KB 896256/909095/914882/910623/889816 - You are most likely running an older XP SP2 kernel, which is "unfriendly" to dual core CPUs - get an updated one!

This is a fascinating thread on one of my favorite sites for laptop users. There is always a lot of useful information and download links on that message forum.

One of the more interesting aspects of this particular thread, is the "internet detective" work that has gone into tracking what the most recent XP SP2 kernel is available in hotfix form. Typically with most software packages, if the build number is higher, it will include the fixes from the earlier builds.

I know people who were having strange blue screen crashes with their Thinkpad T 60 laptops, which have dual core CPUs. With the newer kernel installed, the crashes went away.

The list of known XP SP2 kernel builds available from that message thread:

KB 896256 - Kernel 5.1.2600.2765 (29-Sep-2005)
KB 909095 - Kernel 5.1.2600.2774 (12-Oct-2005)
KB 914882 - Kernel 5.1.2600.2853 (21-Feb-2006)
KB 910623 - Kernel 5.1.2600.2868 (16-Mar-2006)
KB 889816 - Kernel 5.1.2600.2885 (12-Apr-2006)

Right now I am running the 2885 kernel on my Thinkpad and it has been running like a champ for a few days. No blue screens, and much better 'interactive' performance.