computer help needed: rundll32 issues??

self | 06/03/2014 | racebannon

[RaceBannon]

My old laptop running vista is having the cpu max out when no programs are running

I have been cleaning up the hard drive from all old programs, too, stopped almost everything from starting up, but my cpu just maxes out

running the resource monitor, my rundll32 is using 90% and more of the cpu

how do I find out which tsr or stray program is doing this?

I need to know what to shut off or just outright delete...

[RaceBannon]

compac presario, about 6 years old windows vista 4 gigs ram 1.5 gigs in use, the rest shows available

[SouthernBoyupNorth]

My advice is to save what you can documents and picture wise and format the damn thing. Either that or buy a new one.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

I agree. Every few years you should do a clean install, whether you need one or not.

[RaceBannon]

cant, too many old programs, dont want to pay for the new license

[E. Pluribus Unum]

I wasn't saying not to put Vista back on. I was just saying do a clean install.

You do have your Vista CD?

[E. Pluribus Unum]

On second thought, the reason your processor is running at 90% could be because Vista is overrun with viruses, seeing how it has been out of support for lo these many years.

[kingu]

You need to find out what the rundll32 process is wrapped up around. rundll32 is just a wrapper; I’m going to bet that it is your anti-virus which is doing a full scan of the computer, but it could be something more...

Go to this page, follow the information, figure out what is really running.

http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/windows-vista/what-is-rundll32exe-and-why-is-it-running/

[RaceBannon]

no, Ive been shutting all them down, I jus cant find what is running and sharing that dll!

[RaceBannon]

that link might help a LOT!

[Jeff Chandler]

Vista [snip] has been out of support for lo these many years.

You're right. Either that or you're completely wrong. I choose #2.

[Jeff Chandler]

The Task Manager should show you.

Control Alt Delete

[RaceBannon]

not sure if I still have the cd, I was going to use it to do a repair, One page showed me to look for a cached copy of the dll and copy it in place, but that dir was not where they said it was, too slow to search now, still clleaning stuff up

[smokingfrog]

Vista is still supported.

[Jeff Chandler]

A Compaq Presario should have a hidden partition with a copy of the operating system.

To access the recovery partition on your HP or Compaq computer for recovery, follow the steps listed below.

1. Power on the computer
2. Press F10 repeatedly when you see the HP or Compaq logo.
2. When the recovery screen appears, press Next and then Yes to perform a non-destructive recovery.
3. To perform a destructive recovery, click Advanced and then Yes.
4. After the recovery is finished, the laptop will reboot.

[Oshkalaboomboom]

The Windows Task Manager can show you a lot of information about what programs are running, and usually it does what you need it to. But on the rare occasions you need more information—like if you're trying to figure out which program is using your webcam, for example—you need Process Explorer. Process Explorer is one of the many Task Manager alternatives out there, offering information on what files are currently in use, what hardware, and what each program is doing. If the regular Task Manager isn't giving you the info you need, Process Explorer will. Freeware.

Get it here

If you look on that same page, over on the right where it says Learn More there is also a link for a command line dll viewer. Hope this helps.

[Jeff Chandler]

Remember, a destructive recovery will reformat the hard drive and you will lose everything, so I would try everything else first.

BTW, have you tried to revert to a restore point?

[RaceBannon]

no, but I was considering it, I am using cc cleaner now to shut off even more programs for startup, like all the autodesk ones!

I didnt know I had so many avast and spybot programs running at once, either!

[smokingfrog]

http://www8.hp.com/us/en/campaigns/hpsupportassistant/hpsupport.html

[Scutter]

Rundll32.exe is an executable that loads a dynamic link library (DLL) that contains the actual functionality. SO it is sort of a wrapper that doesn't do anything but load some DLL and invoke an exported function in it. For older versions of Windows, like Vista, a lot of the operating system services were implemented as DLLs that were loaded and run by Rundll32.exe. So you need to find out what DLL the troublesome instance of rundll32.exe is loading in order to know what the issue is.

This article provides very clear instructions on how to determine what is going on.

BTW - looks like rundll32.exe was removed from later versions of Windows (at least I don't see any instances of it in Task Manager on my Windows 8.1 laptop) - probably for this exact reason.

[jsanders2001]

Use Advanced System Care by Iobit...

http://www.iobit.com/

They have a free version that will clean your drive pretty thoroughly with a malware scanner, a good uninstaller and defrag program...