Windows 2000 Server's CPU Usage sitting at 100%...

Hello,

Additionally, to help in the diagnosis, I've run a complete spybot spyware check and norton anti-virus check (up-to-date virus definitions) on the system.  Both completed successfully with no hint of any spyware or a virus, trojan, worm, or the like.

Thanks much,

Kevin

Turn off Indexing Services service.

You need to find out what processes are eating up your CPU cycles..  Dnload Process Explorer from Sysinternals and use it for discovery purposes:

Process Explorer v8.41
Find out what files, registry keys and other objects processes have open, which DLLs they have loaded, and more. This uniquely powerful utility will even show you who owns each process.

http://www.sysinternals.com/ntw2k/freeware/procexp.shtml

dgroscost should be correct that it has to do with the Indexing Service. Try stopping the service through computer management.

The indexing service does take up CPU cycles, but this condition does not necessarily imply that this service is causing your problem....  I have it running on all my servers, and I find no issue with it......  I do turn it off on my XP clients though, as it is not necessary for fast file retrieval on workstations.

FE

How can you see that screenshot?  I could not make it out..  :)  

If that is the process that is taking up your cycles, then these experts are correct, as it is the process responsible for indexing..

FE

Hi,

Your problem is Hotfix 835732 (Sasser fix). I had this happen to me with a 2000 pro machine at the office and found that it was the DAT driver that was causing the problem.

This problem is recognized by Microsoft and you can find details about it here:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?kbid=841382

The Microsoft article does not address properly how to uninstall the Hotfix (without it taking you 2 days).

Here is what worked for me:

1. Boot into Safe mode

2. In Taskmanager, give the Explorer process REALTIME priority

4. Run ADD/Remove Programs

5. In Taskmanager, give the MSHTA.exe process REALTIME priority (this is Add/Remove Programs)

6. Remove "Windows 2000 Hotfix  - KB835732"

7. In Taskmanager, give the SPUNINST.exe process REALTIME priority

8. After the uninstall has finished and you click Finish to restart it will take very long
for the computer to restart and I eventually just turned it off and back on and everything was back to normal.

This leaves you with finding which of the drivers or services is causing your problem.

Hope this helps,

Daniel F.

Fired my guns a bit early there.... I didn't notice that cidaemon.exe is taking up process time, and, because I didn't see it, nor the system process I thought that must be it.

Anyways, any news on disabling the indexing service? Is cidaemon hogging resources non-stop or is it distributed between processes?

Regards,

Daniel F.

Just in case you don't know here's how you disable the indexing service:

Start-Search-Change preferences-With Indexing service (for faster local searches)-and click "no, do not enable indexing service"

Daniel F.

All:

Thanks for getting back to me with the great suggestions!

I have made the changes to disable the indexing service, but even prior to doing so, all of a sudden the normal CPU usage performance has returned...  I then re-enabled the indexing, and all appears okay with regard to performance.

If the sluggishness occurs again I will keep the indexing service disabled!

Thanks again,

Kevin

Great...  lets hope it holds..!!  (Indexing is nice to have running on a server, if it works properly...)

FE

All:

ckumar42's detailed explanation (by turning off the indexing service to the server) appears to have worked as expected!

Thanks much,

Kevin