svchost.exe

I'm not sure how many other people have experienced this problem, but I have had my Windows system freeze for no apparent reason when there aren't too many programs running. A quick look at the processes in Windows Task Manager reveals that a program called svchost.exe hogs around 95-99% of CPU. Killing this task immediately frees up the CPU and my computer starts working fine once again. However, this seems to be a recurring problem, and I wanted a permanent solution to it.
A google search of svchost.exe reveals multiple threads discussing this issue. After reading a few pages, I realized that svchost.exe is a Windows system process, and the most common reason for the system freeze happens to be Windows Automatic Updates. So, it is suggested that instead of using the Auto Update and Install option in Windows System Update, choose "Notify me but do not automatically download or install updates". The way to do this is on Windows XP is: Open an explorer window, keep going up levels to the topmost level. Right click on the My Computer icon and choose Properties. Choose the Automatic Updates tab, and choose the third option. This should prevent the svchost.exe problem.