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Sent in by MF:

I have had this problem happen quite a few times with Microsoft security essentials .

Basically after installing MSSE upon reboot the program either doesn’t start up or MSMPENG.EXE just spikes the CPU.
The fix is this:

In MSSE Settings go to Excluded Files & Locations and Add the following to the list
(in vista or 7)

C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Microsoft Antimalware

C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Microsoft Security Essentials

C:\Program Files\Microsoft Security Essentials

(in XP)

C:\Program Files\Microsoft Security Essentials

C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Microsoft\Microsoft Security Essentials

C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Microsoft\Microsoft Antimalware

Here is a link if you want more info: http://www.1stbyte.com/2010/02/01/microsoft-security-essentials-msmpeng-exe-using-high-cpu-time/

Apparently it’s not smart enough to excluded itself…. go figure.