Process "svchost.exe" was taking up 99% of cpu?!?!?

Question

Process "svchost.exe" was taking up 99% of cpu?!?!? what should i do. my comp froze for like 20mins, until i exited everything, programs, processes , etc...

Answer 1

In software Svchost.exe is a generic host process name for services that run from dynamic-link libraries (DLLs) within modern versions of the Microsoft Windows operating system.

At startup, Svchost.exe checks the services part of the registry to construct a list of services that it must load. Multiple instances of Svchost.exe can run at the same time. Each Svchost.exe session can contain a grouping of services. Therefore, separate services can run, depending on how and where Svchost.exe is started. This grouping of services permits better control and easier debugging, but it also causes some difficulty for end users wishing to see the memory usage or vendor legitimacy of individual services and processes. End users in Windows XP (Professional edition only) can run the following command at the system prompt to get a breakdown:

C:\>tasklist /svc /fi "imagename eq svchost.exe"

Users may then run tasklist with no arguments and match the reported PIDs with the previously shown Svchost instances. If memory usage appears abnormal, the user can look up the service names shown by the sample command in one of the many websites devoted to Windows OS management to see if it is a known buggy service or malware. If no such website comes readily to mind, a search of, for example, windows service ISEXEng in an Internet search engine will lead to the needed information (ISEXEng in this example being the name of the suspicious service).

The Svchost.exe file is located in the %SystemRoot%\System32 folder. The main registry key involved at bootup is HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\SvcHost (values in this key will show the user at least a partial list of the actual processes behind instances of svchost).

Answer 2

svchost is used to run very specific process normally managed by the operating system.

During a Windows Update, this process can take 100% of the CPU for a relatively long time. If you have activated the automatic update feature of XP, this could be why you are experiencing the problems.

If this happens frequently, you might have problems with your automatic update. Go to windowsupdate.microsoft.com and manually do an update. You may get some additional information why the update is taking a long time, or failing.

Answer 3

DKP and Bernz have given you excellent answers.

All I want to add is to ensure the process is svchost.exe. This is a common target for malware/viruses. Check the spelling of this carefully! You may see a variation, like svchost32 and so on.

Beware!

Answer 4

The svchost.exe file is located in the C:\Windows\System32 folder. In other cases, svchost.exe is a virus, spyware, trojan or worm.

Try downloading Hijack This! (http://www.majorgeeks.com/download3155.html)
Copy the log results to any of these pages:
1. http://forum.networktechs.com/showthread.php?p=1786
2. http://hjt.networktechs.com/
3. http://www.hijackthis.de/

Site 1 is a forum where computer geeks will analyze your log and find things that shouldn't be there. They'll also tell you how to remove it. Sites 2 & 3 are automated. If you are unsure of what is on your computer, don't use those.
I'd also recommend getting some spyware removers: http://www.download.com/Adware-Spyware-Removal/3150-8022_4-0.html?tag=dir

Answer 5

reboot