The Antimalware Service Executable (Msmpeng.exe) process is part of Windows Defender, a default antivirus program on Windows 11/10 and Windows 8. In this tutorial, you will learn a few effective ways to solve antimalware service executable high memory, high disk, or high CPU usage problem.
If you found that the Antimalware Service Executable high disk usage occurs on Windows 11/10, take it easy, you're not alone. Many Windows users are encountering Antimalware Service Executable high memory problems.
In this article, you'll learn everything about Antimalware Sevice Executable and how to fix Antimalware Service Executable high CPU issue.
Besides, at the end of this article, we recommend a free partition management tool to help you easily create, resize, clone, move, merge, and format partitions to improve computer performance.
| Fixe Antimalware Service Executable High Memory | Step-by-step Troubleshooting |
|---|---|
| Fix 1. Disable Real-Time Protection | Turn off the real-time protection to solve the Antimalware Service Executable high CPU usage...Full steps |
| Fix 2. Change Windows Defender's Scheduling Options | Change Windows Defender's schedule is another method to solve the Antimalware Service Executable...Full steps |
| Fix 3. Add Antimalware Service Executable to Exclusion List | Press the Windows logo key + I at the same time to open the Settings window. Click "Update & security"...Full steps |
| Fix 4. Disable Windows Defender | Press Windows Key + R to open the Run Dialog Box. In the Run Dialog Box, type regedit and click "OK"...Full steps |
| Fix 5. Update All Device Drivers | You can also try to fix Antimalware Service Executable high CPU issue by updating all your device drivers...Full steps |
Read Also: 100% Disk Usage in Windows 10
The Antimalware Service Executable (Msmpeng.exe) process is part of Windows Defender, a built-in antivirus feature that comes with Windows 11/10. You can find this on the Details tab in your Task Manager.
Antimalware Service Executable provides real-time scanning and is responsible for checking files for malware whenever you access them. It also performs background system scans to check for dangerous software, install antivirus definition updates, and does anything else a security application like Windows Defender needs to do.
Its scanning relies heavily on your computer's CPU; that's why you find Antimalware Service Executable high CPU, huge disk, memory, RAM, and even network bandwidth, draining computer resources, especially after getting a Windows 11/10 update. Go to the next part to solve antimalware service executable high memory Windows 11.
Windows 10 Free Partition Manager
EaseUS Partition Master Free, a well-designed disk management tool for beginners and experts to manage partitions and to extend your capableness.
If the Antimalware Service Executable process takes up a high CPU on your Windows 10, don't worry. We have easy solutions for you to deal with it. Now, read this article in-depth and try the five easy methods to fix the windows antimalware service executable high memory/CPU usage.
Fix 1. Disable Real-Time Protection
Fix 2. Change Windows Defender's Scheduling Options
Fix 3. Add Antimalware Service Executable to Windows Defender's Exclusion List
Fix 4. Disable Windows Defender in Registry
Fix 5. Update all Available Device Drivers
Showing fix 1 and fix 3, this video guide released by A2MTech is help to disable antimalware service executable high memory/CPU/Disk on Windows 10.
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Antimalware Service Executable high disk usage issue is large because of the real-time feature, which will constantly scan your Windows computer no matter what you do. It acts quickly and consumes much CPU storage, which leads to high CPU and memory usage.
The most probable fix to the Antimalware Service Executable high CPU issue is turning off the real-time protection. After this, the Windows Defender won't work, and your computer will be vulnerable. So, use this method only as a temporary solution.
Step 1. Click the "Start menu > Settings > Update & security".
Step 2. Select "Windows security > Virus & threat protection > Manage settings".
Step 3. Switch the "Real-time protection" setting to Off.
Change Windows Defender's schedule is an effective way because the real-time protection feature mainly causes the error. Follow the details below and fix the Antimalware Service Executable high disk usage issue.
Step 1. Press Windows key + R at the same time to invoke the Run box. Type taskschd.msc and press Enter.
Step 2. Double-click on "Task Scheduler Library" > "Microsoft" > "Windows".
Step 3. Find and expand "Windows Defender". Then double-click "Windows Defender Scheduled Scan".
Step 4. Uncheck "Run with highest privileges" on the property window.
Step 5. Uncheck all the items in the "Conditions" section. Then click "OK".
With the steps above, your error should be fixed now. If, unfortunately, it doesn't help you, make sure to try the second solution below.
