A bottleneck created by a fixed (too small) pagefile could
also create the problem. But again, that and so many other
reasons are identified quickly by looking first for 'the
reason why' rather than 'trying to fix it now'. Task Manager
is one tool. Another source are System (event) logs. What do
they report? Things that might once crash a system (ie DOS)
are instead recorded in system logs; then system continues
working. A third location that might provide useful facts
(but probably not in your case) is Device Manager.

Don't attempt solutions - shotgunning. First get facts.
The number of possible reasons for your problem may exceed
100. Are you going to try them all? Or first get the numbers
and ledger entries that point to or suggest which might be the
problem? Three places to start are Task Manager, Device
Manager, and system logs.

28 processes would be more typically of a system using near
zero processor time. Using View in Task Manager, select
different functions to examine. For example, CPU processing -
percentage and CPU Time - and performance graphs would suggest
tasks that are consuming too much processing power. Memory
usage, Page Fault Delta, and Virtual Memory usage would
suggest bottleneck in RAM or Virtual memory access. Device
Manager or system logs might report an interrupt conflict
which consumes no CPU time but significantly slows a system.
With only a 'basic' 28 processes loaded, your system should
be lightning quick. Why so few processes and yet so little
system response? Fact gathering is seeking an answer to that
question. Does a problem exist with the NIC hardware or its
driver? Again this would consume little CPU time but
bottleneck the system. This failure can slow an NT based
system that would have crashed when using DOS or Windows
9x/ME.

Meanwhile, if only using Adaware (spyware) detection, then
malware or keyboard monitoring programs could be running. You
would be totally unaware of their existence if only using
Adaware.

A list of processes in Task Manager, by name, might expose a
malware process. But without some virus detection program,
then even widely spread and commonly known malware could have
infected your system without your knowledge.

Is any software constantly trying to access the internet
when internet connection is not available? Some 'goodware'
programs may also do that. But a system that keeps trying to
access the internet also would consume CPU time.

Is firewall enabled? If so, what exemptions may have
circumvented that firewall? A web based program from
www.grc.com (Gibson Research) can provide information you
don't have - by using the web's perspective. This to confirm
system security (if system not yet compromised by malware).

Of course, all this assumes hardware is performing
properly. To verify hardware integrity, responsible computer
manufacturers provide a comprehensive diagnostic for free.
Hardware problems are a less probability according to symptoms
provided. Diagnostics are another example of how to identify
a problem before fixing anything.

AcidX wrote:
> I didn't dismiss Ted Zieglar's reasons.
> I just know it's not one or two beacuse I'm always scanning for
> spyware/adware and editing my startup processes, so I know exactly what
> my system is loading.
> I was a bit unclear about my response to Ted Zieglar's post.
> I meant to say I was going to look into his other reasons in more
> detail, specifically step 5. It seems most likely.
> This is how I stumbled upon the 'intelppm.sys' idea - by looking at my
> processors driver.
>
> Sorry about that, I'm still looking into some.
> Anyway, I feel it was something relating to issues into that
> 'intelppm.sys' post, so I'm trying a few of the solutions I found
> there.
>
> One of the things listed on there was to change my pagefile size and
> let it be 'system managed' (I had mine on custom) and, although it
> might not solve this problem, it probably did some good anyway.
> Another one was to reinstall your printer o_O I did that anyway, and I
> uess the only way to find out if anything's worked is to wait til it
> happens again
>
> Anyway, by default, I have 28 processes running and CPU rests at about
> 2 - 8% when idle. Commit Charge is currently (with firefox, MSN signed
> on and taskmanager open and background processes) at 220M / 2389M.
> Umm, is there anythnig specific I should tell you which could help?
> (and just in case provide details of how to get it, unless it's simple)
>
> Another thing that popped into my head (very unlikely) is that it's my
> webcam. It's always on, and I got this before I would've got SP2
> (unless SP2 came with my PC - pretty sure it didn't) but it's just that
> it's always on and never really doing anything.
> I can turn it off by unplugging it, or, if I use it, it turns itself
> off afterwards automatically.
> I just updated the driver for that though. We'll see what happens.