I hope it's OK to jump in here, just registered as a user.
I've been getting the same problem for a while also. The processor goes off on it's own and seems to be working very hard (high load) and holds that status (full throttle type of thing). It occurs usually after fairly heavy browsing using IE but not always, just sometimes. It has also occurred when using a group of other open programs such as a scanner application along with a PDF creator software. It almost always occurs upon closing one of the applications (this is the case with IE also).
The CPU becomes very active and stays that way indefinitely. An error box usually pops up also, as follows:
afwserv.exe Application Error
The instruction at "0x6710dct7" referenced memory at "0x60b4497c". The memory could not be "read".
Click on OK to terminate program.
Click on CANCEL to debug program.
(note that the memory locations vary each time. I have also had the memory hardware checked and it's 100% OK). Choosing either option sometimes works sometimes doesn't but always turns firewall off. Need to turn PC off and reboot to fix, usually "hangs" for a few minutes before it moves to the "windows is saving your settings" screen.
