Processor 100% usage problem (single program causes this)

[Kakuma]

My system specs are as follows:

Dell Inspiron e1705 Laptop
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 CPU T7200 @ 2.00Ghz 2.00Ghz
RAM: 2GB
OS: 32bit Windows Vista
HDD: 320GB 7200RPM Western Digital Hard Drive

Ok guys, just recently within the past 2 weeks I installed a new HDD into my laptop, I upgraded from the stock 120GB drive to a 320GB 7200RPM WD drive. I reinstalled vista, all drivers seem to be working and up to date, and my system is faster then ever. Theres only one problem though.

Problem: Wen doing things such as installing a program, playing WoW, or any other game. The processor seems to focus ONLY on that and I cannot do anything else, even opening up [My Computer] takes about 30 seconds for it to fully load. In task manager the game or program is using 100% of the CPU. I don't know whats going on here, or what to do, all I know is that its the most annoying thing ever and I cannot stand it. Browsing the web on Mozilla is fine though that doesnt use 100% of the CPU. only happens wen I install something or am playing a game such as WoW, Warcraft 3 etc... This never used to happen before.

If anyone has any suggestions or can help me in any way, your help will be greatly appreciated. Thanks guys =).

 

[strategic]

If you're starting fresh, have you defragged your system? You HDD is probably 'hopping everywhere' to find anything.

 

[Kakuma]

ill try a defrag, but why would I have to defrag a brand new HDD?

 

[strategic]

why would I have to defrag a brand new HDD?

It is very important to defrag after installing the o/s and any program installed thereafter.
There are a lot of temporary files flying around on your HDD when installing programs and thats when a lot of fragments appear. Trust me, as soon as you analyse your HDD, you'll know exactly what I'm talking about. Believe me, I used to think that way too. Aside from that, I always defrag at least every 2 weeks, even so Windows may say it's not required, because it will do it mach faster.
Another thing you might try is defrag the pagefile, something I just learned here with the past week that also made a huge difference on my PC.

 

[Kakuma]

tried defraging about 5 times stll no improvement, out of nowhere i still hear my computer get louder and the processor jumps to 100% usage after about 20 minutes of use, any other s****tions, this is driving me nuts =(..

 

[rwc1969]

Download process explorer from sysinternals.com. Use it in place of task manager. It will let us see more of what's going on with the offending process. You may want to check out their forums as well. It's likely a driver issue.causing a conflict.

Have you updated all the drivers via the MFG website since reinstalling the OS? i.e. Sound, video, chipset, NIC, HDD?

Considering it's a new HDD and depending how old the BIOS is, you may need to update the BIOS as well, but that should be a last resort and only if you know exactly what you're doing, or else it could ruin your machine beyond repair.

 

[Tedster]

with vista and a multicore processor, set the affinity for certain programs like an anti-virus to core 1 (not core 0) or 2 or 3. That way your primary core (core 0) is not bogged down.