Windows 11 is well known for its better graphics, advanced features, and so many other things. However, with so many cloud integrations in the new OS, this tends to consume more and more system resources. Out of all the issues that may occur on Windows 11, high CPU usage is one that frustrates users the most.
A high CPU utilization not only affects the system’s performance but also crashes it every now and then. Moreover, this might also result in programs lagging behind, becoming unresponsive, or heating up the device.
When heated up above the permissible limits, this may damage different hardware components including RAM, HDD, or sometimes even Motherboard. So, it is very important to keep a check on how much CPU is utilized by system apps or services.
What results in a high CPU Utilization in Windows 11?
High CPU usage in Windows 11 often occurs due to varied reasons. A few examples include pending updates, faulty app installation(s), malware infection, or the antivirus restricting basic operations. This may also happen due to some other reasons as well that we have discussed below.
In order to fix high CPU utilization, you need to first identify the real culprit. However, as the possibility is pretty vast, you can’t go and do some random checks. To save some time, we have come up with eight common workarounds that should address this high CPU usage on your Windows 11 Machine.
Fix – 100% or High CPU Usage in Windows 11
If the CPU usage on your Windows 11 PC is always high or it often reaches the 100% mark, you must try out these quick and easy fixes –
1] Reboot your PC
A simple restart of the machine often resolves numerous bugs that otherwise seem troublesome. This applies in the case of high CPU utilization as well. When you restart your PC, this reboots all device drivers, services, background apps, and so many other processes that simply start because you open one or two applications and forget to close them.
After a PC reboot, go to Task Manager, and check the current CPU Usage. This must have come down to normal levels. Now that your device is running normally, you may check what possibly could have gone wrong. This is important as your device tends to increase memory usage once you start opening too many apps or performing high-end operations.
2] Check Opened tabs in Chrome
When it comes to web browsers, Google Chrome beats all its competitors. However, when you look into apps consuming CPU resources, Chrome excels there as well.
There is simply nothing that you may do here to reduce the consumption except open fewer tabs in Chrome. The more tabs you open, the more system resources will be in use, and thus results in high CPU usage.
Tip – If there is an update available for Google Chrome, make sure to install it as soon as possible. You may look for it by clicking the “3-vertical” dots available at the top right corner. When this menu expands, select Help > About Google Chrome.
If the CPU utilization doesn’t come down even after updating Google Chrome, you better switch to other web apps like Mozilla, Edge, or Brave.
3] Disable System Apps or Services
The Task Manager presents a key way to analyze apps or services that might be utilizing more system resources on the computer. You may find the culprit by simply monitoring the CPU usage on the task manager.
If the problem occurs because of some system apps or external ones, right-click on them, and choose the option – End task. Well, the same doesn’t apply to system services as each one of them is responsible for one thing or another.
Stop them only when you are 100% sure. In case, the system performance doesn’t improve after disabling the core services, make sure to restart them. A few services that we think could be troublesome are as follows –
- SysMain (Superfetch): Starts the programs that you commonly use on your device.
- Windows Search: A connecting interface between your typed-in words and system settings/apps.
- Windows Update: Downloads and Installs pending updates to the computer.
Although we have included only three services, keep an eye on other services as well. The above three services are well known to increase CPU usage because of the nature of their work scope.
How to find Apps/Services causing high CPU usage
To check high CPU utilization via Task Manager, use these steps –
- Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open the Task Manager.
- When it opens up, click over the CPU column.
- Doing so will arrange apps as per their consumption of the system resources.
- Under the Processes tab, you may find a combination of apps and services.
- If the CPU levels are all normal, go and see if there is any abnormality on the Services tab.
Note: There is no fixed parameter on which you can decide whether an app or a service is faulty or not. This is because of the fact that even 70-80% CPU usage is completely normal for high-end games, this isn’t for normal apps.
Additionally, if you see a spike in CPU usage while starting an application, this doesn’t guarantee that the app is at fault. Well, spikes do come but it should sustain to develop any suspicions about them.
