‘WMI Provider Host’ (WmiPrvSE.exe) High CPU usage on Windows 10

WmiPrvSE (WMI Provider Host) is the acronym for Windows Management Instrumentation Provider Service. It is a safe process created by Microsoft and needed for Windows to function correctly. WmiPrvSE is a Windows Host Management Process that is used by the Developers for Monitoring Purposes.

It provides information when an app or service request information about your OS. Under normal circumstances, WmiPrvSE has a small system footprint and only runs when you first launch Windows. After upgrading Windows 7 to 10, many users have noticed a spike in CPU usage, which makes the system hot, lag and slow.

WMI Provider Host (WmiPrvSE.exe) High CPU usage on Windows 10

It happens when the process runs at very high CPU usage; it could mean that an application is requesting massive data from WMI Provider Host. It may also trouble because of a corrupt registry or lousy software.

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How To Fix WMI Provider Host (WmiPrvSE.exe) High CPU usage On Windows 10

To Fix WMI Provider Host (WmiPrvSE.exe) High CPU usage on Windows 10 error, you can try the following methods one after the other:

Method #1 Restarting The Windows Management Instrumentation Service

Step 1: At first, press Windows key + R.

Step 2: In the dialogue box that appears, type services.msc and press Enter.

Step 3: Find Windows Management Instrumentation, right-click on it and then select Restart.

Method #2 Restart Other Associated Services

Once you have restarted the Windows Management Instrumentation Service, yet the problems persist, you need to restart other associated services. In order to do so, you need to follow these steps:

Step 1: At first, press Windows key + R.

Step 2: Then type cmd and press Ctrl+Shift+Enter

Note: If you have Windows 10 Creators Update, then you need to type cmd.exe in the search bar, right-click on Command Prompt option and select Run as Administrator.

Run cmd as Administrator

Step 3: In the Command Prompt window, type the following commands and press Enter after each command:

net stop iphlpsvc

net stop wscsvc

net stop Winmgmt

net start Winmgmt

net start wscsvc

net start iphlpsvc

Step 4: Restart your computer and see if the WMI Provider Host (WmiPrvSE.exe) High CPU usage problem is solved.

Method #3 Perform A Clean Boot To Identify A Faulty Application

It might be so that a particular application might be causing the high CPU usage by WMI Provider Host. Performing a Clean boot can help to solve that. In a Clean boot, only the essential services vital to the boot process are loaded, and the rest are disabled.

To perform a clean boot, follow these steps:

Step 1: First, press Windows key + R.

Step 2: In the dialogue box type in “msconfig” and press Enter.

msconfig

Step 3: Then, click on Services option and uncheck the “Hide all Microsoft services” button.

Hide all Microsoft services

Step 4: Next, click on the disable all option and select OK.

Step 5: Now, click on the “Startup” tab and click on the “Open Task Manager” option.

Fix WMI Provider Host High CPU usage

Step 6: Select the “Startup” button in Task Manager.

Fix WMI Provider Host High CPU usage

Step 7: Click on all options that are enabled and disable them.

Step 8: After disabling all applications in the list, restart your computer.

Step 9: Now check to see if the problem still persists.

Note: If the WMI Provider Host High CPU usage is no longer faced, it means that a third-party application or service was causing it.

Step 10: Start by enabling one service at a time, and stop when the high CPU usage comes back.

Step 11: Either reinstall that particular application or keep it disabled.

Method #4 Locate The Process Using Event Viewer And Uninstall It

Step 1: At first, press Windows key + X.

Step 2: Click on View in toolbar and select Event Viewer in the WinX Menu.

Event Viewer Step 3: Next, enable the Show Analytic and Debug Logs option.

Step 4: On the left pane, click on Applications and Service Logs.

Step 5: Next, click on Microsoft and select Windows.

Step 6: After that, click on WMI activity and open Operational log.

Step 7: Here, mark the item listed as Error, and click on it to see its specifications.

Step 8: Under the General tab, find ClientProcessId and note down the number(s) that follow it.

Step 9: Press Windows key + R and select Task Manager.

Step 10: Now go to Services tab, find the service that has the same Process ID (PID) as the numbers you noted down. Either disable or uninstall the same.

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Conclusion

Hopefully, one of these methods has been helpful in fixing the WMI Provider Host (WmiPrvSE.exe) High CPU usage problem on your computer.