Laptop clogs up when idle, full RAM and wierd CPU spikes

[torninja]

I have an Acer Aspire E5-572G, and it's about 4 months old now.

If I let it sit idle and then come back to it after awhile, the mouse is sluggish and the system is slow.

• During the first months it did not get slow from sitting idle, but a "low on memory" warning often appeared
• When opening task manager, the performance tab shows that RAM is filled up and there are wierd CPU spikes

I have attached a screenshot of the task manager performance tab. Hope someone can give me some input : )

 

[broe23]

You could possibly have an infected laptop. Follow this guide to make sure the system is clean. READ & RUN ME FIRST Malware Removal Guide (incl. spyware, virus, trojan, hijacker) - MajorGeeks Support Forums

 

[torninja]

I have scanned with the latest definitions from Ad-Aware and Malwarebytes. The problem still persists, and I have a feeling it's not a virus.

 

[popeye]

Could also be your AV program scanning while idle and/or defrag optimize.

Turn your Av and disk defrag off to see if it stops.

 

[10soonerlater]

Would you provide a screenshot of the task manager/processes tab, sorted memory high-to-low?

The font size of the first screenshot of the processes in the inset made it hard to read. It reads like IntelTechnologies in the first item. Usually, Intel tries not to be intrusive or cumbersome with its utilities. That it might be the case here suggests an avenue to explore.

What does it do? Is it needed? Is it legitimate? Why doesn't it release the memory if it's not 'doing' anything?

BTW, I have plenty of Intel components in my PC. And there is no IntelTechnologies listed in my Resource Monitor. I'm curious if I read that incorrectly.

 

[torninja]

I have found the culprit to be Intel Technology Access Service.exe but I can't find any good information on what it does. Apparently a lot of other people experienced the same drop in performance and memory build up from an update released around the 11th this month, relating to the intel service. Ending the service in task manager instantly fixes the problem, but I don't know how to disable the feature until another update fixes it..

 

[windows8fan101]

Yes ^ As of recent for me after the update Intel Technology Access Service is the process causing lag and sound messups. If you end the task in task manager the issue disappears. This is simply a workaround for now, we should submit bug reports.

 

[MinecraftNerd]

Actually, you cannot end the process now. If you try to, it says "Cannot End Process: Access is denied." Probably part of another broken update.

EDIT: 30 minutes later after attempting to end the process, the process was gone, the high RAM and CPU usage was gone, my mouse was not sluggish, the sounds were working properly, and my games were running fast again.

 

[10soonerlater]

Can the update be identified and uninstalled?

 

[knector]

Can the update be identified and uninstalled?

That would be nice, but I hope they will come out with an update that fixes this soon, they must have gotten a lot of bug reports about this.

 

[Koekenbakker]

Hello,
just wanted to say thank you for the temporary fix. I tried anything to resolve this, from updating drivers and switching mice, but nothing helped except the process ending thing.
Thanks again.

 

[torninja]

Nice to hear! The problem hasn't returned for me since I first disabled the service. Doesn't seem like an important service anyway, so won't pay much attention to it until I get more problems.. : )

 

[UmTipo]

hi...
i had the same problem with Intel Technology Access Service...the fix is ok for me...but now (2 days later) when i turn on the laptop ...it takes 4+ minutes to start ....any thoughts?

 

[torninja]

I think the driver lets you connect to the internet through USB, so ending the service should not cause any system instability from what I can tell.

Your start up lag might be incidental. Have you installed anything new on your system? Drivers or hardware? Run a virus scan and check your startup items (start>run>msconfig)