svchost is a program that helps to “host” services. A service in Windows is simply a program in the operating system that does a particular job and runs in the background at all times when your computer is on, even if you are not logged in. This means that if there are any problems with one of your service’s files, svchost can help to fix it. For example, if you have a service called “MyService” that runs on your computer but doesn’t show up in the system tray, svchost can help to fix that by telling the system to start “MyService” again automatically when you next log into your computer.
Most programs that you are familiar with run as a stand-alone executable, such .EXE. However, most services are implemented in the form of DLLs, which cannot run on their own. Hence, svchost loads those DLLs and runs them itself. That’s why when you open the Windows Task Manager, you’ll see a bunch of svchost.exe processes running. If you want more info on the Task Manger, check out my articles on understanding the Task Manager and how to use it.
There are a few ways to identify the application running on a computer. One way is to use the CPU usage meter in the Windows operating system. Another way is to use the task manager in Windows.
There are actually two ways to go about this: either using the command prompt or by using a third party application. I’m going to mention both here in case one does not work for you. ..
Check for Viruses First
There are a few things to keep in mind when it comes to svchost.exe. First, svchost.exe is a system process, meaning that it’s not owned by any individual user. This means that anyone with administrative privileges on the computer can access it. Second, svchost.exe is located in the Windows/system32 folder, which means that it’s accessible from anywhere on the computer. Finally, svchost.exe is often used as a virus control file because it can start and stop programs on your computer without your knowledge or consent. If you find that your computer is infected with a virus related to svchost.exe, you should scan for and remove the file as soon as possible!
If you don’t already have an anti-virus program, I recommend using either Kaspersky or Bitdefender since they consistently perform at the top in AV-Test and AV-Comparatives rankings. They are not free, but most free antivirus programs end up bundling extra junk software or redirecting your browser to their “secure” search solution, which isn’t secure at all and just tracks you and shows you more ads.
Identify svchost.exe Processes via Command Prompt (hard way)
- In the Command Prompt window, type in the following command and press Enter: netstat -an
- In the output of the netstat command, look for a line that says “Active Connections.” This line will tell you how many active connections are currently open on your computer.
- To close all of your open connections, type in the following command and press Enter: net close all
- To keep just one connection open, type in the following command and press Enter: net keepalive on ..
grep -v ‘^(?:.*)$’ .txt This will search through all the text files in the current directory for any matches that include the word “^(?:.)$”.
This command will list all the services running on the computer. The image name is eq svchost.exe. ..
Name: PID: 9362 Type: System Service Description: The remote desktop service is used to connect to a remote computer. The remote desktop service is used to connect to a remote computer. PID: 9362
The Services browser in Windows will show you each svchost process along with its unique ID number and the services it is responsible for running. However, these names are still very cryptic and are all short-hand names. In order to get some more useful information about the process, we can use the Services browser in Windows.
- Right-click on My Computer, choose Manage. On the resulting screen, choose Computer Management and then choose Services and Applications. Finally, choose Services.
Windows 10: The WudfSvc process name is 1436.
The Windows Driver Foundation service is actually called “wudfsvc” for short!
Identify svchost.exe Processes via Process Explorer (easy way)
Microsoft’s Process Explorer tool can help you troubleshoot and fix process problems.
Process Explorer is a great tool that lets you see which services are running under each process. This is a great way to troubleshoot problems.
Windows 8 Task Manager
The Windows 8 task manager makes using the command line or Process Explorer totally obsolete. Open the Task Manager by pressing CTRL + SHIFT + ESC and scroll down on the Processes tab to where it says Windows Processes.
This article provides a comprehensive list of svchost.exe processes and their associated accounts. It also includes information on each service running under each process.
Fixing SVCHOST High CPU Usage
If you have found that the process is a Windows process, such as Windows Update or Windows Firewall, then simply kill the process and uninstall the program.
Windows processes can cause problems with the computer. The best solution is to install all of the latest updates from Microsoft’s web site. If you’re not able to do so normally in Windows, try restarting the computer in safe mode and try it again.
Disable Windows Update and Firewall to get updates: If you’re having trouble getting updates for your computer, disabling Windows Update and the firewall may help. You can re-enable them later if you need to. ..
In order to disable a service in Windows, right-click on it from the Services tab and choose Properties.
This will disable the computer’s startup features.
Disable the service:
- Open Control Panel.
- Under Services, double-click on the Windows Update service.
- In the Properties window, click on the Stop button.
- Close all windows and restart your computer.
- Install updates manually:
- Go to Microsoft Update and sign in with your Microsoft account (if you don’t have one, you can create one at microsoftupdate.com).
- Click on the Check for Updates button and wait for Windows to check for updates and download and install any that are available.
- When Windows has finished installing updates, click on the Restart Now button to restart your computer automatically after installing them (this step may take a few minutes).
- Re-enable service:
- Open Control Panel again and under Services, double-click on Windows Update Service again (or right-click on it and select Start Service).
- In the Properties window, click on the Start button and then wait until Windows Update Service starts up automatically (it should take a few minutes).
- In the Services window, under Status, make sure that it says Running (or at least is not stopped or greyed out). If it is not running, click on the Start button again and this time select Restart Now to restart it manually (this step may take a few minutes). ..