Security issues arise with WMI provider services unexpectedly.
Security issues arise with WMI provider services unexpectedly.
Initially, avoid terminating any Windows service as it likely has an ongoing task. If corruption persists, consider using sfc /scannow in CMD; if unsuccessful, a clean installation may be necessary. Ensure your machine remains powered on when high CPU usage occurs and delay shutdowns to allow completion of the process.
Enderman appreciated your reply. I initially just watched how things behaved over a few hours. What I found online suggested this activity shouldn’t happen quietly in the background, so likely either a rogue program or malware was involved—probably a virus. Because the process ID linked to the WMI errors came from network svchost, I suspected it wasn’t my own software, which led me to suspect infection. That’s why I decided to terminate it, booted safely, and perform a scan. I want to note that after killing it, it reappears only when I restart, and some Windows tools (like msconfig) stop functioning—something expected since the WMI provider shares system details with those programs.
Here’s a revised version of your update:
Just a heads-up for anyone who might face a similar situation later: I discovered two instances of wmiprvse.exe in Task Manager. When inspecting their properties, I found some interesting details. The one consuming most CPU resources wasn’t signed by Microsoft and was significantly larger—about 1.7MB compared to the usual 200kB for a legitimate file. After checking Services via MSCONFIG and hiding all Microsoft services, WMI appeared at the bottom, indicating Windows didn’t recognize it as a genuine process. Despite passing scans from Malwarebytes, anti-rootkit, and Windows Defender, I’m unsure if it’s harmful or just bothersome. I rebooted in safe mode to rename its folder, and so far everything seems fine. I also removed or disabled many background programs and unnecessary dependencies.
I discovered this yesterday while my PC was acting unusually loud. I checked Task Manager and saw the service in question. Searching online, many suggested ending the process with a right-click. That didn’t help. I read various guides that recommended full virus scans, troubleshooting via command line in safe mode, disabling services through the command line, and restarting everything. None resolved the issue. I was ready to ask my own question but found yours useful. Following your steps, I noticed WMI at the bottom of the services list as a non-Microsoft service. I rebooted in safe mode, changed the file name to C:/windows/wmi and restarted from my desktop. So far it’s running at just 2% CPU instead of around 42%. I’m unsure what caused this. Since I haven’t used my desktop much this year—mostly on my laptop—I don’t recall anything similar before the New Year when I was using it daily. Thanks for your assistance!
It might be related to a Microsoft update. My latest Windows updates showed the last installation on January 14th. When I renamed the folder, I recalled it being created on that date or something similar made me think about the file. A few days later everything worked fine again!