How to Fix Avast Taking Up CPU?

Fix Avast Taking Up CPU – Avast antivirus is a resource-consuming tool. When you run Avast, different services automatically start running in the background. The background scanning, full virus scan, virus removals, cleanup, and Software Analyzer services are the most common.

Fix Avast Taking Up CPU

Why is Avast Using So Much CPU Disk Usage?

Avast antivirus is a resource-consuming tool. When you run Avast, different services automatically start running in the background. The background scanning, full virus scan, virus removals, cleanup, and Software Analyzer services are the most common.

Although these services are very useful, sometimes they become so annoying that you may think about disabling Avast permanently.

When you run task manager you will see the avastsvc.exeaswengsrv.exe, or aswtoolssvc.exe processes using 100% disk usage on Windows 10. Another reason why Avast uses too much CPU or disk usage is incorrectly configured system settings or irregular entries in the Windows registry.

How to fix Avast service’s high CPU usage?

Fix Avast Taking Up CPU – Many times, version mismatch can lead to additional operations running and hogging resources. Before moving on to the solutions, make sure that Windows, the Avast client software, and virus definitions are updated to their latest version.

If you notice Avast using too much CPU even after updating everything to the latest version, move on to the following solutions.

1. Remove Avast real-time components

Any task running real-time operations can be heavy on resources. In this case, Avast Cleanup and Behavior Shield are reportedly the components most responsible for Avast taking up CPU and other resources.

The best course of action will be to uninstall this component of the antivirus software. Follow these steps for the same:

  1. Open the Avast UI from its system tray icon or the start menu.
  2. Navigate to the Core Shields tab under the Protection section of the Settings
  3. Here, select the shields that you might not need and disable them by unchecking the box next to them. You can also find the uninstall option for some shields in their arrow drop-down menus.
  4. Restart your PC to apply these changes.

Now, check the CPU usage as it should be down to its normal values. If this resolves your error, you can try turning them back on and check if the CPU usage remains low.

2. Change the Scan Frequency

If your computer CPU cannot handle the real-time tasks, you can try reducing the scan frequency and limiting background checks.

While this may lead to some security issues, it will prevent Avast service from high CPU usage. You can reduce the scan frequency from the command center by adjusting a value in Avast’s configuration file. Here are the steps for the same:

  1. Launch a command prompt window with administrative privileges from the start menu.
  2. Use the change directory command to go to the Avast folder. Enter the following command to open its configuration file:

cd C:\ProgramData\AVAST Software\Avast

C:\ProgramData\AVAST Software\Avast> avast.ini

  1. In the notepad file that opens, locate, and modify the following value to adjust the scan frequency. If you cannot find this entry, add this line at last:

[GrimeFighter] : ScanFrequency=999

  1. Save the file and restart your computer.

Note that you will need to run the scans manually every once in a while to prevent security threats.

3. Avast screensaver scanning

In some cases, you might also see Avast using too much CPU if screensaver scans are running even though the screensaver has been turned off.

The tricky part of this error is that it does not show up on the Avast UI outright.

Here is how you can turn screensaver scanning off:

  1. Locate any random file on your computer and choose Scan selected items for viruses from the right-click context menu.
  2. A result window will appear, showing a list of running scans.
  3. Locate the Avast Screensaver Scan and turn it off by clicking the Stop button next to it.
  4. Open the task manager and check if the CPU usage has gone back to normal.

4. Remove Unnecessary Add-ons

Avast is bundled with several features installed during installation that help increase its functionality. However, for most users, these shields do not perform any additional function and instead end up consuming computer resources for nothing.

To remove such components, you can modify the installation from Control Panel. Follow these steps:

  1. Open the Control Panel and navigate to the Programs section.
  2. From the list of installed applications, locate Avast and click on the Uninstall button at the top. This should launch the setup window.
  3. Click on the Modify or Change button depending on the installation version.
  4. In the next window, uncheck all the components that you do not require. However, keep the following ones checked:
    1. Behavior shield
    2. Mail Shield
    3. File Shield
    4. Web Shield
  5. Click on the change button to modify the installation.

5. Update Avast to the Latest Version

Certain old versions of Avast become unresponsive since it’s recommended that you always keep both the antivirus and the virus definitions database up to date in order to keep the antivirus tool running successfully. Updating Avast is easy and it’s simple to follow in the steps presented below.

  1. Open the Avast user interface by clicking its icon at the system tray or by locating it in your Start menu entry.
  2. Navigate to the Update tab and you will notice that there are two update buttons. One of these buttons is related to the update of the virus definitions database and the other one is related to updating the program itself.
  3. Most users have reported that updating their virus definitions has resolved the problem but it’s for the best to update both the database and the program by clicking on both of these update buttons, being patient while Avast checks for updates and following the instructions on-screen in order to follow through the process.
  4. Check to see if the CPU usage has gone back to normal.

Also Read: How to Fix Avast Don’t open on Windows

6. Fix Avast Taking Up CPU – Repair Avast from Control panel

You can also try repairing the Avast client software from the control panel to repair any broken installation files that might be using up additional resources. Follow these steps for the same.

  1. Visit the Programs section of the control panel and locate Avast in the list of installed programs.
  2. Right-click on Avast and select Uninstall from the context menu.
  3. In the setup window that opens, choose the Repair option.
  4. Click on Yes to confirm repairing the installation files.
  5. Restart your PC once the installer finishes repairing any broken files.

If none of these solutions mentioned above work in solving Avast Service’s high CPU usage, your only option is to reinstall the Avast client software from scratch.

A fresh installation will remove all the corrupt files and prevent your system from overheating due to additional resource consumption.

Add a Comment