Why is "video.ui.exe" in my GPU activity list when I have nothing running on my PC except IE11?

Question

Is this a virus, malware, or a normal Windows process? If it is a normal process, why does it not appear all the time / what makes it appear?

Answer 1

According to multiple sources including several posts in these Microsoft Community forums the Video.UI.exe file is part of Xbox Live on Windows also known as Zune_Video.

"Video.UI.exe is part of Xbox LIVE® on Windows® and developed by Microsoft Corporation according to the Video.UI.exe version information."

So likely either IE11 uses this module for portions of it's display, something that was browsed like an online game invoked it or maybe it was invoked to perform some background task.

The LockApp.exe appears to be a similar file related to the Windows lock screen and also possibly others such as the "Hi. We've made some updates to your PC..." screen you get after feature updates.

Since both of these executables relate to video display functions contained within the video driver, it's not surprising that these have been offloaded to the GPU, since that removes processor load from the system CPU that's needed for the operating system and other programs.

I remember reading about Internet Explorer 9 a few years ago, performing GPU rendering in order to offload the system CPU from performing this task, as mentioned in the following Support article that indicates how to disable it.

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/2528233/how-to-enable-or-disable-software-rendering-in-internet-explorer

So it might make sense that within Windows 10 this has been formalized as a modular system app that's invoked to operate on the GPU whenever the browser is launched.

Rob

Answer 2

Hello Herman8tor,

I am sorry to hear that you are facing an issue with a very proactive Windows 10 threat prompts. In order to troubleshoot this issue, could you please provide more information?

1. A screenshot of the issue.
2. When and how does that occur?
3. What is your current Windows version?

Hope to hear from you soon,

Regards,

XP

Answer 3

I do not understand what you are saying before you ask for more information.

Answer 4

Windows 10 Pro , 64-bit Version 1803 / OS build 17134.137 installed 6/13/2018 , i7-7700 3.60GHZ , 16.0 GB RAM.

Both lockapp.exe and video.ui.exe show up in here for no identifiable reason.

Answer 5

Hello,

Could you provide more details about the issue you are facing?

If you have any capture or something else that could make us easier to understand the issue you are facing, it is highly appreciated that you to upload it to the question.

Thanks.