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How to Fix High CPU Usage in Windows 11 (5 Proven Solutions)

Fix High CPU Usage in Windows 11

You are working on your computer, and suddenly everything begins to lag. Your mouse pointer stutters, typing has an annoying delay, and your laptop’s cooling fans spin at maximum speed.

You open Task Manager, and there it is: CPU Usage at 90% or 100%, even though you barely have three browser tabs open.

Experiencing high CPU usage in Windows 11 is a common headache. Background telemetry, runaway widgets, Windows Search indexing, or driver conflicts can easily max out your processor cores.

In this troubleshooting guide, we will show you five proven methods to diagnose and fix high CPU usage in Windows 11 and make your PC fast and quiet again.

Identify Which Process Is Consuming Your CPU

Before applying fixes, find out exactly which application or system process is hogging your processor:

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  1. Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager.
  2. Click on the Processes tab.
  3. Click on the CPU column header to sort processes from highest to lowest usage.

Take note of whether the resource hog is a third-party app (like Google Chrome or Discord) or a core Windows process (such as System, Widgets, or Windows Search).

Fix 1: Disable Windows 11 Widgets Background Process

The Windows 11 Widgets board running in the taskbar is notorious for running continuous background Edge WebView2 processes that eat up 20% to 40% CPU power.

  1. Right-click on an empty space on your Windows 11 Taskbar and select Taskbar settings.
  2. Under Taskbar items, toggle Widgets to Off.
  3. Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc, find Windows Widgets in Task Manager, and click End Task.

Your CPU usage should drop significantly within seconds.

Fix 2: Disable Superfetch (SysMain) Service

The SysMain (formerly Superfetch) service pre-loads frequently used apps into memory. On many systems, it bugs out and continuously scans your hard drive, triggering 100% CPU and disk spikes.

  1. Press Windows Key + R, type services.msc, and hit Enter.
  2. Scroll down the list and locate SysMain.
  3. Right-click SysMain and select Properties.
  4. Change the Startup type to Disabled.
  5. Click Stop under Service status, then click OK.

Fix 3: Restart Windows Explorer

Sometimes Windows Explorer gets stuck in an internal file thumbnail extraction loop, consuming massive amounts of CPU power.

  1. Open Task Manager (Ctrl + Shift + Esc).
  2. Locate Windows Explorer in the list.
  3. Right-click on it and choose Restart.

Your taskbar will momentarily flash and reload, resetting the explorer process.

Fix 4: Change Power Plan Settings

A corrupted power plan can cause your CPU to remain locked at maximum turbo clock frequencies even when idling.

  1. Press Windows Key + R, type control, and hit Enter.
  2. Go to Power Options.
  3. Select the Balanced power plan.
  4. Click Change plan settings > Change advanced power settings.
  5. Expand Processor power management > Minimum processor state, and set it to 5%.

Fix 5: Repair Corrupted System Files via SFC and DISM

Corrupted system files can cause Windows services to repeatedly fail and restart, spiking CPU load.

  1. Press Windows Key + S, type cmd, and select Run as administrator.
  2. Type the following command and hit Enter:
sfc /scannow

Allow the scan to finish and reboot your PC.

For more computer and server troubleshooting guides, read our tutorials on fixing the failed to write file to disk error and resolving 413 request entity too large issues.

Wrapping Up

High CPU usage can bring even modern high-end PCs to a crawl. Disabling unnecessary background widgets, stopping runaway SysMain services, and repairing system files will keep your computer running cool and responsive.

Which process was causing high CPU usage on your PC? Let us know in the comments below!

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