Try Sysinternals Process Explorer v8.52

DosFreak wrote on 2021-06-13, 14:48:

Try Sysinternals Process Explorer v8.52

Thanks, sounds like what I need!

I could be wrong, but I believe the DOS-based Windows versions don't use HLT instruction.
To make them IDLE, they need ACPI or APM BIOS support. Or a third-party utility (Raine?, amnhltm, wqghlt).

Personally, I used amnhltm.vxd successfully in my 9x VMs.
Without it, the CPU usage was so unacceptable high that it affected my host system.

Anyway, these are just my two cents. 😅
On a real machine, it likely doesn't matter. Or worse, could make games run jerky.

Edit: I have no such late Windows 98 era machines for testing at hand right now.
They are all.. outsourced already, to the landfills. 😉

I would try disabling USB controllers to see if that makes a difference.