How to Fix WUDFHost.exe High CPU Usage Windows 10

Amanda Gao
4 min readFeb 4, 2021

The WUDFHost.exe file is a trustworthy software component of Microsoft Windows. As a critical system process, WUDFHost.exe is associated with the Windows User-Mode Driver Framework Host which is the communication agent for hardware devices on Windows operating system. Commonly, you can find the file in the path of C:\Windows\System32.

This process can provide stability for your computer and doesn’t cause any harm to your device. However, some users are experiencing the WUDFHost.exe high CPU usage and the system cannot run properly. How to fix the problem? Below are some feasible solutions to WUDFHost.exe high CPU usage Windows 10, and you can try them one by one.

Fix 1: Scan for Virus and Malware

Although the WUDFHost.exe itself is safe and won’t harm your system, some viruses or malware may be disguised as WUDFHost to escape detection and prevent your system work properly. So, if you notice the abnormal CPU usage by WUDFHost.exe, you can use antivirus software to scan for viruses and malware.

If you don’t have any third-party security application, you can make use of the built-in Windows Defender antivirus. Here’s what you need to do:

This tool will start checking all files and running programs on your hard disk, and you just need to wait for the process to complete.

Fix 2: Disable Intel Wireless Gigabit 17265 User Mode Driver

According to the reports from some affected users, the Intel Wireless Gigabit User Mode Driver could also lead to the WUDFHost.exe high CPU and they’ve fixed the problem by disabling the driver.

If you are using the driver on your Windows 10 computer, you can disable it by following the steps below.

Step 1: Right-click the Start button and choose Device Manager to open it.

Step 2: Double-click the Intel Wireless Gigabit Drivers category to expand it.

Step 3: Right-click your Intel Wireless Gigabit User Mode Driver and choose Disable device.

Step 4: Click the Yes button in the pop-up dialog to confirm the operation.

After that, you can restart your computer and check if the CPU usage by WUDFHost.exe goes down. If the problem still exists, you can re-enable the driver and move on to the next solution.

Fix 3: Use System File Checker

System File Checker is a Windows built-in utility that helps users to scan protected system files and repair the missing or corrupted ones by replacing them with the cached copy. If you encountered the WUDFHost.exe high CPU, you can also use the utility to solve the problem.

You just need to:

Step 2: Input cmd and press Ctrl + Shift + Enter to open Command Prompt as an administrator.

Step 3: Type the command sfc /scannow and press Enter to start the system scan.

Wait patiently until the verification is 100% completed. Then, you can restart your computer and open Task Manager to check if the WUDFHost.exe high CPU usage problem is resolved.

Fix 4: Disable NFC

Fix 5: Clean Boot Your Computer

Besides, if there are some potential software conflicts on your computer, you might also encounter the WUDFHost.exe high CPU issue. If the problem appears just after you install a certain application, you can try disabling or uninstalling it. If you cannot find out the problematic software, you can clean boot your computer.

Step 1: Open the Run window, input msconfig, and click OK to open System Configuration.

Step 3: Switch to the Startup tab and click Open Task Manager. In the new window, disable all the listed programs.

If the WUDFHost.exe high CPU issue is resolved successfully, you can go to enable these disabled services and programs one by one to figure out the problematic one. Then, you can keep the item disabled or remove it from your computer.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Position: Columnist

Amanda has been working as English editor for the MiniTool team since she was graduated from university. She enjoys sharing effective solutions and her own experience to help readers fix various issues with computers, dedicated to make their tech life easier and more enjoyable.

She has published many articles, covering fields of data recovery, partition management, disk backup, and etc. In order to provide more useful tips and information, she is still committed to expand her technical knowledge.

Originally published at https://www.partitionwizard.com on February 4, 2021.

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