Microsoft windows search filter host is burning my cpu usage.

I had the same problem and the advice on this page didn't help that much. troubleshooter was obviously incapable of finding a "problem" after literally hours of high cpu usage on my laptop.

Try this:

go to control panel... choose to view as small icons... then select indexing options

or search for indexing options

open it

advanced

choose rebuild from the troubleshooting section (DOH)

it would seem that an error in the index is causing this high cpu usage. I'm no expert but this solved the problem for me. windows search momentarily doesn't work... but the index is rebuilding so it will be ok.

it has nothing to do with indexing locations... I added the entire drive in the index and cpu usage dropped immediately after choosing to rebuild to 5%-10%.

there is a way of uninstalling windows search from programs in control panel. it's just a windows "feature". but I would advise against this as I have already tried that... and the windows 8.1 menu seems a little sluggish after this (also the OS in general).

The issue is Windows search.  Just disable it.  Granted you wont be able to search for files and folders, but it'll resolve your issue for the time being.

Click Start>type services.msc>scroll down to Windows Search>Stop the Service>Then right click and select properties>set it to either manual or disabled.  Issue resolved.

You can actually still search :) It just has to physical scan the hard drives, etc and it takes much longer. Usually if you let windows search run overnight, it will do what it needs to do then calm down.

It should only get "excited" for short periods of time when you add new programs, files, etc to the computer.

I have an 8 core system clocked at 4.5Ghz. At the moment searchfilterhost.exe is scanning and has opening about 75+ files it's indexing. My CPU use is about 1%... now HARD DRIVE use is another matter.. only 1-5MBytes/sec.. and a queue length of 0.8 on my C drive and 0.1 on my d: drive

Right after I install a program to C: or D: , it grind the hard drives like crazy for 10 mins or so then calms down...

The problem is, when you are using your computer, this is supposed to be a BACKGROUND task in 2 areas: 1) CPU use, 2) hard drive use... the CPU use usually works as intended... but the "background" use is still pretty heavy use... Microsoft needs to slow the indexer WAY down when using the computer to about 10% of it's top speed.. then 100% after the computer has been idle for xxx mins

Hi,

Thank you for posting in the Microsoft Community.

I am sorry for the inconvenience.

As I understand, “Microsoft windows search filter host is burning the cpu usage". Am I correct?

SearchFilterHost.exe is the process for Windows Search. It is involved in indexing, caching, etc.

Let us try the following methods and see if thet helps:

Method 1: I would suggest you to run “Search and Indexing” troubleshooter to diagnose the exact issue.

Follow these steps:

a.       Press “windows key + W” on your keyboard.

b.      Type “Troubleshooting” without quotes in the search box and hit enter.

c.       Select “View all” from the left panel.

d.      Select “Search and Indexing” and follow the on-screen instructions.

Method 2: I would suggest you to try disabling the .XML file extension from being indexed in the Indexing Options and check if the issue is fixed.

Refer the folowing steps:

a)      Press “windows key + c” on the keyboard.

b)      Select Settings

c)       Type Indexing Options, and select indexing options from the search

d)       Click Modify.

e)       To add or remove a location, select or clear its check box in the Change selected locations list, and then click OK.

f)        If you don't see all locations on your computer in the list, click Show all locations. (If all locations are listed, Show all locations won't be available.)  If you're prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.

g)       If you want to include a folder but not all of its subfolders, click the folder, and then clear the check box next to any subfolder that you don't want to index. These folders will appear in the Exclude column of the Summary of selected locations list.

Method 3: Additionally you may also perform a full system scan using the Microsoft Safety Scanner to eliminate any issues related to virus/malware.

http://www.microsoft.com/security/scanner/en-us/default.aspx

Important Notes:

·         The Microsoft Safety Scanner expires 10 days after being downloaded. To rerun a scan with the latest anti-malware definitions, download and run the Microsoft Safety Scanner again.

·         Any data files that are infected may only be cleaned by deleting the file entirely, which means there is a potential for data loss.

Hope the information helps. If you need further assistance, please reply. We will be happy to help you.