MsMpEng.exe issue of taking 100% disk and CPU usage normally occurs when Windows Defender is scanning the system for malware. This should not be the case usually but if it’s being done often, this means that Windows Defender is stuck on a few files for checking malware. In that case, it should be restricted/disabled to bring back to its normal state. In this article, we will share three different ways to fix MxMpEng.exe causing high disk and CPU usage issue.
Disable Windows Defender using Group Policy
Disabling of Windows Defender can solve your issue related to high CPU usage. But after disabling it, install another good Antivirus software so your system’s protection will not suffer. To disable Defender, follow below steps. But again don’t forget to install another good security software for your system’s protection.
Prevent scanning of a specific folder
The high CPU can also occur if Windows Defender is scanning its own directory. So add the MsMpEng.exe file in the list of “Excluded files and locations”. This will cut the load on CPU as Defender won’t scan for its own directory. Apply below steps to do this. CPU usage for MsMpEng.exe file will not be high now, as it only takes little extra resources on time of Defender’s scan. Otherwise, you will have usual load for every process. These steps can be followed for all the directories and folders on which Windows Defender gets stuck while scanning.
Give MsMpEng.exe least affinity
Set MsMpEng.exe file to use the specific processor of the system to avoid high CPU usage by this file. But it will cut the scan speed of Windows defender than usual. But slow scan speed is better than having high CPU usage. Apply below steps to set the affinity in limited mode. Hopefully, these solutions will work for you. if your MsMpEng.exe file is using high CPU resources then do not sit idly, fix it by using above solutions and cut extra load over CPU and disk.
