5 Fixes for WaasMedic.exe High CPU Usage on Windows 11/10

WaasMedic.exe, short for Windows Update Medic Service, its a critical system process in Windows PC ensure smooth function of Windows update download and installation. It also helps repair damaged Windows Update components, so the update can be downloaded and installed without any problem. However occasionally, you may experience WaasMedic.exe High CPU Usage slowing down your system. Users report Waasmedic.exe uses nearly 100% of my disk space and memory when running and it slow down Windows performance. In this article, we explore common reasons why WaasMedic.exe causes High CPU or 100 Disk usage and solutions to fix it.

What is Waasmedic Agent Exe?

Its genuine Windows service was introduced in Windows 10 to “Enable remediation and protection of Windows Update components.” Or we can say,  it fixes problems with Windows Update that might prevent your PC from updating.

The main purpose of WaasMedic.exe service is to take care of the Windows Update components so that you can continue receiving future Windows updates without any interruption.

Several factors can lead to high CPU usage by WaasMedic.exe, corrupt system files, software conflict, and Pending or Corrupted Windows Updates are common.

• Corrupted Windows Update files.
• Conflicts with third-party antivirus software.
• Insufficient system resources during updates.
• Problems with system files or registry entries related to Windows Update.
• Outdated or incompatible drivers or Windows versions.

Restart Your Computer

Whenever you experience a problem with Windows PC, the first thing you need to do is reboot your PC. Restarting Windows clears the system’s memory, stops unnecessary background processes, and reloads essential system components, potentially fix different problems including high CPU usage by WaasMedic.exe.

Sometimes Antivirus may be one of the reasons for the WaasMedic.exe high CPU issue. Temporarily disable the Antivirus, and check if this solves the issue, if you find Antivirus is not the reason, you may enable your Antivirus again.

Perform a System File Check

Corrupted system files can cause WaasMedic.exe to behave abnormally. Running built-in System File Checker (SFC) and DISM tools helps scan and repair these files.

• Press Windows key + S and type cmd, right-click on the command prompt select run as administrator.
• Now run the system file checker command sfc /scannow 
• After SFC completes run DISM restore health command DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth

• These tools scan and repair system files and components, and resolve underlying issues affecting WaasMedic.exe.
• Once the scanning is complete 100%, reboot your PC and check if this helps fix WaasMedic.exe High CPU Usage problem.

Disable WaasMedic.exe Temporarily

WaasMedic.exe is a protected system process, but you can disable it temporarily by modifying the registry. Disabling the WaasMedic.exe temporarily stops it from running, and allows you to investigate and address the root cause of high CPU usage on Windows 11.

• Press Win + R, type regedit, and press Enter to open the registry editor,
• Navigate to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\WaaSMedicSvc.
• Here Double-click Start, change the value to 4, and click OK.

2 is “Automatic”
3 is “Manual”
4 is “Disabled”

Note: Re-enable the service after resolving the issue to ensure Windows Update functions correctly.

Pause Windows Updates

Again you can Temporarily pause Windows updates to stop WaasMedic.exe from consuming resources. This action gives you time to troubleshoot the issue without WaasMedic.exe consuming system resources.

• Open Settings → Windows Update.
• Select Pause updates for 1 week.

Reset Windows Update Components

Resetting Windows Update components can resolve corruption or misconfiguration, that might be causing WaasMedic.exe High CPU Usage on Windows 11/10. Open Command Prompt as an administrator and Run the following commands one at a time

net stop wuauserv
net stop cryptSvc
net stop bits
net stop msiserver
ren C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution SoftwareDistribution.old
ren C:\Windows\System32\catroot2 catroot2.old
net start wuauserv
net start cryptSvc
net start bits
net start msiserver

This process clears corrupted update data and reinitializes Windows Update components, Restart your computer and check if this helps fix the high CPU usage problem.

Free Up System Resources

Again reducing background processes can prevent WaasMedic.exe from overloading your CPU.

• Open Task Manager (Ctrl + Shift + Esc).
• End unnecessary tasks under the Processes tab.

Some malware disguises itself as legitimate processes like WaasMedic.exe and causes high resource usage. Perform a full system scan using Windows Security or third-party antivirus software to identify and remove any malware.