The ntoskrnl.exe high CPU usage error has been quite frequent in recent times and if you have faced it, you are probably looking for its solution without having to visit the experts.
There could be a number of causes of the ntoskrnl.exe error. It could be caused due to 100% disk usage, because of viruses, outdated drivers or other hardware or software issues, etc.
By Ntoskrnl.exe it means Windows NT operating system kernel executable which provides executive and kernel layer of Microsoft Windows NT kernel space.
There are several services in systems that the Ntoskrnl.exe is responsible for like hardware abstraction, process & memory management, and others.
Here, in this article, we will tell you the fixes to solve this Ntoskrnl.exe high memory usage Windows 10 with ease.
How to Fix this Issue ?
Follow the solutions listed down one after the other to fix the ntoskrnl.exe high CPU usage Windows 10.
1. Disable Superfetch Service
You can try disabling the superfetch service to fix the ntoskrnl.exe high CPU usage Windows 10 errors. Just follow the given steps to disable it:
- Press Windows key.
- Hit the Enter key after typing services.
- A list of all the services will appear in the service window.
- Look for the Superfetch service and open properties by double-clicking on it.
- Select the startup and set it to disable in the properties window.
- Then, click on the stop button.
- Click on the Apply button and then OK to save the changes.
Superfetch service is disabled after the above steps are performed and your ntoskrnl.exe high CPU usage Windows 10 problem will be fixed.
Similarly, you can also disable some of the other services like Windows search, Offline Files services, Remote Desktop Services UserMode Port Redirector, TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper and Remote Desktop Services if disabling the superfetch feature didn't work for you.
2. Update Drivers
The cause for the ntoskrnl.exe high CPU usage Windows 10 error can be corrupted or outdated drivers. So you can update your drivers to fix the error.
To update the drivers there are two options, you can either go manually by opening the device manager and searching the driver that is outdated and then looks for its update and download it.
You can also try the quick and the easy way. You can try the Driver Easy tool that will update the drivers automatically and also fix the driver-related issues automatically without causing any trouble.
3. Create and Execute a Registry File
You can fix the ntoskrnl.exe high CPU usage Windows 10 by creating a registry file and executing it and you can make further changes in it easily.
You can create a registry file by following the steps given below:
- Open the Notepad
- Then just put down the lines given below one after another
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMControlSet001ServicesTimeBroker]
“Start”=dword:00000003
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMControlSet001ServicesSysMain]
“DisplayName”=”Superfetch”
“Start”=dword:00000003
- Then just click on the File and select Save as.
- Set the Save as type to All Files.
- Then you can just name the file as a script.reg, and click on the Save button after selecting a location.
- Then move to where the file is saved and double click on it to run it.
- In the warning message click YES and continue.
The registry will then get modified automatically once the file is executed. Now you can check if the Create and Execute a Registry file issue is fixed.
4. Uninstall the Apps
When we say to uninstall the apps, it doesn't mean that you will remove all the programs from your PC, but only the ones that are of no use and just consume the space on your computer.\
You not only free up the space by uninstalling the apps but also fix the ntoskrnl.exe high memory usage Windows 10 issue.
By going to settings and then apps, you can uninstall the apps manually. Check for the apps that are not required any longer, select and click on it and then hit the uninstall button.
5. Stop the BlueStacks Services
An android emulator that can lead to ntoskrnl.exe high memory usage Windows 10 error is the Bluestacks service. To fix this issue you will have to create a bat file to stop the Bluestacks services.
You can follow the given steps to do this:
- Open the Notepad
- Put down the lines that are given below:
“C:Program Files (x86)BlueStacksHD-Quit.exe”
net stop BstHdUpdaterSvc
net stop BstHdLogRotatorSvc
net stop BstHdAndroidSvc
- Click on the File and select Save as.
- Set the Save as to All Files.
- Save the file in the desired location after naming the file as script.bat.
- Then just move to the script.bat file location and run it.
Bluestacks services will stop once the file is executed and the ntoskrnl.exe high memory usage Windows 10 issue will be solved.
6. Uninstall the Updates
A lot of memory is consumed by installing the updates every now and then and that can lead to ntoskrnl.exe high memory usage Windows 10. So you can try uninstalling the previous updates and see if that fixes the error.
To uninstall the updates follow the given steps.
- Press the Windows key.
- Move to settings.
- Select the Update & Security section.
- Then click on Windows update and then view Update history
- Click on uninstall updates from the list of all updates that appears on the screen.
- Then select the update that is to be uninstalled and remove it.
Then just restart your computer and check if the ntoskrnl.exe high memory usage Windows 10 remains.
7. In Chrome Disable the Hardware Acceleration
Another very effective fix of the ntoskrnl.exe high memory usage Windows 10 is to disable the hardware acceleration in chrome.
Just follow the given steps:
- First, open the Chrome browser.
- Select Settings after clicking on the Menu icon.
- Click on the Advanced option in the Settings tab.
- Then just turn off the toggle key of Use hardware acceleration when available after clicking on system.
Restart the chrome after disabling the hardware acceleration in chrome. The ntoskrnl.exe high memory usage Windows 10 issue should have been resolved by now.
8. Run the DISM Command
The Deployment Image Servicing and Management or the DISM can be used to prepare the Windows Preinstallation environment and to repair the system files that are corrupted.
The command could be checked out in this situation and see if it fixes the ntoskrnl.exe high memory usage Windows 10 error.
- Click on the Windows icon.
- Then type cmd and select run as administrator as you right-click on it.
- Type the commands mentioned below in the command prompt and hit enter one after the other:
DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /CheckHealth
DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /ScanHealth
DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth
Restart the computer after the command is executed and check if the issue is resolved.
Conclusion
The fixes that have been listed above should be enough to solve the ntoskrnl.exe high memory usage Windows 10 error.
