Windows 10: Windows defender advanced scan extreme cpu overload

I routinely do Windows defender advanced scans. Up until about 2 weeks ago, that is.

All of a sudden the scan was completely maxing out my cpu. I wouldn't say it crashed the computer, but if I tried to do the simplest task while it was running, it rendered the machine unusable due to the draining of resources. Not to mention the scan would disappear, but was still running in the background. The only thing I could do at that point was to wait until it was done scanning, or shut down the unit

I found this thread that's about a year old, followed some of the suggestions, but nothing really helps.

I have no problem with the Quick scan.

High CPU usage when Windows Defender perform a Full Scan in Windows 10 - Microsoft Community

Windows Defender is my only virus protection, so there is nothing to create a conflict.

I put my defender installer folders in the excluded list. I changed my power settings from High Performance to Balanced.

I ran chkdsk /scan, sfc /scannow, dism /online /cleanup-image /restorehealth, and a Memory diagnostic. All normal.

Finally, I did a fresh install.

Is anybody else experiencing this?

:)

 

Windows defender custom scan does not scan external drives

Hi Joe,

to scan external drives using Windows Defender, follow the steps provided below.

• Open Windows Defender.
• Go to Settings tab.
• Select the Advanced option.
• tick the checkbox for Scan removable drives.

Regards.

 

CPU Overload

Hi there,



My CPU reaches near 100% whenever I open a browser, regardless of the browser. It opens up a dozen or so processes and slows the system down. I've followed the various wikis on MS Answers, and have ran a trace. In the wiki, it mentions
uploading the Trace report to Onedrive and linking here for analysis, which is here: DESKTOP-FM1NJUN.10-29-2018.19-37-06.zip



If there is anything else I can do, it'd be great if I was pointed in the right direction. (I disabled superfetch, ran various integrity scans via CMD).



Many thanks in advance,



Mr. CPU Overload

 

defender scans

Hi Ian,

Thanks for posting your query on Microsoft Community.

This issue might occur if you have set any task scheduler for Windows Defender.

I suggest you to delete the task for Windows defender and check if it helps.

Follow the below steps:

• 
  Search and open Schedule tasks.
  
• 
  In the left-hand menu, open the Task Scheduler Library, then select
  Microsoft >Windows >Windows Defender.
  
• 
  Double-click Windows Defender Scheduled Scan.
  
• 
  Select the Triggers panel, then select Delete.
  

Hope it helps, reply to us with the status of your issue. We will be happy to assist you.