Okay just re-confirmed a solution to two simultaneous problems that I think will be helpful to folks. Soon after I got my Vista x64 pc I started noticing huge constant CPU usage spikes attributed to dcomlaunch.
Turned out it was my ATI video card's HDMI audio driver. Go to device manager, expand sound, video and game controllers, and disable "ATI HDMI Audio". Problem solved instantly. My CPU usage dropped from ~30-40% constant use to <5% average.
Fast-forward 6 months after I upgrade to sp2. I notice that in PhotoShop and a couple other apps that use old-school file open/save dialog boxes, I can't choose a new file location from the "Look in:" drop-down menu at the top of the box. Every time I click it, the menu opens and then immediately closes again. Infuriating! A couple days later I notice my CPU has been working overtime too. Could it be the ATI HDMI Audio device is active again?
Yup, there it was active again. And this time I see there are (2) of these devices (I have 2 ati cards) and my CPU usage was up to >60% average! (2 x 30%). Insane. Again, I disable and usage drops back to nearly 0. Yay!
Amazingly, this ALSO SOLVED the problem with the file open / file save drop down menus. I re-enabled the ATI devices to test and confirmed that this was the cause of both the CPU usage AND the odd problem with the pop-up menus closing instantly.
I'm posting here because after hours of google searching on both of these issues I found lots of people with these problems but almost no solutions. I know it won't affect everyone, but it sure helped me!
Turned out it was my ATI video card's HDMI audio driver. Go to device manager, expand sound, video and game controllers, and disable "ATI HDMI Audio". Problem solved instantly. My CPU usage dropped from ~30-40% constant use to <5% average.
Fast-forward 6 months after I upgrade to sp2. I notice that in PhotoShop and a couple other apps that use old-school file open/save dialog boxes, I can't choose a new file location from the "Look in:" drop-down menu at the top of the box. Every time I click it, the menu opens and then immediately closes again. Infuriating! A couple days later I notice my CPU has been working overtime too. Could it be the ATI HDMI Audio device is active again?
Yup, there it was active again. And this time I see there are (2) of these devices (I have 2 ati cards) and my CPU usage was up to >60% average! (2 x 30%). Insane. Again, I disable and usage drops back to nearly 0. Yay!
Amazingly, this ALSO SOLVED the problem with the file open / file save drop down menus. I re-enabled the ATI devices to test and confirmed that this was the cause of both the CPU usage AND the odd problem with the pop-up menus closing instantly.
I'm posting here because after hours of google searching on both of these issues I found lots of people with these problems but almost no solutions. I know it won't affect everyone, but it sure helped me!