The Makecab.exe process that’s running on your Windows 10 computer is a program that compresses the Component-Based Servicing log or CBS log files and they can get really huge if they’re not compressed. As a result, it would utilize important space on your operating system although makecab.exe does not consume high CPU resources in doing so. However, there are times when it recreates thousands of instances of itself and could cause overconsumption of system resources which slows down your computer. So when the makecab.exe process causes high CPU usage in your system, this could mean that there is a failed Windows Update. In addition, the high CPU usage of the makecab.exe process could also mean that your computer is infected with a virus or malware. Whichever the case is, you can check out several possible solutions that are given in this post to resolve the problem.
Option 1 – Try to delete log file using File Explorer
The CBS log files could reach up to 20GB size and so if you delete them, it would help in saving space in your computer and since they’re not much of use, deleting them won’t negatively affect the system at all. To delete the CBS log files, all you have to do is open the File Explorer and then go to C:/Windows/Logs/CBS and from there, open the CBS log files and delete them all. Doing so should ease the load in the makecab.exe process since it no longer has to compress the CBS log files. As a result, the process would be more relaxed. After that, you can restart your computer and check if the problem’s now fixed.
Option 2 – Try deleting the log file via Command Prompt
You can also try to delete the log files using an elevated Command Prompt. Refer to these steps to do so:
- Type “command prompt” in the Windows Search bar and then right-click on the related search result and select the “Run as administrator” option.
- Next, type the following command and hit Enter to execute it:
del /f %windir%logscbs*.log
- Restart your computer afterward once the command has been executed. This should end the high disk usage by makecab.exe, if not, proceed to the next given options below.
Option 3 – Uninstall any suspicious programs you’ve installed recently
If you have recently installed some programs on your Windows 10 computer, and since then you’ve experienced high CPU usage brought on by makecab.exe, then you might want to uninstall those programs.
- Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box
- Then type “appwiz.cpl” in the field and hit Enter to open the Programs and Features in Control Panel.
- From there, look for the suspicious programs you’ve installed, select them and then click on Uninstall to remove them.
- After that, restart your computer and try to install the latest version of the program again. It should work now. If not, proceed to the next available option below.
Option 4 – Try running Disk Cleanup
You might want to run the Disk Cleanup utility as it is a useful tool that could delete temporary and useless files on your computer.
- Tap the Win + R keys to open the Run dialog box and then type “cleanmgr” in the field and hit Enter to open the Disk Cleanup window.
- After that, select the drive you want to clean.
- Now click OK to clean the disk and restart your computer.
Option 5 – Try to run System File Checker scan
System File Checker or SFC is a built-in command utility that helps in restoring corrupted files and missing files. It replaces bad and corrupted system files to good system files. To run the SFC command, follow the steps given below.
- Tap Win + R to launch Run.
- Type in cmd in the field and tap Enter.
- After opening Command Prompt, type in sfc /scannow
The command will start a system scan which will take a few whiles before it finishes. Once it’s done, you could get the following results:
- Windows Resource Protection did not find any integrity violations.
- Windows Resource Protection found corrupt files and successfully repaired them.
- Windows Resource Protection found corrupt files but was unable to fix some of them.
Option 6 – Try scanning your computer using Windows Defender
As mentioned, the high CPU usage of makecab.exe might be caused by some malware or virus in the system and so to eliminate it, you have to scan your computer using security programs like Windows Defender.
- Tap the Win + I keys to open Update & Security.
- Then click on the Windows Security option and open Windows Defender Security Center.
- Next, click on Virus & threat protection > Run a new advanced scan.
- Now make sure that Full Scan is selected from the menu and then click the Scan Now button to get started.