What are system interrupts and why does it run on the computer?

When looking at the Task Manager window, you may have noticed that the process is called 'System interrupts' and doesn't bother with it. However, when this process uses CPU and you wonder what it is and why it uses CPU? Please read the following article for answers.

What is the process of System Interrupts?

System Interrupts are an official part of Windows and although it appears as a process in Task Manager, it is in fact not a traditional process. Instead, it is a synthetic placeholder used to display the system resources used for hardware interrupt that occur on the computer.

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Hardware shutdown is the process of normal communication between hardware (and related software) with the CPU. For example, when typing the keyboard, instead of the whole process of tracking signals from the keyboard, there is only a piece of hardware on the motherboard processing this signal. When determining another piece of hardware that requires a CPU, it sends an interrupt signal to the CPU. If this is the preferred interrupt signal (usually the user input), the CPU will stop any process that is working, resolve this interrupt signal, and then continue its previous process.

All of these processes happen very quickly and often the interrupt process occurs continuously. In fact, you can see the interrupt process taking place by opening Task Manager and scrolling down until you see 'System interrups' in the window, now open Notepad and type. This action will not affect the 'System interrupts' setting significantly but you will see it increase by one tenth of a percent or more. In this case, it has increased from a base level of 0.1% to 0.3%.

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During normal operation, you can see that the CPU usage of the "System interrupts" process increases to 10% for a short time before it drops to zero.

Why does System interrupts use too much CPU?

If you see that the "System interrupts" CPU usage is about 20% higher and doesn't change, you're probably having problems. Because CPU usage indicates hardware interruption is taking place on the computer, if the CPU usage is frequent, it means that a hardware or driver related to it doesn't work or doesn't work properly. So you need to fix the hardware problem.

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The first step you should take is to restart the computer. Surely you've heard many people mentioning that rebooting a computer can fix many problems and this is the first simple step to take when troubleshooting any problem.

See also: Why restart the router can fix many problems?

If restarting the computer does not solve the CPU usage problem, the next step is to update the computer. Let Windows Update perform the update, so you can get the latest Windows updates and drivers. In addition, you should also check for drivers that are not managed by WIndows Update to update.

If updating the computer driver and hardware does not solve the problem, then you need to find specific hardware that causes high CPU usage.

To check for hardware problems, disable each of the peripherals. You should start with micro devices because this is the easiest test. Check devices such as keyboards, mice, webcams and headsets by disconnecting each device one by one and see if the CPU in 'System interrupts' drops. If so, that is the device causing the problem.

After you have checked all peripheral devices and still can't find them, you should switch to checking the internal devices. Obviously, testing these devices is more difficult than peripherals because you cannot remove them from the computer. However, you can disconnect these devices in Device Manager, but be careful when working here to avoid disabling important devices in operating systems such as drives or display adapters. . Also, do not disable anything listed in the Computer , Processors or System Device categories, focusing only on devices such as network adapters, sound cards and other additional cards. These are the most potential culprits causing the problem, just disable each device and check the 'System interrupts' section in Task Manager.

There are several other pieces of hardware that can cause problems and you will not be able to check this way. Failure to provide power (or laptop battery) may cause an increase in CPU usage of "System interrupts" and thus lead to hard drive failure. You can test the hard drive with the built-in Windows tool, Check Disk or a third-party tool, SMART utility. However, the only way to check the power supply is to replace it.

See also: Check and fix hard drive errors with CMD on Windows

If the cause is determined by a device, the next step you need to do is determine whether it is the device or hardware driver that is the culprit. Here are some guidelines to help you find the cause of the error.

1. Try external devices on another computer if available.
2. If the driver has been updated and you think the device is fine, you can return to the previous version of the driver.
3. Visit Google or the hardware manufacturer's website to see if others have similar problems.
4. Consider updating BIOS. If the cause cannot be found, it is possible that the hardware is responsible for explaining the interruption that is experiencing the problem, updating the BIOS can sometimes fix the problem.

Can disable 'System interrupts'?

No, you cannot disable "System interrupts" and there is no reason to do so. This is an important component for computer performance because it is used to process and report hardware interruptions. Windows will not allow you to temporarily 'end task' this process.

Could this process be a virus?

"System interrupts" is an official Windows component, it is almost certainly not a virus. Actually, since it is not a proper process, "System interrupts" does not even have the .EXE or .DLL files involved. This means there is no way for malicious software to invade.

See also: What is a DLL file, and how does this file work?

However, it is possible that a virus is interfering with a particular hardware driver, which may affect "System interrupts". If you suspect any kind of malware, use antivirus software to scan your computer.

See more:

1. About svchost.exe
2. Learn about the rundll32.exe process
3. Learn about the dpupdchk.exe process