2600K: thread loaded 100% all the time

[[XC] Synthetickiller]

constant high?

You might need to try Process Explorer. It lets you dig a little deeper into what's running on your system. It's freeware.

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/s...rnals/bb896653

We're on the same page my friend. One step ahead of you.

Looks like the interups are the cause:


I've pulled both sticks of ram. It's G.Skill 2x4gb ddr3 1600 ripjaws.

I've also put it in different slots, still the same issue.

The stuff ran fine in my AMD server.

So why am I getting all these interups? Besides the motherboard & CPU, all parts have been in older systems. GTX 470 is confirmed to work fine, as is the ram, PSU, etc etc.

Edit:

Tried booting in safe mode. It makes no difference.

Eiither it's the motherboard or the CPU. I don't have a second motherboard or CPU to test, so I'm not sure. I'm thinking it's the CPU, just a hunch.

[unclewebb]

Do you have updated drivers installed for all of the hardware in the Device Manager? Are there any yellow exclamation points in there or hardware issues like that?

[[XC] Synthetickiller]

Do you have updated drivers installed for all of the hardware in the Device Manager? Are there any yellow exclamation points in there or hardware issues like that?

You could also try booting up in safe mode to see if this problem changes any.

Just took a look again since you brought it up. Everything appears fine.

I did try safe mode. CPU usage stayed the same.

Edit:

Took the SSD off of the hotswappable bay in my FT02. Connected it with a different, working sata cable to a SATA6 port. Boots fine. Same problem exists....

I'm going to bed sicne it's late. If anyone has ideas, I'll be back in the morning to try and figure out if it's the CPU or something else.

[unclewebb]

Latest Google suggestion: reboot with the DVD drive unplugged and anything else you can think of.

[[XC] Synthetickiller]

Latest Google suggestion: reboot with the DVD drive unplugged and anything else you can think of.

Caught this before going to bed, so this'll be my last responce until the morning

Yep, just did a restart w/ only the keyboard in both PS/2 ports, video cable and power cable. Only GTX 470 and SSD. 1 Stick of ram in last slot.

The issue remains.

This has to be hardware related. Either the board or the CPU. I can't figure out which one though.

If anyone has any ideas about how to test for that, short of buying an 1155 cpu, I'm all ears.

[Falkentyne]

Contact Intel. If this is the CPU, I'm sure they will have heard of this problem before. It's POSSIBLE it's the motherboard, though.

What happens if you boot up with only 2 cores?

This is 100% either motherboard or CPU, though. A new fresh install should not be doing that and safe mode is a dead giveaway.

I'd RMA the CPU first, as Intel should have had this type of problem reported on bad hardware in the past. I actually remember something like this happening to someone in the past...one core at max usage with nothing running...

[danielkza]

Contact Intel. If this is the CPU, I'm sure they will have heard of this problem before. It's POSSIBLE it's the motherboard, though.

What happens if you boot up with only 2 cores?

This is 100% either motherboard or CPU, though. A new fresh install should not be doing that and safe mode is a dead giveaway.

I'd RMA the CPU first, as Intel should have had this type of problem reported on bad hardware in the past. I actually remember something like this happening to someone in the past...one core at max usage with nothing running...

I'm much more inclined to believe it is something else: it would have to be an incredibly specific kind of damage to make the CPU flood itself with interrupts. It's much more likely a misbehaving driver or piece of hardware is the culprit, or even a microcode bug triggered by something that the OP is running. An RMA obviously wouldn't fix either.

There's an easy way to find out though: if another OS (a Linux LiveCD will do) runs without problems, it's pretty much surely a software/driver issue.

[Falkentyne]

But he said this was a CLEAN windows install Clean installations don't do this. Otherwise, other people would be having the problems, since it happened in safe mode and without any drivers installed.

So this is impossible, otherwise everyone else would be having the same problem.

So it has to be a problem with the motherboard, BIOS, or hardware fault on the board, or a problem with the CPU.

I just cant remember seeing where I saw this problem before...but I do remember it was hardware caused. And it was some years ago...

[[XC] Synthetickiller]

I'm much more inclined to believe it is something else: it would have to be an incredibly specific kind of damage to make the CPU flood itself with interrupts. It's much more likely a misbehaving driver or piece of hardware is the culprit, or even a microcode bug triggered by something that the OP is running. An RMA obviously wouldn't fix either.

There's an easy way to find out though: if another OS (a Linux LiveCD will do) runs without problems, it's pretty much surely a software/driver issue.

