I'm having some problems with some software. I'm working with Hold Bro's (my new broker) to fix the problem, and they think the problem is related to my CPU usage. In my task manager, under 'Performance' my CPU usage is fluctuating wildly. It says 10%, then a second later it's 100%, then 25%, then 99%... Before I spend all kinds of time with their programmers, does anyone have any idea why this might be occurring? A quick fix would really be nice right now. BTW I need to get PCAnywhere so they can look at my computer. Does anyone know if there is still a free trial for this software? I'm checking at Symantec's website, and I can't find one.
You could have a memory problem and not a CPU problem. Download Cacheman from CNET. Should help out a lot.
Be careful on the PC Anywhere installation because it's not compatible with certain multi monitor cards. The last time I installed it on a system with an Appian card, it crashed my whole system and I got the blue screen of death. Baron
Baron I loaded and ran pcAnywhere on my multi monitor setup, and it worked fine. Is there a danger of that happening anytime? greydeath What does cacheman do exactly? Do you think I might have a cache problem?
No, if it worked ok for you immediately after installing it, you'll be fine. When I installed it, it was during the middle of last year and I don't think they had decent support for multi-monitor setups then.
Cacheman improves memory allocation and hence CPU usage. It wouldn't hurt to try this 600k program and can easily be deleted without any problems if you don't like it. You want a quick fix, this is it. http://download.cnet.com/downloads/0-10102-100-5379469.html
The first question is, how long have you been running your current hardware setup? If you weren't previously having this problem and now are, I would say it isn't a memory cache problem. In that case, I would crack open the computer and check to make sure that the cooling fan for your CPU is still running okay. If your BIOS supports CPU temperature monitoring, etc. go into the BIOS and make sure that the CPU is running within acceptable temperature limits. If that's okay, my next question would be have you added any new software that may be running in the background causing this problem? Hit CTRL-ALT-DEL and see what's running. If there are any programs you're not familiar with that are currently running, close them one by one while monitoring your CPU usage and see if there is one that is the culprit. Those are a few of my ideas.
zboy2854A, I have to disagree with you. By not having this problem before, and now after running more programs it puts more strain on memory resources. Also, ripping open the PC and messing with BIOS is dangerous for the inexperienced. If there was no problem with the PC before running Hold Bros' software then it's not a heating problem. I doubt that the software would burnout the CPU fan. In your second paragraph you also mention that may be too many programs are running and hence having a strain on the computer's resources. With Cacheman, you can see if you have enough memory resources properly allocated for these programs. If so, then you don't have to Ctrl-Alt-Del to stop running other programs. In addition, it seems that the software is working but just too slowly, so I doubt that it is conflicting with other programs running (except for the memory resources). Just install Cacheman. With all your programs running, look and see if you have any "Free Physical Memory" left. If you do have memory and still have the problem then try to reinstall Hold Bros' software platform. If that doesn't work, good luck talking to their tech support. It'll be better to find a new broker than that.
I tried Cacheman. Didn't seem to help. Unless there's something you're supposed to do once you're in the program. I just clicked on the icon and ran the program; I'm not sure whether you're supposed to do anything else. One thing I'm noticing is that normally the CPU usage stays fairly constant. Then when I open or close a program, my CPU usage spikes up, then back down again. It does the same on my second computer. Is that normal? BTW, I installed Graybox on my second computer. The functions that don't work on my main computer are working on computer #2. I don't know whether that can help me solve my problem. I'll try your suggestions tomorrow, zboy.
Setting Cacheman: You have to set Cacheman according to your OS. Start the program, go into "Presets", choose either "Windows/95, /98 or /ME" and then click "Average User", "Save settings", exit and reboot PC. It's straight forward. Hope it helps. Good luck.