Host process for Windows Services keeps popping up

Tasks on Windows 10 can take up a huge amount of memory or CPU usage. They may also cause error pop-ups, and make it hard to use your device. A task that users have problems with particular is “Host Process for Windows Tasks” which appears in your Task Manager.

Many users report that the taskhost.exe process (which also appears as “Host Process for Windows Tasks”) uses high CPU or disk, or comes up with an error such as “Host Process for Windows Tasks has stopped working.” This is bad, as the process is a core part of Windows 10 and should be working precisely at all times.

In this article, you can learn more about these errors, and find solutions to fix them entirely. Simply scroll down to the desired section and take in the information.

How to fix the “Host Process for Windows Tasks has stopped working” error

One of the most common errors related to this process is a message stating that the Host Process for Windows Tasks has stopped working. This leaves a lot of confusion left behind. You won’t immediately know what happened to the process, or what it means for it to stop working.

As the Host Process for Windows Tasks is a crucial process for your system, leaving it to crash is a big mistake. Below are several methods to fix this error and ensure that the process continues to work in the future without crashing.

Method 1: Repair corrupted BITS files

1. Press the Windows + R keys on your keyboard. This is going to bring up the Run utility.
2. Type in the following line and hit Enter: Programdata\Microsoft\network\downloader
3. If prompted, click the “Continue” button to grant permissions for accessing the folder.
4. You should see the File Explorer open up with the “Downloader” folder displayed. Here, delete every file that begins with “qmgr” such as qmgr0.dat, qmgr1.dat, etc.
5. After deleting these files, update your system from Settings → Update & Security → Windows Update. This should replace the corrupted BITS.

Method 2: Run the System File Checker

1. Press the Windows + R keys on your keyboard. This is going to bring up the Run utility.
2. Type in “cmd” and press the Ctrl + Shift + Enter keys on your keyboard. Doing so, you’re launching the Command Prompt with administrative permissions.
3. If prompted, click Yes to allow the Command Prompt to make changes on your device.
4. Once in the Command Prompt, type in the following command and press Enter to execute it: sfc /scannow
5. Wait for the SFC scan to finish scanning your computer and repairing corrupt files. This may take a long time; ensure that you don’t close the Command Prompt or shut your computer down.
6. Restart your device after the scan is complete.

Method 3: Run the DISM command

1. Press the Windows + R keys on your keyboard. This is going to bring up the Run utility.
2. Type in “cmd” and press the Ctrl + Shift + Enter keys on your keyboard. Doing so, you’re launching the Command Prompt with administrative permissions.
3. If prompted, click Yes to allow the Command Prompt to make changes on your device.
4. Once in the Command Prompt, type in the following two commands and press Enter after reach one to execute it: Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /StartComponentCleanup, Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth
5. Wait for the commands to finish running and restart your computer.

Method 4: Run the Windows Memory Diagnostic tool

1. Press the Windows + R keys on your keyboard to bring up the Run utility. Here, simply type in “mdsched.exe” and press the OK button.
2. Choose “Restart now and check for problems (recommended)” to instantly being a memory scan. Make sure to save any files and close all open applications before clicking on this option.
   
   Otherwise, choose “Check for problems the next time I start my computer” and restart the device at a more convenient time.
3. During the next boot, you’ll see the Windows Memory Diagnostic tool check for issues. Make sure to read all the information displayed on the screen and wait for the completion.
4. Once the memory test is complete, you’ll be able to see if any issues were identified. If there were none, your memory is luckily working fine.

Method 5: Use CCleaner to clean your system and Registry

1. Download CCleaner by clicking here. This is the official website, meaning that all downloads are safe from any malware.
2. Click on the setup file you just downloaded to launch the installation wizard. Simply follow the on-screen instructions to install CCleaner onto your device.
3. Launch CCleaner using a created shortcut or the search bar.
4. First, select “Cleaner” from the left-side panel. Simply click the blue “Run Cleaner” icon to begin the process. Optionally, you can uncheck any options that you don’t want to delete before beginning the cleaning.
5. Wait until the cleaning is complete, then switch to the “Registry” tab.
6. Click the “Scan for Issues” button and wait for CCleaner to identify any Registry errors. If any issues are found, click on “Fix selected issues…”
7. Restart your computer.

How to fix the Host Process for Windows Tasks high CPU, RAM or Disk usage

When in the Task Manager, you may notice that the Host Process for Windows Tasks is using up an unusually high amount of resources. This isn’t normal, however, it can be fixed easily. You won’t have to deal with a slow computer because of this error anymore if you follow our simple guides below to fix it.

Method 1: Run a script in PowerShell

1. Right-click on any empty space on your desktop and create a new text document using New → Text document. Name it something like “CPU Fix.txt” without the quotes.
2. Open the text file you just created and and paste in the following script:

Get-ScheduledJob | ? Name -eq “Kill SettingSyncHost” | Unregister-ScheduledJob

Register-ScheduledJob -Name “Kill SettingSyncHost” -RunNow -RunEvery “00:05:00” -Credential (Get-Credential) -ScheduledJobOption (New-ScheduledJobOption -StartIfOnBattery -ContinueIfGoingOnBattery) -ScriptBlock {

Get-Process | ?{ $_.Name -eq “SettingSyncHost” -and $_.StartTime -lt ([System.DateTime]::Now).AddMinutes(-5) } | Stop-Process -Force

}

1. Save the document using File → Save as... in the header menu.
2. Change the file type to “All files.”
3. Remove the “.txt” extension in the file name and rename the file to “CPU Fix.ps1” without the quotes. 
4. Right-click on “CPU Fix.ps1” and choose “Run with PowerShell.”
5. If this method worked, you may have to repeat Step 6 every time your computer is restarted to ensure the process doesn’t hog your resources again after a reboot.

Method 2: Scan your computer for malware

Below is a short guide on how to use Malwarebytes for scanning and removing viruses and other types of malware from your device. However, you can use just about any antivirus app — it’s up to your preference.

1. Launch your antivirus application. Again, we’re using Malwarebytes to demonstrate this process.
2. Click on the “Scan” option using the application’s left-side menu.
3. Click the “Start Scan” button to start a malware scan on your device.
4. Wait for Malwarebytes to finish scanning your PC for malware. If any malicious files are found, you can immediately neutralize them by allowing Malwarebytes to put them in quarantine.
5. Optionally, allow Malwarebytes to delete the malicious files from your PC.

We hope that this article was able to help you fix common issues with the Host Process for Windows Tasks process on Windows 10.

Are you interested in learning more about Windows 10?  You can browse our dedicated Help Center section and learn more about how to fix Windows power Shell using high CPU.

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