BleepingComputer.com: System Idle Process - ntkmpla.exe Using up 90% CPU usage.

Sony Vaio VGN-FZ11S Laptop

Cpu: Intel Core 2 Duo 1.80GHz
Memory: 2Gb DDR2 SDRAM
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GT GPU
Windows Vista Home Premium SP1

Norton Protection Centre Antivirus/Spyware/Firewall




Hello all.

QUICK NOTE: Have run a Kasperspy Scan (and have Norton always running) only hours ago and no infection were found so I hope this isn't malware related.



After noticing my laptop becoming very unresponsive as of late, I decided to run Process Explorer to find what was eating my CPU.
Found out that the "System Idle Process" was fluctuating anywhere between 70% - 90% CPU usage.

Now in Process Explorer I then "right-clicked" on the System Idle Process and selected properties and then selected the "threads" tab in the window to find 2 files named the same:



ntkmlpa.exe!KiDispatchInterrupt+0x5a4 <-- There are 2 of these showing in the "threads" tab under properties of System Idle Process in Process Explorer.


PLEASE NOTE: that the l in ntkm(l)pa is actually a L (Stupid Windows Fonts!)






Process explorer will not let me kill the process or restart/shutdown, neither will task manager. Rightly so as I believe System Idle process is vital to the stability of Windows from my research.

What I would like to know is, is there anyway of returning this process to using a lower amount of CPU as my laptop is really not functioning as quick as it should be.

Also task manager reports to be running 94 processes! Is this normal?



Many thanks.

Luke

Hi kennedymelody,

Saw your other post. You mean ntkmlpa.exe

Do you have Zone Alarm? There is one suggestion in post #5 of the following thread that might be helpful if you do. There is also a link to an article describing this problem. See if this gives you some ideas.

http://forums.nvidia.com/index.php?showtopic=36879

Zllio

Hey Zllio,

No I'm afraid I'm not using ZoneAlarm on my laptop however, I do have a Desktop Pc upstairs running ZoneAlarm on the same wireless network but I figure that's got nothing to do with my problem.

:\ Any more suggestions?

Thanks.

Hi kennedymelody,

What the thread describes is that the problem seems to occur in laptops running nvidia, that it's not an easily duplicatable error and that some people have found solutions.

One thing is to try turning off the Nvidia Desktop Manager. Go to Start > Control Panel > and double-click on Nvidia nview Desktop Manager to open it. In the first panel, there should be a button to deactivate it if it is running. If so, click on that and click on okay.
If you were able to do that, did it help?

You can also try this, go to Start > Run and type in msconfig and click on ok. In the window that opens up, put a check in the box called diagnostic start up. Go to the startup tab and see if you find nwiz.exe and nview there. If so, be sure they are unchecked and that all the other programs are checked. Then click on ok and allow your computer to reboot or reboot it yourself. The diagnostic feature is used only for getting information. This would not be a solution but a temporary work-around. In the thread I posted to you, one user did the following, which is similar to what you would be doing with msconfig.

Quote

You can also look at the following link at post #5. http://forums.nvidia.com/index.php?showtopic=76541 It describes the problem as being a driver problem of Nvidia and it is one which can be resolved by forcing the driver to be corrected. It is more complicated but an actual solution rather than a workaround.


Zllio

Hi Zllio,

It seems that I don't actually have the nview Desktop Manager even on my computer.

Nvidia nview Desktop Manager does not appear in my control panel and after running msconfig and following the steps you provided, nwiz and nview aren't even under the startup tab after checking the diagnostic start up button.

After having a look at the link you provided, can't see how my problem can be related as I don't even have the Nview Desktop Manager running on my Laptop!


Therefore, I am still really stuck!



Thanks for you're help Zllio, and please keep trying to find a solution!

Hi kennedymelody,

Let me come back to your original post, in which you mentioned

you have Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GT GPU
you have Norton Protection Centre Antivirus/Spyware/Firewall
and you ran Kaspersky

How did you run Kaspersky?

Zllio

Hey Zllio,

I visited, www.kaspersky.com/virusscanner then ran it online.

It found nothing.

:|

Hi kennedymelody,

Let's look at the following:

When computers are having odd problems and also running Nortons, especially with Vista, it helps to check if Nortons might be part of the problem. It's a complex piece of software and can cause performance issues.

You don't want to leave your computer without an antivirus program, but in order to see if Norton's is contributing to the slowness problems, you need to uninstall it completely. For testing purposes, I would like to ask you to do the following steps, which will allow you to keep your computer protected the whole time, while looking at what happens by removing Nortons. Before you start, I would like for you to read through the following instructions first, so you understand why they are being done in a certain order. If you have any questions before you start, please ask. Then continue with the instructions in the order given:

1) First go to Freeware Replacements For Common Commercial Apps
and in the first section called "Antivirus Applications", select either Antivir or Avast and download the installation program to somewhere where you can find it later. Do not install it yet. Only download the installation progrram and remember where it is.

2) Make sure that you have your activation key for Nortons, so you can re-install Norton again later.

3) Now I would like for you to go to the following Symantec webpage which gives you the uninstall directions for Symantec for a Vista operating system. Please copy the instructions to Notepad and store them somewhere where you can find them again easily, like on your desktop. Then copy the instructions in this post you are reading now and put them in the Notepad file with the other instructions so you can easily find them again. I will be asking you to disconnect from the internet and you will need the instructions in the below webpage, plus the instructions in this post. Put both into one Notepad file and store it on your desktop. The reason I want you to disconnect from the internet while you uninstall Norton is to minimize the time your computer is online without an antivirus program running. Here is the page you should copy to notepad:

Uninstalling your Norton products on Windows Vista

4) Once you've copied out the instructions from Symantec and the instructions in this post, I want you to disconnect your computer from the internet and follow the instructions from Symantec to uninstall your Nortons. Afterwards you will be asked to reboot your computer. Please reboot before continuing.

5) Now I would like for you to find the installation program for Antivir or Avast which you downloaded in Step 1 of this post and double-click on the installation program to install it. It may try to update as soon as it's installed. Please reconnect to the internet and allow it to update.

6) Your computer may not have been able to completely uninstall all of Norton, so I would like for you to go to the following webpage and run the Norton Removal Toolfor Vista. If the warning applies to you, please follow the instructions for backing up that particular data.

The Norton Removal Tool can be found here: Uninstalling your Norton products on Windows Vista using the Norton Removal Tool

7) After you've run the Norton Removal Tool, please reboot your computer and open your Task Manager (Ctrl-Alt-Del) and see if your idle processes are running at around 98%. This is where you want your idle processes to be.

Let me know how this all goes and if this causes a change in the speed of your computer.
Zllio