But he said this was a CLEAN windows install Clean installations don't do this. Otherwise, other people would be having the problems, since it happened in safe mode and without any drivers installed.

So this is impossible, otherwise everyone else would be having the same problem.

So it has to be a problem with the motherboard, BIOS, or hardware fault on the board, or a problem with the CPU.

I just cant remember seeing where I saw this problem before...but I do remember it was hardware caused. And it was some years ago...

It's not windows creating the issue.

The first time I log into Windows w/o installing anything, drivers, programs, etc, the first thread/core sits at 100%.

Interestingly, the HT thread associated w/ the core isn't sitting at 100%.

Like I"ve said, I've reverted the bios back. No one in Ket's thread on my motherboard, ASRock Extreme4, is having this issue.


I'm down to the board/cpu as the culprit and I'm inclided to say its the cpu. The board is not throwing any error codes at me.

Do you guys have any idea as how to do some test to eliminate one or the other?

[[XC] Synthetickiller]

FIGURED IT OUT! (Somewhat)


I decided to try what Danielkza mentioned and installed another OS. I couldn't find my Ubuntu disk, so I tried Server 2K8.

0 CPU usage once everything loads.

I'm thinking SP1 has a driver that's installed for win 7 that screws everything up. What's odd is that it has something to do with a core driver as anything extra would be disabled in safe mode....

I'm going to try to install Win 7 x64 (no SP1) and see if there's an issue there.

[[XC] Synthetickiller]

Ok, reinstalled Win 7 x64 Ultimate.

This problem came back. I'm looking at a fresh install. I just logged in for the first time. Server 2k8 wasn't doing this...

I could try Pro, just to see if there's something extra in Ultimate. This is really strange.

Edit:

Win 7 pro does the same thing...

What to do? RMA the board?

[unclewebb]

There has to be a bad driver being installed automatically when you install W7. If server 2K8 is OK then that proves your hardware is OK.

[[XC] Synthetickiller]

There has to be a bad driver being installed automatically when you install W7. If server 2K8 is OK then that proves your hardware is OK.

I've done a fresh install again. Updating drivers to see if anything fixes the issue.

The MS process explorer can identify what is causing the interupt? It was late and I didn't have a chance to check it out more.

I'll try reinstalling it and see if it can point me in the right direction.

BTW, I tried disabling everything in device manager that seemed logical (not CPU, etc) and the issue persisted.

[Buckeye]

Lots of fresh installs, seem to be of no help.

Have you tried reflashing BIOS's ?
Maybe try several different BIOS versions to see if any of this changes this 100% load effect on idle.

[[XC] Synthetickiller]

Lots of fresh installs, seem to be of no help.

Have you tried reflashing BIOS's ?
Maybe try several different BIOS versions to see if any of this changes this 100% load effect on idle.

I've Reflashed a few times beteween 1.6 and 1.7 possibly 7 or 8 times at this point. I'll even clear the CMOS after. Nothing changes.

Moved to Sata 6 and disabled booting from Sata 3. No relief. I"m going to get a new PCH driver and see if that'll fix it.

I can download them again, but these are files Ket uploaded (see ASROCK Extreme 4 thread.)

Everything else is hunky dory.

Edit:

Just had an idea, but it involveds a reinstall. Be back in 30 minutes or so...

Edit 2:

Alright, tried to run win 7 in IDE mode. No change.

I reinstalled MS Process Explorer.

Under system, it gives between 9.5% and 10.5% cpu usage for Hardware Interrupts and DPCs.

Sounds like a bad driver or simply there's something wrong w/ the board?

[[XC] Synthetickiller]

Alright, here's some useful info. I'm not too sure what all of this means, so I need to go googling.

I have 3 errors in the Event Viewer under "Administrative Events:

Here they are in order:

Warning: The time service has set the time with offset 13511017928982584 seconds.

Error: Event filter with query "SELECT * FROM __InstanceModificationEvent WITHIN 60 WHERE TargetInstance ISA "Win32_Processor" AND TargetInstance.LoadPercentage > 99" could not be reactivated in namespace "//./root/CIMV2" because of error 0x80041003. Events cannot be delivered through this filter until the problem is corrected.

Warning: Windows detected your registry file is still in use by other applications or services. The file will be unloaded now. The applications or services that hold your registry file may not function properly afterwards.

