In Windows 11 "shell infrastructure host" process using a lot of CPU when viewing Photos on external SSD

Anonymous
2021-11-11T17:25:41+00:00

I have two computers on Windows 11 22000.318 and on both of them when I connect my 512GB Samsung SSD "shell infrastructure host" starts to use a lot of CPU and power usage is "very high" in task manager. I understand this may be normal when browsing large folders on the SSD or copying files to/from the SSD but even if I close all the File Explorer windows to the SSD "shell infrastructure host" continues to use a lot of CPU. If I try to eject the SSD it says its in use. So my only option is to log out of Windows and log back in and that stops "shell infrastructure host" and it goes back to normal. Could this problem be part of the Windows 11 memory leak bug with File Explorer I've been hearing about? Or maybe something to do with indexing going on? My external SSD has thousands of photos and I am using the Photos app.

Windows for home | Windows 11 | Files, folders, and storage

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

0 comments

49 answers

Sort by: Most helpful
Most helpful Newest Oldest
  1. Anonymous
    2022-06-08T14:52:33+00:00

    This CPU heating issue is getting much worse lately. I'm going to try the suggestion to uninstall Photos.DLC.MediaEngine

    Was this answer helpful?

    1 person found this answer helpful.
    0 comments
  2. Anonymous
    2022-06-07T15:28:38+00:00

    Found it! Thank you very much. I have been browsing some images folder with the photo app and so far the problem hasn't occur again yet so maybe it actually worked.😊

    Was this answer helpful?

    1 person found this answer helpful.
    0 comments
  3. Anonymous
    2022-06-07T15:10:32+00:00
    • No Drag and Drop in Windows 11!!! (between tabs, to desktop, etc.)
    • No folder preview in Windows 11! In windows 10,8.1,8,7, Vista, and XP, you could see a preview of files in a folder before opening them.
    • The new right-click menu is pretty, but when you want more options and click on show more options, it isn't pleasant.

    Drag and Drop works fine for me.

    To show file preview: View->Show->Details pane

    There is a registry entry you can create to disable the More Options on the file context menu so it shows the complete menu instead. Shell command to add it:

    reg add "HKCU\Software\Classes\CLSID\{86ca1aa0-34aa-4e8b-a509-50c905bae2a2}\InprocServer32" /f /ve

    Was this answer helpful?

    1 person found this answer helpful.
    0 comments
  4. Anonymous
    2022-05-20T17:00:54+00:00

    I have exactly the same issue when using default windows 11 photo app with photo archive (thousands pics). Shell infrastructure consumes almost all CPU resources and doesn't let go even when all folders and photos app is closed. My core i7 laptop becomes very slow and laggy.

    Was this answer helpful?

    1 person found this answer helpful.
    0 comments
  5. Anonymous
    2022-04-17T08:24:44+00:00

    This has worked for me, so far.

    Was having the exact same issue om Surface Laptop Studio.

    Was this answer helpful?

    1 person found this answer helpful.
    0 comments