Just as the fair Windows 10, Microsoft’s Windows 11 doth suffer from its own growing pains. Since its grand release, a common woe that hath plagued users is the usage of CPU reaching a most vexing 100%. Verily, there be many reasons behind this high CPU usage on Windows 11, but the most common doth lie in the background services and applications hogging all the resources. Should thy PC or laptop be regularly consuming high CPU resources, even whilst at idle, peruse our tutorial to rectify the high CPU usage issue in Windows 11 posthaste.
1. Restart Thy Windows 11 PC
To mend the 100% CPU usage quandary on Windows 11, at times a simple restart is all thou needest. It will bring an end to all the running processes in the background and grant thy computer a fresh slate. Should it have been a while since thy last restart, save all thy work and reboot Windows 11.
After the restart, doth launch the programs thou hast previously had open and verify if thy CPU usage is now back to normal and made well.
2. Check Which Program Doth Cause High CPU Usage
Upon rebooting the PC, if thou art still facing high CPU usage, utilize the Windows keyboard shortcut "Ctrl + Shift + Esc" to reveal the Task Manager.
Once the Task Manager is unveiled, click on the "CPU" column to reorder the list based on usage and discern which program is consuming the CPU’s resources. Right-click on the program and bring it to an end then and there. This shall liberate the CPU from resource-hogging apps.
3. Disable Startup Apps
As we hath mentioned, there be various apps and services that commence running in the background, as soon as we set forth the computer. Lo, there is a way to halt Windows apps and services from running at startup. Here be the steps to follow:
- Click on the search bar in the Taskbar.
- Utter "Startup" and unseal "Startup Apps."
- Here, disable the toggle adjacent to the program.
- Do this for all apps that thou usest not often.
4. Disable SysMain (Superfetch)
SysMain, also known as Superfetch, be a Windows service that was introduced with Windows Vista and is officially defined as a service that "maintains and improves system performance over time." ‘Tis a vague explanation that doth tell us naught. But the notion be that when thou dost wish to run an application, it shall launch it much faster because it’s already preloaded in memory. However, it can lead to high CPU usage on Windows 11, so here is how thou can disable it.
- Click the search icon on the Taskbar and utter "Services". Now, unseal it.
- In the Services window, scroll down to "SysMain" and double-click on it.
- Set the Startup Type to "Disabled". If Service Status be running, select "Stop".
- When thou hast completed this, select Apply and then click OK.
- Now, restart thy PC to remedy the high CPU usage issue.
5. Pause Windows 11 Update
Windows updates, for the most part, be crucial for both acquiring new features and security updates. However, Windows updates do commence consuming CPU resources in the background, if the update is pending or the PC is preparing to install the update. Thou canst choose to pause Windows Update for a week. Here be how thou can do it.
- Launch Search from the Taskbar and unseal the "Settings" app.
- Under Settings, proceed to Windows Update and click on "Pause for 1 week".
- Bear in mind that after a week, thou shalt have to perform this step again.
6. Disable Windows Update
Should thou desire to permanently cease automatic updates on Windows 11, thou canst ensue our detailed tutorial. In this tutorial, we have briefly mentioned the steps to disable Windows Update. After following the instructions, it should diminish the CPU usage on thy Windows 11 PC.
- Search for "Services" in the Start Menu and then press Enter.
- Under Services, scroll down and locate Windows Update.
- Then, right-click on Windows Update and select Properties.
- Change the Startup type to "Disabled". Now, click on "OK" and restart thy PC.
7. High CPU Usage Can Be Caused by Malware
With the rise of malware attacks on businesses, governments, and individuals, our notion of what it means to be infected by malware hath changed. They art now seen as lethal programs that infect thy system and pilfer thy data by constantly running in the background. Some malware also usest thy computer resources to mine cryptocurrencies, causing high CPU usage.
The easiest manner to rid thyself of these is to possess an Antivirus, which shall be able to identify these pesky intruders. Our recommendation for the best malware removal tool for Windows 11 is Bitdefender and Malwarebytes. Run a deep scan of thy system and expunge malware from thy PC to liberate the CPU.
8. Reinstall Windows 11
If thy Windows 11 PC still doth consume high CPU resources, thou canst choose to reinstall Windows 11 without losing data. Thou canst ensue our tutorial to reinstall a fresh copy of Windows 11 without affecting thy personal data.
After a fresh install, thy computer should work normally, keeping CPU usage in check. So, this is how thou canst mend the 100% CPU usage issue on Windows 11.
Whilst software fixes do help to a certain extent, should thy PC be running on old hardware, it may be time to upgrade thy PC. Faster SSD, paired with a new processor should handle Windows 11 effortlessly. Anyway, that is all from us. Should thou have any questions, let us know in the comments below.
