The irony is that the performance monitor is a resource hog itself and most of the spikes are as associated with the pull from that. Outside of that, even if there are no applications running there may be services which are doing things including checking for/downloading/installing product updates, performing scans or executing other housekeeping tasks. We all install any software far too rapidly and generally click through the default install options. Saying OK to updates, sending anonymous usage information or agreeing to any option that forces the product to periodically check itself and call home is a bad thing.
Running msconfig from the run box and looking at your startup items will give you an idea of what's loading up with Windows. These items won't show up in your Running Applications List but they will show up in the processes or services list.
It's a total cat and mouse game. My advice to anyone looking to extract max performance from their Windows is system is this: Unless you REALLY need it, don't install it.
Bookmarks