High CPU usage can significantly affect the performance of a Windows system, leading to slow response times, application crashes, and overall system instability. This article will guide you through diagnosing and resolving high CPU usage issues in a Windows environment using built-in tools and commands.

Examples:

1. Using Task Manager:

   • Open Task Manager by pressing Ctrl + Shift + Esc or right-clicking the taskbar and selecting "Task Manager."
   • Click on the "Processes" tab to see a list of running applications and processes.
   • Sort the list by CPU usage by clicking on the "CPU" column header.
   • Identify any process that is consistently using a high percentage of CPU resources. Common culprits include web browsers, antivirus software, and system processes like "svchost.exe."

2. Using Resource Monitor:

   • Open Resource Monitor by typing "resmon" in the Start menu search bar and pressing Enter.
   • Navigate to the "CPU" tab to view detailed information about CPU usage.
   • Look for processes that are using a high percentage of CPU and note their names and PID (Process ID).

3. Using Command Prompt to List Processes:

   • Open Command Prompt by typing "cmd" in the Start menu search bar and pressing Enter.
   • Use the tasklist command to display a list of running processes:

     tasklist

   • To find processes consuming high CPU, you can use the wmic command:

     wmic path Win32_PerfFormattedData_PerfProc_Process get Name,PercentProcessorTime

   • Look for processes with high "PercentProcessorTime" values.

4. Using PowerShell to Monitor CPU Usage:

   • Open PowerShell by typing "powershell" in the Start menu search bar and pressing Enter.
   • Use the following command to get a list of processes sorted by CPU usage:

     Get-Process | Sort-Object CPU -Descending | Select-Object -First 10

   • This command lists the top 10 processes by CPU usage.

5. Resolving High CPU Usage:

   • If a specific application is causing high CPU usage, consider updating or reinstalling it.
   • Check for Windows updates that might address performance issues.
   • Use antivirus software to scan for malware that might be causing high CPU usage.
   • Adjust power settings to "High Performance" if the system is set to a power-saving mode.