We have all been there. You turn on your PC, and instead of getting straight to work, you’re faced with horrific slowdown and loud-running fans. Hit Ctrl + Shift + Escape, and you see that your CPU usage is inexplicably at 100%.

It’s a common problem that’s, luckily, not usually too hard to solve. Here are several fixes for the 100% CPU usage problem.

Disable SuperFetch (or Windows Search)

SuperFetch is a process by which Windows 10 learns which apps you use most often, then pre-fetches them for you so they load quicker each time you use them. It’s a constant background process that doesn’t usually cause problems, but it doesn’t always play nice with older devices.

To find out whether SuperFetch (or another service) is hogging your CPU, open Task Manager (Ctrl + Shift + Escape), click “More details,” then click “CPU” to order processes by how much CPU they’re using.

If you see that a “Service Host” like SuperFetch or something else is using a lot of CPU, you can try right-clicking it and clicking “End Process.”

Reset Your Power Plan

Changing the Windows’ power options can have a substantial effect on your PC performance. If you’re set to “High performance” – particularly if you made tweaks to the “plan settings” – then it’s possible that you’re overloading your CPU (again, older devices are susceptible to this).

Type power plan into the Start search bar then clicks “Choose a power plan.” If you’re on “High performance” or “Power Saver,” then switch to “Balanced.”

For extra certainty, click “Change plan settings,” then on the new screen click “Restore default settings for this plan.”

Conclusion

100% CPU usage on Windows 10 is a multi-faceted and complex issue with many solutions. These are some of the most likely fixes, but if you’ve found that something else worked better, then let us know in the comments!

For more information or getting help, contact Ryan at ABACON IT on 0726012858.