System Extremely Slow - Bad Startup Programs

This section provides some notes on a system issue, where the 'System' is using 99% of the CPU time after waking up from a hibernation.

Recently, my Windows XP system sometimes runs extremely slow after waking up from hibernation. Here is I observed:

1. Mouse moves ok. But no response on clicking on any running applications.

2. Looking at the harddisk light, it flashes once a while. So there is not much disk reading or writing.

3. Pressing Alt-Ctrl-Delete keys takes more than 1 minute for the dialog box to show up.

4. Clicking "Task Manager" takes more than 8 minutes for the Task Manager windows to show up. It reports that the "System" process is using 99% of CPU time:

CPU Usage: 100%
PF Usage: 438 MB
Processes: 43
The process with the highest CPU usage:
   Image Name: System
   CPU: 99%
   Mem Usage: 232 K

5. Pressing Alt-Ctrl-Delete keys again, click "Shut Down" and select "Restart". It takes a long while for the system to start ending applications and background processes.

6. The "Ending Program - SMax4PNP" dialog box shows up with progress bar. Then the "SMax4PNP - This program is not responding" dialog shows up. Click the "End Now" button to help the system.

7. The "... This program is not responding" dialog box shows up for all running applications and background processes.

8. After a long time, the system restarts normally.

What is causing the "System" process to use 99% of CPU time? My guess is that some applications I installed recently left some components on the system to run as startup programs. I need to review all of them and remove as many of them as possible.

Table of Contents

 About This Book

 Introduction to Microsoft Windows

 Introduction to Windows Explorer

 Introduction to Internet Explorer

 "Paint" Program and Computer Graphics

 GIMP - GNU Image Manipulation Program

 JPEG Image File Format Quality and Size

 GIF Image File Format and Transparent Background

 "WinZip" - ZIP File Compression Tool

 "WinRAR" - RAR and ZIP File Compression Tool

 FTP Server, Client and Commands

 "FileZilla" - Free FTP Client and Server

 Web Server Log Files and Analysis Tool - "Analog"

 Spyware Adware Detection and Removal

 IE Addon Program Listing and Removal

 Vundo (VirtuMonde/VirtuMundo) - vtsts.dll Removal

 Trojan and Malware "Puper" Description and Removal

 VSToolbar (VSAdd-in.dll) - Description and Removal

 Spybot - Spyware Blocker, Detection and Removal

 Setting Up and Using Crossover Cable Network

 Home Network Gateway - DSL Modem/Wireless Router

 Windows Task Manager - The System Performance Tool

 "tasklist" Command Line Tool to List Process Information

 "msconfig" - System Configuration Tool

 Configuring and Managing System Services

 Windows Registry Key and Value Management Tools

Startup Programs Removal for Better System Performance

System Extremely Slow - Bad Startup Programs

 Getting a List of Startup Programs Using HijackThis

 Startup Program Configuration - System Registry

 Startup Program Configuration - User Startup Folder

 Removing ApacheMonitor.exe as a Startup Program

 Removing BaiduX.exe as a Startup Program

 Removing OpenOffice quickstart.exe as a Startup Program

 Removing Microsoft Office OSA9.exe as a Startup Program

 Removing GoogleUpdater.exe as a Startup Program

 Removing NetZero exec.exe as a Startup Program

 Removing YahooMessenger.exe as a Startup Program

 Removing GoogleToolbarNotifier.exe as a Startup Program

 Removing Java Update jusched.exe as a Startup Program

 Winsock - Windows Sockets API

 Java on Windows

 Glossary of Terms

 Outdated Tutorials

 References

 Full Version in PDF/ePUB