Taskhost using resources only when machine is idle.

Question

Hello:  My laptop (windows 8.1) has started using a lot of resources (and becomes noisy from the cooling fan) only when it is sitting idle. Task Manager identifies "Host Process for Windows task" as the main culprit. I've searched through a number of threads on this topic and have done the following:

Note that I'm not an expert at this!

1. I tried Malwarebytes, Spybot Search and Destroy, and Microsoft Anti-Malware Signature package. Nothing comes up. Windows Defender is always running.
2. I used Process Explorer, which shows taskhost.exe as being the main culprit (using 25% CPU). But the again, it's hard to really figure out because taskhost.exe disappears from the list of processes not long after I start using the computer and looking into things in detail. Also, the list of processes running under taskhost is never displayed: when I hover over taskhost in Process Explorer, it just show the message "Path: error opening message". When I double-click on it, it show threads called "!RtlUserThreadStart".

Again, I'm not an expert, but am hoping to get some insights of why the computer is running so much when it should be idle.

Thanks.

Answer 1

Hi

Go to Control Panel/Administrative Tools/Task Scheduler.

On the View Tab, select the Show Hidden Tasks option. Click Custom and select all of the items in the list and click OK.

Click the Action Tab and select All Running Tasks. That list should be comparable to what you are seeing in Process Explorer.

In the center section, expand the Active Tasks Bar to see the Tasks that are scheduled to run in the next few days.

I normally use Process Explorer for this information since it is easier to navigate.

See the following link. (Note the menu on the left side of the page)

What's New in Task Scheduler:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/aa384138(v=vs.85).aspx

Regards

Answer 2

Hi

Taskhost .exe is working the way it was designed to work.

Among it's many functions, it is used to run most of the Scheduled Tasks on the system. This includes most of the many Maintenance Tasks.

It is designed to run in the background when the computer is idle. When it detects activity on the computer, it will pause and exit and wait until the computer is idle again before resuming.

There is also a new Taskhostex.exe in Windows 8x. It's my understanding that this new component handles all of the newer functions, such as running tasks associated with updating components like the Store Apps.

Regards

Thanks for the information. It's nice to know that taskhost is working as expected. But is there a way for me to figure out which scheduled task is causing the high cpu/fan noise when its idle? I've been concerned about a virus since it doesn't list the things that it's working on. Note that I can see everything that taskhostex.exe is working on when I look under the hood with Process Explorer. Is there a reason why I can't see the same for taskhost.exe?

Thanks for any extra information that may be available.

Answer 3

Hi

Taskhost .exe is working the way it was designed to work.

Among it's many functions, it is used to run most of the Scheduled Tasks on the system. This includes most of the many Maintenance Tasks.

It is designed to run in the background when the computer is idle. When it detects activity on the computer, it will pause and exit and wait until the computer is idle again before resuming.

There is also a new Taskhostex.exe in Windows 8x. It's my understanding that this new component handles all of the newer functions, such as running tasks associated with updating components like the Store Apps.

Regards