You can learn 11 different solutions to fix Windows Modules Installer Worker High CPU problem. If none of them can work, you can choose another feasible solution. Please read on.
"I have a desktop computer with Windows 10 and it always performed well. But recently it has suddenly become laggy and I see Windows Module Installer Worker in Task Manager constantly running at 50% CPU usage, which keeps almost all day whenever I start the computer.
Even if I click on End Task, it still reappears after 5 seconds. I make sure that there is nothing installed on the computer that could be causing this problem! This problem brings a lot of trouble, so how do I fix Windows Modules Installer Worker high disk usage in Windows 10? I need your help very much."
Windows Modules Installer Worker (TiWorker.exe) is a core Windows component that checks and installs updates for Windows and other Microsoft products. It plays an important role in keeping your system running stably. In general, Windows Modules Installer Worker is fine, but at some moments, it may cause abnormally high CPU usage and make your computer lag.
So how to solve the problem of persistent high CPU usage? This article provides you with the reasons and 11 corresponding solutions to ensure that your computer's CPU usage is back to normal.
When you update your Windows version, Windows Modules Installer Worker updates all Windows files and backs up old data. It is a huge and intensive process that requires a lot of computing processing capacity. If you find that Windows Modules Installer Worker or TiWorker.exe is using high CPU usage at that time, don't worry, it is a normal situation.
The Windows Modules Installer Worker CPU usage will gradually decrease after the update is completed. However, if it still maintains high CPU usage for a long time (about 2 hours or more) after you update your Windows system, it means you are encountering Windows Modules Installer Worker High CPU problem.
And it may be caused by a technical fault, corrupted system files, virus infection or wrong update. No matter what its reason really is, however, we have to be positive to fix it.
When you are looking for a Windows Modules Installer Worker High CPU solution, you may receive some suggestions to disable it. Although you can do that, it will result in Windows systems can't keep up to date and may directly affect your user experience.
In fact, Windows Modules Installer Worker is just one of the core Windows tools not a virus. And Windows itself has various defenses to prevent viruses from pretending to be existing Windows services. So you don't have to disable it.
Although it is not recommended that you disable Windows Modules Installer Worker, there are still other useful ways to solve Windows Installer CPU Usage too high. Next, we'll introduce 11 different options to fix the problem in detail.
You can prevent Windows from automatically updating by changing Internet settings. You can choose any of the ways based on the network you are currently using.
Click the Start menu button, and navigate to Settings > Network & Internet > Wi-Fi > Advanced Options, then click the On button below Set as metered connection.
Step 1. Press Win+R together to open the Run window, then type regedit and press Enter.
Step 2. Navigate to the path below, then right-click DefaultMediaCost and select Permissions in the drop-down menu.
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE > SOFTWARE > Microsoft > Windows NT > CurrentVersion > NetworkList > DefaultMediaCost
Step 3. Click the Add button, enter the User Name in the pop-up window, then click the Check Names button and click OK.
Step 4. Select the user you just added, tick Allow Full Control box and click OK.
Step 5. Return to the main interface of Registry Editor, find and double-click Ethernet. Then change Value data to 2 and click OK.
The SoftwareDistribution folder is mainly used to store new Windows updates. If there are corrupted files stored in this folder, it may cause high CPU usage problems in Windows Modules Installer Worker.
In addition, Windows 10 will automatically generate a new folder with the same name when a new Windows update appears. So, there is no risk in deleting the SoftwareDistribution folder. You need to perform this operation with an administrator account.
First, we need to temporarily disable the Windows Update service to avoid errors when deleting the SoftwareDistribution folder. Then follow the corresponding graphic tutorial to delete the SoftwareDistribution folder.
Type services.msc in the Run window and press Enter to open the Services window. Find and right-click the Windows Update service then select Pause/Stop in the drop-down menu. You can refer to the above method to turn on the Windows Update service after the problem is solved.
Open File Explorer on the desktop, then go to the Windows folder. Locate and right-click the SoftwareDistribution folder, then select Delete in the drop-down menu.
After restarting your computer, then navigate to the following path to refresh Windows Update.
Settings > Update and Security > Windows Update > Check for update
Microsoft has released a specified tool called Troubleshoot to help you fix Windows Update issues. This tool is free and works even if you don't have a Microsoft account. So, you can run the tool and see if it can help you fix the problem.
First, click the Start button and select Settings > Update and Security > Troubleshoot, find and click Windows Update, then click the Run the troubleshooter button. Finally follow the prompts to execute the repair process.
Since Windows Modules Installer Worker is a core component of Windows Update, the Windows Modules Installer Worker High CPU issue can be solved by disabling Windows 10 automatic updates.
