Surface Pro 3 High CPU load when idle, high system cpu load

Anonymous
2014-07-22T12:13:28+00:00

Has anyone else noticed that coming out of sleep or herniate results in unwarranted high cpu load from system interrupts? 

I have all the latest firmware and updates loaded. But using sleep even sometimes a cold boot I get this issue.

How can I fix this please. Its killing my battery life.

Surface | Surface Pro | Performance and maintenance

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

0 comments
Answer accepted by question author
Anonymous
2014-07-19T23:25:46+00:00

Hi jiachengguo,

Thank you for reaching out to the Microsoft Community! Sorry to know that you are facing battery issues with your new Surface Pro 3. I can see how concerning this is to you, so please know we will do our best to help and guide you in the right direction!

In order to better assist you, I will need to gather a few more details:

  • Have you made any changes to the power settings? And if so, what exact changes have you made?
  • Do you have any startup or background apps running?
  • Do you have a micro SD card inserted or any accessories and Bluetooth devices connected? If so, please disconnect or remove any external accessories and test it again.
  • Have you restarted the Surface and then set it to sleep after the restart? If not, please do so as well.
  • Have you tried resetting the power settings back to the default settings? If you haven't, here is how:
  1. From Desktop, swipe in from the right edge of the screen and open the Charms menu
  2. Select Settings
  3. Select Control Panel
  4. Select Power options
  5. Select Change plan settings
  6. Select Restore default settings for this plan
  7. Select Yes
  8. Restart your Surface

Additionally, for further reference, all available battery information and tips on how to make it last longer, can be found in the next support article that applies for Surface Pro 2 and Pro 3:

We hope this information proves useful. Please keep us posted!

We are here to help!

Best Wishes,

Was this answer helpful?

0 comments
Answer accepted by question author
Anonymous
2014-07-19T17:43:11+00:00

Oh!! I just checked it again as I wanted to make a screenshot and now it's working! I don't know what changed. The only thing I did was that I originally enabled Hyper-V but when it started interfering with my WiFi connectivity I disabled it again, so maybe that's what was necessary.. I used to have constant high "System Interrupts" process running, but disabling one by one I found out that an Adobe startup process was causing it, so I disabled it and it seems to have fixed the issue. Either way, thanks for your responses!

Was this answer helpful?

0 comments
Answer accepted by question author
Anonymous
2014-07-19T02:11:55+00:00

Dear Clare,

No, this is not what I was asking. Please refer to the original question.

Perhaps you may have something running in the background.

Was this answer helpful?

0 comments

198 additional answers

Sort by: Most helpful
Most helpful Newest Oldest
  1. Anonymous
    2015-02-17T05:33:55+00:00

    There doesn't seem to be much a troubleshooting section here for major battery drain issues, so perhaps it would be helpful if some of us could post our experiences.  I've had my SP3 for a few weeks, and I love everything but the battery.  But tonight took the cake.  I closed the type cover, put it in my bag, and went to my part-time (2 hours on Monday nights) job.  The battery was at 100% when I put it in my bag.  I drove there at 5:30, got a few things set up, and was using it off and on by 6.   At 6:30, the battery was down in the high 80s (a little under an hour, screen at about 30%).   I left it in sleep mode for an hour, and then woke it briefly for use with my last private student;   After his lesson was over at 8 p.m., I noticed it was already down to 73%.  

    I came home, took it out of my bag (still warm), and sat it on a table while I did some cleaning.  I sat down at 10:20 p.m..  It was at 20%.  Over 50 percent battery loss in 2 hours and 20 minutes supposedly in sleep mode (although I suspect that wasn't working correctly -- but even if it wasn't, with no programs open and the screen at 30%, it should not lose that much battery, I wouldn't think.

    I have no idea what's causing it.   I know sometimes the type cover does not do its job with putting/keeping it in sleep mode.   So I've been putting it into sleep mode manually, and disabled the type cover's ability to wake it from sleep (although sometimes it still does).  

    The only things running in the background are ccleaner, google drive sync, dropbox sync, iTunes helper, the typical iCloud stuff, and OneNote clipper.

    There's nothing plugged into the usb port, but I do leave bluetooth on, as I often want to quickly use the pen.  

    Any one of these things known for sporadically draining a ton of battery or messing up sleep mode?

    TIA

    Rob

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments
  2. Anonymous
    2015-02-13T20:05:37+00:00

    I have been VERY happy with my Surface Pro 3 until recently.  I noticed it a couple of days ago but today it was markedly HOT when I went to use it this afternoon.  I wonder if this malfunction has been corrected in updated versions.  When it "goes to sleep" the backlight never goes off so i'm wondering if this has anything to do with this issue.  Today is was so hot i could not touch the screen.  it did not give a temperature warning was just very hot to the touch. 

    Please let me know if i should return for a refund or if there is a fix for this issue.

    Thanks for your attention.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments