System processes like Ntoskrnl.exe can slow down your computer's overall performance. It is an executable file that is part of the Windows NT operating system. This executable file is responsible for memory management, process management, and device extraction, making it a core part of the operating system. When you find a process consuming a lot of CPU and disk resources on your system, you can force-quit it from the Task Manager. However, this is not the case. ntoskrnl.exe , because forcibly closing it may affect the areas responsible for it. Therefore, to fix the high CPU usage issue caused by Ntoskrnl.exe, read this guide and share it with a friend who is facing the same issue.
How to Fix High CPU Usage by Ntoskrnl.exe on Windows 10
If you find your system is running much slower than usual, go to Task management To find out which system element is consuming high CPU resources, right-click on it and select Properties. Now, you will find a new element called ntoskrnl.exe. In this article, we have shown the steps to fix high CPU usage by Ntoskrnl.exe on Windows. Windows 10.
Why is Ntoskrnl.exe consuming so much disk space and CPU resources?
The most common of these issues can be reported as memory leaks from both hardware and malware. However, many of you may be confused by the question, "Ntoskrnl.exe manages memory, but why is it consuming excessive memory resources?" Read on to find out why.
Here are some possible reasons behind this error.
- The most common reason that leads to the problem is: compressed memory New. When you use any application or program on your system, RAM will be used to increase speed rather than regular storage. However, when you open multiple applications simultaneously, more RAM will be used, thus slowing down the CPU's performance.
- If your system encounters any Malware or virus attack If the CPU consumes high resources, your computer will appear to slow down. Run an antivirus scan to identify any virus/malware attacks on your system.
- Outdated or incompatible drivers contribute to You are having the same issue on your system. Update or roll back your drivers accordingly to avoid the issue.
- if it was Ntoskrnl.exe files are corrupted If you encounter this problem repeatedly, you will encounter it. This rarely happens because these files are protected by default by the system. However, when you encounter this problem, they will not function normally on your system.
This section has compiled a list of troubleshooting methods that should help you fix your CPU usage issue. The troubleshooting steps are arranged according to the severity and severity of the causes. Follow them for best results.
Method 1: Use the High Performance Power Plan
You can also optimize your computer by setting your settings to a high-performance power plan. These power plans were developed to manage power settings in portable settings. Follow the instructions below to use the high-performance power plan settings on your system.
1. Right click on battery icon in Taskbar and select Energy Options.
2. Now, select the option high performance As shown in the image below.
You have now optimized your system for gaming and better performance.
Method 2: Delete temporary files
When your system contains any corrupted Ntoskrnl.exe files, you will face high CPU usage issues with Ntoskrnl.exe. You can resolve this error by clearing the temporary files on your system. Then, follow the instructions to do the same.
1. Press Windows key , And type % Temp% , and click Open.
2. Here, select All files and folders by pressing Ctrl + A keys Together then right click on Selected files.
3. Select an option delete To remove all temporary files.
4. Finally, go to desktop Right click on recycle binSelect an option. Empty the Recycle Bin To permanently delete data from your Windows computer.
Method 3: Run the Performance Troubleshooter
If your system performance is slow, it might be due to this high CPU usage issue, you can troubleshoot it using the following steps.
1. Press and hold Windows + R keys Together to open Run . dialog.
2. Now, type msdt.exe /id PerformanceDiagnostic And press Enter key.
3. Here, the Performance Troubleshooter starts scanning and displays any issues that need to be fixed. Follow On-screen instructions To complete the process and check if you have fixed the issue.
Note: If you receive a prompt, Windows Online Troubleshooting Service is disabled, then follow the other methods discussed in this article.
Method 4: Scan local drives
Sometimes, errors on your hard drives can contribute to high CPU or disk usage caused by the Ntoskrnl.exe issue. Therefore, you can run a scan and identify any errors, if any. Next, locate where your installation files are stored and scan the corresponding drive as shown below.
1. Press Windows + E keys At the same time to open File Explorer And click This PC.
2. Right click on local disk and select The properties As shown in the image below.
3. Now, go to the tab "tools" and click the . button "check up".
4. Now, click on Option Scan drive in window Error checking.
5. Wait until the scanning process is complete and then Sort out any errors if any..
Finally, check if you've fixed the issue. If you don't find any errors, follow the rest of the methods discussed in this article.
Method 5: Perform Disk Cleanup
Disk Cleanup is similar to the Recycle Bin. Data deleted by Disk Cleanup is not permanently deleted from the system and remains available on your hard drive. You can restore files whenever needed.
1. in Windows search bar , write disk Cleanup And click Run as administrator , As shown below.
2. You will be asked Select drive which you want to clean. Here, we have selected C: drive. Click "OK" to follow.
3. A prompt will appear and it will be calculated. Disk Cleanup The amount of space that can be freed up.
4. Check the box for all required items under Files to be deleted: And click Clean system files.
5. Once completed scanning , Locate checkboxes Again for all selected items and click "OK".
6. Finally, tap Delete Files button in the confirmation message.
7. Restart your computer. To clean up extra space.
Method 6: Disable SuperFetch (SysMain)
Application and Windows startup times are improved by a built-in feature called SysMain (formerly SuperFetch). However, system programs don't benefit from this feature. Instead, background activities are increased, and your system's performance is relatively slow. These Windows services will consume your CPU resources, and it's often recommended to disable SuperFetch on your system.
1. Turn on Run dialog box by pressing Windows + R keys together.
2. Write services.msc As shown and click OK To start a window Services.
3. Now, scroll down and right-click on SysMain. then select Characteristics , as shown.
4. Here, in the tab "general" Set the startup type to “disabled” From the drop-down menu, as shown below.
5. Finally, tap "Application" , then tap "OK" to save the changes.
Method 7: Restart the Windows Update service
Sometimes, you can do this by manually deleting the Software Distribution folder and restarting the Windows Update service. Then, follow the instructions below to do this.
