System Interrupts are operating system processes that function as an alert system for the CPU. So whenever a scenario needs the attention of the CPU, it alerts the CPU about it. In turn, the CPU suspends what it is doing, saves it, and then takes care of that important job and once that job is completed, it resumes back to what it was doing. This indicates that although System Interrupts appears as a process, it’s actually not. As a matter of fact, it is like a manager that reports to the CPU about all interrupts that happen on a hardware level, e.g. hardware interrupts. And if there are lots of interrupts, this means that there might be various errors occurring on a hardware level. As a result, it may take a lot of system resources. And if you consider disabling System Interrupts, stop right there as your computer will almost become useless without it.
So if you see System Interrupts consuming high CPU usage in your Windows 10 computer, you can fix it without having to disable it and cause more problems. If System Interrupts takes up more than 5 to 10% of CPU, then you definitely have a problem. This could be happening due to some hardware or driver issue. The first thing you can do is to try rebooting your computer once and see if the issue comes back or not.
High CPU usage of System Interrupts is a huge backlog for the CPU and it stays in the loop. If a simple system restart didn’t fix this issue, here are some suggestions you can try.
Option 1 – Try to update the hardware drivers
As stated, the problem might have something to do with hardware drivers so you can try to update these drivers and see if it works.
- Reboot your computer into Safe Mode with networking support.
- Tap the Win + R keys on your keyboard to open the Run dialog box.
- After that, type “devmgmt.msc” in the field and hit Enter or click OK to open the Device Manager.
- After opening the Device Manager, update all the outdated Hardware drivers on your computer.
- Next, right-click on all the driver entries that are appropriately labeled, and then click the Update driver option.
- Now restart your PC and check if the BSOD error is fixed or not.
Note: On the other hand, if a recent update has caused the System Interrupts high CPU usage, then you might want to roll back your hardware drivers to their previous versions.
You can check with the Windows Update History to check out any recent updates as well as the previous ones.
Option 2 – Try to disconnect and reconnect all hardware and cables
A lot of users reported that they were able to fix the problem by disconnecting and reconnecting cables and hardware like scanners, printers, cameras can help in fixing the problem. In addition, you can also boot your computer in a Clean Boot State so that you can find the problematic hardware by hit and trial method. Refer to the steps below to do so:
- Log onto your PC as an administrator.
- Type in MSConfig in the Start Search to open the System Configuration utility.
- From there, go to the General tab and click “Selective startup”.
- Clear the “Load Startup items” check box and make sure that the “Load System Services” and “Use Original boot configuration” options are checked.
- Next, click the Services tab and select the “Hide All Microsoft Services” check box.
- Click Disable all.
- Click on Apply/OK and restart your PC. (This will put your PC into a Clean Boot State. And configure Windows to use the usual startup, just simply undo the changes.)
Option 3 – Try to enable or disable Hardware
If you do not want to remove hardware, you can just disable them using the Device Manager. Note that this can also be applied to the internal hardware.
- Tap the Win + X + M keys to open the Device Manager.
- Next, navigate to the device you want to disable.
- Then right-click on it and choose to disable the device.
Note: Make sure that you disable one device at a time and then give it a couple of minutes and check if there are any changes in the CPU usage to pinpoint the hardware. And if there is no change, you need to enable the device you’ve just disabled and then proceed to disable the next hardware device. If there are changes, then it’s probably the culprit. Just keep in mind that you must no disable any device that is needed to keep your system up and running.
Option 4 – Try to update the BIOS/UEFI
Updating the BIOS/UEFI can help you fix the high CPU usage of System Interrupts but as you know, BIOS is a sensitive part of a computer. Even though it is a software component, the functioning of the hardware depends on it largely. Thus, you must be careful when modifying something in the BIOS. So if you don’t know much about it, it’s best if you skip on this option and try the other ones instead. However, if you are well-versed in navigating the BIOS, then follow the steps below.
- Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box.
- Next, type “msinfo32” in the field and press Enter to open System Information.
- From there, you should find a search field on the bottom where you have to search for the BIOS version and then press Enter.
- After that, you should see the developer and version of the BIOS installed on your PC.
- Go to your manufacturer’s website and then download the latest version of BIOS on your computer.
- If you are using a laptop, make sure that you keep it plugged in until you have updated the BIOS.
- Now double click on the downloaded file and install the new BIOS version on your computer.
- Restart your computer to apply the changes made.
Option 5 – Run the Hardware and Devices Troubleshooter or the Performance Troubleshooter
Hardware and Devices Troubleshooter:
- The first thing you need to do is click on Start and then on the gear-like icon to pull up the window for Settings.
- After opening Settings, look for the Update and Security option and select it.
- From there, go to the Troubleshoot option located on the left-hand side of the list.
- Next, select Hardware and Devices from the list and open the Troubleshooter and run it. Once it is doing its job, wait for it to complete the process and then restart the system.
- After the system restarts, check if the problem’s now fixed. If not, refer to the next option given below.
Performance Troubleshooter:
- Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box.
- Type “exe /id PerformanceDiagnostic” in the field and hit Enter to open the Performance troubleshooter.
- Then click on Next to get started. Wait until the process is completed.