smartscreen.exe causing high CPU usage


  1. Posts : 32
    W10
       #1

    smartscreen.exe causing high CPU usage


    My Win 10 20H2 build 19042.867 is running 25 to 40% CPU when no programs are running! I have an AMD Ryzen 7 CPU, 3700u running at 2.3 GHz. I have 20 GB of RAM. When the Win 10 CPU is running at 45-50%, the heat in the CPU cores elevates to ~60-70 deg C.

    Checking the TASK MANAGER, the culprit appears to be the smartscreen.exe. That program/app alone is using ~25% of the CPU.

    One of the posters on this this forum (in the performance sub-forum) stated that he disabled smartscreen and his CPU usage return to normal levels. I went and disabled Smartscreen but CPU levels have not changed.

    I need some expert help what's causing this.

    I'd appreciate some expert help.
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails smartscreen.exe causing high CPU usage-screenshot-2021-03-31-180823.png  
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 23,014
    Win 10 Home ♦♦♦19045.4239 (x64) [22H2]
       #2

    pablo239 said:
    My Win 10 20H2 build 19042.867 is running 25 to 40% CPU when no programs are running! I have an AMD Ryzen 7 CPU, 3700u running at 2.3 GHz. I have 20 GB of RAM. When the Win 10 CPU is running at 45-50%, the heat in the CPU cores elevates to ~60-70 deg C.

    Checking the TASK MANAGER, the culprit appears to be the smartscreen.exe. That program/app alone is using ~25% of the CPU.

    One of the posters on this this forum (in the performance sub-forum) stated that he disabled smartscreen and his CPU usage return to normal levels. I went and disabled Smartscreen but CPU levels have not changed.

    I need some expert help what's causing this.

    I'd appreciate some expert help.




    HOW, did you disable Smartscreen?
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 32
    W10
    Thread Starter
       #3

    Ghot said:
    HOW, did you disable Smartscreen?
    Check my screenshot. I went into the Windows Defender settings and unchecked all options for smartscreen. Although i would still prefer not to disable it entirely , but I dont understand why it constantly needs high CPU usage. Instead of using occasionally.
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 23,014
    Win 10 Home ♦♦♦19045.4239 (x64) [22H2]
       #4

    pablo239 said:
    Check my screenshot. I went into the Windows Defender settings and unchecked all options for smartscreen. Although i would still prefer not to disable it entirely , but I dont understand why it constantly needs high CPU usage. Instead of using occasionally.


    I don't know why it is generating high CPU usage either. Might want to try this... disable Smartscreen completely and see what happens.
    There are two registry patches here... one to disable and another to re-enable Smartscreen.


    disable-enablesmartscreen.zip


    Might have to reboot after applying one of these... I don't remember.
    Some registry edits need a reboot before they will take effect, some don't.
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 32
    W10
    Thread Starter
       #5

    Whats the difference between disabling it normally and disabling via registry? I already tried it normal way and im still getting high CPU usage.
      My Computer


  6. Posts : 23,014
    Win 10 Home ♦♦♦19045.4239 (x64) [22H2]
       #6

    pablo239 said:
    Whats the difference between disabling it normally and disabling via registry? I already tried it normal way and im still getting high CPU usage.

    I honestly don't remember.
    I do know that about a year ago, I wanted to completely disable Smartscreen, and just turning it off didn't work.
    This reg patch DID work.

    Here is what the Disable Smartscreen reg patch does...


    smartscreen.exe causing high CPU usage-image1.png



    There's no guarantee that this will solve the CPU usage issue though. But it comes with TWO reg patches.
    One to Disable, and another to Re-enable.
    So it's easy to test.
      My Computer


  7. Posts : 1,604
    Win 10 home 20H2 19042.1110
       #7
      My Computers


  8. Posts : 5,443
    Windows 11 Home
       #8

    You can remove the file completely, if disabling it does not work.
    Code:
    Remove Smartscreen (to restore run "sfc /scannow")
    takeown /s %computername% /u %username% /f "%WinDir%\System32\smartscreen.exe"
    icacls "%WinDir%\System32\smartscreen.exe" /grant:r %username%:F
    taskkill /im smartscreen.exe /f
    del "%WinDir%\System32\smartscreen.exe" /s /f /q

    Ghot said:
    Here is what the Disable Smartscreen reg patch does...
    You should remove the old Edge ("EnabledV9") and implement the new one.
    Code:
    rem Off - Disable Windows SmartScreen / On - Enable Windows SmartScreen 
    reg add "HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer" /v "SmartScreenEnabled" /t REG_SZ /d "Off" /f
    
    rem 0 - Disable SmartScreen Filter in Microsoft Edge / 1 - Enable
    reg add "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Edge\SmartScreenEnabled" /ve /t REG_DWORD /d "0" /f
    
    rem 0 - Disable SmartScreen PUA in Microsoft Edge / 1 - Enable
    reg add "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Edge\SmartScreenPuaEnabled" /ve /t REG_DWORD /d "0" /f
    
    rem 0 - Disable Windows SmartScreen for Windows Store Apps / 1 - Enable
    reg add "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\AppHost" /v "EnableWebContentEvaluation" /t "REG_DWORD" /d "0" /f
      My Computer


 

  Related Discussions
Our Sites
Site Links
About Us
Windows 10 Forums is an independent web site and has not been authorized, sponsored, or otherwise approved by Microsoft Corporation. "Windows 10" and related materials are trademarks of Microsoft Corp.

© Designer Media Ltd
All times are GMT -5. The time now is 06:30.
Find Us




Windows 10 Forums