When Task Manager application comes up, you might notice there are more than one svchost.exe processes are running in it. So what are they and why they are running on your Windows computer?

To answer both questions, I'm going to explain to you about svchost.exe and how does it work. Therefore, you will understand more about these processes and quickly diagnose future errors if there are any available.

So, what exact the svchost.exe is? Why there are so many svchost.exe processes in Task Manager? Why do they run in Windows?

Firstly, you need to know about the structure of Windows operating system (OS). Most of the functions in Windows OS are written and stored in library files, which have the .dll extension.

Nevertheless, these files aren't executable files like .exe files so they can't run themselves. Hence, Microsoft has developed a bridge executable file, called svchost.exe. It also is known as a host that helps to run Windows functions that will be used by Windows features, or other third-party applications.

But why there are many svchost.exe processes in Task Manager? What's the purpose of running more than one of it?

Pretending that Microsoft combines everything into one svchost.exe and only need one to handle all functions. Then you may see that it will consume more computer resources than divides into multiple processes. The point is that Windows features and its programs don't use all functions at all time. So wasting resources for unused functions isn't an efficient way.

Moreover, dividing into multiple processes will help Microsoft handles those functions better. It also contributes to avoiding shutdown suddenly when an issue occurs. For example, if there was a problem with one svchost.exe, all other svchost.exe processes will still work well and at good status. Hence, all Windows features and its apps that use other svchost.exe processes won't be affected.

Compared to the solution that with only one svchost.exe process, when it corrupts, all functions will be corrupted and stopped. Therefore, none of features and apps work. So, that's the benefit of dividing functions into groups and assign for multiple svchost.exe processes.

Why svchost.exe suddenly uses a lot of CPU resource of computer?

By default, and in most cases, svchost.exe only uses less than 5% of CPU resource. Unfortunately, some abnormal situations can make these host processes eat your CPU resource like drinking water. (I mean it uses a lot of CPU resource).

Therefore, it leads to high CPU resource usage on your computer, especially coming from svchost.exe (netsvcs) or (wuauserv). They are two major groups of functions that stand behind these host processes.

When you face this type of errors, the first step you need to take is to determine which group are the svchost.exe in, netsvcs or wuauserv. From the result, you can quickly eliminate other reasons out of the suspect list. After that, use Task Manager to determine the Windows services or programs that were using it*.

*It at here is mean the svchost.exe that is hogging your CPU resource.

Based on the result you found, you can easily resolve the issue with necessary steps, such as stop Windows services, disable it, or reinstall programs.