High CPU usage

[H34DHun73r]

Hi guys! Long time LTT sub but first time on the forums, so forgive me if this is not the correct place to post. On to the issue, there is a program that always tops my CPU usage. Its called "Host process for windows tasks". This task has been bugging me for quite awhile. When idle, this process pops up randomly and takes up a good 30-40% of my cpu usage. I've googled it, and there were some people saying it was a malware. So, I did a full scan on both Windows Defender and malwarebytes, both came up negative. I also heard it does this at start up, something to do with .dll files. But this comes up anytime while using my pc. I really need some clearing up if this is some malware/virus or its normal and is there anyway to stop it from eating up my CPU.Thanks for any help! (Forgive me if it is in wrong format, its my first time here) *EDIT:I am running rainmeter, if that helps.

 

*SPECS: i5-3570@3.4Ghz

 GTX 760SC

 8GB DDR3@1600Mhz (single stick, no idea what brand) 

 Windows 8.1*

[Cheese4395]

Please specify your motherboard as well as that could play a factor into this.

[H34DHun73r]

My mobo is a ASUS P8H77M-LE.

[RossMadness]

Just to see if it's a Windows issue that could be showing its head, I would run SFC /SCANNOW in CMD (run as admin). I had a Windows 8.1 computer that had similar CPU spikes and SFC found and repaired a few errors that addressed it.

[H34DHun73r]

I just did the sfc /scannow but it says unable to fix. Any ideas?

[Archangel1994]

I just did the sfc /scannow but it says unable to fix. Any ideas?

Completely offtopic but what is that portal themed thing you have going on?

 

I WANT IT!

[Tazzy2040]

try running a hdd fix at startup

[The_Evenger]

i've seen that thing do the same and take 100% of my usage for a few seconds then idle back down to 0-1% usage after about 10 seconds, never really thought about it but now i'm wondering what it actually does... if anything

[Guest Philosophy]

I've not used Windows 8 very much, I don't believe I have seen that process, before. 

[TDP_Equinox]

I've not used Windows 8 very much, I don't believe I have seen that process, before. 

i think it is like DWM.exe

This occasionally spikes for me. Restart your PC and if it still hogs your CPU, wait like an hour.

If it doesnt stop, we can look at other options 

[Windows98SE]

first hit on google seemed like it might be worth trying:

 

http://www.eightforums.com/performance-maintenance/44709-windows-host-process-rundll32-high-cpu-usage-2.html

[H34DHun73r]

first hit on google seemed like it might be worth trying:

http://www.eightforums.com/performance-maintenance/44709-windows-host-process-rundll32-high-cpu-usage-2.html

I already did that when I first found out. The thing is I cant set it to 1 min as its not in the options. So i manually typed it in. It doesnt seem to work.

[H34DHun73r]

first hit on google seemed like it might be worth trying:

http://www.eightforums.com/performance-maintenance/44709-windows-host-process-rundll32-high-cpu-usage-2.html

I already did that when I first found out. The thing is I cant set it to 1 min as its not in the options. So i manually typed it in. It doesnt seem to work.

[H34DHun73r]

Oops sorry for the double post

[H34DHun73r]

i've seen that thing do the same and take 100% of my usage for a few seconds then idle back down to 0-1% usage after about 10 seconds, never really thought about it but now i'm wondering what it actually does... if anything

Mine lasts way longer than 10 secs. It stays like that for~3mins

[Mojo-Jojo]

I just did the sfc /scannow but it says unable to fix. Any ideas?

Run 

Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth

Then 

SFC /SCANNOW

 again

[H34DHun73r]

Completely offtopic but what is that portal themed thing you have going on?

 

I WANT IT!

Haha, Welcome to the world of rainmeter! 

RAINMETER HOME(dl first): http://rainmeter.net/ 

Background: http://cdn.superbwallpapers.com/wallpapers/games/portal-24940-1920x1080.jpg

Icons: http://fc02.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2014/266/4/7/honeycomb_1_by_apiium-d7q5yuz.rmskin

Portal 2 stuff: http://download1350.mediafire.com/s3pll81stupg/hbgx9p61zyo6hu7/ApertureLabs.rar

There are tons of other rainmeter skins available, just a google search and you are set. PM me if you need any help installing, I'll be more than happy to assist. Also checkout http://www.reddit.com/r/rainmeter

[Archangel1994]

Haha, Welcome to the world of rainmeter! 

RAINMETER HOME(dl first): http://rainmeter.net/ 

Background: http://cdn.superbwallpapers.com/wallpapers/games/portal-24940-1920x1080.jpg

Icons: http://fc02.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2014/266/4/7/honeycomb_1_by_apiium-d7q5yuz.rmskin

Portal 2 stuff: http://download1350.mediafire.com/s3pll81stupg/hbgx9p61zyo6hu7/ApertureLabs.rar

There are tons of other rainmeter skins available, just a google search and you are set. PM me if you need any help installing, I'll be more than happy to assist. Also checkout http://www.reddit.com/r/rainmeter

404 on rainmeter :c

[H34DHun73r]

404 on rainmeter :c

oops. just take the / at the end away

[H34DHun73r]

Run 

Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth

Then 

SFC /SCANNOW

 again

Just did both. Scannow reports no corrupt files. Will monitor for a day and post again. Thanks!

[BuntzenB]

What happens when you kill that process?

[Atomika]

Try booting to safe mode - also what happens when you kill the process with task manager? - It starts on my PC but doesn't effect the performance at all

[SlayerOfHellWyrm]

For the record, the process using 29% of your CPU... you cannot kill it. It's like svchost.exe, but it's what Windows uses to manage .dlls If it's using a shit ton of CPU, it's likely because something, or multiple things are calling a dll consistently. To drop it's useage, you'd have to track down the .dll's being accessed, then the program(s) calling it/them, and determine if you can stop using that program. Rainmeter, can be quite nasty for this if any installed theme has a custom dll, and calls that were coded horribly.

As well, the "System Process For Windows Tasks" has been around since like... idk, probably pre-W'95. Regardless, most people never see it because they don't have a bunch of dll's being called over and over rapidly, or at once. IF you've recently installed Rainmeter, that's most likely the cause as I've said.

Of course, just about any program and any dll can cause super high useage, and spikes. Really, you can just ignore it unless it's seriously hampering your performance.

[H34DHun73r]

What happens when you kill that process?

I tried. But a warning popped up about windows may shut down or something like that, so i didnt.

[H34DHun73r]

For the record, the process using 29% of your CPU... you cannot kill it. It's like svchost.exe, but it's what Windows uses to manage .dlls If it's using a shit ton of CPU, it's likely because something, or multiple things are calling a dll consistently. To drop it's useage, you'd have to track down the .dll's being accessed, then the program(s) calling it/them, and determine if you can stop using that program. Rainmeter, can be quite nasty for this if any installed theme has a custom dll, and calls that were coded horribly.

As well, the "System Process For Windows Tasks" has been around since like... idk, probably pre-W'95. Regardless, most people never see it because they don't have a bunch of dll's being called over and over rapidly, or at once. IF you've recently installed Rainmeter, that's most likely the cause as I've said.

Of course, just about any program and any dll can cause super high useage, and spikes. Really, you can just ignore it unless it's seriously hampering your performance.

I was suspecting rainmeter as well. But if its rainmeter, wouldnt the usage be constant and not random?