Service Host High CPU usage

Question

Service Host: Local Service (No Network) (3) and Service Host: Internet Connection Sharing (ICS) combined are using 30% of my laptop's i7-5600 CPU.

I've taken the following measures suggested by the internet to no avail:

Disabled Windows Search

Disabled Superfetch

Disabled Windows Tips

Set MSISupported key to 0

Set BITS to manual

Ran CCleaner

Processes running under Local Service: Windows Defender Firewall, CoreMessaging, and Base Filtering Engine

Processes running under Internet Connection Sharing: Internet Connection Sharing

I am running Norton, so so I can't Windows Defender defaults.

I'd like to fix this without doing a complete reinstall of Windows 10 or breaking this computer. Thanks!

Answer 1

Hi Triangleman7, I am Rob, an independent and a 10 time and dual award MVP specializing in Windows troubleshooting and Bluescreen analysis. Please remember as independents we are not responsible for the development of Windows or the computer hardware and drivers. If you will work with me I will be here to help until the issue is resolved.

Frankly Norton could well could have caused the problem. So I would fully uninstall it and then run the Norton Removal Tool to prevent trouble causing remnants. Use Windows Defender instead which is a full antivirus in Windows 8/8.1 and 10.

Norton Removal Tool

http://us.norton.com/support/kb/web_view.jsp?wv...

List of anti-malware program cleanup/uninstall tools

http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/protect/wiki...

Uninstallers (removal tools) for common antivirus software

http://kb.eset.com/esetkb/index?page=content&am...

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If needed use these methods:

If using an SSD or hybrid hard drive be sure it has the latest firmware.

Try the Clean Boot method to see if a startup program is involved - if so it is a process of elimination :

Right Click the start button - Command Prompt (Admin) OR Windows PowerShell (Admin) - at the prompt type in

MSCONFIG

and hit enter

How to perform a clean boot in Windows

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/929135

Other programs to help :

Autoruns - Free - See what programs are configured to startup automatically when your system boots and you login. Autoruns also shows you the full list of Registry and file locations where applications can configure auto-start settings.

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals...

Process Explorer - Free - Find out what files, registry keys and other objects processes have open, which DLLs they have loaded, and more. This uniquely powerful utility will even show you who owns each process.

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals...

Process Monitor - Free - an advanced monitoring tool for Windows that shows real-time file system, Registry and process/thread activity. It combines the features of two legacy Sysinternals utilities, Filemon and Regmon, and adds an extensive list of enhancements including rich and non-destructive filtering, comprehensive event properties such session IDs and user names, reliable process information, full thread stacks with integrated symbol support for each operation, simultaneous logging to a file, and much more. Its uniquely powerful features will make Process Monitor a core utility in your system troubleshooting and malware hunting toolkit.

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/d...

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Check in Event Viewer for possible references.

Using Event Viewer to Troubleshoot Problems

https://www.howtogeek.com/school/using-windows-...

FullEventLogView - Free is a simple tool for Windows 10/8/7/Vista that displays in a table the details of all events from the event logs of Windows, including the event description. It allows you to view the events of your local computer, events of a remote computer on your network, and events stored in .evtx files. It also allows you to export the events list to text/csv/tab-delimited/html/xml file from the GUI and from command-line.

http://nirsoft.net/utils/full_event_log_view.html

TIP : Options - Advanced Options - allows you to see a time frame instead of the whole file - set it to a bit before and after the time of the EVENT.

Please let us know the results and if you need further assistance. Feedback definitely helps us help all.

Answer 2

I'm Greg, an installation specialist and 8 year Windows MVP, here to help you.

I would uninstall any 3rd party antivirus and try running the built-in Defender which offers best WIndows performance with fewest issues, and is from Microsoft who knows how to protect their OS best. In particular uninstalling Norton often solves problems for all the years I've been helping in forums daily.

Go over this checklist to make sure the install is set up correctly, optimized for best performance, and any needed repairs get done: http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wiki...

Start with Step 4 to turn off Startup freeloaders which can conflict and cause issues, then Step 7 to check for infection the most thorough way, then step 10 to check for damaged System Files. Then continue with the other steps to go over your install most thoroughly.

Update your drivers from the PC's Support Downloads web page. Compare the latest drivers with the ones presently installed in Device Manager reached by right clicking the Start Menu. Make sure you have the latest BIOS, Chipset, Display (Video), Sound, USB3, Bluetooth, Network and all other drivers, or else download and install the latest now.

If nothing else helps then run a Repair Install by installing the Media Creation Tool and choosing from it to Upgrade Now. This solves many problems and will also bring it up to the latest version which you need anyway and by the most stable method. http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-10/m...

But remember that Factory or Upgrade installs are inferior installs which most enthusiasts won't even run because they'd expect endless issues. Consider doing the Clean Install in this link which compiles the best possible install that will stay that way as long as you stick with the tools and methods given: http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wiki...

There is also an automated Refresh that reinstalls WIndows while shedding corrupting factory bloatware, saves your files, but doesn't clear the drive to get it cleanest: https://www.howtogeek.com/265054/how-to-easily-...

I hope this helps. Feel free to ask back any questions and let us know how it goes. I will keep working with you until it's resolved.