The following works correctly on Windows 7 Ultimate from an elevated command prompt:
C:\Windows\system32>typeperf "\Processor(_Total)\% Processor Time"
"(PDH-CSV 4.0)","\\vm\Processor(_Total)\% Processor Time"
"02/01/2012 14:10:59.361","0.648721"
"02/01/2012 14:11:00.362","2.986384"
"02/01/2012 14:11:01.364","0.000000"
"02/01/2012 14:11:02.366","0.000000"
"02/01/2012 14:11:03.367","1.038332"
The command completed successfully.
C:\Windows\system32>
Or for a snapshot:
C:\Windows\system32>wmic cpu get loadpercentage
LoadPercentage
8