What's going on when my processor races for no obvious reason, tying up my machine?
Frequently, my Macbook Pro processor starts racing for no clear reason, sometimes--but not always--hanging up my machine until it is finished. Nothing seems to be downloading. A similar processor racing happens when my anti-virus app does it's weekly scheduled check. But this is different as none of my desktop applications are evidently running. My question is this: what's going on? and can I cancel it or find some workaround?
Thanks in advance. -ME
MacBook Pro with Retina display, OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.3)