Why does Store Broker (wshost.exe) keep killing my CPU?

Anonymous
2014-01-24T23:58:25+00:00

I've got a new Windows 8 machine and, for some reason, the Store Broker keeps pegging my CPU. It seems to pop up every time I do anything with the Windows Store (makes sense) or use some Metro apps (also makes sense). However, for some reason, this process takes up 33% of my CPU and never lets go of it once it starts. This causes the machine to get hot which causes the fan to come on and the combination drastically reduces my battery life (from 11hrs to 3).

Aside from frequently checking for and killing this app, is there anything else I can do about this? Is anyone else having this problem? Is it a misconfiguration on my end? I'm running this on a new Surface Pro 2.

Thanks!

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Performance and system failures

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Anonymous
2014-03-19T01:17:01+00:00

I SOLVED this. At least for myself. It's been a 3-day journey. Argh!

The upshot is this:

Kill Store and Store Broker from task list.

Rename the Cache folder to CacheOld at:

C:\Users(Your User Account)\AppData\Local\Packages\WinStore_cw5n1h2txyewy\LocalState

(Your WinStore_gobblygook might be a different bunch of gobbblygook)

Create an empty folder called Cache.

Solved! For me anyway.

Enjoy,

Ron

PS

I have been at this for days. I've read every article and post everywhere. I have updated graphics drivers, set date and time, run wsreset, sfc /scannnow, created new user account (store did work for new account), app troubleshooter, etc, etc, etc...

Today I just started digging around and looking at dates. I don't have log files to back this up but I believe I broke Store with CCleaner. I'm not sure exactly when the Store broke so this is a best guess but it makes some sense since Ccleaner does clean Store cache.

I also recently installed Tor Browser but my gut is that that was totally unrelated.

I might create a sandbox user and try to break Store with Ccleaner to confirm. But honestly I am tired of this little adventure.

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  1. Anonymous
    2014-02-26T11:53:56+00:00

    Hi Micah,

    You can download the applicable update package from one of the following links and then manually install it in the computer. Here are the links:

    32 bit download: http://www.microsoft.com/en-in/download/details.aspx?id=41813

    64 bit download: http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=41794

    Let us know if it resolves the issue.

    Regards-

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  2. Anonymous
    2014-02-26T11:43:09+00:00

    I'm not seeing this optional update available (I'm on a Surface Pro 2) and it's not listed among those I've already installed. Am I missing something? My system ran a whole bunch of updates yesterday afternoon and when they were done, I had a blazing hot Surface that overheated in my bag and shut down on my way home from work (I must have missed one of the Store Broker instances), causing me to lose some of my work.

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  3. Anonymous
    2014-02-26T09:54:26+00:00

    Hi Jason,

    You can reset the Store cache once after closing it. Please note, in order to stop all processes associated with Windows Store and close it, you will have to drag it down and hold it for a few seconds until it flips over. Once you have done that, Windows Store is closed completely.

    Now, reset the store cache by following these steps:

    1. Press Windows and R keys together on the keyboard to open the Run prompt.
    2. Type in wsreset.exe and hit Enter.

    Let us know if that makes any difference to the situation.

    Regards-

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  4. Anonymous
    2014-02-26T03:39:44+00:00

    The optional windows update appears to have fixed my store broker problem as well, however now the store won't open, it just sits at the logo screen with the spinning loading icon below it. Well, this is a much better problem to have than the process killing store broker issue.

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