EMachines T2824 cpu running at 130'f, 100% constant cpu usage

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A few days ago i was working at my computer, not doing anything to exerting, and suddenly i started hearing clicks from my tower. A few clicks later and my computer crashed out, going to the screen that says if its the first time thats happened then restart. I restarted and it came to the very first loading screen, it wasn't moving at all. I then restarted my computer again and it finally booted up correctly. When i signed in the windows login sound was very distorted and playing slowly. I am running XP Home SP2 by the way. And still every sound from the speakers is distorted and slow. Now on to my issue, i use a program called speedfan to check my Comp's temps every so often, and especially after what happened i wanted to. It says my cpu is at a very hot 131 degrees F. Now i'm not a doctor, but i can't imagine that that temp is a good one to be running at.

Now all at the same time my computer, since i logged in, has been running way way slower then what is normal for it. I pull up windows task manager and it shows that my computer is staying in between 70% and 100%, more towards the 100% area. And this is just when i have task manager running, along with the antivirus software that i have.

My question about all this is can anyone maybe shed some light on the situation.. or anyone who has had similar to the same experiences with this comp. Thanx,

Lucassster
 
If system idle process is high, then your CPU isn't under much load.

Clicks are most of the time caused by hard drives. Run a HD Diagnostic test on it, you could also check the SMART status through speedfan, but just because it passes SMART doesn't mean the drive is good. Sometimes even if they pass the HD Diagnostic they still aren't good, but we'll cross that bridge if we get there.

130F is absolutely fine for a CPU.
 
I only have whats needed to run starting at start up. the processes in which are there at the top are winlogin,exe, sdmcp.exe,svchost.exe, iexplore.exe, and explore.exe. These are the main ones that stay at the top of the list.

I started it today, and instead of clicks from the tower, there were clicks from the speakers. This really confused me.

130F is good, thats good to know. I was pretty worried. Honestly the only reason i thought it was bad was because speedfan puts the little fire symbol next to it.
Where exactly can i get a hd tester at? possibly freeware.

One more thing that i noticed but wasn't sure if it is badthing or not, my ram sticks were to hot to touch when i felt them. and by the way, thanx for all of your help everyone. i thought this was a good site, now i know it is.
 
Yes but what if it was wrong reading (ie Hot Ram!)

I say re-check the temperature. Ideally in System CMOS (you will need to press the key (usually DEL) that gets you to CMOS settings, on system bootup.

Or are you saying due to 100%, that's why
 
That would make since, if it was reading it wrong. System CMOS, just press the del key.. anything else or will that show me what i need to know?
 
From starting up the computer (and pressing the key that your machine quickly states - DEL or F2 or other)

Once in CMOS, do not change any settings (just use your Arrow keys (and TAB key to) look for the CPU settings part

There should also be a temperature reading area (just search in there, sometimes you have to go through every page)
 
It's usually either F1, F2 or Delete to enter the BIOS. Look for a small message upon starting your PC, or just tap them all repeatedly.

When you get into the BIOS, it might tell you the temperatures right on the main page. If not, look somewhere in a section something comparable to "Advanced", "Hardware Monitoring" etc. Just use some common sense and roam around, you'll find it.

*Edit*

Blarrgghh, Kimsland, the servers do give you priority I swear ;).
 
Alright, I have it in BIOS, I don't see anything about CMOS, .... honestly i've never heard of CMOS. I found info. on my dvd/cd drives, and hd. Info like the boot sequence, enabled or disabled, stuff like that. The only thing for ram that i saw was just that I have two sticks, which was listed on the main screen alone with all the other info on the computer, the date and the time. I didn't find anything about clock speed either.
 
Kind of

But search google on that, lets just say yes that's the settings page of cmos (BIOS or setup)

I didn't find anything about clock speed either.
You have to change to the next page (tab key; arrow keys) please have another longer look and get back to us here. (ie it's in there)

The only other thing is referring to the M/B manual, which willl show you how to go through the CMOS settings page.
(but honestly, just keep searching, even if you change everything in there, as long as you don't save when exiing, all should be ok)
Mind you Dell CMOS saves when you just press ESC (on some models) but usually it's save and exit (which you're not doing, gladly)

Some key words: CPU; Processor; Step; Adjust; Details; Temp
 
Alright, even with the after looking over it for 30 mins i didnt find what you're talking about. I changed everything i could, to every diff setting. Never did anything who up talking about temp, or monitoring, or any of that. I know you're probably thinking i'm just a dumb newb who doesn't know anything.. but i honestly went over that thing back and forth through everything.. I'm not calling you a lier, i'm just sayin my computer is probably messed up. Now it says pick the os when i turn it on.. the descision is between xp pro and xp pro tune up back up... I am running XP Home SP2. thanx for all you alls help anyways.
 
Likely if YOU didn't overclock it, it isn't overclocked, so I wouldn't be too concerned about any of that.

130F isn't a fantastic temperature, but it isn't something you have to worry about. Most people when talking about CPU temps do so in C, your processor probably shouldn't go above about 70C. Stuff like the Core2Duos you want to see 63 and below, but I've seen mine above that on its stock heatsink before and nothing bad happened.

I would be much less concerned about heat than about those clicks. Did you run one of those tests yet?
 
Update:Now running at 140 idle. Update:Not harddrive's fault

Well, after running those diagnostic programs, and a few other things, I'm about 98.3 percent sure of what my problem is. Yesterday, l formatted the HDD and reinstalled xp. It works just fine, and is not the problem.

When i was formatting my HD it gave me some time to tear down my tower and dust it. So i dusted everything, cleaning it all up. I re arranged some wires so to hopefully help cool things off a bit. But, when I took off my heatsink to blow the dust out of it, i noticed something very odd. The middle spot on the bottom of the heatsink, which is where the thermal stuff goes, what almost totally uncovered.

A week ago my computer was running normal, 105-110 idle. Last night, before i quickly turned it off, my processor was checked at 146, idle, at one point. So, i'm pretty sure its either the whole heatsink, or just the fact that it didnt have the paste on it. In the heatsinks deffense, it s stock and 4 years old.

Would you all recommend getting a new heatsink, or just some new paste. The reason i ask is because all at the same time this week as the temp as started to rise, the fan on the heatsink has gotten louder. Could that be a sign that the heatsink is doomed?
 
The heatsink in itself doesn't really have any mechanical parts (apart from the fan) to be "doomed". Unless you can see that the fan isn't working, or unless it's making some form of a loud noise indicating a failing/failed bearing I would guess that it's fine.

Dust everything off the best that you can with compressed air, clean the thermal compound off the CPU's heat-spreader as well as the heatsink and apply some fresh compound.
 
No problem. Kind of hard for them to wear out, they just sit there and collect dust. Unless you alter the physical dimensions of the heatsink it should work pretty much the same at all times (assuming it's kept clean).
 
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