Solved: Shell Infrastructure Host Having High CPU Usage

Anup ThapaBy
shell infrastructure host high CPU

Shell Infrastructure Host, or sihost.exe, handles various graphics UI elements in Windows, such as the desktop background, taskbar, and Start menu.

Due to a memory leak bug with the default Photos app, users face the Shell Infrastructure Host High CPU usage issue when browsing through a large number of photos. Even after closing the faulty app, sihost.exe still lingers around with high CPU usage for hours, which can understandably be quite annoying.

So, in this article, we’ve detailed what steps you can take to fix the Shell Infrastructure Host High CPU usage problem.

What causes Shell Infrastructure Host High CPU Usage?

As stated, there is a memory leak issue with the default photo viewer app in Windows, i.e., Photos. This bug causes sihost.exe to query the registry continuously, which leads to the high CPU usage. This leak has existed since Windows 10 and hasn’t yet been patched in Windows 11. Additionally, it’s also possible that the high CPU usage is due to corrupt system files or various UI related settings.

How to Fix Shell Infrastructure Host High CPU Usage?

Even though this bug has been around for quite some time, Microsoft still hasn’t addressed it. As such, as of July 2022, there is no way to permanently fix the Shell Infrastructure Host High CPU Usage issue at its root.

However, that’s not to say that you can’t work around it. There are a number of ways to resolve the high CPU usage issue, which we’ve discussed in the sections below.

Use Different Photo Viewer App

The memory leak problem is with the default Photos app only. If you use a different Photo viewer like the classic IrfanView, for instance, you will no longer face the high CPU usage problem. We highly recommend this method, as this is more or less a permanent fix, while the other methods are only temporary workarounds.

Here’s how you can change the default photo viewer app on Windows 10:

  1. Right-click the photo and select Open With > Choose another app.
    choose-another-app-win-10
  2. Select the photo viewer app of your choice. If you don’t see it on the list, select More apps > Look for another app on this PC and browse the app executable.
    look-for-another-app-on-this-pc
  3. Enable the Always use this app to open .jpg files option and press OK. Repeat all the steps for .png and any other photo formats you use as appropriate.

Default apps work slightly differently on Windows 11. Here are the steps to change the default photo viewer app on Windows 11:

  1. Press Win + I and select Apps > Default apps. Scroll down and select Choose defaults by file type.
    choose-defaults-by-file-type
  2. Locate .jpeg or any other image format, and click on the Photos app.
    jpg-default-app
  3. Select the new photo viewer app from the list. If you can’t find it from the list, select More apps > Look for another app on this PC and browse the app launcher.
  4. Repeat these steps for .png or any other image formats you wish to change the default photo viewer for.

End Sihost.exe via Task Manager

If the sihost.exe CPU usage is excessive, you can also end the process via the Task Manager to deal with it swiftly. Here are the steps to do so:

  1. Press CTRL + Shift + Esc to launch the Task Manager.
  2. In the Processes tab, click on the CPU heading to sort by CPU usage. You should be able to find sihost.exe easily this way. Alternatively, you can also switch to the Details tab and sort by name.
    sihost-task-manager
  3. Select the Shell Infrastructure Host or sihost.exe process and click End Task. The UI will glitch for a couple of seconds before returning back to normal.
    end-shell-infrastructure-host
  4. In some cases, the sihost.exe high CPU usage persists. In such cases, end explorer.exe as well.

Repair Photos App

According to user reports, repairing the Microsoft Photos app can also resolve this issue. Here’s how you can try this fix:

  1. Press Win + I and go to Apps > Apps & Features.
  2. Click on Microsoft Photos and select Advanced Options.
    apps-advanced-options
  3. Repair the app and check if that resolves the issue.
    repair-microsoft-photos-app

Log Off or Restart Your PC

Another easy workaround is to simply log off. If logging off doesn’t work, you can restart your PC instead. Most users facing the Shell Infrastructure Host High CPU usage issue found that after restarting, the high CPU usage doesn’t occur again for a day or two.

The caveat with this workaround is that you need to keep restarting every couple of days, which can get annoying. As such, we recommend changing the photo viewer once again as a permanent fix.

Repair Corrupt System Files

Corrupted system files are a common reason why Windows components like sihost.exe malfunction and cause high CPU Usage. As such, we recommend using the SFC and DISM utilities to find and repair corrupt system files with the following steps:

  1. Press Win + R, type cmd, and press CTRL + Shift + Enter.
  2. Execute the following commands:
    DISM /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth
    Sfc /scannow
    dism-sfc

Disable Background Slides

Some users have reported high CPU usage when using slideshow backgrounds. As using a solid picture background instead fixed the issue for them, we recommend trying the same with the following steps:

  1. Press Win + I and select Personalization > Background.
  2. In the Personalize your background field, select Picture or Solid color.
    personalize-your-background

Disable Automatic Color Change and Transparency

Similar to the background slides scenario, some users were also able to resolve the high CPU usage problem by disabling the automatic color change and transparency features. We recommend that you do the same with the following steps:

  1. Press Win + I and navigate to Personalization > Colors.
  2. Toggle transparency effects OFF.
    automatic-color-transparency
  3. Make sure the Accent color is set to Manual.

