why is runddl32.exe running?

[Nightwolfhunter]

So currently I am experiencing something odd. half of my CPU is being used by rundll32.exe. If I am NOT playing Oblivion, rundll32.exe is running. But after I boot Oblivion (using the OBSE launcher) the CPU usage goes to zero. rundll32.exe is not running while the game is running. But when the game is not being played, it is using the rundll32.exe. Why is this? and more importantly, how do I fix this? thanks

[SpacePigeonTV]

In fact, rundll32.exe should always run, or else your system will screw up. What you could do is to go to "Services" and disable SuperFetch. This is only temporary. When it comes to the CPU usage to zero when you play Oblivion might come of a bottleneck on something. The processor usually handles tasks for your computer and when it doesn't it will force it on example your GPU which will lower your FPS. This can be solved in a CPU overclocking. I wouldn't recommand you to do this if this doesn't affect your performance (rundll32.exe). In some cases, this isn't really a thing to worry about. I got a i7 930 and a 5970 and I can't get the full performance out of the 5970 because of bottleneck. I lack of skills when it comes to overclocking so I let it go and live with this minor issue.

[Nightwolfhunter]

alright. the thing is that I'm not used to seeing half my CPU usage being used by this program so I was confused.

[MotoSxorpio]

Since there’s no way to directly launch a DLL file, the rundll32.exe application is simply used to launch functionality stored in shared .dll files. This executable is a valid part of Windows, and normally shouldn’t be a threat. Check this out: http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/windows-vista/what-is-rundll32exe-and-why-is-it-running/