How to disable a service on Windows 11
Before proceeding ahead, you need to be sure of the service that you are going to forcefully stop in Windows 11. Let’s learn how to perform this task –
- Open Run by pressing WinKey + R.
- Type “
services.msc” in the text field and hit OK. - Scroll down and locate the service that you were looking for.
- Right-click on that particular service, and select Properties.
- Using the drop-down menu next to “Startup type”, select “Disabled”, and click Stop.
- Click Apply then OK to confirm the changes you have made so far.
Restart your PC and when it does, look for the CPU usage inside the task manager. The utilization should drop down to normal levels. If the CPU usage remains high, re-enable the service that you have stopped previously.
4] Scan for possible viruses or malware
The CPU utilization in Windows 11 may also become pretty high when there are viruses or malware running on your device. Use Windows Defender and initiate a full scan of files/folders present on the root drive. Doing so will help to identify and remove viruses running on your computer.
If Windows Security does find any malware, this will inform you about the same before taking any action on them, act accordingly. Check if the high CPU usage issue is still there on your Windows 11 PC or has been addressed.
5] Disable Third-Party Antivirus
Antivirus programs are well known to increase the overall CPU utilization on Windows operating systems. So, if you do use any external anti-malware software, try disabling it for a few minutes. To disable an antivirus program, open it, and reach out to its settings page. There must be an option to disable it.
After you have disabled the antivirus, check if the CPU usage comes back to normal usage or not. If it does solve the 100% CPU usage on your computer, you have to consider permanently removing that program.
Don’t rush, instead, keep it in the disabled state for a few hours and keep checking the CPU utilization. As we stated before, Google Chrome consumes a way lot more CPU than required, try opening a few tabs on the aforementioned web browser.
Check how well your PC responds to the opening of new tabs. If your PC is running smoothly with 50-60% CPU usage, you have found the culprit. Uninstall that antivirus and restart your computer.
6] Stop Apps running in the background
If you are fond of running multiple applications and your device lacks processor-wise, this will then definitely results in high CPU Usage. Before applying a fix to this cause, read the below example carefully –
There’s a basic difference between multitasking and starting/stopping apps. Let’s say you keep the programs open for the sake you don’t want to restart them every now and then. Well, in such cases, you may disable applications running in the background.
However, you simply can’t while performing multiple tasks in one go. This is because every time you switch from one app to another, there would be a surge in CPU utilization. This will ultimately worsen your CPU high usage issue.
Note: While in Windows 10, you could disable all the background apps at once, the same stands incorrect on Windows 11 devices. From now onward, you have to stop the background activities of each app separately.
Here’s how to perform this task –
- Right-click on the Windows icon and select Apps & Features.
- When the relevant settings page opens up, select the apps that you don’t want to run in the background.
- Click over the three dots as shown below and select Advanced options.
- On the next screen, scroll below to ‘Background apps permissions‘ and select Never using the drop-down menu.
- Repeat this process for all apps that you find problematic.
The restricted apps won’t run in the background anymore.
Note: You might have noticed the “Advanced options” setting was not available for certain apps. Well, that means either you can’t restrict their background activities or those apps don’t require to be running in the background.
7] Download & Install Pending Windows 11 Updates
Pending updates are never good on any operating system as they tend to consume more and more system resources and thus cause an elevation in CPU usage. If there are any newer updates available for your Windows 11 PC, you should download and install them.
Here’s how to find and install pending updates on Windows 11 –
- Press Windows + I.
- Select Windows update and then hit Check for updates.
- The system will connect to Microsoft servers and look for any pending updates.
- If the system does find any cumulative update, the same will be auto-downloaded and installed on your PC.
Restart your computer next and when it reboots, check if the CPU usage is under control or still reaches 100%.
8] Check Your PC’s Power Supply
On a completely different note, high CPU Usage in Windows 11 may also occur due to a faulty power supply to the computer. When there is lesser power, this will in accordance reduce the overall system functionalities. Though this could be a possibility you could never be sure of yourself. So, better consult a technician and let him find/repair the power supply issue.
I hope you find this article useful and are to mitigate high CPU usage on your Windows 11 PC. Let’s know in the comment section which solution exactly works in your case.
