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Whenever I launch Task Manager, it shows the CPU utilization is 60% or sometimes even 100%. However, almost instantaneously, it drops down to 10% or less than 10%. Is this normal behavior in Windows XP?

Why is it that on launch of Task Manager, for that instance alone does the CPU utilization rises to 60% plus and then drops down?

My machine has 3 GB of RAM.

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Single Core processor? You should replace that ;) – Phoshi Oct 4 '09 at 8:45

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It's expected behavior, Kanini. The specifics of which I'm left to guess. But inspecting my own Task Manager I can see it opened 8 threads and has set a couple hundred of handles.

The firing of an application and the operating system internal goings while it is being set, any data loaded into memory, any necessary disk access performed, any hooks into other running processes arranged, and what more, quite naturally will force the processor to dedicate more time to it.

You will see similar behavior while launching about any application.

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+1 nice explanation – quack quixote Oct 4 '09 at 4:29
On the subject, task manager running at a "high" update speed used to be very unkind to my old processor! Seemed weird to me at the time that my monitor was heavier than what it was monitoring! – Phoshi Oct 4 '09 at 8:46
Thanks a lot, beautiful explanation! – Kanini Oct 4 '09 at 16:27
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What you are seeing is the CPU spike caused by Task Manager itself loading.

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