If your system idles at 10–20% CPU usage and the culprit is “System Interrupts,” you’re not alone. This hidden process signals that your hardware is misfiring—and it’s draining resources in the background.
What Are System Interrupts?
“System Interrupts” is not a virus or program—it’s a placeholder that represents hardware-level interrupts managed by the CPU.
High usage means the CPU is being overwhelmed by frequent or faulty signals from drivers or hardware.
Common Causes
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Faulty or outdated device drivers
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USB device malfunction (especially peripherals like webcams or audio interfaces)
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Wireless adapters misbehaving
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ACPI or BIOS bugs
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Power settings misconfigured
Step-by-Step Fix Guide
1. Update All Drivers
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Use Device Manager or a tool like Driver Booster
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Focus on: chipset, network, audio, USB controllers
2. Check for USB Issues
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Unplug all USB devices
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Reconnect one at a time
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Use LatencyMon to detect problematic drivers
3. Disable Internal Devices Temporarily
In Device Manager:
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Disable Bluetooth, webcam, SD card reader, etc. one by one
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Check CPU usage after each change
4. BIOS Update and Reset
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Visit your motherboard/laptop brand’s support site
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Update BIOS to latest version
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Reset to optimized defaults afterward
5. Adjust Power Settings
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Set Windows power plan to High Performance
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Go to “Change advanced power settings” → Disable “USB selective suspend” and “PCI Express Link State Power Management”
Real Fix Example
A user with 20% idle CPU from “System Interrupts” traced the issue to a Logitech webcam. Unplugging the webcam instantly dropped CPU usage to 1%. Updating the driver resolved it permanently.
System Interrupts shouldn’t be using more than 1–2% CPU at idle. If yours is higher, it’s time to take action—your battery, performance, and sanity depend on it.