CPU Hijack

Question

I'm having a problem with my Office 365 products hijacking the CPU.

Windows 10, i7 processor, 16GB Ram.

If I'm on the computer and don't use any of the Office 365 products, the system works fine. Google Docs, Gmail, any online application like WORD Online or Excel online, everything works lovely.

The moment I open any Office 365 product, (Outlook, Word, Excel) the system starts to run fast, CPU usage peaks out 99.9% very quickly and the system locks up. CPU fan motor is racing etc.  Computer totally locked up, only out is to crash the computer.

On restart, if no Office 365 products are opened, computer works normally again.  I've run full virus diagnostics, drive and cpu diagnostics, uninstalled and re-installed the Office package. No improvement, same problem persists.

Next step is to do a complete fresh Windows 10 install, but before I do. Any ideas??

Answer 1

Look for blank icons on the desktop and delete them.

Open File Explorer

Open This PC

Right click your local drive where Windows 10 is install (you will see the Windows logo on it)

Click Properties

Click the Hardware tab

What is the name of the drive listed?

Is it an SSD?

If it is, you might need to update the firmware.

Open Start > Settings > Privacy > Background apps

Disable all Background apps.

Disabling Windows Update:

Press Windows key + R

Type: services.msc

Hit Enter

Scroll down to Windows Update

Select it then right click it

Click Properties

Under the General tab, choose Startup type to Disabled

Click Stop

Click Apply then OK

Also, check whats starting up with Windows.

Press Windows key + X

Click Task Manager

Click Startup tab

Disable all except Windows Defender.

---

Press Windows key + R

Type: msconfig

Hit Enter

Go to the services tab

Check the box,

hide all Microsoft services

Disable the remaining services

Click Apply then OK

Restart if prompted

---

Open Start, type: problem reports

Hit Enter

Delete any failed or pending reports.

Go to Start > Settings > System > Notifications and actions > Turn off "Show me tips about Windows."

If you have Chrome installed, uninstall then reinstall it.

Open Start, type: CMD

Right click CMD

Click Run as administrator

Type: powercfg -restoredefaultschemes

Hit Enter

Exit

Create an entirely new account and delete the current one.

https://www.groovypost.com/howto/create-manage-...

Answer 2

Hi Prek. I'm Greg, an installation specialist and 9 year Windows MVP, here to help you.

Try repairing Office at Settings > Apps and Features > Microsoft Office > Modify > Repair.

Go over this checklist to make sure the install is set up correctly, optimized for best performance, and any needed repairs get done: http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wiki...

Start with Step 4 to turn off Startup freeloaders which can conflict and cause issues, then Step 7 to check for infection the most thorough way, then step 10 to check for damaged System Files. Then continue with the other steps to go over your install most thoroughly.

Since you mentioned a Clean install here is the gold standard Clean Install which should get you past all difficulties as it has hundreds of thousands of others who have followed the steps in this link and never come back to report another problem: http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wiki...

Make sure during the booted install to follow the illustrated steps to delete all partitions down to Unallocated Space to get it cleanest, then click Next to let it auto-create the needed partitions, format them and begin install - this makes it foolproof.

There is also an automated Fresh Start that reinstalls WIndows while shedding corrupting factory bloatware, saves your files, but doesn't clear the drive to get it cleanest: https://www.howtogeek.com/265054/how-to-easily-...

I hope this helps. Feel free to ask back any questions and let us know how it goes. I will keep working with you until it's resolved.

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