Explorer memory leak

anselmoso · #1 05-11-2003, 04:03 AM

Hi guys,

my problem is following:
From the beginning of my installation, the explorer will just go crazy after some minutes of using the computer (doesn't matter what i do). And by "go crazy" i mean it will take about 99% of CPU usage and mostly around 100 MB of my memory...
Then i have to kill it and restart it through the Task manager and it will work again (for some minutes)... But this problem is happening all the time in a period of 10 to 15 minutes...
I am pretty sure that it can't be a virus cause the problem appeared before i even went online (I installed Service Pack 1a from CD)... maybe it has something to do with my chipset? I think there could be an update...

Now to my configuration:

OS: Windows XP Professional
Installed updates: Service Pack 1a
Antivirus software: Antivir personal edition (German software)
Motherboard: Elitegroup K7S5a with SIS Chipset
CPU: Amd Duron 1,3 Ghz
Graphics: Geforce 2 MX 440
Sound: Soundblaster Live

The problem is the same with Service Pack installed or not installed... tried both..

Do you have any idea what I could do?

Thanks in advance

vaioman · #2 05-11-2003, 12:56 PM

This is a known Windows problem and there is a patch for it somewhere. I stumbled onto it a while back and now I've got the same problem again (CPU useage fills up to 100% for no reason) and am looking for the same fix as last time. It slows the computer to a crawl. Of course, a virus will also slow the computer to a crawl -- the indicator for this problem is CPU useage going to 100% when nothing much is running. You might try the windowsupdate.com site for a fix. It has something to do with csrss.exe, which is a critical process that can't be terminated. There's a thread further down here that recommends going into services.msc and disabling SSDP, but I don't know if that's a manual fix for this or not. I DO know it is a recognized widespread glitch in Windows and there is a patch out there somewhere....

anselmoso · #3 05-11-2003, 06:35 PM

i figured out the problem..
it was one file on a folder which i couldn't delete....
as soon as i opened that folder, the explorer would go crazy..
so i opened up a dos box and deleted that file (cause i couldn't do it in the explorer)
after that, everything was right again..

vaioman · #4 05-11-2003, 10:01 PM

You might want to post the name of the file you deleted, since this is a VERY common problem at least in XP. I went into my Services.msc and adjusted some settings and disabled some things that I was pretty sure I didn't need to have enabled. I also downloaded a few non-server related updates to XP from windowsupdate.com. My problem seems to have subsided as a result of something I did, more likely related to disabling a service. At least this will do until I find a reference to the fix again. Dumb of me not to make a record of it the first time.

The thing is, unless you have something running that lets you visualize your CPU useage, you might not realize you have that particular problem for a while. It sure does pour some molasses into a perfectly good Pentium IV though.

ESALADUANE · #5 05-12-2003, 03:23 AM

I agree with vaioman. Please post the fix that you found so others with the same problem can be helped.

vaioman · #6 05-12-2003, 10:43 AM

Whatever I did yesterday worked. This morning on startup I'm back to normal CPU useage. Weird. You can't adjust any process settings in the task manager (hey, Microsoft) but in SYSTEM32/services.msc you can not only stop a process but set it for either Automatic, Manual, or Disabled in Properties. I had some sense that this might be a problem of a service endlessly trying and failing to do something and a bug allowing it to hog the CPU and not defer to other processes, so I acted accordingly. This isn't a RAM problem, it's a CPU useage problem, which isn't quite the same thing. You can have RamBooster showing half your memory is still free while Norton Utilities is showing 100% CPU use.

My Canon Multipass All-in-One C530 won't install correctly anymore either, not a directly related problem but I sense that the latest CANON download of the XP version of its software is inadequate to install over whatever is conflicting with it. Could this contribute to the other problem? I don't know. So meanwhile the MP Manager can't run, and the computer can't print. It's become a stand-alone machine. Sigh. I wonder how many things I'd have to un-install to make the printer work again..... No thanks. I wish there was a conflict catcher that really solved problems like this.

ESALADUANE · #7 05-12-2003, 11:14 AM

Here's the BlackViper's site that you might find interesting. Work your way down the page and compare his settings in Services.msc with yours. It'll be both an education in XP services and you may find that you have a service turned off that will get your printer working (spooler, maybe).

Start > Run. Type in Services.msn, then OK, then expand the window and start from the top. I personally don't think you should has any Services disabled. They should either be set to Automatic or Manual (if you don't use them).

Good luck.

http://www.blkviper.com/WinXP/service411.htm