1. You can run Run dialog box Go to the search menu and type "employment".
2. Write services.msc As follows and click on "OK" To start a window “Services”.
3. Now, scroll down the screen and right-click on Windows Update.
Note: If the current status is not running, you can skip the step below.
4. Here, click "turning off" If the current status shows Running.
5. You will receive a claim. Windows is trying to stop the following service on the local computer… Wait for the claim to complete. It will take About 3 to 5 seconds.
6. Now, open File Explorer by clicking Windows + E keys Together. Now, move on to the next track.
C: \ Windows \ Software \ Datastore
7. Now, select All files and folders by pressing Ctrl + A keys Together and right click on the empty space.
8. Here, select the option delete To remove all files and folders from DataStore website.
9. Now, go to the track. C: \ Windows \ SoftwareDistribution \ Download , and delete all files in the downloads location as mentioned in the previous steps.
10. Now, go back to the window. Services Right click on Windows Update.
11. Here, select the option start As shown in the image below.
12. You will receive a claim, Windows is trying to start the following service on the local computer… wait for 3 to 5 seconds And closed Services window.
13. Finally, check if the issue is resolved on your system.
Method 8: Stop BlueStacks Services
BlueStacks is an Android emulator, but it creates a lot of conflicts with Ntoskrnl.exe files, which causes the Ntoskrnl.exe issue. However, you can stop them by following the steps below.
1. Open the program Notepad and paste The following keys in it.
C:Program Files (x86)BlueStacksHD-Quit.exe net stop BstHdUpdaterSvc net stop BstHdLogRotatorSvc net stop BstHdAndroidSvc
2. Now, go to a file Save the file as name_you_like.bat
3. Now, navigate to the location where you saved the file and run it. With administrative privileges.
4. Now, confirm the registry changes by clicking on "Yeah" And restart your system.
Now, all will be disabled. BlueStacks Services , thus fixing the problem. High CPU usage by Ntoskrnl.exe.
Method 9: Run malware scans
Anti-malware programs can help you combat malware. However, they routinely scan and protect your system. Therefore, to avoid Ntoskrnl.exe's high CPU usage, run an antivirus scan of your system and see if the issue is resolved. Then, follow the steps below to do so.
1. Press Windows key + I At the same time to run Settings.
2. Here, click Update and security settings As shown.
3. Go to Windows Security in the right pane.
4. Click Virus and threat protection option in the right pane.
5. Click the button Quick Scan To scan for malware.
6A. Once the inspection is completed, you will be View all threats. Click Start the process Among the current threats.
6b. If there is no threat to your device, the device will display an alert. No current threats.
Method 10: Repair system files
Windows 10 users can automatically scan and repair system files by running System File Checker. Additionally, it's a built-in tool that allows users to delete files and fix this problem. Follow the steps below to do so.
1. Press Windows key , And type Command Prompt And click Run as administrator.
2. Click "Yeah" in the prompt User Account Control.
3. Type the command chkdsk C: /f /r /x And press Enter key.
4. If you are asked for a message, Chkdsk cannot be run... The volume... is in use. , then type Y And press Enter key.
5. Again, write Command: sfc /scannow And press Enter key To run a scan System File Checker.
Note: The system scan will begin and take two minutes to complete. In the meantime, you can continue performing other activities, but be careful not to accidentally close the window.
After the scan is complete, any of these messages will appear:
- Windows Resource Protection did not find any integrity violations.
- Windows Resource Protection could not perform the requested operation.
- Windows Resource Protection found and successfully repaired corrupted files.
- Windows Resource Protection found corrupted files but was unable to repair some of them.
6. Once the scan is complete, Restart your computer.
7. Again, run the command prompt as administrator and execute the given commands one by one:
dism.exe /Online /cleanup-image /scanhealth dism.exe /Online /cleanup-image /restorehealth dism.exe /Online /cleanup-image /startcomponentcleanup
Note: You must have a working Internet connection to execute DISM commands correctly.
Method 11: Roll back driver updates
If your system was working properly and started crashing after an update, rolling back the drivers may help. Rolling back the driver will delete the current driver installed on the system and replace it with the previous version. This process should eliminate any errors in the drivers and potentially resolve the issue.
Note: In this guide, we've outlined the steps to roll back a common display driver. It's recommended that you roll back all incompatible drivers.
1. Press Windows key , And type device Manager , and click to open.
2. Click the arrow next to Display adapters to expand it.
3. Right click on Display driver (such as NVIDIA GeForce driver) and select The properties , As shown below.
4. Switch to the tab driver And click Roll Back Driver , as shown.
Note: If the Roll Back Driver option is grayed out, this indicates that your Windows computer does not have pre-installed driver files or that the solution has never been updated. In this case, try the alternative methods discussed in this article.
5. Provide a reason why you are backing out? In the window Roll Back Driver PackageThen, click the button. "Yeah" , shown in the featured image.
6. Now, reboot your system to make the rollback effective.
Method 12: Uninstall Zune software (if applicable)
Many users have reported that the Zune software interferes with the ntoskrnl.exe file, causing high CPU usage. Uninstall it by following the steps below.
1. Press Windows key , And type Applications and Features , and click to open.
2. Click Zune app and select an option uninstall , As shown below.
3. Click "uninstall" Again to confirm the same as above.
4. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the process. uninstall.
5. Finally, Restart your computer.
We hope this guide was helpful and you were able to fix the high CPU usage issue caused by Ntoskrnl.exe. Let us know which method works best for you. Also, if you have any questions or suggestions regarding this article, feel free to leave them in the comments section.
