How can I find out what my Computer is doing?

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I use a Dell 8200 that I maxed out when I first got it.
It has XP and I use Firefox.
Every now and then I will reformat and find it performs like new again.

This time however, hardly a few months has gone by and I can hear the fan working like a mad thing and things are a bit slow so I think there are a few programmes going on that Iam unaware of.

I do scans with AVG and Search and Destroy but they tell me my computer is clean.

How can I find out exactly what programmes are running and what they do please?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Task_Manager

If you are interested in something other than the task manager you may try something like "process hacker" or some other third-party task manager.

Task manager tells me I have 53 processes running, what do they all mean?
I did see an Adaware process yet though I had deleted adaware, so I clicked on end process, and it went away, but will it be back next time I reboot?, if so, how does one remove such permanently?
And posting this message sent my CPU spike up to the top! is that right?
I do have Ghostery running as well.

How handy are you with RegEdit? It sounds like whatever application you used to uninstall an application didn't do a thorough job of removal. You might want to run a registry cleaner to find those orphaned processes and entries in the registry.

If had heard of it, Ive now forgotten.
Do you know of any registry cleaners you could recommend please? Seems so much of the free stuff they try and bundle you with something you dont want, I seem to remember just searching for drivers was such a nightmare.

Search Microsoft's Web Site for RegClean. If that doesn't work take a look at http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/five-a ... othly/1236 for other free registry cleaners

Avg is universally recognized as the worst anti-anything. Get Avast or something else plz..

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I like Kaspersky's rescue disk for majorly infected computers. USB or dvd bootable..

http://support.kaspersky.com/4162

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Also recently found this little app, it looks like malware at first glance but i've used it some and after reading the reviews it's legit. It takes out cookies and things that build up over time. Also took out some serious malware I had.

http://download.cnet.com/SuperAntiSpyware-Free-Edition/3000-8022_4-10523889.html

Click start type "resmon" hit enter voila! Also you can type "services.msc" and find out what services are running and if you have sluggish internet you can do a "netstat" in the command prompt or look under networking in "resmon".

For all those naming out names of AV it's a simple solution. Microsoft Security Essentials!

Well I just installed and scanned with Comodo PC tune up, whilst its says 293 problems found with your computer, the list says "Junk Files" 47mb found
"Security" 1 Problem found.
And no problems found anywhere else including Registry and Malware!

Can somebody comment on why doing a simple thing like posting this message will send my CPU usage to 100%

Thanks everybody for the help.

You either have a crap PC or malware..


Use one of the two programs I suggested, or bring it to a shop, or suffer.

Keep the task manager open and sort by the cpu usage column, so you can easily see which process is responsible while you're doing stuff.

Which web browser are you using? If you're using Internet Explorer, try Firefox, Safari, or Chrome.

My CPU went to 80% just sending this message. Then it dropped. Just because you see spikes doesn't mean your computer is bad. It just means your computer is doing work. Now if your CPU is constantly taxed especially with browsers open then you may have a bunch of crap add-ons needlessly using your CPU just to look nice and pretty in your browser. Chrome and Firefox are notorious for that. Also you get crapware that sneaks itself onto IE when you install other software and don't forget to untick "install this". Also even with my blazing fast Intel Q9650 and 8GB of DDR3 RAM with CAS 7 I still get screwed by Flash and Java. Those are two most resource intensive apps that will just kill your speed regardless. Having my spec puts me at an advantage above most but I still feel the hurt. So have as little tabs open as possible when browsing.

There's a utility for virus and malware scanning that I love called ClamWin. You can download it at http://www.clamwin.com. Also, you could try Webroot Everywhere. If your computer is running slowly, maybe more RAM would help. If your computer is a newer model, it could possibly use flash memory. Flash memory runs great, but wears out quickly. That's why it's normally used with minimal-process devices like tablets and smartphones. You can check for memory upgrades at http://crucial.com

Just pry open the case and waterboard the magical gnomes living inside.