Windows 7 x64 Ultimate using only one core of T5600 core 2 duo

What I did was restore system default settings in BIOS and things have become a bit worse! My one core of cpu that is still available is running at 100% flat all the time. Kernel times are slightly slower, at about 70-80%.
This is madness. I've switched everything off completely, went to my daughter's computer to post this and download some BIOS upgrading software that'll hopefully fix the problem.

Will post when I have new news.
Thanks for all the help so far!

This is madness!!

Good luck!

Good news and bad news!

I see two cores in task manager, yuhu!
But they're both running 100%!!! non stop, kernel 70-80% like before!!!
Top processes:
taskmgr.exe (!!)
scvhost.exe (there's 5 or 6 of them)
explorer.exe
and ekrn.exe gets up there which is also wierd since NOD32 is known for its small resource use.

God I can't believe this still isn't over!
Now what ??!!??
I rebooted twice, no effect. The machine is SLOOOOW beyond slow!!

Type msconfig in the start menu. Hit enter.

Go to the Services tab. Check the box to hide all Microsoft services. Then click Disable all. Click ok. Reboot.

When this works well, you then enable the services one by one until the issue returns. Then you know where the problem is, exactly.

Since it sounds like your BIOS firmware update was successful, it is a common rule of thumb to do a clean install of the Windows after an update is done on the BIOS.

Be SURE to download all the proper 64-bit drivers for you notebook prior to doing the clean install. Store them on a thumb drive or burn them to a CD-RW disc.

Prior to the new clean install, be sure your BIOS is set to "Optimized Defaults" and that your DVD drive is set to "First Boot Device" in the BIOS.

Delete all the prior partitions and create new ones, then begin the install. Windows 7 automatically does a "Quick Format" of the partition during that process.

After install is done be sure to install all the correct drivers and you should be good to go.

This should eliminate the issues you're describing. Remember though that during the first 20 minutes or so after a new install, the CPU and drive will be a little busy rearranging things and getting settled in.

Be sure to do all the updates too, prior to installing the drivers.

Thanks TorrentG, did that, but it didn't help completely (

It took the system 15 minutes to load and to bring the cpu speed down, its running from 25-35%, spiking to 100% every two minutes.
Taskmgr.exe is running most of the % (20)
dwm.exe
sidebar.exe
do the rest.

I guess a clean install is in order, will do, thanks Nibiru.
What I did the last time was let Windows do all the driver updates. Is that ok, or should I get and install all the specific drivers manually?

It could either be malware doing this or a bad gadget.

Download and install Malwarebytes. Update its definitions after running it, in the program. Then let it scan and remove everything it finds.

Temporarily close all your gardgets so that they don't startup with Windows.

Reboot and test.

If it doesn't help, a clean install may be the best way to go.

I'd go for the clean install regardless. Start afresh making sure your bios is running correct settings for your set-up.

Originally Posted by JaCKo

Thanks TorrentG, did that, but it didn't help completely (

It took the system 15 minutes to load and to bring the cpu speed down, its running from 25-35%, spiking to 100% every two minutes.
Taskmgr.exe is running most of the % (20)
dwm.exe
sidebar.exe
do the rest.

I guess a clean install is in order, will do, thanks Nibiru.
What I did the last time was let Windows do all the driver updates. Is that ok, or should I get and install all the specific drivers manually?

Sorry for the late response, I just got home from work a little while ago.

It's always best to get the latest drivers from either the notebook's website or the individual hardware chip makers websites.

Your graphics are ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 graphics controller with 256 MB of discrete video memory
For ATI Radeon Mobile Chipset / Graphics drivers go to: Global Provider of Innovative Graphics, Processors and Media Solutions | AMD

Your notebook uses the Mobile Intel 945PM Express Chipset with 667-MHz front side bus
For Intel chipset and graphics drivers go to: Laptop, Notebook, Desktop, Server and Embedded Processor Technology - Intel

And so on...
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The reason is because usually Windows Update drivers will usually always be at least several month older compared to the ones you get from the notebook website or the hardware makers.

Well, I started downloading drivers and booted win7 from the DVD player, but the installation process is so slow that I don't see the point, its slower than before, when I installed win7 with only one core running??!!

Funny thing is I can't seem to get into BIOS. I get into the computer setup, where I have system information, security, diagnostics and System configuration the closest thing to BIOS is the system information, where I can't change a thing. It shows the right processor, the updated ROM date and ROM BIOS version, but I can't get into BIOS! (I've tried all the F's, delete, Enter, alt and escape)

I'll do the unbelievably SLOOOW clean install and get back, but I'd very much appreciate feedback on the BIOS (never reall pecked about in BIOS so I might be doing something wrong).