svchost.exe slowing the computer

[thatrenowned]

On boot up, I have four instances of svchost.exe in my processes (three are system one is network).

Normally this is fine but on some occasions, the memory usage on one of them goes up and up...to over 100,000k. It also starts to use loads of the CPU and basically slows the computer right down (explorer or even task manager take a minute to open), until I end the process or reboot the computer.

I've ran updated virus scans and the blaster fix from symantec, both of which didn't find anything so I don't think this is down to a virus.

Has anyone else had this problem or have a solution?

Don't know if it'll help, but the specs are XP Home SP1, P4 1.6GHz, 256mb RAM and over 15gb free on a 40gb NTFS drive.

Thanks

 

[thatrenowned]

oops...I meant the one that slows it down is a 'Local Service', not 'System'.

 

[bcastner]

It is not svchost, but something using svchost.

From the Elder Geeks site:

What's The Number One Question Asked About Services?

Without a doubt the most asked question is what is svchost.exe and why is it running so many times at once. That's a fair question, especially if you've looked in Task Manager and seen it listed three or four times, each instance gobbling up memory. The official answer, straight from the mouth of Microsoft is:

"Svchost.exe is a generic host process name for services that run from dynamic-link libraries (DLLs)."

I know; that didn't tell you one whole hell of a lot, but if you really want to know more about it and why it appears so many times concurrently, KB Article Q314056 is just a click away for the answers. Happy (boring) reading.

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q314056