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

Anonymous

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!

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Anonymous

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

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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Anonymous

2014-02-16T22:14:51+00:00

Thanks Twomby, I read the link and it looks straight forward. I don't use the store much but it's fun to dive in there once-in-a-while and look around. And it's easier and less time consuming than a refresh. Which I did. P*ssed me off. Good luck.
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Anonymous

2014-02-16T20:50:02+00:00

I have been experiencing the exact same problem described by everyone on this thread with StoreBroker sucking the life out of my CPU, making my system extremely hot and noisy as the fans kick in to cool this inferno....

This is likely the result of a recent Windows update for 8.1 which triggered this issue. I received a brand new Acer Aspire V7 Laptop on Thursday, installed the free 8.1 update, had not installed any software whatsoever, but the problem started after the first boot into Windows 8.1.

I don't use the Microsoft Store at all, I don't use the Metro Interface, and stick with the classic desktop.

I read that switching from a Microsoft Account to a local account could fix the problem. It is not the case. The issue happens on either account. A scan with antimalware, SFC, or Windows Store Cache reset did not fix the issue. Nothing I tried worked, until I read something suggesting to disable the Microsoft store with a registry patch. I found this patch on another forum (below). I confirm that this fix worked perfectly for me. Since the Microsoft Store is disabled, this issue does not occur anymore on my system.

You can download and apply a registry patch to completely deactivate the Microsoft Store. The website below also has the file to revert this action and reactivate the Store should you need it back temporarily until Microsoft fixes this issue, so I don't see any problem with using this. I have tried both files, and each time the Microsoft Store is re-enabled, StoreBroker starts messing with my system. You can download the files below. (A reboot is required to apply the changes).

http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/5804-store-enable-disable-windows-8-a.html

I have looked at the reg files in notepad, the patch is really straightfoward and it appears totally safe. You can make the changes manually if you prefer, or use the Group Policy Editor (Pro or Enterprise only) to achieve the same result, although I did not test this method. I hope Microsoft will fix this fast! This is a major annoyance, and should not have to be fixed with a registry patch. Makes me want to switch back to Windows 7.
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Anonymous

2014-02-16T19:18:28+00:00

I just remembered the app and tried to download it again. At least this time I got a failed message. But even after I closed everything out, StoreBroker was breaking my laptop with a sustained usage of around 52%....finally killed it.
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