Windows 10 showing high idle CPU usage?
Windows 10 showing high idle CPU usage?
Hey there! Welcome back to the forum. I’m new here and really appreciate your support. Linus has shared so much about you in his videos, which helped a lot. Recently, I upgraded some components—motherboard and RGB lighting—and reinstalled Windows 10. After a couple of weeks, I noticed my system was using about 30% CPU even when idle. I thought formatting the boot drive and starting over would help, but after reinstalling Windows and updating everything, the CPU usage still stayed around that level. In Task Manager, it’s still hovering near 30%. The top processes are “System” (11-12%) and a diagnostics service (8-10%), especially the diagnostics policy service. I guessed it might be driver-related, so I checked for the latest Windows updates, motherboard drivers, GPU drivers, and USB device drivers. I also updated my drive firmware and refreshed the BIOS on both the motherboard and graphics card. No improvement. I tried running the Windows Performance Toolkit and focused on “ntoskrnl.exe” and “ntdll.dll,” but nothing changed. I spent two days researching online, silencing Windows notifications, making registry changes, running virus scans, and even updating drivers via Device Manager. Still stuck. Do any of you have ideas? I’ve listed my hardware: CPU Intel i7-4770, motherboard Asus Z97-P, 16GB DDR3 RAM (1600MHz), Gigabyte GTX 1080 G1, PSU Corsair CX550M, Crucial 500GB SSD for boot, Samsung 750 EVO 500GB, Samsung 840 EVO 120GB, WD HHD 2TB. The cooler is a Corsair 100i V2 (overkill). I’ve connected everything properly with USB headers and drivers installed. I’ve also used a USB Wi-Fi dongle with fresh drivers for years without issues. Hope this helps someone else! Thanks! David
I've seen in the past that most Windows tracking tools consume a lot of system resources. When setting up Windows, choose the custom option and disable all features. Update: Windows updates can also be heavy, so it's best to download them manually when needed, as they use resources during startup.
Perform a clean installation with a custom setup. Set up a local account instead of an MS account. Remove all telemetry and Cortana-related options. Execute a tool such as Delete Windows Spy to eliminate hidden telemetry and services. Remember to run Regedit to disable any silent installation that might be hiding games like Candy Crush.
Thanks for the ideas! I’ll reinstall Windows and attempt to turn off all settings (though I’m sure I did before). I’ll let you know what happens!
It was finally solved! My friend invested around five hours with me last night. Focused on the thread ACPI.SYS+0x1af7c, turned off all settings and saw no impact on CPU usage. Then I switched to Windows 10 Pro instead of Home and it worked perfectly. It was a bit mysterious how it happened, but thanks for your help!