WMI Provider Host Fix 100% Step by Step Guide

Is your WMI Provider Host consuming a high amount of your CPU resources? Is your PC running slow due to this high disk usage problem? You’ve come to the right page. You can easily troubleshoot your problem using the methods provided in this guide.
WMI Provider Host (WmiPrvSE.exe) is a critical system process for Windows, which runs in the background. It allows applications on your computer to request and fetch information about other applications. For your operating system to perform optimally, you need this process running.
When running its normal operation, WMI will rarely consume noticeable system resources.
However, it’s not always that simple. Many users face the problem where WMI Host consumes a lot of system resources. It causes your CPU to heat up and the system behaves badly as a result.

What is WMI Provider and what does it actually do?

WMI (Windows Management Instrumentation) is built into your Windows OS to allow different programs communicate with the system. They can read system state and request information through Windows Management Instrumentation using WmiPrvSE.exe.
WMI only provides information to a program when it requests it. It’s often an important service for enterprises that need to manage multiple PC computers.
However, apps running on a home PC may also use this module to fetch critical information about drive encryption, event log, and information about other installed applications.
Apart from data communication, WMI Provider Host can also give you information about your system that’s not otherwise available through regular Windows interface. For example, you can use the command line to learn about your PC’s motherboard and serial number. You can also fetch the status of your hard drive health and so on.
Sometimes, WMI may slow down your PC due to high CPU usage. If that’s your problem, scroll down and continue reading this guide.

Why WMI uses so much CPU?

During its normal operations, WmiPrvSE.exe doesn’t use a lot of resources. It uses only 1%-2% of your CPU when it receives a request from another program. Now that’s normal and shouldn’t give you any sirens.
Nevertheless, sometimes this Windows component can misbehave and puts the load on CPU due to high memory usage. It indicates that something is wrong.
When this happens, you might face the following issues.
1- Unresponsive programs
2- Slow computer making it impossible to start new programs
3- CPU gets hot
4- Excessive lag when using an app on your computer

Quick troubleshooting solution for WMI Provider Host

If you have noticed high CPU usage due to WMI becoming unresponsive, it’s easy to fix. We have covered quite a few different approaches to solve this problem for you. Follow the steps below.

Step 1: Restart your computer

Restarting your Windows may help when WMI service results in high CPU usage. It’s a simple and easy way to troubleshoot this problem.
When you restart your computer, Windows start all over again. It means if something temporary is causing WMI to misbehave, it will be resolved using this easy step.
After the restart, note CPU usage. 99% of the times, it should solve your problem. If not, follow the other recommended steps to solve high CPU use problem.

Step 2: Restart Windows Management Instrumentation Service

Sometimes, you only need to restart WMI service to fix your problem. Follow the steps below.
1- Hold Windows key + R key
2- Alternatively, you can click Start and type Run to open Run dialogue box
3- When Run pops up, type “service.msc” and hit Enter
4- Locate Windows Management Instrumentation service on the next window
5- To make it quick, simply press W on your keyboard to go straight to services that start with ‘w’
6- Once located, right click on the service and choose ‘restart’
For the majority of users, this solves the WMI high CPU usage error. However, you may have to perform more troubleshooting steps if your problem persists.

Step 3: Repair and rebuild WMI

If restarting your computer didn’t fix the error, you can try to repair the WMI file.
1- Click Start in Windows
2- Type “Run” without quotes and hit Enter to open Run dialogue box
3- Type “Winmgmt /salvagerepository %windir%System32wbem” without quotes and hit Enter
4- If nothing happens, try alternate command “Winmgmt /resetrepository %windir%System32wbem”
5- Reboot your computer
This should reset WMI to the state when you installed your OS for the first time. Doing so should resolve high memory usage problem by repairing the corrupt WMI files.
When WMI is misbehaving due to a corrupt file, this step should fix the problem for you. If not, move to the next step below.

Step 4: Find what’s causing WMI high disk usage using Event Viewer process

WMI fetches information from other system components and apps. So, when WMI requires information from an unresponsive program or service, the request will not get through. It will cause high CPU usage.
To fix this, you need to know exactly what’s causing WMI to become unresponsive.
The good news is that you can easily figure out the real culprit by going to Event Viewer and doing some investigative work. Follow the steps below to fix your problem.
1- Click Start in Windows and type “Run”
2- Now hit Enter to open the Run dialogue box
3- Type “Event Viewer” and press Enter
4- Now from the top menu, go to View and enable “show analytic and debug logs”
5- In the left panel, navigate to Applications and Service Logs>Microsoft>Windows>WMI-Activity>Operational
6- Here you should be able to locate error events
7- Click on recent errors and find “ClientProcessId”
8- Note the ID number
Now input this ID number in Google. You will instantly know the name of the program that’s causing a problem for WMI.
You can either stop this program from Task Manager or simply uninstall the program. Afterwards, check CPU usage to confirm that you have solved the problem. If not, it could be due to more than one unresponsive program. Repeat the above process again to find out what other programs could be resulting in errors.

Our verdict

WMI Provider Host is an important process. If it’s misbehaving or causing high CPU usage, you should fix it on high priority. We hope the steps above will help you troubleshoot this error no matter what has caused it.

Petr is a serial tech entrepreneur and the CEO of Apro Software, a machine learning company. Whenever he’s not blogging about technology for itechgyan.com or softwarebattle.com, Petr enjoys playing sports and going to the movies. He’s also deeply interested about mediation, Buddhism and biohacking.

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