Explorer.exe high CPU usage after latest update, Win11

Anonymous
2022-02-17T10:11:19+00:00

I am running Windows 11 Pro 64 bit version 21H2, build 22000.527.

After the latest update explorer.exe started to grab occasionally about 20% to 50% CPU power. Upon this high CPU time taskbar does not work, applications already on the desktop work though.

I have checked the desktop folder for any files missing the icon and I have also disabled OneDrive, did not help.

This problem is on almost all the time. It easies down occasionally but starts again. If I have the computer locked and log in again the problem starts immediately.

I do have some applications in desktop right button menu but they were there before the update without any problem(7-zip, WinZIP, NitroPDF etc).

This is quite annoying and prevents me working with the PC. The computer is Lenovo Thinkbook with 11th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-1165G7 @ 2.80GHz 2.80 GHz and 16 GB RAM.

Should I try to uninstall the latest update and is there a change that it messes up the operating system?

Windows for home | Windows 11 | Performance and system failures

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  1. Anonymous
    2022-02-21T18:07:22+00:00

    I am experiencing the same issue on my PC. I will go through the doc's that Jerico posted to see if they work. If not I may do the SP uninstall and then reinstall. My PC is running on a AMD Ryzen 5 3600 6-Core and has 16GB memory.

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  2. Anonymous
    2022-02-22T06:48:26+00:00

    The culprit is KB5010414. When I uninstalled it the problem was gone. Just to be sure I reinstalled the update and had the problem again and uninstalling it again made the PC work again.

    Having played a lot with this have made me believe the problem is some of the new features for Task Bar. During the high CPU time(20% for explorer.exe) Task Bard does not work at all. I am able to alt-tab between the programs already running and programs are working ok. Just the Task Bar and desktop are unusable.

    At the mmoent I am using my PC with KB5020414 uninstalled.

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  3. Anonymous
    2022-02-22T14:45:27+00:00

    JuusoOP,

    Thank you you for the follow up. After spending way to much time yesterday going through the other documentation, I was going to ask you for a verification of the KB #.

    This has been a funny issue. It has happened to be at random times throughout the day. I have seen it after a Restart, while using a VPN connection and when not, or after waking my PC up. The annoying part is just having to wait for what seems to be about 20 - 30 min for it to clear it's self.

    Thank you again for the information. Looks like I will be uninstalling the KB update this evening after work.

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  4. Anonymous
    2022-02-22T15:03:09+00:00

    This is a note to MS. . . It just happened again to me. This time I was using the File Explorer to search for a file on my \E: drive. It took about 5 minutes for it to clear but made my Task Bar unusable and blanked out the icons.

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  5. Anonymous
    2022-02-22T15:20:47+00:00

    Please report back after uninstalling KB5010414. I would be good to know that your PC is acting same way.

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