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How to Fix WMI Provider Host’s High CPU Usage on Windows 10?

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There are a handful of services on Windows 10 that can drag down its performance. The ‘ WMI Provider Host ’ service is reportedly the one that heats up your Windows 10 computer quite often.

When WMI Provider Host’s high CPU usage brings down your computer’s performance, you must fix the issue on priority.

Otherwise, you could end up losing your system hardware and components due to CPU overload.

Before we get down to business, let’s know a thing or two about WMI Provider Host service.

What is WMI Provider Host?

WMI (Windows® Management Instrumentation) processes are component services of Microsoft Windows operating systems. The WMI Provider Host ( wmiprvse.exe ) , in particular, is a service that avoids in-process loading failures on Windows.

WMI Provider Host is an independent host provider service. It avoids your Windows computer to disable all shared and independent services when a provider fails to load.

Due to various factors, the WMI Provider Host service seems to take up more resources than usual.

And, when that happens, your Windows 10 computer can’t process inputs or run programs. On top of that, you don’t get error notifications if wmiprvse.exe fails to run routinely.

Therefore, you should instantly look for a way to reduce the high CPU usage caused by WMI Provider Host on Windows 10.

Easy Ways to Fix High CPU Usage Caused by WMI Provider Host

If you carry out the fixes shown below, you don’t need to know how to disable WMI Provider Host. The solutions can certainly fix your PC’s high CPU usage when caused by wmiprvse.exe process.

Let’s begin.

1. Check for Virus

Before you try out complicated ways to fix the high CPU usage caused by wmiprvse.exe , run a check for viruses on your Windows computer.

In several cases, core component services such as WMI Provider Host may use up excess resources when a virus or malware tries to tamper with it.

You can scan your Windows 10 computer for viruses, and get them removed (if you find any) right away.

This way, your issue with WMI Provider Host process’ high CPU usage gets fixed without even going deep into it.

Third-party antivirus software can help you detect malwares or viruses that are triggering this issue on your Windows computer.

Scanning for viruses can also help you identify potential risks and keep an eye out for such issues in future.

ALSO TRY - Run SFC Scan

If you don’t trust any third-party tool to scan your system files, use the System File Checker (SFC) tool on Windows 10.

It is an inbuilt Microsoft tool for Windows 10 users. It is free and better than other third-party tools to repair corrupt files.

To run an SFC scan.

  • Type ‘ cmd ’ in the Start menu search box
  • Go to Command Prompt program from the search results
  • Right-click on it
  • Select ‘ Run as administrator ’
  • Type the command ‘ sfc /scannow ’ in the Command Prompt window
  • Press the Enter key to execute the command
  • Wait for the scan to finish (this takes a while)
  • Restart your computer thereafter

After the scan is complete, the Command Prompt window displays a report of corrupted files detected and fixed during the scan. The SFC scan has automatically repaired all corrupted system files on your PC.

If the WMI Provider Host process takes up more memory due to corrupted system files, this trick can surely help you out.

2. Find Process ID and Remove It

Why is wmiprvse.exe consuming more CPU than it is supposed to? Generally, this happens when another component process interferes with WMI Provider Host.

You need to locate and identify this ‘culprit’ process and remove it. Doing so, you can switch the WMI Provider Host process back to normal, and lower the CPU usage on your Windows 10 system.

To identify the troubling process,

  • Press-hold the ‘ Windows ’ key on your keyboard and tap the ‘ X ’ key
  • From the menu, click on the Event Viewer option or press ‘ V ’

  • In the Event Viewer window, go to ‘ View ’ tab
  • Click on it and select – Show Analytic and Debug Logs

  • Now, on the left pane, navigate to the following path
  • Applications and Service Logs
  • Microsoft
  • Windows
  • WMI Activity
  • Operational Logs

  • Double-click on all the ‘ Error ’ items to open their Event Activity windows and note down their Process ID (s) from it

After you’ve marked down the Process ID, you can end it with the Task Manager.

  • Close the Event Viewer windows
  • Press-hold the ‘ Windows ’ key and tap the ‘ X ’ key
  • Click on Task Manager from the menu (or press the ‘ T ’ key)

  • In the Task Manager window, click on the ‘ Services ’ tab
  • Look through the PID column and locate the process that matches with Process ID

  • Note down the process and uninstall it later

If you want to disable it right away, right-click on the culprit process and go to its Services window . Now, select the process and click on ‘ Stop Service ’ to disable it.

Hopefully, disabling such service should not affect other processes on your Windows 10 computer. Open the Task Manager again to check the drop in CPU usage.

3. Restart the WMI Service

If disabling the culprit service isn’t solving the issue, you can restart the WMI Provider Host service altogether. Rebooting the WMI service to default won’t allow any disabled service to bug Windows 10.

To restart wmiprvse.exe service,

  • Open the Run application (Press keys – ‘ Windows ’ + ‘ R ’)
  • Type ‘ services.msc ’ in the Open dialog box

  • Click on OK to launch Services window
  • Press the ‘ W ’ to quickly find all WMI services
  • Right-click on ‘ Windows Management Instrumentation ’ service

  • Click on ‘ Restart ’ from the dropdown menu

Right after you’ve restarted the WMI Provider Host service, close all windows and go to your desktop.

Now, you’ll be restarting other WMI services – ones that are linked to wmiprvse.exe .

  • Press ‘ Windows ’ and ‘ X ’ key and click on ‘ Command Prompt (Admin) ’
  • Type the following commands and press the Enter key after each – 

net stop iphlpsvc



net stop wscsvc



net stop Winmgmt



net start Winmgmt



net start wscsvc



net start iphlpsvc
  • Restart your PC

You’ve successfully restarted WMI Provider Host service on Windows 10. Now, check if your computer is still running on high CPU or not.

4. Boot Your Computer in Safe Mode with Networking

There’s also a temporary fix for lowering the CPU usage of wmiprvse.exe . And, that is booting your computer into Safe Mode with Networking .

After turning your Windows 10 computer on,

  • Press the keys ‘ Windows ’ and ‘ L ’ at the startup screen
  • After you log out, click on the Power button at the bottom right corner
  • Hold the Shift key and click on Restart
  • From the boot options , select Troubleshoot
  • Click on Advanced Options

  • Here, go to Startup settings and click on Restart
  • Let your computer restart again
  • Press the F5 key when your startup screen appears
  • Select - Safe Mode with Networking

  • Now, restart your computer to Normal Mode

For the time being, this fix can allow WMI Provider Host service to work routinely on your Windows 10 computer.

Try out all the fixes presented above to fix wmiprvse.exe high CPU usage. If WMI Provider Host service continues to hog your Windows 10 computer, let us know in the comments below, and we’ll get you a custom fix.

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