Ok - it took a long time wading through the thousands of posts on this issue, trying a few to no success to hit on the answer.
As PaulGoundry stated earlier in this thread - the main culprit for this is Windows Update - not virus's etc (although you certainly need to check for these).
Anyway the solution that appears to have worked for me completely comes from Microsoft (no registry hacking, turning things off etc).
Microsoft has finally formally acknowledged this, Windows Update announced KB927891 this morning (5/23/2007) and the description includes the statement that "the Windows Update client MUST be updated to version 3.0". http://support.microsoft.com/kb/927891.
Thanks to the many gurus who posted info on this topic.
Discovered these runaway svchost processes a few days
ago, tried the usual suspects (spyware, visrus) to no avail.
Great site, thanks.
Click the option at the bottom of the page to disable microsoft update.
Once it was disabled, I rebooted and the problem was gone!!!
I am a happy boy!
Other solution:
-*- obtain the Microsoft updated version of Msi.dll (version 3.1.4000.2805)
(There is no link at the moment of writing this article you must contact Microsoft Product Support Services)!!!!!!
i was having the same problem; and you don't have to even restart in order for it to work. you can actually open task manager and watch svchost change as you enable and disable automatic updates... kind of funny, i wish i could figure it out and still have automatic turned on...
Sure - since this "solution" is turning off Windows Update, you wont see the 100% CPU issue. The proper solution is, however, to fix Windows Update rather than turn it off. See the earlier posts in this thread to fix Windows Update itself.
After reading through all the MS gibberish and clicking through many pages and reading and reading it finally lead me to this page which has the MSI.DLL update for a direct download to your computer.
Press continue to have MS validate your system and then download after your system has been validated.
I did this but I still can't get any updates, it says it is a two part process and the 2nd part is to update the 'Update Client 3.0'. How do you update to Client 3.0? I didn't find the update for it, anyone know how?
Here is the update paragraph from MS
Note This article discusses the MSI component fixes only. This fix is one component of a two-part fix that includes a Windows Update client software update. These updates will be deployed automatically using Windows Update in May 2007 and June 2007. However, some customers may select to manually install these updates. To fully address the unresponsive system issue, both this fix for MSI must be installed and the Windows Update client must be updated to version 3.0. When you install the MSI fix and the new client, process-monitoring tools may still show CPU usage at near 100 percent. However, the system should still be responsive and should not lock up. If another task requires CPU cycles, they will be shared. However, if the system is idle, MSI will use the full cycles that are available to complete in the shortest time. If another task is running at the same time as MSI, the system may run slightly more slowly. However, the computer should still be responsive. Remember that you must install the MSI fix and the new client to address unresponsive or locked systems. It is expected that process-monitoring tools may still show CPU usage at near 100 percent, but computer unresponsiveness is not expected. If you watch the process monitor, you may still see CPU usage at near 100 percent during some scans if the computer is otherwise idle. This is expected behavior.
I'm running XP Professional and last week the svchost.exe program began consuming 98-99% of my CPU usage.
I tried the many fixes including downloads, turning off updates, etc, but what finally took care of it was disabling my modem (which I almost never use). Apparently it was damaged during a lightning storm last week...the surge protector worked for the power, but I didn't have one on the phone line. I had no idea the modem was even damaged till I tried to send a fax.
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