[Fixed] MsMpEng.exe High CPU Usage

MsMpEng.exe or ‘antimalware service executable’, is known as spyware, anti-malware, or native antivirus program of Windows 10. It runs in the background of the system. This program scans for the virus and takes the necessary steps to prevent any further damage to the system. 

But, it is a resource-based program and uses a lot of memory and causes the system to shut down or even lead 100% Disk Usage problems. If you are also stuck with the ‘MsMpEng.exe high CPU usage’ issue, then go through the below section to get rid of it. 

Easy Hacks to Fix MsMpEng.exe High CPU Usage on Windows 10

There are a number of ways to solve this issue. Here, we are going to discuss the ones that can help you at the earliest. So, take a glance:

Procedure 1: Prevent Windows Defender to Scan its Own Folder

By preventing Windows Defender from scanning files you can also solve this problem. To do this, you can take a quick glance at the steps provided below: 

1. In the beginning, go to the Start menu and type “virus & threat protection” in the search box. Hit the Enter key to continue. 
2. Afterward, click on the ‘Virus & threat protection settings’ button. Scroll down the page and go to the bottom. Tap on the ‘Add or remove exclusions’ button. 
3. Now, tap on the ‘Add an exclusion’ option and then tap on the Folder button. 
4. Next, type “C:\Program Files\Windows Defender” into the input field and then tap on the ‘Select Folder’ button. 

Lastly, reboot the computer and check if the issue is resolved. Else, you can reschedule the Windows Defender’s scanning process to get rid of this issue. 

Procedure 2: Reschedule Windows Defender Properly

You can reschedule the Windows Defender by using the Windows Task Scheduler, which is an essential component of Windows. It schedules the launching of applications or scripts after a specified or pre-defined time intervals. 

Step 1: 

First of all, navigate to the Start menu and then type “administrative tools” in the search bar. Hit the Enter key from the keyboard to open the Administrative Tools. Then, open Explorer and select the ‘Task Scheduler’ option. Open it by clicking twice on it. 

Step 2:

Now, go to the path “Library/Microsoft/Windows/Windows defender” from the left pane of the screen. Once it opens Windows Defender, search for the ‘Windows Defender Scheduled Scan’ option and select it by clicking on it. Next, select the ‘Properties’ option from the list. 

Step 3: 

Afterward, navigate to the Conditions tab and untick the box under the Network, Power, and Idle section. Tap on the OK button. Next, navigate to the right pane and tap on the Properties button once again. 

Then, navigate to the Triggers tab. Click on the New button. Select the ‘Monthly’ or ‘Weekly’ option depending on your requirements. Thereafter, select the Day and the tap on the OK button. Confirm that it is enabled. 

Step 4: 

It will reschedule the Windows Defender as per your requirements. Now, if you see that the scanning is running, then wait for a few seconds until it completes. Once the scanning is completed, it will show the scanning results. 

Step 5: 

When the scanning process does run as per your preferred schedule, you will still get the High CPU Usage. Repeat the same steps for the other three schedules (Windows Defender Verification, Cleanup, and Cache Maintenance). 

After that, turn off the conditions and set the trigger to run at least once a week. Now, restart the system and check if the problem is fixed. Otherwise, you can move on to the other ways described below. 

Procedure 3: Turn Off Windows Defender

You can also solve the ‘MsMpEng.exe High CPU Usage’ issue by turning off Windows Defender application. You can do this by using the local group policy editor. Here are the steps you can follow: 

1. First of all, press the R and Windows key both at the same time and then type “gpedit.msc” in the Run Command box. 
2. Now, press the Enter from the keyboard to open the Local Group Policy Editor. Or, you can also click on the OK button. 
3. Afterward, navigate to the ‘Computer Configuration’ tab and then tap on the ‘Administrative Templates’ option. 
4. Go to the ‘Windows Components’ section and click on the ‘Windows Defender’ option. 
5. Now, locate the ‘Turn off Windows Defender’ option from the next window and click twice on it. 
6. Click on the Enabled button to disable the Windows Defender. Afterward, tap the Apply button and then the OK button to apply the changes. 

Now, it will disable the Windows Defender. If does not, you can restart the system and check if it is disabled. But, if it is still enabled, then you can try to disable it by using the registry. 

How to Disable Windows Defender by Using Registry? 

• At first, open the Run box. Then, type “regedit” in the input field. 
• Click on the OK button to open the Windows Registry. 
• Now, go to the path “HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows Defender”. 
• Afterward, right-click on an empty space on the right pane and then choose the ‘New’ option. 
• Click on the ‘DWORD (32-bit) Value’ and type “DisableAntiSpyware” in the input field. Hit the Enter key to continue. 
• If you see that the registry entry is named by ‘DisableAntiSpyware’, click twice on it to edit it. Then, change the value to 1. 
• Lastly, restart the system to complete the process. 

Windows Defender is now disabled as expected. But, after disabling Windows Defender, if you see that the problem still appears, then go to the next solution discussed below. 

Procedure 4: Remove Bad Updates

According to some tech experts, the ‘MsMpEng.exe High CPU Usage’ issue may arise due to the corrupted update of Windows Defender. Hence, remove those updates to solve this issue. Here’s how to do this: 

1. First, open the Run Dialog box and then type “command prompt” in the search bar. 
2. Afterward, right-click on the ‘Command Prompt’ option showing as the search result. 
3. Choose the ‘Run as administrator’ option from the list to open the Command Prompt with admin privilege. 
4. Now, type “%PROGRAMFILES%\Windows Defender\MPCMDRUN.exe” -Remove Definitions -All” in the command line. Then, press the Enter key to run it.  
5. Afterward, type the command “%PROGRAMFILES%\Windows Defender\MPCMD RUN.exe” -SignatureUpdate”. Execute it by pressing the Enter key. 
6. Now, wait for a few seconds until the process completes. 

Lastly, check if the problem persists. Else, run the computer in Safe Mode to solve this problem. 

Procedure 5: Run the System in Safe Mode and Remove Malware

If all the above methods fail to solve this issue, then you can scan the system for malware. To perform the scanning process, it’s better to run the system in Safe Mode. Here are the steps you can follow to do this: 

• Go to the Start menu and click on the Settings (gear-shaped) icon. 
• Navigate to the ‘Update & Security” category, 
• Afterward, click on the Recovery option from the left pane of the screen. 
• Go to the ‘Advanced startup’ section from the next page and then tap on the ‘Restart now’ button. 

After applying the above steps, it will start to run in Safe Mode. Now, you can try to scan the system using an anti-malware tool installed on your computer and delete the malware that is present on the system. Now, restart the computer and check if the issue is fixed. 

So, these are the probable ways to solve the ‘MsMpEng.exe High CPU Usage’ issue. Hopefully, one of them will definitely help you to put an end to this problem.