Windows 10: CPU 100% on Boot

The issue first arose as a pegged 100% CPU usage on system interrupts a few months back, and seems to coincide with a windows update from then. I would usually be able to solve this via a hard power cycle. I performed a windows update last night, and now (other than booting in safe mode), I cannot use my computer as the CPU is pegged at 100% which makes it freeze shortly after logging in. I cannot even bring up the task manager. I have tried a clean boot, and even that does not work, but booting in safe mode does work (I'm just glad that I enabled the boot menu awhile back).


Is there a way, other than safe mode, that I might be able to start my computer up with having a pegged CPU?

:)

 

100% CPU Usage after Windows 10 upgrade

Hello Aaron,

Thank you for posting on Microsoft Community. We regret the inconvenience caused and will assist you in resolving the issue.

Most of the time, computers only use a small fraction of their CPU power. In fact, many computers use less than 5% of their CPU most of the time. When you open an application, play a video game, or encode media file, the CPU usage will rise or spike temporarily.
Once the CPU intensive process completes, the CPU usage should once again drop down to lower level. Most applications will not use up more than 50% of your CPU for an extended period of time. However, some programs and system processes can use up a large amount
of CPU without you even knowing it. This may happen if a program gets stuck in an infinite loop or encounters an unexpected error.

I suggest you to perform Safe mode and Clean boot procedures on the PC by following the steps below.

Step 1: I suggest you to boot your PC in Safe mode by following the steps from the link below and check if the issue is resolved.

Safe mode is a diagnostic mode that starts your computer with limited drivers necessary to run Windows. The words
Safe Mode appear at the corners of your monitor to identify which Windows mode you are using.

Expand the options to boot into Safe Mode:

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-in/windows-10/start-your-pc-in-safe-mode



Reboot the PC to exit from Safe mode.

To know more about Safe mode, following is an article on
Windows Startup Settings (including safe mode) (Applies to Windows 10 also):

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-8/windows-startup-settings-safe-mode

Step 2: If the issue persists, perform Clean boot on your PC by following the steps from the link below and check if the issue is resolved.

Putting your system in Clean Boot state helps in identifying if any third party applications or startup items are causing the issue.

I suggest you to perform clean boot by following the steps from the link below and check if the issue is resolved.

You can open the system configuration window in Windows 10:

a. Using run command.

• • Press Windows Key + R keys on the Keyboard.
  • Type msconfig.msc and press Enter.

b. Using Cortana.

• • Press Windows icon key on the keyboard and type msconfig.
    
  • Select the top most search result.
    

Follow the steps from 3 under How to perform a clean boot
for Windows 8.1 and Windows 8 from the link below (The steps for clean boot suggested in the link below for
Windows 8/8.1 is applicable for Windows 10 as well):

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/929135

Disclaimer: Start the computer in normal mode refer the section,
How to reset the computer to start normally after clean boot troubleshooting
from the link above.

Write to us with the status of the issue on the same post for further assistance. Your reply is most important for us to ensure we assist you accordingly.

Thank you.

 

INCORRECT CPU FREQUENCY READING

Hello Muhammad,

CPU usage depends on the applications that are open to your device. To isolate the problem, we suggest that you answer the following questions:

• Can you include a screenshot of the CPU reading?
• Have you tried performing a
  clean boot to eliminate software conflicts?
• What troubleshooting steps have you done so far?

Looking forward to your response.

 

CPU 100 %

Hi Javier,

The high CPU usage of your Dell laptop might be caused by an ongoing update installation. I'll need more information to properly address your concern. Please verify the following information:

• Are you getting any error messages?
• What troubleshooting steps have you tried so far?
• What is the current OS Build of your Windows 10 laptop? You can find this information by clicking the
  Start button, type
  About your PC, press Enter, and then scroll down to
  Windows specifications.

To improve the performance of your Windows 10 laptop, I recommend checking this
support article. The link has tips on how to improve the
performance of Windows 10 devices.

Should the issue continue, I suggest performing a clean
boot. A clean boot is performed to start Windows by using a minimal set of drivers and startup programs. This helps eliminate software conflicts that occur when you use your laptop. For the steps on how to perform
a clean boot in Windows 10, please refer to this

article.

NOTE: Please go to the section:
Reset the computer to start normally after clean boot troubleshooting to boot the PC in normal startup after fixing the issue.

We're looking forward to your response.