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Top 10 Steps to Fix Windows Explorer Taking up a Lot of CPU

Learn top 10 steps to fix Windows explorer taking up a lot of CPU with clear steps, practical tips, and troubleshooting advice for a smoother, more.

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This practical guide walks through top 10 steps to fix Windows explorer taking up a lot of CPU, explains the main requirements, and highlights common issues that may appear along the way.

Top 10 Steps to Fix Windows Explorer Taking up a Lot of CPU

Windows Explorer is lightweight, but sometimes it crashes and takes up too much CPU. If so, don't worry, please use the methods below to fix it.

1. Use anti-virus software

Sometimes Windows Explorer error takes up a lot of CPU and RAM on Win 10 can happen because the computer has been infected with certain malware. The quick measure now is to use anti-virus software to remove the malware and regain speed for your PC.

Review the best antivirus software, download and install to fix full load explorer.exe error.

2. Turn off the cloud storage application

According to many users, sometimes this problem can be caused by cloud storage services like Dropbox or OneDrive. These services can automatically sync files in the background and that can cause Windows Explorer to take up a lot of CPU and RAM on Win 10.

To fix the problem you can turn off OneDrive and uninstall Dropbox temporarily to see if that solves the problem.

If you have difficulty in the process of uninstalling them then try an uninstaller software like IObit Uninstaller. This software will delete all files and registry entries associated with the application, ensuring that there are no remaining files that could affect the system.

2. Turn off the cloud storage application — Top 10 Steps to Fix Windows Explorer Taking up a Lot of CPU

3. Delete old and temporary files

Press the shortcut key Windows + Sand type: disk

Select Disk Cleanup.

3. Delete old and temporary files — Top 10 Steps to Fix Windows Explorer Taking up a Lot of CPU

Select the partition containing your operating system (default is drive C) then click OK.

3. Delete old and temporary files — Top 10 Steps to Fix Windows Explorer Taking up a Lot of CPU

Your PC will now scan the selected drive. This usually takes a few seconds.

Select unneeded old files and delete them then click OK.

If you want, you can click the Clean system files button to remove additional files.

3. Delete old and temporary files — Top 10 Steps to Fix Windows Explorer Taking up a Lot of CPU

4. Clean your computer with CCleaner software

4. Clean your computer with CCleaner software — Top 10 Steps to Fix Windows Explorer Taking up a Lot of CPU

Delete temporary files, cookies, history and other files from your computer. This cleaning software will likely help you fix the Windows Explorer error that takes up a lot of CPU and RAM on Win 10.

5. Check the icons on the screen

5. Check the icons on the screen — Top 10 Steps to Fix Windows Explorer Taking up a Lot of CPU

Sometimes explorer.exe activity takes up a lot of RAM and CPU can happen due to your desktop having too many icons, files and shortcuts (shortcuts). To fix the problem, simply delete the files / shortcuts from the desktop, especially the broken shortcuts (source files have deviated from the path or deleted).

6. Update the operating system

Press the key combination Windows + Ito open Settings and select Update & Security settings.

6. Update the operating system — Top 10 Steps to Fix Windows Explorer Taking up a Lot of CPU

Click the Check for updates button .

6. Update the operating system — Top 10 Steps to Fix Windows Explorer Taking up a Lot of CPU

Windows will check for updates and automatically download / install them in the background.

Restart your PC and check to see if the problem is fixed.

7. Turn off services and applications that start with Windows

Press the key combination Windows + Rthen type: msconfig and click OK.

7. Turn off services and applications that start with Windows — Top 10 Steps to Fix Windows Explorer Taking up a Lot of CPU

Go to the Services tab and check the option Hide all Microsoft services .

Click the Disable all button .

7. Turn off services and applications that start with Windows — Top 10 Steps to Fix Windows Explorer Taking up a Lot of CPU

Select the Startup tab and click Open Task Manager.

7. Turn off services and applications that start with Windows — Top 10 Steps to Fix Windows Explorer Taking up a Lot of CPU

Right-click all applications that start with Windows in the Startup section and select Disable . Do this until you turn off all applications.

7. Turn off services and applications that start with Windows — Top 10 Steps to Fix Windows Explorer Taking up a Lot of CPU

Return to the System Configuration window .

Click Apply and OK to save changes then restart your PC.

After your PC reboots, check to see if the problem is fixed. If not, turn on each service and application until you fix the problem.

8. Delete the contents of the Temp folder

8. Delete the contents of the Temp folder — Top 10 Steps to Fix Windows Explorer Taking up a Lot of CPU

Open the Temp folder under the following path:

 C: WindowsTemp

Delete all files inside the Temp folder.

Press the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + Shift + Escto open Task Manager.

Find Windows Explorer and right-click on it and select Restart.

After restarting Windows Explorer, the problem will be completely resolved.

9. Delete the audioses.dll file

Go to the following directory:

 C: / Windows / System32

Find audioses.dll and right-click and choose 'Cut'

9. Delete the audioses.dll file — Top 10 Steps to Fix Windows Explorer Taking up a Lot of CPU

Find the path to the following directory:

 C: / Windows / Sys / WOW64

Right-click and select " Paste" to paste the audioses.dll file here.

10. Using CHKDSK Scan

If the above nine methods that explorer.exe still runs full load RAM and CPU 100% then you can run CHKDSK to scan computer hard drive and find / fix the problem automatically.

Please perform the following simple steps to run CHKDSK.

Press the key combination Windows + S.

Search for 'cmd' then right-click and select Run as administrator. 10. Using CHKDSK Scan — Top 10 Steps to Fix Windows Explorer Taking up a Lot of CPU

Enter the following command and press Enter:

 chkdsk / f / r

10. Using CHKDSK Scan — Top 10 Steps to Fix Windows Explorer Taking up a Lot of CPU

Immediately enter Y and press Enter to confirm the hard drive scan after reboot.

After the scan is finished, check to see if the error explorer.exe taking up a lot of RAM has been fixed.

The tutorial on how to fix Windows Explorer taking up a lot of CPU and RAM on Win 10 is over. I believe that with these ten methods, anyone can fix Windows Explorer taking up a lot of CPU on Windows 10 simply.

Before leaving, don't forget to share this tip when you find it helpful!

Key Takeaways

Use the information above as a practical reference for top 10 steps to fix Windows explorer taking up a lot of CPU. Review each step carefully, confirm any requirements, and choose the option that best fits your situation.

FAQ

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Review the requirements, confirm that your device, software, or situation matches the instructions, and back up important data before making major changes.

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