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Microsoft System Protection Background Tasks high cpu issue

Anonymous
2014-12-29T21:34:47+00:00

On my Surface Pro 3 I have a process called Microsoft System Protection Background Tasks (srtasks.exe) that when left idle for a few minutes seems to take over and kick the processor up to 40% usage and will not stop.  This results in a very hot SP3 with the fan running full bore and my battery life drains very rapidly.  The device becomes unusable until I force it to restart.

When I say "will not stop" I mean the following:

A) I've let it run more than a reasonable amount of time to see what happens

B) I cannot terminate the process via task manager or via administrative prompt with "taskkill /f /pid ####"

C) The device will not shutdown or restart it just hangs at the shutdown or restarting screen indefinitely

When I say "force it to restart" I mean the following:

A) I must hold the power button for 30 seconds which cuts the power

B) I also have been trying this (see bottom of page): http://www.microsoft.com/surface/en-US/support/warranty-service-and-recovery/surface-pro-wont-turn-on  in order to "ensure the surface is turned off completely"

Things I have also tried:

sfc /scannow

dism /online /cleanup-image /restorehealth

Disabling all the Windows Defender tasks in the Task Scheduler

*I can only assume that it is related to Windows Defender but I honestly do not know.  I have actually been having problems identifying what exactly this process does other than what the name suggests.

I'm on the verge of "Refreshing" Windows 8.1 but I'm truly not a fan of having to do this.  I will if it comes to it.

I suppose my three questions are:

Is anyone else experiencing this issue?

What exactly is this process?

How can I fix this?

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Performance and system failures

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

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  1. Reported
    Anonymous
    2014-12-30T13:32:28+00:00

    Hello,

    Thank you for posting your query on Microsoft Community.

    I can understand that it must be upsetting for you. We will work towards fixing this issue for you.

    Microsoft system protection background executes under the SYSTEM account within Windows with extensive privileges on the local computer.

    High CPU usage can halt the system entirely, forcing you to manually shut down and restart the computer. There are several causes of high CPU usage, like Malwares they comes in many different forms---virus, Trojan, spyware, worm---and can increase, or even max out, CPU usage. The issue could also be due to Malfunctioning or Incompatible Software.

    I would appreciate if you can provide us the following information to help us understand the issue better?

    • Did you make any recent changes on your computer before this issue occurred?

    I would suggest you to follow the methods given below.

    Method 1. Run Performance Troubleshooter

    The Performance troubleshooter checks issues that might slow down your computer's performance, such as how many users are currently logged on to the computer and whether multiple programs are running at the same time.

    • Press windows key + X key.
    • then clicking Control Panel
    • In the search box, type troubleshooter, and then click Troubleshooting
    • Under System and Security, click System Maintenance.

    If issue didn’t get resolved try method 2

    Method 2:

    I would suggest you to try following steps and check

    Step 1: Try to login into Safe Mode.

    Boot the computer in Safe mode and check if the issue persists. Safe mode starts Windows with a limited set of files and drivers. Startup programs don't run in safe mode, and only the basic drivers needed to start Windows are installed.

    To go into safe mode refer the link given below

    Windows Startup Settings (including safe mode)

    http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-8/windows-startup-settings-safe-mode

    If the problem does not exist in safe mode, try to perform a clean boot and check.

    Step 2: Perform Clean Boot.

    Putting your system in Clean Boot state helps in identifying if any third party applications or startup items are causing the issue.

    Refer: How to perform a clean boot in Windows

    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929135

    Note: After troubleshooting, refer to this section "How to reset the computer to start normally after clean boot troubleshooting".

    If issue still didn’t get resolved try method 3

    Method 3: Run Microsoft Safety Scanner

    Run a full computer scan with the Microsoft Safety Scanner to make sure that the computer is virus free.

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

    Note: 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 this helps. If you have any other queries, please get back to us and we’d be happy to help.

    Thank you

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  1. Anonymous
    2015-10-21T12:27:17+00:00

    Exactly same problem in Windows 10!.

    It seems to be a bug, not a malware or virus...

    Anybody have found a fix to this?

    Regards to community

    300+ people found this answer helpful.
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  2. Anonymous
    2017-05-28T05:32:23+00:00

    if you find the same phenomenon like me：open Task Manager and find the srtasks 's full commind line column like this:  "C:\Windows\System32\srtasks.exe executescheduledsppcreation"

    then you can do this to solve it  :turn off the system Restore

    that's a  system Restore auto create restore point task in task scheduler mamanger, the srtasks high cpu because this task has problem,the simplest way is turn off it, i didn't has the ability to slove it :)

    the Left behind running srtasks may not be disappear with upon operates，please wait for them close itself,or hard restart the compulter

    btw: if you want to retain the system restore function， you can to only turn off the auto create point task in  task scheduler mamanger 's \Microsoft\Windows\SystemRestore folder

    40+ people found this answer helpful.
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  3. Anonymous
    2015-10-25T23:13:01+00:00

    Yup - in this regard Windows 10 SUCKS!!!!  EVERY time and I mean EVERY TIME my HP Envy i7 is left alone for a bit, the disc starts running NON STOP.  It WILL NOT STOP - after an hour.  Have to restart the computer.

    Task Manager says Microsoft® Windows System Protection background tasks running - up to 4 or  5 instances on and off.  ONE of the instances runs up to 80%-98% of my disc resources.

    ANYONE found a work around, fix (other than moving to an Apple, which MAY be the answer in the end - Microsoft doesn't seem to be addressing this issue at ALL!).

    20+ people found this answer helpful.
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  4. Anonymous
    2015-12-24T18:15:23+00:00

    This is my experience too, with exactly the same hardware. The machine is so slow now it is practically useless. It has only been happening since I "upgraded" to Windows 10. I have updated all the software and drivers but my favourite game FSX10 (Steam Edition) just gradually grinds to a halt. Internet searches take for ever, My PC registry cleaning s/w find errors but won't clean them. Everything just goes non-responsive. In my view Microsoft should be subject to a class action to reclaim some recompense for the hundreds of hours people have wasted trying to live with their horrendous Windows 10 product

    10+ people found this answer helpful.
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