How to Fix WMI Provider Host High CPU Usage

Is your WMI Provider Host using most of your CPU resources? Is your PC running slowly because of the high disk usage problem?

If yes, then you have come to the right place. We’ve covered simple methods that will help you to troubleshoot WMI Provider Host high CPU usage. 

 

What is WMI Provider Host?

WMI Provider Host (WmiPrvSE.exe) is an integral part of Windows that usually runs in the background. It enables programs in your PC to request and fetch information about other programs. Without this service, it would be challenging to manage computer programs. 

When operating normally, WMI will not use noticeable CPU resources. However, that’s not always the case for every Windows user. Some encounter high disk usage errors as a result of the WMI consuming a large percentage of system resources. 

This causes the CPU to heat up and become unresponsive. 

 

What Is WMI Provider and What Does It Do?

WMI (Windows Management Instrumentation) is a set of tools and extensions built into Windows to facilitate communication between different programs and the system. Using WmiPrvSE.exe, they can read the state of your system and request information through WMI.

 

WMI only provides the information required upon receiving a request from a program. This is a critical service for businesses that have to manage several computers. 

But even an application running on your personal computer may also request the WMI to fetch information such as event log, drive encryption, and other installed programs.

 

 

 

 

Other than data communication, this module can provide vital information that would otherwise not be provided via the regular Windows interface. 

For instance, you can find information such as your motherboard’s model number, PC’s serial number, or even the health status of your hard drive.

 

Why Is WMI Provider Host Using Most Of Your CPU Resources?

WMI should consume 1% to 2% of your CPU resources when operating normally. That’s when it receives a request from an app to fetch information. This is the standard rate of consumption and should not throw any issues.

However, sometimes, WMI can put a significant load on the CPU as a result of high memory usage. This is an indication that something is not right.

Some of the issues you might experience when this happens include:

• Unresponsive programs 
• Increased CPU temperatures 
• Slow PC
• Lag and slowness when using an application on your PC

 

How to Fix WMI Provider Host

If you have encountered high CPU usage as a result of WMI becoming unresponsive, you can easily fix the CPU usage issue with the simple methods below. 

We’ve covered a few simple approaches to help you fix the WMI provider host high CPU usage problem.

 

Restart Your PC

The first simple method you should try is to restart your Windows PC. By restarting your PC, you are able to start the Windows OS all over again.

That means anything causing WMI to misbehave with resolve in the process. This method should work for 99% of Windows users who experience this problem.

However, if it doesn’t work for you, we’ve got another solution. 

Read on to find the next method.

 

Restart WMI Service

Sometimes, the solution lies in restarting WMI service. 

Follow these step by step guide:

1. Press Windows key + R key on your keyboard
2. Alternatively, click the Start button and type Run in the text box to open the Run dialogue box
3. Type service.msc into the dialogue box and press Enter 
4. Locate WMI service in the new window
5. You could also press W on your keyboard to jump to services that start with letter “W”

After locating WMI service, right-click on it and select restart This method should solve the wmiprvse exe high CPU usage problem for most users. But if the problem persists, you may have to troubleshoot further.

 

Repair or Rebuild Windows Management Instrumentation

If restarting your PC did not solve the problem, you can try to repair the Windows Management Instrumentation file. 

Here are the steps you need to follow:

1. Click on the Start button 
2. Type Run into the search box, and press Enter to open the Run dialogue box 
3. Now enter Winmgmt /salvagerepository %windir%\System32\wbem into the dialogue box and press Enter 
4. If you don’t see any response, try Winmgmt /resetrepository %windir%\System32\wbem
5. Restart your PC

These steps should reset WMI to its initial state. This should fix the high memory usage error by repairing corrupt WMI files.

This fix should work for cases where a corrupt file is causing WMI to misbehave. If this fix doesn’t work, try the next method below.

 

Use Event Viewer Process to Find the Cause of WMI High Disk Usage

WMI fetches information from programs and other system components. So, when a program or service becomes unresponsive while trying to fetch the info, the request will not go through. The results are high CPU usage. 

To fix this problem, you need to know the cause of WMI becoming unresponsive.

Fortunately, you can use Event Viewer to find the cause of the problem. 

Here are the steps you need to follow:

1. Click the Start button and type Run in the search box 
2. Press Enter to open the Run dialogue box 
3. Type Event Viewer into the dialogue box and press Enter 
4. From the top menu, click View and enable show analytic and debug logs 
5. Go to the left panel and navigate to Applications and Service Logs>Microsoft>Windows>WMI-Activity>Operational 
6. You should find error events there 
7. Click recent errors and then ClientProcessld 
8. Write the ID number somewhere
9. Now search the ID number on Google. To know the name of the software causing the problem.

Once you have known the name of the program, you can either disable it from the Task Manager or uninstall it. 

Now go back and check CPU usage to see if you have fixed the problem. 

If not, the CPU usage issue could be due to several unresponsive programs. Repeat the process above to find the other program that could be the cause of the error. 

 

FAQ

How Do I Remove WMI Provider Host?

1. Launch wbemtest.exe.
2. Click on Connect 
3. Type root\default as the namespace and click on Connect 
4. Click on Delete Class

Now enter the class name VirtualSoftwareSublayer, VirtualSoftwarePackage, and AltirisVSProv and follow the prompts to successfully delete the class

Delete these registry keys created by the Windows Manage Instrumentation service:

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{71D8DF9A-AD2D-44BF-A542-1412F68061D1}

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\AppID\AltirisVSProvider.DLL

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\TypeLib\{888967EF-E75C-4480-992D-93FDA658F21E}

 

Can I Disable WMI?

Sure! But should you turn it off? Not necessarily. This is because it is illogical to disable services in your PC just because they are sometimes super active. 

Windows Management Instruction is an important service that keeps track of hardware and software. Most importantly, your PC’s support tool may not work without this critical component.

Disabling WMI might not be the best way to go. It would be better to disable services that are causing high CPU usage. 

 

Conclusion

WMI Provider Host is a critical system component. If it is causing high CPU usage or misbehaving in any way, take time to fix it. Hopefully, the steps covered in this post have helped you to solve this pesky problem.