Hardware Interrupt Using 100% CPU Usage

Recently the speed of my laptop becoming dog slow, when i check in the Windows Task Manager everthing seem ok and the System Idle Process CPU usage is always using 90%++. This do make sense if i'm not running any program, the System Idle Process should be always 90%++. However, it will be a different story when i'm running my Photoshop, the System Idle Process is still making use of 99% of CPU usage, and the computer become unresponsive.



When i check my laptop using Process Explorer, it shows that "Hardware Interrupt Rate" under the System Idle Process is taking up 90%++ of the CPU usage.



I have solved the problem by examining the controller’s Primary and Secondary IDE settings:



Go to:

Device Manager > IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers > Primary IDE Channel > (right click to select) Properties > Advanced Settings.



Look at the Current Transfer Mode field. Check whether it is in DMA mode. If it is not (in "PIO" mode), uninstall the driver, reboot and let Window XP do its magic reinstall.



**Make sure the Transfer mode is DMA mode, if not, uninstall the driver, restart PC, and have the window do the reinstall for you.