DETAIL -
1 user registry handles leaked from \Registry\User\S-1-5-21-3339601781-681715721-2370937544-1000:
Process 472 (\Device\HarddiskVolume2\Windows\System32\winlogon .exe) has opened key \REGISTRY\USER\S-1-5-21-3339601781-681715721-2370937544-1000

Error: The time service has detected that the system time needs to be changed by 8630036 seconds. The time service will not change the system time by more than 54000 seconds. Verify that your time and time zone are correct, and that the time source time.windows.com,0x9 (ntp.m|0x9|0.0.0.0:123->64.4.10.44:123) is working properly.

Warning: The Windows Search Service is starting up and attempting to remove the old search index {Reason: Full Index Reset}.

Error: Event filter with query "SELECT * FROM __InstanceModificationEvent WITHIN 60 WHERE TargetInstance ISA "Win32_Processor" AND TargetInstance.LoadPercentage > 99" could not be reactivated in namespace "//./root/CIMV2" because of error 0x80041003. Events cannot be delivered through this filter until the problem is corrected.

[PiLsY]

I had similar with a dodgy onboard audio chip. Have you tried disabling absolutely everything in bios? Audio, usb, firewire, lan - everything.

2k8 doesnt have the windows audio service, desktop composition / themes and directx as standard. Thats the only difference between it and 7 in this situation.

If disabling peripherals in bios doesnt solve it then try disabling the windows audio service in 7 and see if that does the trick. If not then disable themes and desktop composition too.

Just shooting you a few thoughts - definitely a tricky one to find the cause of. GL dude.

[[XC] Synthetickiller]

I had similar with a dodgy onboard audio chip. Have you tried disabling absolutely everything in bios? Audio, usb, firewire, lan - everything.

2k8 doesnt have the windows audio service, desktop composition / themes and directx as standard. Thats the only difference between it and 7 in this situation.

If disabling peripherals in bios doesnt solve it then try disabling the windows audio service in 7 and see if that does the trick. If not then disable themes and desktop composition too.

Just shooting you a few thoughts - definitely a tricky one to find the cause of. GL dude.

Great idea.

Thanks for the help everyone. Probably should have said this sooner.

Anyways, I'm going to go through each peripheral and see if disabling each alleviates the problem.

Edit:

Alright, basically everything is shut off, even sata 3 (only using sata 6 ports). USB 2.0 and 3.0 are off as is floppy and anything else I could disable. Themes, desktop composition and windows audio are disabled.

The thread is still loaded at 100%!

This is one tricky problem.

[Aginaridan]

LatencyMon can show you exactly which driver is causing an issue. Maybe it can help

[[XC] Synthetickiller]

LatencyMon can show you exactly which driver is causing an issue. Maybe it can help

I tried this out in Win 7 Starter as well. Generates the same errors.

Here's what latency mon shows with a fresh install, no drivers:


Here's after installing the following:
Realtek RTL8111E LAN
Intel Management Engine Driver v7.1.10.1065
Intel PCH Driver v9.2.0.1025
(All from Ket's link's in the ASRock Extreme4 thread.)

[PiLsY]

Clutching at straws really but...

Theres a newer chipset driver and management engine on the intel site. Go to the z68 board downloads and they're there.

PCI Latency timer and High precision event timer available in bios to alter?

The other alternative is build up a 2k8 r2 install and see how that fares as its closer to 7 than 2k8 is. I didnt notice before you were running original 2k8 when it worked - thats got more in common with Vista really.

Theres no chance your windows 7 disk has a virus or malware on it is there? Even if you use a legit code some of the torrent iso's are very shady.

It could even be a screwed up management engine rom on your bios chip. Is that board dual chip? If so try switching to bios 2.

Overnight cmos clear with mobo unplugged and battery terminals shorted has fixed a few odd things for me in the past. Infact my p8p67 pro was about to be rma'd but came back to life after at some point during a fortnight of cmos clear / terminals shorted. Had lost all qfan control and chassis fan channels after installing fanxpert and nothing I did would get it back to normal. I did a 3 day clear and it was still goosed. Boxed it up again with cmos set to clear and battery terminals shorted to be sent back. One last try before posting it back (2 weeks later - lazy ) and it was alive. Fine ever since.

Can't think of anything else atm, if I do though i'll post up. Will be checking to see how you get on anyway as this ones a real puzzler.

[[XC] Synthetickiller]

Clutching at straws really but...

Theres a newer chipset driver and management engine on the intel site. Go to the z68 board downloads and they're there.

PCI Latency timer and High precision event timer available in bios to alter?

The other alternative is build up a 2k8 r2 install and see how that fares as its closer to 7 than 2k8 is. I didnt notice before you were running original 2k8 when it worked - thats got more in common with Vista really.

