Modern Setup Host High CPU Usage: How to Fix it in 3 Steps

Keep Modern Setup Host high CPU usage in check

5 min. read

Updated onOctober 4, 2023

updated onOctober 4, 2023

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Key notes

Modern Setup Host is an important part of the Microsoft Windows operating system, which is responsible for automatically installing updates on your computer. It’s also used by other programs to install, update and uninstall software on computers.

Normally, the service runs in the background and performs various tasks. If you have noticed high CPU usage by this process, then you need to know what it does, why it uses more resources than expected, and how to fix the problem.

Why is Modern Setup Host using so much CPU?

Modern Setup Host will always use some CPU, but if it starts to use too much CPU, there may be other reasons such as:

Because the Modern Setup Host is a system service, it may be constantly running although its presence on your computer doesn’t cause any problems. However, you may want to disable it if you’re experiencing issues.

The service is designed to help you upgrade faster, but it can also slow down your computer if it’s not properly configured or if you have too many apps installed.

If you’re not planning on installing new apps or you don’t care about having the latest security patches, you can turn off this service.

However, we don’t recommend disabling this service unless you know what you’re doing because some programs may not work properly without it. Not to mention, security updates are critical for your system to protect you against all kinds of attacks.

How can I fix Modern Setup Host high CPU usage?

As always, it’s recommended you first carry out some preliminary checks such as:

1. Run the Windows Update troubleshooter

2. Run the DISM and SFC commands

3. Perform a clean boot

If none of these work and you’re sure that your PC has enough RAM to support the update and that you have enough disk space available, then tryrestarting your PC in Safe Mode.

In Safe Mode, only critical processes are loaded, so it’s possible that the large update will pass by without causing any issues. If restarting in Safe Mode works, then it’s likely that something else on your PC is causing problems with processing the update.

Also, if your computer has multiple cores, make sure that Modern Setup Host is running on a different core than your other apps. This helps ensure that your PC runs smoothly and doesn’t cause any disruption to other processes.

Elsewhere, users complained about theModern Setup Host not workingbut we have a comprehensive article that addresses this issue.

Let us know in the comment section below if you have been successful in fixing the high CPU usage with Modern Setup Host.

Modern Setup Host High CPU Usage: How to Fix it in 3 Steps#

Why is Modern Setup Host using so much CPU?#

How can I fix Modern Setup Host high CPU usage?#

1. Run the Windows Update troubleshooter#

2. Run the DISM and SFC commands#

3. Perform a clean boot#