can enter bcdedit and look at the osdevice line to see what it is.
  • For chkdsk, type chkdsk c: /r and press Enter (use the letter from above if not C:).
  • For sfc, type sfc /scannow /offbootdir=c:\ /offwindir=c:\windows and press Enter (use the letter from above)

Let either run to completion undisturbed.

Vista or Windows 7: If you do not have a Windows Vista installation DVD, you can download a legal copy with SP1 integrated from here: or;

Download Official Windows Vista RTM with SP1 Setup Files (32-bit and 64-bit).

 

You should also use the Windows 7 USB/DVD Download Tool from here and please note that SFC may need to be run 4/5 times before all detected errors are repaired.

[Krissty]

Oh, unfortunately the OS is not the "legit" one, I am afraid (got it installed by the IT guy who normally worked on our computers (he's moved to another country now)), so I have no idea if your suggestion would work at all. Couldn't afford much back at that point and he said it would be of no issue. Would that be the main reason for the problem (there were no issues for 2 years and stuff like this started just a year ago)?

[phillpower2]

Then you will need to download an ISO in any event as we do not help with illegally obtained software, as per the GTG Terms of Use;

p. The posting of links or references to warez or any other type of illegal software is strictly forbidden. By doing so you risk having your user account terminated without warning. We will NOT help anyone we suspect of having obtained their software or services illegally.

 

 

Your best course of action is to download an appropriate ISO,  back up all important data then format the HDD and install the ISO to it`s own partition on the HDD.

 

What OS was originally on the computer and is there a product key sticker still on the case, we can help you obtain a legitimate ISO but can do nothing further with the present issue.

[Krissty]

The computer was a custom build and came with just eeermm... Bios? Meaning - no actual OS (as in Windows or that) was on there. I used to have the XP discs which I planned on using, but well... Stuff happened (read divorce) - I don't have those anymore either. Do you think formatting the C partition (I keep the important stuff on the D - that's why it's partitioned in the first place) and getting a legit Win7 Home Premium would do the trick (that one is in the affordable range)?

[phillpower2]

It is doable with a little bit more work.

 

Windows 7 ISOs from here

Windows 7 USB/DVD Download Tool here

GParted  (free) for deleting the C: partition here

 

You get 30 days to activate Windows with Microsoft btw.

[Krissty]

Thank you, phillpower2! I'll see what I can do. If I can't manage it myself (really hoped that would be something in my own powers), I'll try to find some help locally (re-installing OS is something that seems absolutely dreadful to me and I have never even attempted to do it myself - unreasonable phobia ). This thread may be closed, I guess.

[phillpower2]

Create a bootable USB stick ready for the installation, delete the present C: partition and then install the new version of Windows 7 to the newly formatted C: drive/partition, all the Windows 7 information that you need here and the GParted directions you should be able to print off.

 

Tech topics are not closed without good reason, you are receiving assistance with obtaining a legal version of Windows 7 through an approved source and that is the correct thing to do, if you were not doing so the topic would have been closed.

 

Post back when Windows Home Premium is installed and fully updated or if you have any questions regarding the new installation.

[Krissty]

Thank you! This might take some time for resolving on my part, though (kids and unexpected fevers...). I'll report back when I have some progress going here.

[phillpower2]

Not a problem, the little ones must come first 

 

You are most welcome btw