Computer running very slow

[geoffl]

Hi,
I have an acer aspire one , AMD chip, 1gb ram running win7 sp1.  Over the last week has slowed down. Malware bites finds no malware. Ms security is happy. The only new thing on this computer  is the little icon in the toolbar about windows 10. Task manager shows 100 % CPU usage. under processes there is MsMpE.exe (anti malware service executable) using 48000. I tried to end this process but access is denied. Can any one tell me what this is?  If I go to Msconfig  and disable all services and reboot CPU usage is zero. If I hide Microsoft services and disable all others and reboot CPU usage is 100% so this seems to be a Microsoft service.
Any help appreciated.
Regards
Geoffl

[DaveLembke]

You can try setting back to a restore point in the past and see if the problem goes away. The processor in that computer is weak in processing power and so if there was a virus scan or updates happening behind the scenes it would probably bring most of the functionality of the computer to a grinding halt. I had a client with Windows 7 starter on one of these and it was a very slow process even after clean installation to install software and all updates.

AMD chip, 1gb ram running win7 sp1

The RAM being 1GB is bare suggested minimum for 7, where I have seen 7 -32 bit run on less and run even slower and so this is one area of the performance problem in addition to a weak processor. Additionally they paired this system with a slow laptop hard drive and with only 1GB RAM there is lots of paging going on I the swap for virtual memory where the hard drive acts as additional temp memory storage. So you might notice that your hard drive light is frequently on solid or blinking. Doubling the memory to 2GB would help some, but over all the system is a weak low cost system with lightweight processing power.

[geoffl]

Thank you for your help.
I kept stopping things and found out it is the print spooler. Now that has stopped CPU is 1 - 20%. Any Idea why this would happen all of a sudden?
Also do you think I should upgrade this computer to WIN 10?
Regards
Geoffl

[DaveLembke]

I have seen some HP print drivers eat up all the CPU due to failed printing. Usually installing latest printer driver fixed this. HP also has services bundled into their drivers that are not required for the printer to work that have a tendency to act up, so installing a driver that is just the driver and not a bundled driver with all extra features can also fix this. Some other printer brands also have an option for a smaller in size basic driver and a larger in size driver that is feature rich, in which the extra features may not be necessary.

Windows 10 is a one way upgrade. If you don't like it your stuck with it unless you spend money to go back to 7. Unless there is something that Windows 10 offers that Windows 7 doesn't offer, I'd stick with 7. Additionally this systems processing power is on the weak side and only 1GB of RAM would be best to be upgraded to 2GB of RAM before an upgrade to 10. Windows 10 would work on 1GB RAM though. I have tested it on older Pentium 4 systems with 1GB RAM for the 32 bit version.

[geoffl]

Thank you so much for your help

[DaveLembke]

Your welcome.  Did the printer driver update/replacement cure this?

[Geek-9pm]

Is the MsMpENG.exe still using a lot of C PU?

[patio]

Take some time off Geek...

[geoffl]

I  am away till next Sunday and will go looking for the driver then. I only use this little thing when away (easy to carry).
CPU usage is now fine.
Thanks Again