System Monitor Displays Incorrect CPU Usage

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This article was previously published under Q227131

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SYMPTOMS

Your System Monitor tool may display incorrect CPU Usage. When this occurs, you may experience one or more of the following symptoms:

CPU usage rises to somewhere between 20-60 percent even though you are not running any programs.
CPU usage declines sharply when you move your mouse.
CPU usage declines sharply either when you run Windows Media Player or play a .wav file.
CPU usage rises when you dial-up to connect.
CPU usage does not fall from 100 percent.

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To work around this problem, note that you can safely ignore this problem. The value that is displayed on the chart when you move the mouse has no effect on the functionality of Windows 98 Second Edition.

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STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed at the beginning of this article.

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MORE INFORMATION

System Monitor uses registry information to obtain processor usage data. For additional information, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

174631 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/174631/EN-US/ ) HOWTO: Access the Performance Registry Under Windows 95

Also, if you use System Monitor to monitor more than one occurrence of "Kernel: Processor Usage," the second and following occurrences of "Kernel: Processor Usage" may show 100 percent processor usage. For additional information, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

178563 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/178563/EN-US/ ) System Monitor Shows 100 Percent for Kernel Processor Usage Item

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