Step 1. Press the Windows logo key + I at the same time to open the Settings window. Click "Update & security".
Step 2. Click "Windows Defender". Then click "Add an exclusion" in Exclusions.
Step 3. Click "Exclude a .exe, .com or .scr process".
Step 4. Type MsMpEng.exe. Then click "OK".
Alongside enabling Windows' built-in virus-defending utility, you can also turn to thrid-party virus-cleaning software for help. TotalAV is one of the famed and reliable anti-virus software that you can rely on to scan and clean up all malware, virus, and even online threats from your PC:
TotalAV is an Award Winning Antivirus and Security Software. It Provides Real-Time Protection from Viruses, Malware & Online Threats.
Antivirus Protection Enabled
When your Windows defender got corrupted by being overworked due to continuous file scanning, the Antimalware Service Executable high CPU issue may be settled by disabling Windows defender.
Step 1. Press Windows Key + R to open the Run Dialog Box.
Step 2. In the Run Dialog Box, type regedit and click "OK" to open the Registry Editor.
Step 3. In the navigation pane on the left, double-click the folders to navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows Defender.
Step 4. If you find a registry entry named DisableAntiSpyware, double-click it and set its value data to 1.
Note: If you do not see a registry entry named DisableAntiSpyware, right-click in the main Registry Editor pane and select "New" > "DWORD (32 bit) Value". Name this new registry entry DisableAntiSpyware. Double click it and set its value data to 1.
Is your Windows 10 still running slow after trying the above? You can also try to update all your available device drivers. The latest drivers can keep your computer running stable and quickly.
You can manually update your device drivers manually by going to the manufacturer's website and searching for the exact device's most recent correct driver. Make sure to choose drivers that are compatible with your variant of Windows system versions.
Windows Defender is a free and valuable tool to protect your computer from a virus attack, but it can certainly eat up your CPU. By following the methods in this article, you'll be able to fix the Antimalware Service Executable high disk usage issue and keep your computer running at full speed.
When we use a computer, we all want it to perform at its best. Disk management is an important way to enhance system performance. EaseUS Partition Master Free makes it effortless to partition hard drives and take full advantage of your disk space. It provides other one-stop partition and disk management solutions for Windows 11/10/8/7, for instance:
The following steps show how to resize and move partitions effortlessly and securely with this renowned partition management software.
Step 1. Launch EaseUS Partition Master to check for free space at the Partition Manager section.
Step 2. Shrink a disk partition to create unallocated space.
Right-click on the target drive partition with a lot free space and select "Resize/Move".
Drag either end of the partition rightwards or leftwards to shrink the partition size so as to get ample unallocated space. You can visually know how much space you've decreased in the "Size of partition" area. Click "OK".
Click "Execute xx Task" and then "Apply" to save all the changes.
Go back to Partition Manager, there should be unallocated space appearing on the same disk and you can continue with the next step to create new partition on your hard drive.
Step 3. Create a new partition with unallocated space on the target hard drive.
Right-click on the unallocated space and choose "Create".
Customize the partition size, partition drive letter, partition label, file system (NTFS, FAT32, EXT2/3/4, exFAT) and more in the Advanced Settings. Click "OK".
Finally, click "Execute * Task" and "Apply" to complete creating partition with the unallocated space on your disk. Repeat the steps to partition a hard drive and get many more partitions.
Here are the five top frequently asked questions related to the antimalware service executable high disk usage issue. If you also have any of these problems, you can find the methods here.
Antimalware service executable high disk CPU is mostly caused by the real-time feature that can constantly scan files, connections, and other related applications in real-time. Whenever you download new files or any software or access any files, antimalware keeps scanning everything to check whether it is malicious or not. It acts quickly, which leads to the problem of high memory and high CPU usage.
If you are suffering from antimalware service executable high CPU usage, disk, or memory usage problem on your Windows, you can turn off the real-time protection.
After doing that, Windows Defender will be disabled as well as Antimalware Service Executable. If your computer is unprotected, viruses can easily get into it. We do not recommend that at all.
If you see a very high disk usage, that means something else is not quite right. First, you can check your disk usage by opening the Task Manager in Windows 10. You'll see a quick overview of CPU, memory, disk, and network utilization on the main process tab.
To fix Windows 10 100% disk usage issue, you can:
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