Task Manager displays excessive random CPU activity!
Task Manager displays excessive random CPU activity!
I've observed that the CPU usage fluctuates between 43-100% briefly when I open Task Manager, then drops to just 4%. This behavior hasn't occurred before, and I suspect it's related to the latest Nvidia driver. Even after switching back to an older version, the issue persists. There seems to be no clear concern unless you're experiencing instability.
I once faced a virus that vanished when I hovered over it in Task Manager. I used a tool called Process Explorer (or similar) to investigate what was running. Then I traced the file path and removed the problematic executable. Simple as it sounds. If you're lucky, it'll be that straightforward.
You can identify a virus by checking for unusual behavior, unexpected pop-ups, or changes in your system performance. Look for suspicious files, unauthorized changes, or warning messages from the app.
I set up Windows using the reset option, but it didn’t help. I tried installing via USB, but that also failed. All three drives had everything erased, and I reinstalled Windows, yet the issue persisted.
They all point to a hidden virus, which matches what the person above mentioned. The key points I had were moved to my USB drive. It took about two hours, nothing major, but I remain worried since such an incident hasn’t happened before. I also ran a scan with Malwarebytes, and everything came back clean.
If scanned correctly, you'd recognize if you had a virus. If infected, copying files to a USB, reformatting drives, and reinserting the USB would be pointless. When a virus strikes, don't save files afterward. Your backups must come from before infection.
Check the process explorer to identify the resource consuming CPU. Let's know the name of the process or capture a screenshot for further analysis.