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100% CPU Usage by svchost and Windows Update

Problem:

PC runs slow and Task Manager shows svchost.exe is consuming 100% of CPU power.

Fix:

Try disabling Automatic Updates to see if this resolves svchost.exe issues. If it does, follow these steps:

  1. Download Dial-a-fix from http://wiki.djlizard.net/Dial-a-fix
  2. Open Dial-a-fix and click "Flush SoftwareDistribution" - say "No" to the prompt about preserving Windows Update history. The status will be shown at the bottom of the Window - wait for it to complete.
  3. Tick "Empty temp folders" in section 1, "Fix Windows Installer" in section 2, and "Fix Windows Update" in section 3. Click "Go" and wait for the process to complete.
  4. Reboot
  5. Try going to Windows Update and see if a manual update will now work. When asked if you want to use "Microsoft Update", say NO!

At the moment I don't have a fix for the "Microsoft Update" issue - my svchost.exe issues went away when I applied the above fix, but came back if I tried using "Microsoft Update" again.