svchost.exe (netsvcs) using 25% of my cpu

[AntonyKoutsos]

So i just noticed it that at random times svchost.exe (netsvcs) uses 25% of my cpu. I restarted my pc and it was at 2-5% with google chrome running and some other programs. Then i opened Steam and after a while it started again. What can it be? I scanned my pc with malwarebytes and hitman pro but it found nothing.

EDIT: It turns out that wuauserv is the reason the usage is high. I havent updated Windows 7 to the latest updates since i had no problems and the check for updates is bugged (takes for ever to find nothing). So any ideas? Should i just upgrade to windows 10 and be done with it?

 

[carolinebennett]

Hey,
One of the reason for svchost.exe high CPU usage is large log file in event viewer. Try the following to resolve the issue:
Step 1. Type eventvwr.msc in Run dialoge box. It will open event viewer screen.
Step 2. Go to Windows log on the left panel.
Step 3. Right click on Application, Security, Setup, and System log. Then click Clear log.
Now restart the system.

 

[AntonyKoutsos]

Hey,
One of the reason for svchost.exe high CPU usage is large log file in event viewer. Try the following to resolve the issue:
Step 1. Type eventvwr.msc in Run dialoge box. It will open event viewer screen.
Step 2. Go to Windows log on the left panel.
Step 3. Right click on Application, Security, Setup, and System log. Then click Clear log.
Now restart the system.

Thanks for the help it might prove useful on the future but as it turns out wuauserv was the culprit in this case. Every time i started my pc wuauserv started searching for updates but since it wasnt able to find any it run no-stop. I installed some updates and fixed windows updates. I then i updated and installed some updates (not all of them since i dont want the windows 10 pop up). Right now my cpu usage with google chrome 17tabs open malwarebytes and some other programs it goes from 1-7% and some times auduidg spikes to 15% for less than a second. I will monitor it to see if something changes.

 

[carolinebennett]

Hey,
One of the reason for svchost.exe high CPU usage is large log file in event viewer. Try the following to resolve the issue:
Step 1. Type eventvwr.msc in Run dialoge box. It will open event viewer screen.
Step 2. Go to Windows log on the left panel.
Step 3. Right click on Application, Security, Setup, and System log. Then click Clear log.
Now restart the system.

Thanks for the help it might prove useful on the future but as it turns out wuauserv was the culprit in this case. Every time i started my pc wuauserv started searching for updates but since it wasnt able to find any it run no-stop. I installed some updates and fixed windows updates. I then i updated and installed some updates (not all of them since i dont want the windows 10 pop up). Right now my cpu usage with google chrome 17tabs open malwarebytes and some other programs it goes from 1-7% and some times auduidg spikes to 15% for less than a second. I will monitor it to see if something changes.

Hey, you can reset wuauserv to resolve the issue. Try the following BAT script:

net stop wuauserv
net stop bits
rd /s /q %windir%\softwaredistribution
net start bits
net start wuauserv
wuauclt.exe /detectnow

Hope this will be helpful

 

[jaisingh92]

I have/had the same problem since yesterday.
Exactly as you and a ton of other users i had25 perc cpu usage and 1.5 gb ram usage.

I downgraded back to Win 7 2 days ago, because Hitman Absolution crashed and rebooted the PC regularly on Win 10.

After installing Win 7 i just installed the Service Pack and about 10 upgrades.
Today I noticed an issue while playing Battlefield 4 and my temps went through the roof. I found out that the process starts anyway when all other start up programs were loaded. As it seems the Upgrade manager with last digits .320 doesn't work properly. It searches for upgrades but doesn't find them.

I found these upgrades: https://download.microsoft.com/download/9/C/8/9C855F85-08B1-47B4-97DF-B6A7D187F0B7/Windows6.1-KB3135445-x64.msu

https://download.microsoft.com/download/9/C/8/9C855F85-08B1-47B4-97DF-B6A7D187F0B7/Windows6.1-KB3135445-x64.msu

I set the upgrade management to just searching for upgrades but not installing until i say so and then installed these upgrades. After i installed the upgrades i rebooted and the svchost.exe with the main cpu usage for wuauserv again started working, but this time it could find updates (hell of a lot, 130 important and 80 optional updates) in about 2 minutes. i decided to install it. I guess my problem is fixed or at least i hope so. ATM it installs those Upgrades and not wuauserv but Trustedinstaller uses cpu right now. After those upgrades are installed i think it has done what it wanted to do, but couldn't do because of the faulty Upgrade Manager.