Step 1. Press Win+I to open the Windows Settings, find and click the Update & Security option, switch the tab to Windows Update in the left sidebar, and click Advanced Options in the right window.
Step 2. In the Advanced options window, scroll down to Pause updates and click the option box to select date you want to pause the update.
Sometimes, you just need to simply restart Windows Update Service to help you fix Windows Modules Installer Worker High CPU problems.
Step 1. Type services.msc in the Run window and press Enter.
Step 2. Scroll down to find Windows Update, right-click on it and select the Restart option in the drop-down menu.
Feedback from some users shows that changing Windows Module Installer and Windows Update to manual helps fix the Windows Modules Installer Worker High CPU issue.
Step 1. Open the Services window, find and double-click Windows module installer in the right list.
Step 2. In the Windows module installer properties window, set it to the Manual option, then click Apply > OK to save this change.
Step 3. Find and double-click Windows update in the right list, set it to Manual option, then click Apply > OK to save this change.
Step 4. Type control in the Run window and press Enter to open the Control Panel. Find and click on the Windows update option then click on the Change settings button on the left.
Step 5. Change the settings to Check for updates but let me choose whether to download and install them, then click OK to save this change. Finally, restart it.
Note:
Since you set Windows Update to manual, you must check Windows Update regularly (weekly or monthly) by yourself, which will help improve your Windows system stability.
Your computer may face problems with Windows Modules Installer Worker High CPU when one or more system files related to Windows updates become corrupted. To fix it, use the System File Checker tool to automatically scan and repair these files.
Step 1. Press Win+X to open the Windows menu and select the Command Prompt (Admin) option.
Step 2. Type sfc /scannow in Command Prompt and press Enter to execute this command. The System File Checker tool will run automatically. You just need to wait for the process to complete and then restart your computer.
Note:
Do not interrupt the System File Checker tool while it is running, such as shut down or restart, because it may have serious consequences.
The DISM tool has an alternative name called System Update Preparation Tool (Deployment Image Servicing and Management). It helps Windows users by scanning the entire Windows system to identify corrupted files and repair them automatically. If the System File Checker tool has failed, you can use this tool to try to fix the problem.
Type Dism.exe /Online /Cleanup-Image /Restorehealth in Command Prompt (Admin) and press Enter to execute this command. Next, you just need to wait for the DISM tool to automatically scan and repair your computer's corrupted files.
You can perform a clean boot with the Windows Configuration Tool to fix the Windows Modules Installer Worker High CPU problem.
Step 1. Type msconfig.exe in the Run window and press OK.
Step 2. In the System Configuration window, under the Startup selection section, select Normal startup and click OK. Then restart the computer to make the changes take effect.
When open Task Manager, you can find TiWorker process, which is Windows Modules Installer Worker. You can reduce CPU usage by changing the priority of this process.
Press Ctrl+Shift+Esc to open Task Manager, find and right-click TiWorker.exe process, then set Set priority to Low.
Feedback from some users indicates that stopping the Trusted Installer Service helps fix the Windows Modules Installer Worker High CPU problem.
Step 1. Type regedit in the Run window and press Enter to open the Registry Editor. Then navigate to the following path.
Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\TrustedInstaller
Step 2. Find and double-click the Start file in the right window. Then set Value data to 3, and click OK to save the changes.
If the above 11 methods couldn't fix the problem, but you have backed up your system before, you can solve the problem by restoring your system to the previous version. And AOMEI Backupper Standard will be a good choice to help you achieve the goal.
AOMEI Backupper Standard is a free and professional backup and restore software for Windows 11, 10, 8.1, 8, 7, Vista, XP etc. You can download it for free and use it without registering an account, just a few simple steps to backup and restore your system. Then you can use your computer normally. In addition, the Universal Restore feature in the professional or higher version allows you restore your system backup to other computers with different hardware.
Next, we'll introduce how to restore your system with AOMEI Backupper Standard, but you need to complete a system backup before you start. In other words, you have backed up your system before the Windows Modules Installer Worker High CPU issue. Then you can follow the graphic tutorial below to restore the system.
Step 1. Download AOMEI Backupper Standard, install and open it. Click Restore > Select Task to find the system backup you created.
Step 2. Select Restore this system backup and click Next.
Step 3. Confirm your operations and click Start Restore.
Notes:
If you are struggling with Windows Modules Installer Worker High CPU problem, you can try the 11 solutions listed in the article. If none of them help you fix the problem, or you consider changing the registry is too dangerous, it is recommended to use AOMEI Backupper Standard to restore your Windows 10 system to an earlier version.
AOMEI Backupper Standard can help you automatically backup your system and restore it to any previous version if needed. Besides, its disk cloning feature can help you to transfer Windows 10 from SSD to another hard drive as well as upgrade to Windows 11.