Fix Svchost.exe (netsvcs) High CPU Memory Usage

Everyone hates having a slow computer, but most have no clue even where to begin as far as how to fix this error. If you have a Windows computer and it’s operating slow, then Svchost.exe (netsvcs), a process which I’ll explain later, may be what is causing you to have high CPU memory usage.

This is a little bit of a different type of article than we normally write here on Error Codes Pro, as usually, we deal with specific error messages that occur, what they mean, and how to fix them. Svchost.exe is not an error message, but something installed on your computer for good that sometimes becomes a burden, taking up high amounts of CPU memory usage. Therefore, this article will show you multiple ways to fix this problem so your computer will have more memory and work faster.

Understanding CPU

 

Before I get into defining what this error is or how to fix it, let’s start out by talking about CPU, because it’s a computer acronym that many people are unfamiliar with but is crucial in understanding this error.

So CPU stands for Central Processing Unit and you’ll often hear the terms ‘central processor’ or most commonly just ‘processor’. Don’t be confused by the different names; they’re the exact same. It can most basically be defined as the ‘brain’ of the computer if you will. Essentially, it is where all of the calculations take place.

“Anyone can build a fast CPU. The trick is to build a fast system”. – Seymour Cray

I could get into in much more technical detail, but it’s not really needed for this article. If you are interested in learning about all of its specifics, I recommend checking out this article from Make Use Of. Just understand that using a lot of memory in the CPU is something you’ll want to avoid as it can slow down your computer’s overall performance and speed and it causes this error.

Explanation of Svchost.exe (netsvcs)

Now that you have some basic understanding of CPU, let’s talk about the main issue. Svchost.exe, or sometimes seen as netsvcs, is a Windows process that is included in a large group of many others within the Window’s operating system that is purposefully designed for the benefit of the system. Again, I won’t go into the details of exactly how it works as it is a little complex and would take a while, but if you’d like to learn I’d check out its Wikipedia page. But we always talk about problems with your computer at ECP, so we couldn’t possibly have an article detailing something that helps your system, could we?

You guessed right if you said we couldn’t because although this process is originally designed to help your computer in various ways, for whatever reason many times this specific process will start to take a disproportionately large amount of RAM space on your CPU, which is the memory component where most files are stored. The amount it takes up will steadily increase with time and it often gets so bad that it will eventually occupy over 50% of your total RAM space.

Negative Impacts of Having High Memory Usage

You might be thinking that this process taking up such a large amount of memory will only turn out to be inconvenient if you need the space. I mean, most computer’s memory capabilities now are so large that most people only use a fraction of what they have. If you are low on your memory usage, this problem can just be ignored as it won’t affect you, right?

Actually, if I could quote Dwight from The Office, false. This process taking up that amount of memory can, in fact, prove to be harmful in multiple ways besides just not allowing you how much memory your computer has available. The most noticeable and important are how it will slow down your computer. It may get to the point that it becomes so sluggish that it just can’t be used and needs to be restarted several times throughout the day in order to become functional. You can now see why it’s something you’ll want to correct as soon as possible.

Software Versions Affected By It

Yes, it’s a process that is completely unique to Windows, but many people wonder whether or not they will have a problem with it on their software version. It’s on all of the Windows operating systems, but the one most commonly affected by the problem is Windows 7 as that was the first version of Windows to have this feature and being the first makes it more prone to problems like this. However, it’s also important to note that just because you have Windows 8 or 10 doesn’t mean that you are immune from experiencing this problem. While you may not be as likely, it’s still possible.

Solutions

After reading about all of the possible negative effects that Svchost.exe can have on your operating system, you probably want to do whatever you can to fix it, right? Well lucky for you, I have many techniques that you can use to reduce the amount of RAM space that it takes up. I won’t really go into why any of these work, but just know that they are viable solutions and you should try each one as they could all help a little bit each. Continue on for all of these.

Solution 1: Clear Event Viewer Logs

1. Hold the Windows Key and then press R to bring up the command prompt. Type eventvwr.msc and click OK.
2. From the left pane, click on Windows Logs and then right click the folders on it and then select Clear Log.
   
3. Do this exact same process for Application, Security, Setup, System, and Forwarded Events. All the event viewer logs will be cleared now.

Solution 2: Download and install all available Windows updates

1. Open Windows Update. Click on Check for updates.
2. Allow your computer to check for and then list all available updates.
3. Download and install all available updates. There should be at least one update that contains a patch or fix for this problem, as Windows is constantly releasing new patches to problems that their users are constantly facing.

This solution will require you to have an anti-virus or malware software and if you do you should scan your PC because you may be able to detect something that is using up your memory usage. If you don’t have one, I would highly recommend getting one just in general, as you’ll find that it will come in handy often.

Solution 4. Find and Disable the service that causes the “svchost.exe (netsvcs)” high CPU usage problem.

These are some effective steps that can actually help you find what exact service is causing the problem so that you can disable it.

1. Press Ctlr+Alt+Del keys simultaneously which will open the Task Manager.
2. At Processes tab, check the Show processes from all users check box. Below is a screenshot of what it should look like.
3. Right-click on the high usage svchost.exe process and select Go to Service(s).
4. At this tab, you should see all of the services that run under the svchost.exe process, as they will be highlighted.
5. Now it ‘s time to find out which process is taking up the most memory. This will be the most time-consuming part of the task, as you’ll have to go to each service one by one to stop it temporarily until the CPU memory is back to normal. Therefore, you’ll also need to check that between each step. With this step, many times the service is the Windows Update Service, so I’d check that one first before any of the others.
6. To temporarily stop the service, choose it and then right-click on it. From the pop-up, click Stop Service. Do each service one by one, checking the memory usage each time. If you’ve found that it’s not a particular service, then right-click on it again and this time select Start Service.
7. Once you’ve figured out which program our service is the problem, you’ll want to permanently disable it.
8. To do this, navigate to Services in Computer Management.
9. Next, simultaneously press Windows key + R  to open run command box.
10. In run command box, type services.msc and press Enter.
11. At the Services management window, right-click at the particular service and choose Properties.
12. Change the Startup type to Disabled, press OK and restart your computer.

This is the longest method, but by far the most effective and you should do it if it’s your last hope.

Summary

Having a slow moving computer can be one of the most annoying things as it affects your day-to-day productivity and many times you have no clue as to what is causing it. If you have a Windows, it could very well be the process known as Svchost.exe, and here I gave you several ways to minimize the harm it does to your operating system.

There are a plethora of other Windows related error codes and we cover many of them. If you ever get another one, check out our Windows category here to see if we have an article about it. If not, then it most likely will be included in our Ultimate Windows Error Code List, where we give some common error codes and explain how to fix them.

Other than that, I hope that all of these steps and solutions will lead you to fix the problem associated with Svchost.exe (netsvcs) and it taking up high CPU memory usage. Good luck in correcting it, as I’m sure you will!