System Usage Spiking

Brendan Turbitt · Jan 24, 2025

Evening,

Been having issues over the past few days where my system usage randomly spikes causing my computer to become unresponsive for less than a second up to 30 seconds.

I have factory reset my computer, changed Windows Defender task scheduling, updated all my drivers and software, removed all start-up services, and still had the same issue.

I mainly feel the effects of this whilst playing GTA 5(fivem) where all the processing power from fivem goes into the system hence the freeze.

From using Process Explorer I have noticed System4 seems to be a reoccurring spike

My PC specs are as follows

CPU- Ryzen 3950x 16 core

Ram - 64gb ddr4 3600mhz

GPU- 2080ti sli

The spikes don't use major CPU usage as it doesn't really go above 30% but still makes it unresponsive

would appreciate any help that can be provided

Thanks

***Move from Windows / Windows 11 / Performance and system failures***

:)

Bob.H - MSFT

Hello, Brendan Turbitt

Welcome to the Microsoft Community.

It seems that your computer is experiencing some performance issues while playing GTA5, let's solve them together. According to the information you provided, the CPU usage of the system did not exceed 30%, but it still caused no response. Other factors may be involved. Here are some possible solutions:

1. Clean up startup items: You have deleted all startup services, but you can still check the startup items. Press the Win + R key, type msconfig, and then disable unnecessary startup items in the Startup TAB.

2. Check the antivirus software: Some antivirus software may interfere with system processes. Try turning off your antivirus software temporarily and then restarting your computer to see if there is an improvement.

3. Check the network environment: Problems with Steam not starting or not responding are sometimes related to the network environment. Optimize your network connection to ensure network stability.

4. Update your graphics driver: Make sure your NVIDIA graphics driver is the latest version. You can download the latest drivers from NVIDIA's official website.

5. You can try a clean boot and run GTA5 alone to see if the problem still exists, you can refer to the link below for a clean boot:

How to perform a clean boot in Windows - Microsoft Support

Disclaimer: A “clean boot” starts Windows with a minimal set of drivers and startup programs. It helps to determine whether a background service is interfering with your game or program and to isolate the cause of a problem.

These steps of "clean boot" might look complicated at first glance. However, to avoid any trouble for you, please follow them in order and step-by step so that it will help you get back on track.

Best regards

Bobhe | Microsoft Community Support Specialist

Mesowhite

Forgot to do this but I just posted the issue on Xbox Feedback. The person with Xbox Support suggested me to do this as well. So if you want to vote for it here is the link :

xbox.uservoice.com/.../10821597-spiking-bandwidth-usage

More votes the better chance it gets noticed by more people who might have the same issue.

No problem KodokuTraveller, I want this fixed as much as you do, it also can help others who might not realize that they have the same issue before having there Internet throttled, or receive a large bill because they when over their cap. Cheers

Mesowhite

Yes I completely agree you should you. People should not have to remove external storage to solve the problem as for you KodokuTraveller and me removing dose not help with this issue. When I contacted support they were not able to give me a answer over the
chat, but the person I was chatting with was very understanding.

They took a lot of info about the issue a such as "How did much it use before the update and if you had noticed before." they even took the the OS number. I don't know if you or [Soviet Messiah] have the exact same problem. What I noticed if i played Fallout
4 for eight hours when look at the Bandwidth Manger it usually for me has two major spikes one about three hours into playing and the again about six hours into playing. It has added up to around 1GB daily if I only play a single player game that day. That
is a total of 30GB-35GB for a month of data I have no idea what it is doing with the data. They told me that they will update me by email with anything they find. So ill keep you guys up to date on what they tell me. Lets hope for the best that it is a easy
fix for Xbox.

Mesowhite

Same issue here I have the Elite Console with the 1TB Solid State Hybrid Drive and have 8TB of external hard drives hocked up. But removing the drives from the console on my end it still shows high usage. I can't vouch for the TV because I don't use that
function. I do have a good plan and I am not worried about hitting the cap but people with a lower tire and play a lot online this could significantly hurt their cap. As of typing this i'm on chat support with Xbox so if I learn anything ill update.

WorldwideMagz

2 years later and this STILL happens , and its STILL with fallout 4.

System Usage Spiking