How to Fix System Idle Process Taking Too Much CPU

System Idle Process is a system process. If you see it taking high CPU usage (usually 98% and 99%), don’t be panic. If your PC runs normally, just leave it. If you want, read on to find more information about it.  If your PC is slow down, you can try the methods in this post.

Why is System Idle Process taking high CPU usage?
Usually, System Idle Process high cpu usage is not a problem. The process runs in background and would measure how much idle capacity that has at any given time. The high percent of cpu indicates that a large amount of process power is not being used. If it is at 100, 99 or 98%, you may see nothing is running in background but the System Idle Process. In this case, just leave it alone.
What if your PC is slow down?
If your PC is running slowly, it could be a problem. You can try methods below to resolve it.
First of all, We recommend, temporarily disable antivirus software, (If installed) and check if the system running smoothly.
Run system optimizer like CCleaner to clear junk, temp files and optimize system performance. That should help to fix Windows 10 slow performance.
On start menu search type check for updates and press enter key to check and make sure the latest Windows updates installed on your system.
Perform Windows 10 clean boot and check if laptop running smoothly. If yes there is some startup service conflict causing Windows 10 High CPU usage.
Method 1: Disable Startup Services
Some services, related to the System Idle Process, such as Windows Update, Superfetch can be the culprits of the high CPU on Windows 10. Temporary stop these service and check if this helps to fix Windows 10 High CPU usage.
1. Press Windows Keys + R, type services.msc and OK

2. This will open services console, scroll down and look for Superfetch
3. Right click on Superfetch select Properties,

4. Under General, locate Startup type and then set Disabled for it.

5. Now click stop the service and apply OK to make save changes.
6. Do the same process for BITs and Windows update service.
7. Now check Windows 10 running smoothly, there is no more 100 CPU usage.
Method 2: Disable some process at startup
1. On your keyboard, press Windows Keys+ R at the same time to invoke the run box. Type msconfig in the run box and click the OK button.

2. Click Open Task Manager. 

3. Select one item that you don’t need to open at startup and click the Disable button.

4. Repeat the Step 3 to disable all items that you don’t need to open at startup.

5. Check to see if your computer is still running slowly.
Method 3: Checking Drivers for problem
Drivers are key part of the operating system because Windows uses drivers in order to work with your hardware. If a certain driver is outdated, corrupted or incompatible with Windows OS there might be a memory leak, which results in high CPU & memory usage.
To check if the error is caused by a faulty drive, run an automatic driver update or manually update the drivers to the latest available versions. Install the latest drivers for any newly installed hardware device. If no new hardware has been installed, make sure you have the latest drivers for the below devices.

• Video card
• Network card or router (if present)
• Any removable or external disk drive

To manually check and update device driver:
1. Press Windows Keys+ R, type devmgmt.msc and OK

2. Here on Device manager display all installed driver list.
3. Check if any driver listed with yellow triangle mark.
4. Right click on it select update driver.
5. Select Search automatically for updated driver software

6. Follow on screen instructions to download and install the latest driver.
Otherwise, visit device manufacturer website, Download latest available driver software and install on your PC. Restart Windows to take effect the changes, check there is no more CPU, memory leak. System running smoothly without any problem. 
Method 4: Adjust Windows 10 Performance
Undoubtedly, the high CPU caused by System Idle Process can greatly impair the performance of your computer, so you have to adjust it on your own.
1. Open Control Panel.
2. On the top of the Control Panel window, search Performance.
3. Then choose to Adjust the appearance and performance of Windows from the results.
4. In Performance Options, under Virtual Effects, tick the box for Adjust for best performance. Then hit OK.

Method 5: Disabling Windows 10 Tips
Additionally, it appears that, in some cases, the notification system is at fault for the high CPU usage, and some users recommend disabling the Windows 10 tips from the very beginning to avoid this.
1. Press Windows Keys + I to open the settings app,
2. Click System  then Notifications & Actions
3. Here simply Turn off the toggle that says Show me tips about Windows.
4. If you’re already familiar with Windows 10, you should have no problem at all.
Method 6: Repair Corrupted system files
If Windows system files corrupted or missing you may experience High CPU usage or Slow performance. Run system file checker utility following steps below. That helps to restore them with correct ones and run Windows 10 smoothly.
1. From start menu search for Command Prompt. Right command prompt, select run as Administrator
2. At the command prompt type sfc /scannow and press enter key,

3. This will scan all protected system files, and replace corrupted files with a cached copy that is located in a compressed folder at %WinDir%System32dllcache.
4. Let the process complete 100% and restart windows.
5. Check if this helps to fix the Windows 10 High CPU usage problem.
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