Identifying problem processes

Use this procedure to isolate problem processes.

To check the process status and identify processes that might be causing the problem, type:
```
ps -ef | pg 
```
The ps command shows the process status. The -e flag writes information about all processes (except kernel processes), and the -f flag generates a full listing of processes including what the command name and parameters were when the process was created. The pg command limits output to a single page at a time, so information does not scroll too quickly off the screen.

Check for system or user processes that are using excessive amounts of a system resource, such as CPU time. System processes such as sendmail, routed, and lpd seem to be the system processes most prone to becoming runaways.
To check for user processes that use more CPU than expected, type:
```
ps -u
```
Note the process ID (PID) of each problem process.