Theres no chance your windows 7 disk has a virus or malware on it is there? Even if you use a legit code some of the torrent iso's are very shady.

It could even be a screwed up management engine rom on your bios chip. Is that board dual chip? If so try switching to bios 2.

Overnight cmos clear with mobo unplugged and battery terminals shorted has fixed a few odd things for me in the past. Infact my p8p67 pro was about to be rma'd but came back to life after at some point during a fortnight of cmos clear / terminals shorted. Had lost all qfan control and chassis fan channels after installing fanxpert and nothing I did would get it back to normal. I did a 3 day clear and it was still goosed. Boxed it up again with cmos set to clear and battery terminals shorted to be sent back. One last try before posting it back (2 weeks later - lazy ) and it was alive. Fine ever since.

Can't think of anything else atm, if I do though i'll post up. Will be checking to see how you get on anyway as this ones a real puzzler.

I really do appreciate the help. I've basically spent my whole weekend slaving over this issue.

A few things.

Vista x64 ultimate throws the same problem. I was considering trying an install of XP, but I think that's pushing it and honestly not useful.

I can try 2k8 R2.

I am not pirating any of these OS's. I have a technet lisence. Infact, the Win 7 x64 pro install was from a real MS disc, not an Iso I loaded to a USB drive.

I'm first going to install 2k8 R2, then If nothing comes up, I'll start enabling roles etc till either the bug is recreated or not.

I can try to reseat the CPU as someone has mentioned to me, but I have a hunch that's not the issue. I can pull it out anyways and inspect the pins (did this anyways when I got my board).

Beyond that, I can clear the CMOS overnight.

What you're saying is you pulled the battery and left the clear cmos short on overnight? I can do that. Nothing like working while you're sleeping.

Edit:

I pulled 2k8 off of my server to load to my flash drive. The original file I used was 2K8 R2 SP1. I'll reload that and try to force the CPU to ramp up. Very strange.

Edit 2:

So here's the 2K8 R2 worklog of installation:
CPU USAGE while IDLING:
Fresh: 0%
Added features Wireless Lan and Desktop exerience: 0%
Added Roles File services & Remote desktop: 0%
Added DHCP Server and Print & Document services: 0%
Added Simple TCP/IP Services and Quality Windows Audio Video Experience: 0%
Added Remote Assistance & Bitlocker drive encryption: 0%
Added .NET Framwork 3.5.1: 0%
Added XPS viewer: 0%

At this point, I can't think of anything else to install off the top of my head.

I'm going to try to pull the CPU and reseat, reinstall windows and report back.

Edit 3:

I reseated the CPU. Still doing the same ol' same ol' annoying thing.

Besides letting the bios sit overnight... I am out of ideas beyond RMA for the board (and CPU if that fails).

Edit 4:

Give up, lol. No idea. I'm not even sure if it's the board or the cpu. I'm thinking RMAing the board is easier, so I'll start there.

I will try 2 more things. I am clearing the CMOS for 90 minutes, then trying it again tonight. If that fails, I'll let it sit overnight w/ the battery out and the Clear Cmos pins shorted.

Come tomorrow morning, I'll call ewiz and RMA it most likely. I wonder how well that company treats its customers? I guess we'll find out!

...

Alright, so I allowed the CMOS to clear for abou 2 hours. Rebooted and the Bios continually asked for a password. Cleared the CMOS again and I can enter the bios. Set the storage settings to AHCI, left everything else stock and I'm still getting the problem.

I can try to let the CMOS clear all night, but I have a feeling I'll be RMAing the board tomorrow.

[PiLsY]

You need to short the cmos pins AND the battery terminal pins - easiest way is to flip the battery upside down.

2k8 R2 and 7 are almost identical at an OS level. If R2 works and 7 doesnt it must be down to services as theres no difference in the way they handle hardware.

I'm as puzzled as you at this point (but probably a lot less frustrated - lol)....

[burebista]

You can try to play with xperf. A random video here and a random article about xperf usage.

Also try to change Windows Power settings from Balanced to High performance.

I still think that's a software/driver problem.

[[XC] Synthetickiller]

Thanks buddy. I just pulled the board. I'm done with it.

There has to be something inherintly wrong with the board. A fresh install shouldn't be doing this. Other's who own this board as not experiencing the same CPU usage. I actually did change the power settings from balanced to high performance since that crossed my mind. No change. This is such a unique problem, I'd just rather return the board. If I get another one and this pops up again, I can RMA the chip (I don't want to, I think it'll do 4.9ghz).

I'll still download the software so if this comes up again, I can at least directly see the cause.