When the PC seems to go slower than usual, the first thing you do is open the task manager by pressing the CTRL-Shift-Esc keys together, expanding the details for the Processes tab. You can then order the various processes for memory use or CPU use and close the related programs that are taking all the resources, to unlock the computer if it seems to be locked.
However, this is impossible if the culprit of high CPU usage is a system process that cannot be terminated, such as System, such as SVCHost, such as Explorer.exe or System Interrupt.
If your computer is suffering from high CPU usage and if you find that the culprit process is called "System Interrupt", it means there is a hardware or driver problem on this PC.
READ ALSO: Analysis of Svchost if he uses the CPU to the maximum
What does "system interrupt" mean> on Wikipedia.
An interrupt warns the processor that a high priority condition requires the interruption of the code that the processor is executing.
The processor responds by pausing activities in progress, saving its state and executing a function called interrupt handler.
When the interrupt handler task is complete, the processor resumes where it left off.
In practice, the interrupt is a form of communication between software and hardware with the CPU.
Interrupts can signal to the CPU that an error has occurred, causing higher CPU usage.
In a healthy and well-functioning system, the System Interrupt process should use the processor between 0.1% and 2%, depending on the CPU frequency, the software running and the hardware connected.
Even peaks between 3% and 7% can be considered normal, depending on the system configuration.
But if these levels are exceeded and the system interrupt constantly exceeds 5% or 10% of CPU usage, then there is something wrong and, probably, there is a hardware problem.
As in any article where we talk in general terms of how to solve problems on a computer, also in this case we try to find out the most probable causes and activate those standard procedures that any technician would use.
1) First of all, restart your computer and check CPU usage from the system interrupt if it is back to normal.
2) Disconnect external USB devices
Before going for more difficult checks, check if the Interrupt System uses less CPU after disconnecting all external devices connected to the USB port.
If you have a good result, reconnect them one by one to see which is the real culprit and do the necessary tests to check if the cause of the problems depends on the device or on the USB port on the computer which can be damaged.
3) Check that the hardware drivers are all up to date and functional.
Then, from the Control Panel, open the device manager and check that everything is installed and without warning of problems.
Also remember to download and install all drivers and update them.
To check on the proper functioning of the drivers, I can also recommend running the LatencyMon program.
Once opened, start the control with the Play button and go to the driver column by ordering the items for DPCCount .
Deferred Procedure Call (DPC) is a system interrupt process and can help find the culprit.
We will definitely have to talk about this little program again.
4) Deactivate internal devices
Instead of randomly updating the drivers and without getting lost in difficult diagnoses, you can try disabling individual device drivers to identify the culprit.
From the Start menu, open Device Manager (which is also found in the Control Panel ), expand the list of connected devices, select one by one the various devices (those not essential to the computer), right-click on it and disable.
In doing this, keep the task manager open and check if the CPU usage for System Interrupt drops.
The most likely culprits and the first to deactivate to carry out the verification are: probable culprits:
- network cards
- Internal modems
- internal audio devices
- All USB controllers (even if we have disconnected the external devices as per point 2, it may be that one of the ports is broken)
I recommend not to disable vital drivers such as that of the CPU, motherboard, hard disk or SSD drive, keyboard, mouse and video card.
5) Turn off sound improvements
In Windows 7 and also in Windows 10 it may be the fault of the Windows sound effects.
Press the speaker icon on the taskbar, select the playback devices double click on the default device (speaker) to open the properties, go to the improvements tab and disable all the improvements.
Confirm with OK and check if the system interrupts use less CPU.
6) Update the BIOS
BIOS is the first software that runs when you turn on your computer.
Even if it is not really easy to update it, in the meantime you need to identify the BIOS version and then check on the manufacturer's website if you can download an update.
To find out the BIOS version, press the Windows + R keys, type cmd, press Enter, and run the following two commands, one after the other:
systeminfo | findstr / I / c: bios
wmic bios get manufacturer, smbiosbiosversion
Updating the BIOS is not like updating any program and is a delicate operation.
Also on some PCs (most) the BIOS update is provided by the manufacturer of the computer itself or that of the motherboard.
READ ALSO: If the computer crashes due to high memory and CPU usage
