svchost.exe(netsvcs) consuming 25% of CPU and running non-stop on my Windows 7 laptop?

It has already been established that by following the other discussions Windows Update can be made to behave.

If you are only choosing to follow parts of the advice Windows Update will probably continue to misbehave.

Why don't you install KB3172605 and then see if you still have the problem.

After that, you don't really have to set Windows Update to NEVER to solve the problem but that is the recommended setting so you can check for updates yourself on your own terms and install only the updates YOU want which might not be all the updates Microsoft thinks you need.

If you do want to investigate it further you do not need the instructions from TechNet (involving Process Explorer) to figure out the problematic Service - everything you need is in Task Manager.

Here's how to do that from another topic:

You don't need Process Explorer to see what Services are running and taking the most CPU under a svchost (if that is what you are saying).  Everything you need is in Task Manager.

When you see the svchost Process running in Task Manger remember that what it is doing is "hosting" important Windows Services underneath it.  That is why it is called svchost - it is hosting services.  That is what is says in the description column in Task Manager:

What you want to see in Task Manger with the biggest number in the CPU column is System Idle Process which is the amount of "free time" your CPU has - the more the better.

There might be one Windows Service running under a svchost Processes or there might be many Windows Services running under each svchost Process that you see in Task Manager.

It is normal to see several to many svchost Process running at the same time since there are sometimes lots of Windows Services that are running on your system.  Normally the svchost Processes consume very little system resources (CPU and RAM) but sometimes one of them may appear to be running amok.

Often the problem has something to do with Windows Update and some of the "solutions" you might read about involve disabling all or parts of Windows Update and that may make the symptom of the problem go away but does not actually fix the problem.  It is much better to actually fix the problem than it is to just fix the symptom of the problem.

You might also read about a "memory leak" in svchost.exe but there is no memory leak in svchost.exe.  That idea comes from folks that don't know how to troubleshoot a svchost process that is running amok. 

If there was a memory leak in svchost.exe than ALL the svchost processes would be running amok (and they're not).  If there was a memory leak in svchost.exe every system is the world would be having this problem (and they're not).

The problem is always something going wrong with some Windows Service that is being hosted by the svchost Process.  There is no memory leak in svchost.exe.

A Problem with Windows Update has been plaguing systems for months and one of the symptoms of the problem is a svchost Process that is running amok using too much CPU and RAM, causing systems to overheat, cooling fans spinning out of control, etc.

If you have not already done so you should start by applying one of these two discussions to your system to be sure that a known problem with Windows Update has been fixed (do this first):

There are two discussions that should help:

Windows update problems?   Read this first.

If after applying those known solutions to Windows update you still have a svchost Process that is running amok here is how you can figure out which Windows Service is causing the problem.

When you see the svchost that is running amok notice the Process ID (PID) which in this case the PID is 1088 (I choose check for updates to show some activity of 14% CPU), then right click the Process and choose Go to Services:

Click the PID column header to sort the Services by PID and in this example all of the Windows Services running under PID 1088 would be highlighted already.

And there is our friend Windows Update Service (wuauserv) running under PID 1088 and that could be normal but you can't see the CPU usage of these Services:

From there you can't see from there which service is using all the CPU or how much CPU any of the Services are using.

Next click the Performance Tab and then Resource Monitor (may have to minimize Task Manager to see Resource Monitor):

In Resource Monitor click the Services tab (sort by PID again if needed) and scroll to PID 1088 and you can see all the Services under PID 1088 and also how much CPU they are using.

In this example the Windows Update Service (wuauserv) is bouncing around looking for updates using 13-16% of CPU but on a Windows Update afflicted system it would probably be using more (and BITS would be there too).  As you can see the rest of the Services running under that svchost Process PID 1088 are using zero CPU:

So you don't really need Process Monitor (unless you are going to explain how to use it).

Here is an example from today where Windows update is set to Check for Updates, Windows Update Service and BITs are still enabled and running but not using any CPU - because I followed the procedure to fix Windows Update:

Lately, this is a common problem that happens to a lot of people.  This may not be the problem in your computer, but it is likely.  Try this:

1. Start globe
2. Type serv into the text box that pops up
3. Click on Services
4. Find Windows Update in the alphabetic list in that window
5. Right-click on Windows Update and choose Stop

In a minute or so, you should see that load disappear

If that works, then the problem is Windows Update.  Start it and change its setting to NEVER, then restart your computer. 

Now that you have done that, you have taken responsibility for updating your computer when you choose to do so.

That will break windows update.

Your idea does not fix the problem. 

Your idea removes the symptom of the problem and causes another problem.

Removing symptoms of the problem is not the same as fixing the problem.

I want to know, if there is a permanent solution to this issue. This is a problem being faced by many Windows 7 users, so will Microsoft going to release any update to solve this issue any time soon.

A svchost Process running amok is a symptom of a known problem with Windows Update that is easily fixed.

If you follow the advice from Canadian Tech and set Updates to NEVER and restart your system do you still have the issue?

You do not want to follow the advice in the other replies to disable important Windows Services and there is no memory leak in the svchost Process.  If there was they would all be afflicted and every system in the world would be having the same problems (and they're not).

You may want to go through either of these two discussions to be sure you have all the "right" things to fix some known problems with Windows Update:

For hundreds and perhaps thousands of systems the solution is usually very simple.

There are two discussions that should help:

Windows update problems?   Read this first.

Feel free to jump in to the discussions to tell of your success or still have issues or questions.