Svchost exe: what is svchost exe and for what does this process answer? Problems with system load

Very many users know that the first tool when the computer system hangs up is the "Task Manager" call, which displays all currently running processes that can be completed in manual mode. It is in the process tree that users see several svchost.exe services. What is svchost.exe, and we'll try to figure it out. There are several explanations for understanding this process.

Svchost.exe. What is svchost.exe?

Now we will not particularly dig into the technical details of the work of this service. Consider the process itself, called svchost.exe. What is svchost.exe from the file's point of view? By extension, it's not hard to guess that such a service is an executable file, which Microsoft has been actively using since some time.

In fact, this is a system service responsible for launching some applications and components of Windows OS, which allows you to reduce the load on the RAM and the CPU. This is in brief.

Principles of the process

If you approach the understanding of this service in a broader sense, it can be noted that it is present in almost all Windows. However, the full use of its capabilities began with the release of Windows XP. Previously, the svchost.exe process was mainly responsible for the network connections used to connect to the Internet. Then, Microsoft experts went even further. This service was used to run many system and local background processes from files with the extension .dll (so-called dynamic libraries), which in normal mode can not be started.

Speaking of dynamic libraries, it is worthwhile to say that these include either the accompanying system processes, or some additions for programs installed in the computer system. A vivid example can serve, say, plug-ins of VST or RTAS formats used in music sequencers or in programs for processing audio and video.

Through a virtual host, they can connect to the appropriate applications. Responsible for this is the svchost service itself and additional ASIO-type drivers.

From the point of view of the impact on the system when using this service, there is no need to physically launch the executable file .exe, which means that the number of processes hanging in the operating and virtual memory is reduced . That's why when you call the "Task Manager", the user sees not one, but at least four processes with the same name. Now it is clear that the more heavy applications with add-ons are launched, the more processes of the same name svchost will be present in the "Manager".

In addition, the file svchost.exe is always launched at system startup, regardless of what processes and services are present in the autorun. Even completely disabling unnecessary services at startup does not affect the launch of the svchost.exe system application.

Why is the svchost.exe process loading the system?

Microsoft's intentions are understandable. They wanted to reduce the load on the system, using only one service to run the rest. As practice shows , this did not work. First of all, when you start a sufficiently large number of "heavy" applications in low-power systems, the system hangs at the same time. The matter is that at start of any process or the program there is an address to the system registry, and here it turns out that the system as though "rushes" in searches for that service svchost.exe which is responsible for work of one of the launched applications. These are such reflections and lead to the fact that even rebooting the computer becomes problematic.

Troubleshooting methods

However, with such situations you can fight. The simplest way is to restart the computer terminal normally. After restarting the load will disappear. On the other hand, it does not always help, so you have to use more radical methods.

For example, the program svchost.exe can be stopped from the same "Task Manager" if you use the command "End Process Tree" when right clicking.

But it's better to do otherwise. In the "Task Manager" (in the process window), by right-clicking on one of the svchost processes, an additional menu is called, in which you select the "Go to Service (s)" line, after which all processes currently running Under the aegis of this service.

To stop all these processes or make them unavailable, double click on the process and select the "Tools" tab where you can simply click on the "Stop" button or in the "Properties" change the start type (Disabled) and stop the service after that.

Suspicion of viruses

In some cases, there may be more serious symptoms associated with the service svchost.exe. What is svchost.exe in terms of viruses? Everything is very simple. Some virus programs simply masquerade as this system process. In principle, to recognize that this is a virus, you can even in the "Task Manager". Note that the process itself never runs as a user. It can only have the attributes of the user SYSTEM, LOCAL SERVICE or NETWORK SERVICE. Services with other attributes are viruses or malicious codes.

In this case, you can use a deep scan of the antivirus program installed on the system, but in most cases this does not lead to anything. It's better to turn to utility Kaspersky Rescue Disc or special Dr.Web application, which is loaded before the start of Windows and check the system for viruses and threats much more efficient than the standard antivirus.