Enable Virtualization

A few users also reported that they fixed the sihost.exe high CPU usage by enabling Virtualization. This is a niche solution for sure, but if none of the other fixes have worked so far for you, this is still worth trying.

First, press CTRL + Shift + Esc to launch the Task Manager. In the Performance tab, check if Virtualization is disabled. If it is, you can enable it with the following steps:

  1. Reboot your PC and press the BIOS Setup Key (usually Del or Fn keys).
  2. In the BIOS Setup Utility, switch to the Advanced, CPU, or Overclocking tabs.
  3. Enable the Virtualization option. Depending on your motherboard manufacturer, it may be named Intel Virtualization Technology, VT-d, AMD-V, SVM, or something similar. If you’re unable to find it, we recommend referring to this detailed article for help with enabling Virtualization on various motherboards.
    gigabyte-svm
  4. Press the Save and Exit key shown on the screen (usually F10).

Keep Windows Updated

As stated, this problem has been around for a while now, and lots of users have reported it to Microsoft. As such, Microsoft will likely patch the issue sometime soon in the future. By keeping Windows updated, you’ll receive this patch as soon as it comes out. In the meantime, the latest updates will keep you safe from other bugs and issues as well.

Anup Thapa primarily covers Windows systems, networking, and computer hardware at TechNewsToday. Anup has been writing professionally for almost 5 years, and tinkering with PCs for much longer. His love for all things tech started when he got his first PC over 15 years ago. It was a Pentium IV system running Windows XP on a single 256 MB stick. He spent his formative years glued to this PC, troubleshooting any hardware or software problems he encountered by himself. Professionally, Anup has had brief forays into a variety of fields from coding and hardware installation to writing. In doing so, he's worked with people of different backgrounds and skill levels, from average joes to industry leaders and experts. This has given him not just a versatile skill set, but also a unique perspective for writing that enables him to concisely communicate complex information and solve his reader's problems efficiently. You can reach out to him at anup@technewstoday.com.

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21 Comments

  1. Eelco on

    I did not want to terminate Shell Infrastructure Host in the Task manager, and also not ready to restart Windows. But the Repair option solved the problem for me (Windows 10 Pro) Go to Settings -> Apps (Apps en onderdelen in Dutch) -> Microsoft Photos -> Advanced Options -> Repair. Shell Infrastructure Host finally goes back to 0% CPU usage after running for days on a high percentage. Saves a lot of electricity!

    Reply
    • Jendrej on

      No reason not to terminate. They give you the scary warning because it’s a system process, but in reality it just restarts the UI part of Windows and keeps all your open programs intact.

      Reply
  2. JJB on

    Thanks man, this helps a lot! My HP Pavilion overheated because of the mentioned Windows Photos bug caused the Shell Infrastructure Host’s high CPU usage. I’ve ended the Sihost, which worked and the notebook has gone back to normal CPU usage and normal temperatures :-). A very helpful article, I appreciate the clarity!

    Reply
  5. Stick on

    We have to report this en mass to MS via Feedback Hub so they fix it.

    a) This sihost.exe CPU hog was very difficult to find and recreate. You can recreate it with the new photoviewer update on Win10 sometime in 2022-Q2. May also occur in Win11.

    b) In my case, the issue did not happen with the old photoviewer, prior to a 2022-Q2 update with the new photoviewer.

    c) Problem has NOT BEEN SOLVED since MS distributed the new photoviewer. Occurs on any PC regardless of memory size or CPU, always hits 25%.

    d) The only way to recover your PC idle state is kill process or reboot. Killing the process looses work if you don’t save, and your desktop is reset, acting like a reboot.

    Steps to recreate:
    1. Create a folder (mine is on E:\PicTest). Location folder does not seem to matter, can even be on network.
    2. Fill with 300 photos, to be sure.
    3. Open new photoviewer on the first one.
    4. Page through click [>] at least 30 pics, best 50 or more. If you can’t see step #8, try paging more pics.
    5. IMPORTANT: sihost.exe issue will NOT SHOW UP until you exit, ie, it DOES NOT even show up while using photoviewer for the first time after a reboot.
    6. Ascertain your idle CPU % usage is less than 5% before next step.
    7. Exit photoviewer while watching CPU %.
    8. Observe % go to greater than 25%.
    9. Check sihost.exe with ProcessExplorer.

    e) Most of my photo sizes range from 40K to 400K. Some are 1.3M to 3M.

    f) Overheats CPU and is always 25% regardless of CPU clock or type of CPU or clock speed. Causes serious battery drain on laptop.

    g) If the same code is in other MS apps that affect sihost this way, they should be able to find the offender quickly with this new knowledge.

    ~Stick~

    Reply
    • Anup on

      Thank you for your insight into this issue Stick! It’s unfortunate that Microsoft hasn’t patched this bug even though it’s been around for a while. Hopefully, the steps you’ve provided to recreate the problem will convince the guys over at Microsoft to take a proper look.

      Reply
  10. Rajeev on

    Probably the first time ever in my experience when a web suggestion has worked on the first try…Thanks, Anup for a very useful article.

    Reply
    • Anup Thapa on

      I can relate. It’s a bit frustrating how unhelpful most web content is these days. Anyway, I appreciate your kind words, Rajeev!

      Reply

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