Strange CPU/RAM usage after restart since system restore

[Hactar]

Three nights ago, I was having some issues with missing Ethernet protocols and so after a bit of troubleshooting and messing things up further, I did a system restore from several weeks back. I came back in the morning to a message proclaiming that the system restore had completed successfully, and all was well. (My internet worked again.) But the next time I started up my computer, after 2-3 minutes logged in, it started tremendously slowing down. (I had only Google Chrome open, with Skype, Steam and several other programs running in the background. But I have a rather beefy computer, and it doesn't have problems even if I am running rendering software in the background.) I was forced to do a force-reboot, but it happened again.

This time, however, I opened Task Manager and noticed that prior to the crash, my CPU and RAM usage both started to steadily rise, despite no program actually using them. (Even "System Compressed Memory" was only taking its typical 200-ish MB.) I waited out the crash, and after a minute or two there, the CPU and RAM usage steadily dropped until they reached their normal levels. I would suspect it to be a memory leak, but CPU usage would normally increase in spikes, not gradually.

This odd behavior has happened every time I start up my computer from shutdown, or reboot it, but not when waking from hibernation. (AFAIK I do have Fastboot enabled.)

My specs:
- CPU - Intel i5
- RAM - two sticks of 4GB
- GPU - GTX 750-Ti
I have, of course, Windows 10 64-bit, and Windows Updater says I'm up-to-date (though I never got the November update until March, so I don't know if I can trust it).

Help is much appreciated.

 

[Saltgrass]

I think it should be a rule that after you perform some extended operation with Win 10 that you stay hands off for several days. Shutting down (not forced shutdown) and restarting the system to allow for certain types of operations to complete may be essential but giving it some time to finish everything it needs to do should be a general practice.

If you want to see what it is doing open the Resource Monitor and check through the different tabs. You might come across something to peak your interest and possibly something is causing problems. Once you narrow down what area of your system is involved it will be easier to track down.

 

[Hactar]

Thank you for the help. After several restarts the problem has seemed to sort itself out. I really should have done that before coming here...

 

[Saltgrass]

We all have the same reaction when we see something working our systems. It doesn't hurt to check what is happening since it could be something wrong. It will probably happen again and knowing where to look to find the cause is helpful.

Glad it settled down.