4

I noticed a process named System seems to constantly use up to 20% of my CPU, it also maxes out one of my CPU's cores. Performance seems to be unaffected (as far as I know). I used Performance Explorer and apparently ACPI.sys is the culprit.

I tried reinstalling various drivers, disabling various components on Device Manager nnd unplugging the Ethernet cable, I get the same problem on Safe Mode even. I did a reset and it still persists immediately after first boot!

My last remaining option is to do a clean install with a bootable USB. But I believe that is too drastic. The laptop is a ASUS G752VL with a GeForce GTX 965M. I have the latest NVIDIA drivers installed also.

Screenshots:

enter image description here

enter image description here

enter image description here

magicandre1981
  • 97,301
  • 30
  • 179
  • 245
Dextra
  • 71
  • 3
  • ACPI handles PnP etc, and a few things I have seen cause an "ACPI loop" on a laptop are: unused ethernet (wake on lan), fingerprint/biometric scanners, loose usb connections (usually causes the connection beep, but not always), issues dealing with the laptop riding the edge between "low-power to high-power" (and loose power plug connection). Try disabling unneeded devices one at a time to see if you can affect the CPU usage. Also try setting Power options to "always 100% max". The most recent problem I saw was an apple driver over-polling a USB hub. Once you isolate, then decide how to fix it – Yorik Sep 20 '16 at 21:39
  • 2
    Possible duplicate of [High CPU usage by "System" and "System interrupts"](http://superuser.com/questions/1135273/high-cpu-usage-by-system-and-system-interrupts) – magicandre1981 Oct 22 '16 at 06:20

3 Answers3

1

Okay. I did the drastic option.

Did a clean install, installed a few drivers (the ones Windows didn't install), did a few reboots and the System process doesn't gobble up one of my threads anymore.

So, I'd say things are back to normal. I still have no clue what causes it, I spent two days trying to troubleshoot it.

It might be caused by a Windows update, but I'm still unclear.

Dextra
  • 71
  • 3
0

  • excessive ACPI.sys activity can indicate a Core is running too hot and is getting either heated by slugware , dust or insufficient air flow or user OC changes in BIOS run faster than stock rate and/or higher Vcore

  • Investigate the above possible causes and report back with temperatures of Core.

  • Hopefully they are <60'C and if not try to reduce number of slugware or useless processes, services and startups. ( using tool like Speccy for T(cpu) or equiv)

If you report back probable cause or more questions, I can append actions. good luck.

Take Note below . Even though I only have 8GB and a slower CPU, it runs cool 2%CPU with 58 processes using browser, email, search everything,Process Hacker, Dropbox, Skydrive, Teamviewer, WinPatrol, etc enter image description here enter image description here

Tony Stewart EE75
  • 1,759
  • 11
  • 14
  • Hello. I've decided to do a clean install and try to compare CPU usage. I'm currently away from the aforementioned laptop but I'll update when I reinstall Windows. I've created an image of my existing to install so I can return if CPU usage is more or less similar, even with a clean install and Windows 10 default drivers. – Dextra Sep 20 '16 at 20:47
0

To add a workaround solution for those of us that use WOL despite this incredibly long lasting bug that Intel and Microsoft don't care to fix, I give you my solution that entails turning WoL off and then on early in the system wake process. I recommend you confirm that turning off WoL "wake on magic packet" does, in fact, reduce your overzealous CPU usage. In my scenario, "wake on pattern match" is off.

I added a task to run a batch file on wake (log: system, source: kernel-power, event id: 131). Make sure to check: Run whether user is logged in or not and: Run with highest privileges.

The batch file is as follows (use your own paths):

powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File "C:\Users\%username%\Documents\woldisable.ps1"
pathping localhost -n -q 1 -p 50 > nul 2>&1
powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File "C:\Users\%username%\Documents\wolenable.ps1"

woldisable.ps1 is as follows (you may have to change the name: "Ethernet" is the default Windows 10 name for a wired internet connection check under: Network and Internet Settings):

Set-NetAdapterAdvancedProperty -Name "Ethernet" -DisplayName "Wake on Magic Packet" -DisplayValue "Disabled" -NoRestart

wolenable.ps1 is as follows:

Set-NetAdapterAdvancedProperty -Name "Ethernet" -DisplayName "Wake on Magic Packet" -DisplayValue "Enabled"

I think potentially you could call a .ps1 file from the get go and bypass the batch, but this is working for me so that is how I will leave it for now.

G-Man Says 'Reinstate Monica'
  • 7,678
  • 22
  • 41
  • 87
oknaaqom
  • 1
  • 1