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Windows Update High CPU Usage: 7 Solutions That Work

Restart the Windows Update service.

7 min. read

Updated onOctober 4, 2023

updated onOctober 4, 2023

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Key notes

We have seen more users complain about the high CPU usage on Windows Update.

It’s not unusual for some third-party apps to hog your CPU in the background. But what happens when this unwelcome occurrence appears to be inflicted by none other than one of Windows’ essential processes?

That’s what many users reported to be the issue, with wuauserv taking up to 60% of CPU, even in idle mode, which is preposterous. For some, even Windows update100% CPUwas the case.

For that purpose, we enlisted some solutions that should come in handy and, hopefully, relieve you of this annoyance. If you can’t deal with the service host Windows Update’s high CPU usage on your own, check out the troubleshooting steps below.

Why does Windows Update take so much CPU?

There are a few reasons your computer is significantly tasked during Windows Update. If this has bothered you, then you should consider the following reasons:

Many users have noticed this problem in the following variations:

Regardless of your situation, trying the fixes below would help.

What can I do if Windows Update causes high CPU usage?

1. Restart the Windows Update service

Service host Windows Update high CPU usage and issues of Windows Update running on 100 percent CPU should be resolved after restarting the related services.

2. Run the Windows Update troubleshooter

The dedicated troubleshooter will solve the Windows Update service high CPU issue, and if you look into Task Manager, all should be normal again.

3. Disable the third-party antivirus

The beef between Windows and specific third-party solutions is already a known fact. However, that doesn’t mean you’ll need to ditch your antivirus when the system behavior takes the wrong turn.

Just disable it for the remainder of updating. Then, once the Windows Update service locates and downloads all updates, you can enable it again.

If you discover that the antivirus is causing this problem, you may consult our list of thebest antivirusesand get a better one.

4. Disable P2P update distribution within the local network

With the introduction of the Windows update feature, users can update multiple PCs in one local network with the P2P update distribution. At first glance, this sounds great, as it should substantially speed up the update process.

However, there are some flaws in this update approach, and they can, eventually, result in a constant, never-ending update cycle.

In that case, your Windows Update service will continuously run in the background and hog your system resources.

5. Pause Windows updates

Pausing the updates for a while can fix the problem, but only temporarily. So it’s imperative to install your updates to keep your system safe, so don’t abuse this feature.

6. Uninstall recent updates

Furthermore, specific updates can provoke a malfunction within the updating procedure and prevent the Windows Update feature from looking for new updates or downloading already queued updates.

Even though this is rare, it might just be the case. Therefore, it’s a viable solution to uninstall recent updates and move from there.

7. Reset Windows to factory settings

The last place on the list is reserved for the painful but sometimes needed recovery options. More precisely, theReset this PCfeature enables you to reset your PC to factory settings.

In a system shell as complex as Windows, many things can go south for you, especially if you decide to upgrade your system rather thanperform a clean reinstallation.

Luckily, Windows has an advanced recovery option that enables you to restore default system values but keep hold of your files.

On the other hand, if clean reinstallation is your cup of tea, learnhow to perform a clean reinstallation of Windows 10.

That should do it. These solutions will fix high CPU usage in Windows 10 and 11 updates and some cases, even when nothing is running.

If you have questions regarding the enlisted solutions or additional solutions you are aware of, feel free to tell us in the comments below.

Windows Update High CPU Usage: 7 Solutions That Work#

Why does Windows Update take so much CPU?#

What can I do if Windows Update causes high CPU usage?#

1. Restart the Windows Update service#

2. Run the Windows Update troubleshooter#

3. Disable the third-party antivirus#

4. Disable P2P update distribution within the local network#

5. Pause Windows updates#

6. Uninstall recent updates#

7. Reset Windows to factory settings#