What To Do When EXE Files Hog CPU Power

What To Do When EXE Files Hog CPU Power..

Exe files are executable files that enable you to install and run programs on your computer. Although EXE files are one of the most important types of files, at times, different EXE files are known to make the system unstable by hogging system resources.

In this article we will discuss three EXE files, spoolsv.exe, csrss.exe and werfault.exe. We will understand what these programs do and ways to deal with them individually if you find them using large amounts of your system’s resources.

Spoolsv.exe:

The spoolsv.exe file is responsible for handling the printing processes on a Windows system. It is an important process as it queues different printing tasks. The process allows users to carry out other functions while different tasks are sequentially printed.

One drawback associated with this file is that at times, it has been noted to consume huge amounts of system resources. In fact, it is not uncommon to find the spoolsv.exe process using 99% or 100% CPU resources. You can follow the steps listed below if you encounter this problem on your machine:

Go to Start, Settings and select Control Panel.
Double click on Administrative Tools icon and then on Services icon.
In the Service window locate and right click on Print Spooler and click on Stop option.
Leave the Service window open and now open My Computer and browse to the following folder:

C:\Windows\system32\spool\PRINTERS

Now, delete all the files present in the Printers folder.
Go back to the Services window, right-click on Printer Spooler and then, choose Start to re-enable the service.

Csrss.exe:

The csrss.exe file is associated with Microsoft Client Server Runtime Server Subsystem and is used to manage graphical instruction sets on a Windows system. On certain occasions, you may find the csrss.exe process showing 100% CPU usage. This usually happens when the user profile with which you are logged on is corrupt.

To correct this problem, you need to delete your existing profile. Before proceeding, make a backup of your files located in the My Documents folder. Follow the steps below to delete your existing profile:

Log off from your PC and log on again as an administrator.
Open My Computer and click on Properties.
Open the Advanced tab page and then in the User Profiles section click settings.
Choose the corrupt profile and select Delete

WerFault.exe:

The werfault.exe process is associated with Windows Error Reporting service in Windows Vista. The Windows Error Reporting feature enables users to obtain solutions from Microsoft regarding errors related to the operating system, Windows features and applications.

Like the other two EXE processes discussed in the article, at times, the werfault.exe process too has been observed to consume 100% CPU resources. If you are using Windows Vista and find that the WerFault.exe process is clogging your system resources, then we recommend you follow the below steps to turn this process off.

Open the Control Panel window.
Select System and Maintenance and locate Problem Reports and Solutions.
Now, select Change Settings and then click on Advanced Settings. You can opt to turn off this feature here.