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lukaszbyjos's avatar
lukaszbyjos
Copper Contributor
Sep 11, 2023

High cpu usage by services.exe "Services and Controller app"

Hi, since I think 2 weeks I have issue with high cpu usage by "Services and Controller app" (in Task manager) and services.exe (in Process Explorer). 
I was trying to boot in safe mode and with all non windows services disabled but still it was consuming even 90% of CPU making my laptop VERY hot and all apps lagging. Even now writing this message I get input lags. 

What other steps for debug can I do to find cause of this issue? Currently I'm on 

version 10.0.22631.2271

4 Replies

  • LeonPavesic's avatar
    LeonPavesic
    Silver Contributor

    Hi lukaszbyjos,

    Let's simplify the troubleshooting steps:

    1. Check for Windows Updates:

      • Make sure your Windows is updated. 
    2. Identify the Service:

      • Open Task Manager, find "Services and Controller app" (services.exe), and see which service is causing the high CPU usage. Note its name and description. Something the name and description can be fake or "masked" as "AntiVirus Service" for example.
    3. Restart the Troublesome Service:

      • Try restarting the service you identified.
      • Go to "Services" (search for it), find the problematic service, right-click, and choose "Restart."
    4. Scan for Malware:

    5. Resource Monitor:

      • Use Resource Monitor (search for resmon.exe) for more detailed resource usage info.
    6. Run System File Checker (SFC):

      • Open Command Prompt (CMD) as admin and run sfc /scannow to check for and fix corrupted system files.
    7. System Restore:

      • If the issue started recently, use System Restore to go back to a time when your computer was working well.

        You can also use this as a reference:

        High CPU (>90%) caused by "Services and Controller App" - Microsoft Community


        Please click Mark as Best Response & Like if my post helped you to solve your issue.
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        Kindest regards,


        Leon Pavesic

    • lukaszbyjos's avatar
      lukaszbyjos
      Copper Contributor

      LeonPavesic HI
      1. I'm running latest version updated even today one  10.0.22631.2271
      2. There is no service which have that high cpu usage which is weird. 


      3. Its not possible to identify service. 
      4. I was scanning with Microsoft Defender and nothing was found, maybe I'll try to use something else too. 
      5. Nothing suspicious unfortunately

      6. Ok I will
      7. Not an option as I don't know exact date when it was ok 😕 Thats why I'd like to know any debug steps to find cause of it. 

      • lukaszbyjos's avatar
        lukaszbyjos
        Copper Contributor

        Sfc found nothing as well as Malwarebytes. CPU is still on high use by services.exe 😕

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