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For the last month or so I'm plagued with often, yet unexplainable spikes to 100% CPU load. Usually then Task Manager shows one or two processes taking 50%+ of CPU (not always the same: svchost, bitdefender/avira, task manager, explorer.exe, chrome, WMP etc.)
I reinstalled Win, switched from avira to bitdefender (avira slows with newest .NET installed, so thought maybe that), did a clean install (suspected malware, virus), got rid of flash (as even web browsing was bad experience), even youtube could become choppy - but no change. If left in idle, no spikes.
Replaced HDD in NOV'14 (previous one died in a crash accident - wife dropped laptop on the floor, causing hdd to detach, fall out and suddenly stop on the wall after several rollovers), so new one is 7200 RPM, 1TB 32MB cache HGST.
Weirdest part is that it started month ago or so. I know the system is old, and having NV160 on board means expiration date is already set, but I'm thinking graphics issue are somewhat Boolean in nature and with incubation in days on the outside, not months... So something else.
Anyone had similar experience? Or maybe some tips on concentrating efforts?
EDIT: More details on system. Win 7 Pro x64, 4GB RAM, T9400 2.54 GHz, Nvidia NV160 256MB.
GJ finding it. Wasn't one of my guesses, never saw CPU spikes due to HDD BAD's. I've learned something new. But note that 527 remapped sectors isn't something necessarily lethal, though undoubtedly a bad sign. I've seen an HDD with ~1000 remaps working over 3 years (remaps number wasn't changing over time in my case). If number of bads stabilizes, this HDD may serve in an USB box for long time. – LogicDaemon – 2015-04-24T15:27:58.550
My take on this - since HDD BAD's stabilized since, and system runs well this last several days - is that the bad sectors were in the system/programs area and it had to recover (or at least try to recover) data stored there. I don't have another explanation of the phenomenon - it quite suddenly started and as suddenly stopped and only change is 0.5k bad sectors. And I have some issues that link to corrupted driver files that weren't there before, as well.. – AcePL – 2015-04-30T15:22:43.580
First, is it possible that BADs were in system/programs area. But you can't say for sure. After remap, OS will see no defect sectors, won't stuck on them, no difference if they "hit" programs or data. Second, from my experience, few days isn't enough to say if it is stabilized (i'd rather be cautious in next month or two). By the way, if your HDD is still under warranty, you can try to replace it. – LogicDaemon – 2015-04-30T15:41:12.327
1Well, the operative word is "after". ;) The issue probably was "remapping now" when system was choking. And I've seen the bad sector count climb by 2-3 a day. This would correspond to month of several jams a day. But I agree with your assessment - drive is fully backed up and warranty claim is already in the system. – AcePL – 2015-04-30T15:46:36.063