If the Manager still has problems I will disable the automatic upgrade search, but i guess I won't have to.

 

[jaisingh92]

Edit: I hope this will work for you too. It took me a while to find a solution and now it seems to work fine. For me it seems that it was the broken upgrade manager version. As you said, it searches endless without finding anything. But then it found 200 upgrades in a minute. They should be installed in a few minutes. I'lll let you know if it works properly after that.

 

[jaisingh92]

And something else:

Avoid getting a Windows 10 upgrade. I tried it for a week but it seems to have problems with some games (in combination wth my rig: a gigabyte mainboard, i5 2500, r9 280dualx, 8gb ram, 600w psu, so not bad at all)

I could play bf4 and fifa for a few hours straight with normal temps and no problems. But everytime i played hitman absolution it rebooted the PC within an hour. Sometiimes right after the start. One time it happened wit star wars old empire too.

After i downgraded again i had no problems with any of those games (except some lags since the upgrade manager was installed, but that was obviously because of the svchost)

 

[AntonyKoutsos]

[

And something else:

Avoid getting a Windows 10 upgrade. I tried it for a week but it seems to have problems with some games (in combination wth my rig: a gigabyte mainboard, i5 2500, r9 280dualx, 8gb ram, 600w psu, so not bad at all)

I could play bf4 and fifa for a few hours straight with normal temps and no problems. But everytime i played hitman absolution it rebooted the PC within an hour. Sometiimes right after the start. One time it happened wit star wars old empire too.

After i downgraded again i had no problems with any of those games (except some lags since the upgrade manager was installed, but that was obviously because of the svchost)

Yea it was the same problem for me too. Checking for updates without being able to find none. So it runned non stop. If you install them then its fine.

I plan to upgrade to windows 10 next month. I dont know if that causes any problems. But in the worst case i will just have to roll back.

 

[jaisingh92]

[

And something else:

Avoid getting a Windows 10 upgrade. I tried it for a week but it seems to have problems with some games (in combination wth my rig: a gigabyte mainboard, i5 2500, r9 280dualx, 8gb ram, 600w psu, so not bad at all)

I could play bf4 and fifa for a few hours straight with normal temps and no problems. But everytime i played hitman absolution it rebooted the PC within an hour. Sometiimes right after the start. One time it happened wit star wars old empire too.

After i downgraded again i had no problems with any of those games (except some lags since the upgrade manager was installed, but that was obviously because of the svchost)

Yea it was the same problem for me too. Checking for updates without being able to find none. So it runned non stop. If you install them then its fine.

I plan to upgrade to windows 10 next month. I dont know if that causes any problems. But in the worst case i will just have to roll back.

I've let the updates install and configurate over night and it seems to be solved. My idle is a real idle again. Temps back down to 35 to 40°C. When wuauserv was running it was almost 50. It scared the crap out of me when rivatuner told me while playing bf4 that my temps are going to the mid 80s while they are 70 usually (but I need a better cpu cooler anyway. am running on the boxed cooler). Now I am sure that it was the bugged upgrade manager. (It's just kind of sad, that really tons of people have this problem and everything you'll find online is to stop Upgrades from running. Took me an hour to find the right upgrade that solves the problem without stopping anything. I want fixess like this one, not workarounds).

Good luck with Win 10. I heard about a lot people without any problems but also there are a lot people who face problems with Win 10. I never found a solution for the Hitman thing (and it seems to be a very rare problem. found about 3 other people who faced it). It was neither my hardware nor any obvious software issues. No virus or malware. I downloaded a few different gpu drivers, and tried a few other things, but really nothing helped. Back to Win 7 and it runs smooth as it should.

