Windows might seem simple on the outside, but behind the scenes, hundreds if not thousands of small background processes keep everything up and running.
However, these processes aren’t perfect and sometimes malfunction. Since these processes are responsible for keeping Windows running, they can cause problems like slowdowns and crashes when they malfunction.
In this article, we’re talking about the WMI Provider Host processes and how to fix its high CPU usage.
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What is a WMI Provider Host?
The WMI Provider Host service allows other programs on your computer to request information about the system. The process doesn’t usually require a lot of system resources, but other malfunctioning processes or programs can tie it up, causing high CPU usage.
WMI stands for Windows Management Instrumentation. It’s a Windows feature that provides a standard way for programs and admin scripts to request information about the state of Windows and any data on your computer.
Besides providing information about your computer, the tool is also useful for enterprise applications requiring a PC to be managed centrally. Since information can be distributed via scripts and shown via the terminal, this is a great way to manage PCs remotely.
Why is WMI provider host causing high CPU usage?
As mentioned before, the WMI provider host process can cause high CPU usage if a malfunctioning program or process ties it up unnecessarily. You can try out the following five fixes to see if they help solve the problem.
Restart your PC
One of the first things you should do in such cases is to restart your computer. Restarting Windows will also force all background processes to restart, freeing the WMI process from malfunctioning programs and resolving the high CPU usage issue.
Uninstall recently installed programs
Next up on the list is removing any programs you have installed recently. Often a program installed with admin privileges can cause conflicts with Windows’ functioning leading to a BSOD or other less severe errors. Remember that this also applies to any cracked or pirated software you may have recently installed on your computer.
Run an antivirus scan
The high CPU usage can also indicate that the service is tied up by malware or virus. Try scanning your PC to ensure there are no malicious files present.
Here’s how you can run a full scan on your PC using Windows Security.
Step 1: Press the Windows key and search for Windows Security. Click the corresponding search result.
Step 2: Click Virus & threat protection.
Step 3: Click Scan options.
Step 4: Select Full scan and click Scan now to start scanning your PC for malware.
Now restart your PC, and the high CPU usage caused by the WMI provider host should be resolved.
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Restarting the WMI service
Restarting the WMI service can also free it from corrupt programs. Here’s how.
Step 1: Go to Run (Windows key + R) and type services.msc. Click OK.
Step 2: You’ll see a Services dialogue box. Scroll down until you find Windows Management Instrumentation.
Step 3: Right-click on Windows Management Instrumentation and click on Properties.
Step 4: Under Startup type, select Disabled. Then click Apply.
Now repeat steps three and four to set the Startup type as Automatic. This should restart the service and get it running again properly.
Alternatively, you can open the Command Prompt and enter the following commands one at a time. Remember that you need a computer running the Windows 10 Creators update or later for these commands to work.
Apply the correct Windows update patch
Microsoft has issued several patches for the WMI process using far too much CPU for different versions of Windows. If the solutions mentioned above don’t work for you, you should try and download the appropriate update for your Windows version to fix the issue.
You can download the updates here.
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