Windows 10: Unusally high CPU usage by system processes. Fan running like a jet engine as a result.

I have recently been noticing that random system processes such as SearchUI.exe and LockApp.exe are eating enormous amounts of CPU power when they have never done so before. A virus scan revealed no malicious software on the computer. I noticed this happened after installing an update, could it be a result of the update? My disk usage and ram usage are completely normal, it's just these two processes seem to be hogging the CPU for some reason when they weren't before. Taskkill is worthless because Windows will just restart these processes if I kill them, plus it's kinda hard to log in and out when your login manager is offline. Anyhow, all of your help is appreciated. Thanks!

:)

 

"System" process with high CPU usage

I have exactly the same issue (high CPU usage) on a brand new HP ProBook 440 G5 (i7-8550U, pre-installed Win 10 Pro).

I am pretty sure that there is a problem with audio drivers when the computer wakes up from a sleep mode. I first observed that process flow.exe (audio bloatware provided by HP/Conexant) was consuming (after waking up) ~10–15 % CPU. Here's what I did:

• I have updated Windows to 1709, build 16229.251 and installed all updates --> Nothing has changed.
  
• I have updated BIOS to the latest version provided by HP. --> Nothing has changed.
• I have run Windows troubleshooting and HP Support Assistant checks --> No problems found, nothing has changed
• I have manually updated Conexant ISST Audio Drivers (via Device Manager -> Update drivers). Windows installed a newer version. -->
  CPU usage by flow.exe has disappeared, but process called System in thread ACPI.sys+0x21cb0 started consuming ~20 % CPU.
• I have uninstalled all Conexant software&drivers and manually installed generic High Definition Audio Device drivers provided by Microsoft (Driver Date: 21.02.2018). --> ACPI.sys+0x21cb0 still consumes ~20 % CPU.

Same issues are discussed in these threads on HP site:

• ProBook 450 with high CPU usage - HP Support Community - 6520063
  
• HP Probook 440 G5 Fan issue - HP Support Community - 6567212

The result is I cannot use sleep mode (as advised by this post:
https://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Business-Notebooks/ProBook-450-with-high-CPU-usage/m-p/6611446/highlight/true#M149605).

 

Fake high CPU usage - High fan usage - Windows 10

Since windows updated 2 weeks ago, my laptop fan is always at its top speed and won't slow down.

Checking the task manager, in the "Processes" tab, I see that CPU usage is at 99%. However, the sum of my processes doesn't match this value. Interestingly, the process that takes a lot of CPU clock is task manager itself (but I assume that is irrelevant).

So, I checked "Process Explorer", and the results are totally different: "System Idle Process" takes about 95% of CPU usage, which is what I wanted to see. So, my CPU usage is below 5%.

I don't understand this inconsistency between the two software. I also tried CAM (CAM | Free PC Monitoring Software | NZXT), and its values matche the "Process Explorer".

Since my laptop fan does not slow down, I have a theory: there is no process utilizing the CPU, but there is a bug in the new update of windows 10 which has resulted in miscalculation of CPU utilization. As a result of this, BIOS is assuming a high utilization
and is sending commands to the fan to cool down the CPU.

I tried to update my drivers, but Intel auto updater only detected my Wireless and Intel HD Graphics card drivers to be out of date and updated those (which had no effect on my issue).

Btw, my CPU temperature is at 75 degree according to CAM.

System specs:

Windows 10,

Intel Core i7-3610QM, 2300MHz, Ivy Bridge, BIOS Date 05/05/2012

Lenovo Ideapad Y480

 

CPU jumps to 100 and fans sound like jet engines

Use Resource Monitor (from task manager) - example- Avast manually scanning folder- you can see the files it's reading.