Conhost.exe: How to Fix Console Window Host High CPU Usage

Console Window Host is a process that can be seen on the Task Manager as the “conhost.exe”. You can get this process more than once on the Task Manager, which can take up the system memory and most of the CPU time, thus making the computer unusable after some time. Here, the article will present you with various information in relation to the “conhost.exe” process and solutions to rectify any problems with the same.

About the Console Window Host Process

The Console Window Host or “conhost.exe” is an executing program, that helps on run the Command Prompt application along with another process which is ClientServer Runtime System Service or “crsrss.exe”. Since the “conhost.exe” process is related to the Command Prompt and “crsrss.exe” application, therefore it is very important for the machine to execute these processes all the time.

Reasons for the conhost.exe high CPU and memory Usage

There can be a plethora of causes on why this error may occur after all. Those reasons are as follows.

If the Windows OS is not up to date, then this glitch might appear.
When the device drivers are obsolete, you can even encounter this error.
If some system files are corrupted, then for that reason this issue can come up.
When some of the startup programs conflict with the “conhost.exe” process, even then there is a chance for you face this problem.

How to fix the conhost.exe Console Window Host Problem?

Here, you will get multiple methods that will help you to get rid of this issue from the computer.

A: Execute the SFC and DISM Commands

The corrupt system files or images can lead to the Console Window Host issue. Now, to rectify this problem, what you can do is run the SFC and DISM tools. The SFC or System File Checker is a tool that is built into Windows OS to look for any corrupt system files and restore them with the correct copy.

The DISM or Deployment Image Servicing and Management is another in-built tool available with Windows to prepare, change and repair the image files of the system. Get the steps here regarding how to run it.

First, right-click on the ‘Windows’ logo. This will open an ‘Options’ menu.
Now, from that menu locate and click on the ‘Search’ option. As soon as you click on that option, then a new default search area will come up.
On that area, type the following text “command prompt” and then from the results page that comes up locate the ‘Command Prompt’ option then right-click on the same.
Next, from the popup menu that comes up, find and choose the ‘Run as administrator’ option. This action will open a new window with the title ‘Command Prompt’.
Inside this window, type the following command – “sfc /scannow” and then hit the ‘Enter’ key to execute.
Once the execution of the SFC tool is complete, next, run another command – “DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth”. After that, press the ‘Enter’ key to run the command on the previous line.

B: Steps to do a Clean Boot

Sometimes, if some application during the startup, does not let the ‘Console Window Host’ process to run normally, then you can face this problem. Now, the correct answer to resolve this issue is to perform the clean boot. In order to do a clean boot process, follow the steps below.

First, tap on the combination of ‘Windows + R’ keys together. This will open a new ‘Run’ dialog box.
Within that dialog box, type the text “msconfig” on the blank area beside the ‘Open:’ label and then click on the ‘OK’ button.
As you click on that button, then a new ‘System Configuration’ dialog box will come up. Inside that dialog box, go to the ‘Services’ tab and click on it.
Under this tab, you will see all the services that are running or stopped currently on a list. Next, after that list, find the ‘Hide all Microsoft services’ option and put a checkmark on it and then click on the ‘Disable all’ button.
After that, on the ‘System Configuration’ dialog box, go to the ‘Startup’ tab. Inside that tab, click on the ‘Open Task Manager’ link.
At this time, a new dialog box having the name ‘Task Manager’ will come up with the ‘Startup’ tab already open.
Inside that tab, select every startup application from the list and tap on the ‘Disable’ button. Now, press the ‘OK’ button respectively for both the dialog boxes ‘Task Manager’ and ‘System Configuration’ respectively.
Lastly, start the computer once again and check if this problem reappears or not.

C: Update all the Device Drivers

If the device drivers of the computer are not up to date, then there is a chance for you to get the conhost.exe high CPU problem. The best solution to get rid of this problem is to perform an update of all the device drivers present within the system. To do that, follow the steps below.

First, press both the ‘Windows + X’ keys together, to launch the ‘Options’ menu.
Next, from that menu find the ‘Device Manager’ option and click on it. Once you click on that option, next, a new window titled ‘Device Manager’ will come up.
Inside that window, there will be a list full of all the devices installed within the computer. Along with the list of devices, you will get their respective drivers on a sublist.
Now, from the list locate the first device and double-click on it to reveal its driver on a sublist. Next, from the sublist choose the driver and right-click on the same.
Then, from the popup list that appears, select the ‘Update driver’ option. As you tap on that option, then a dialog box with two distinctive links will appear.
Among those two links tap on the initial one that says ‘Search automatically for updated driver software’.
Once you tap on that link, next, Windows will automatically look for any updates for the chosen device driver. If there an update available, then it will be downloaded and installed automatically.
Repeat the steps from fourth to seventh, in order to update the rest of the device drivers present on the list.
Once the update process of all the device drivers is complete, next, reboot the computer.
Finally, see if this problem still occurs or not.

D: Perform Windows Update

If you are still unable to fix conhost.exe high memory usage problem, then as the last solution, the only that you can do is update the Windows OS. Here are steps on how to do it.

First, click on the ‘Windows’ logo to show the ‘Start’ menu.
After that, in the menu, go to the left pane and tap on the gear icon. This action will launch a new window with the heading ‘Settings’.
Next, within that window, locate and click on the ‘Update & Security’ category. After that, from the new page that appears, navigate to the left side and then choose the ‘Windows Update’ option.
Now, move to the right side of that page and under the ‘Windows Update’ heading click the ‘Check for updates’ button.
As soon as you do that, then Windows will automatically search for any available update packages. If there are any, then those update packages will be shown on a list and automatically downloaded.
Once the download process of all the update packages on the list is complete, then tap the ‘Restart now’ button.
When the machine will restart, next, the installation process of all the downloaded update packages will begin one after the other.
At last, once the installation procedure of all the update packages is over, next, check to see if this problem still appears or not.

Frequently Asked Questions:

Is Conhost exe a virus?

Conhost.exe is usually completely secure and does not need to be deleted or tested for malware. It’s even common for this procedure to execute multiple times at the same moment.

Can I disable Conhost?

No, it’s not true. Conhost.exe is a console application host that is started automatically by programs like cmd.exe and powershell.exe. You’ll have conhost.exe in the background if any software you’re using requires a console host; otherwise, the program won’t work.

What happens if I delete Conhost exe?

To thoroughly remove the conhost.exe infection, delete all of the virus’s files first, and then delete the entire programme. Because removing the conhost.exe virus is a difficult and dangerous process, you must carefully follow each step in the instructions.