CPU Usage Problimo

Hi all, I’m having a problem with my Satellite 5200-801 Laptop, it is around 3 years old now (Still under warrantee) but it seems to have developed a bit of a problem, now it was running really slow and using 100% CPU when using media player or flash files, so I formatted it in the hope it would fix the problem but alas not, I am unable to use WMedia Player, if i play .mpegs it uses 100% CPU and is all jerky so i cant watch it, exactly the same with DVDs etc. Also i have the same problem on flash files as soon as they come on they become jerky thanks to 100% CPU usage, however if I minimize the window so they are not on the screen the CPU Usage drops..... I’m really not sure what this problem is but any help on solving it would be greatly appreciated :)

Thanks In Advance, Jcb33 ;)

Big problem with older laptops, especially for those who smoke, is a build up of dust and gunk on the very small heatsink. This leads to overheating, random shutdowns, system stutters, all sorts of problems.

Suggest you buy a can of compressed air from a photography shop or electrical shop, this is designed to be blown onto delicate parts to clear dust. Have a good squirt in the processors blow hole to displace what you can.

Also, try running it WITHOUT the battery but just plugged into the mains. The battery itself also contributes to heat buildup inside the laptop as it's discharging/charging constantly.

If after you've cleaned out the blowhole and run it with no battery in it works OK, then it's a heat problem.

If not, we'll have to try somehting else, but the heat thing has to be perhaps the easiest thing to try.

Remember, on an awful lot of laptops the processor is responsible for rendering what appears on the screen as the graphics adapters more often than not rely on CPU processing power, having almost no processing power of their own.

Well i tried this..... cost me £7 for a can :o now it has halped a little.... i can now watch some movies however still certain ones are using up 100% cpu and being a little jerky.......

What graphics adapter does it have? Have you checked that the drivers are installed properly and that you have hardware acceleration enabled?

:bowdown: www.google.com :bowdown:
Search: Satellite 5200-801
First Link: http://www.cwrose.de/toshiba/s5200.html

Toshiba Satellite 5200-801
Intel Pentium 4-M (Northwood) 2 GHz (1,2 GHz)
Intel i845 CAM
512 MB RAM
60GB HDD (Hitachi)
DVD-R/-RW
67 mAh Li-Ion Accu (max 3,3 h)

Graphics NVidia Geforce4 460 go :inquisiti

But any way :iloveyou: yes the drivers are installed corectly.... and yes hardware acceleration is enabled to max by default :Oops:

What cpu usage are you seeing during playback? Can you download something like everest to check your cpu isnt stuck in power saving mode (this can happen)

Hmmm this is odd i cant put it into power saving mode no matter what i try it remains at a reading of full speed?