 

[jaisingh92]

Hope someone else reads this. The biggest thread about this issue i found was about 300 comments, most of them with the same problem and zero solutions. Just workarounds.

 

[AntonyKoutsos]

Hope someone else reads this. The biggest thread about this issue i found was about 300 comments, most of them with the same problem and zero solutions. Just workarounds.

Yea pretty much. Everywhere i searched they claimed it was a malware that was causing it, a malware that malwarebytes,hitman pro and ESET online scan didnt find? Yea thats not the problem. Also i believe its quite common problem since windows 7 update is so shitty and bugs a lot. And its not east to notice either. For me it was the cpu fans going crazy for no reason. And by the way, i dont have a great experience with windows 10 since i had to clean install them around 10 times to fix a problem that was a hardware problem in the end. Ofcourse i dont know if i have any more problems since the last time i upgraded it was with another cpu and mb.

Anyway if a problem appears i will just roll back. Since you dont lose the windows 7 key. And i will propably update mid july. For sure after i finish the witcher 3 expansion. I dont want to deal with problems while i play it

 

[jess4ica20]

I just made an account so I can thank you guys for posting this thread!! I super appreciate it cause I've been having this frustrating problem forever too, especially when playing BF4. I'm soooo happy that it's finally gone

I just wanted to add that there's a temporary fix if you're lazy and impatient like I am.

Since the lag comes from Windows updater searching for updates, you can just go to Windows update's settings and change when to "Search for updates" to "Never" and it'll stop and go away

 

[cwissel]

Be careful. Svchost.exe is a thing virus' like to mimic and hijack! There is an article: www.file.net/process/svchost.exe.html that details the grim facts. Another article: www.bleepingcomputer.com/tutorials/list-services-running-under-svchostexe that tells you how to find out what services are running under svchost.exe

BTW: You are right. Do NOT update to Win 10. Especially do not do it if your computer was built before 2013. Win 10 is basically adware (or worse). Ever since it was forced on us by M$ Win 7 and Win 8.1 Update is broken. I can't even install the fixes that everyone is talking about. When I try to install any of the KB files from MS I just get that annoying screen Windows is Checking for Updates forever! I am trying to install a specific stand alone update: it shouldn't be searching for updates.

I prefer Linux Mint and Open Office. When something is broke they warn the whole community, fix it and apologize immediately. They do not try to hide their mistakes behind so-called security patches! If it wasn't for the fact that I have a few things (like Screen Shot) that won't run in Linux I would chuck Windows once and for all. Maybe I'll switch over completely to Linux, get Win 7 disks and load Win 7 into a virtual box. Linux requires you to enter your password for anything that tries to alter the computer or operating system. It is built for security (which is why banks and businesses use it for their most sensitive stuff). A vb isolates Windows from the rest of the computer so if something bad happens you can just shut down the vb and not end up with the blue death screen or the black hole screen of death.

Also if you wish to keep Win X junk off your system GWX Control Panel (Ultimate Outsider) can help. Woody on Windows has an article "How to Clean the Windows 10 crapware off your Windows 7 or 8.1 PC". I checked (Googled) Ultimate Outsider and found it had a very clean history so this should be safe. It cleans the unwanted hidden Win X crapware from your system and tells you if you have been infected too.

 

[themacmeister]

net stop wuauserv
net stop bits
rd /s /q %windir%\softwaredistribution
net start bits
net start wuauserv
wuauclt.exe /detectnow

Hope this will be helpful
[/quotemsg]

This temporarily solved my 25% CPU and RAM issue, trying Windows Update check now! many thanks indeed

 

[Deqing]

I just made an account so I can thank you guys for posting this thread!! I super appreciate it cause I've been having this frustrating problem forever too, especially when playing BF4. I'm soooo happy that it's finally gone

I just wanted to add that there's a temporary fix if you're lazy and impatient like I am.

Since the lag comes from Windows updater searching for updates, you can just go to Windows update's settings and change when to "Search for updates" to "Never" and it'll stop and go away

Just saved my day, thanks a lot!