Another day another error. As great as Windows is it sure comes with a bunch load of errors. Today we will go over another popular error that many users face. The “Wsappx service causing High CPU and Disk Usage” error. Let’s start by knowing what wsappx.exe is. Then we will proceed to find out why it sometimes causes such high disk and CPU usage. And finally, go over some of the common solutions to fix the error.
What is Wsappx?
Wsappx is one of the many background services that run on your Windows 8 and Windows 10 system. The wsappx process is part of the Windows Store and the Universal app platform of Microsoft. The process actually includes two separate services namely AppXSVC and ClipSVC.
AppX Deployment Service (abbreviated as AppXSVC) as described by Microsoft deploys stores apps. In simpler terms, the AppXSVC service helps in installing, uninstalling and updating of apps from Windows App Store. The service assists in automatically updating apps in the background.
Client License Service’s (abbreviated as ClipSVC) official description reads “provides infrastructure support for Microsoft store”. The name suggests that the service performs license check and management to ensure you can only run Store apps you have paid for. This means the apps bought from the Store will not behave correctly if the ClipSVC service is disabled.
On the older Windows 8 version, the ClipSVC service is called as WSService (Windows Store Service). The functionality is the same as ClipSVC, just a difference of names.
Both services help to protect against piracy for Windows Store apps. When a store app is launched ClipSVC gets activated and when the store itself is open AppXSVC is activated.
Why does Wsappx cause High Disk & CPU usage?
As clear from the above paragraphs, Wsappx helps in installing, uninstalling and automatically updating apps from the Windows Store. So the Wsappcx process will cause high disk usage only when it is performing one of the three mentioned functions. That is it will cause problems when you are either installing or uninstalling an application. Or when the Store decides to automatically update your apps for you.
The Wsappx service gets activated even when you open the Windows store and just browse around for a bit. The high disk & CPU usage is although justified as the process requires those resources to carry out its functionality.
The Wsappx service should immediately stop after you are done installing or uninstalling an application. However, if you see the service active even when you are not performing one of the two actions, you could consider disabling it. And if Windows Store and its apps are something you don’t really care about, then disabling the service might prove good.
How to Fix Wsappx High Disk & CPU Usage
Now coming on to how to prevent Wsappx from causing high disk & CPU usage, below we have listed 5 different methods you could use to do so;
Method 1: Disable Update Apps Automatically
If you don’t care about having the most up to date versions of the apps from the Windows Store, you can choose or opt to disable their automatic updating. This will prevent Wsappx service from being activated in the background without you knowing about it. To disable automatic updating of apps follow the below steps:
Step 1: Open Windows Store. You can find it by clicking on the Windows icon on your taskbar and typing store.
Step 2: Click on the three horizontal dots next to your user icon (found on the top right-hand corner) and then select the “Settings” option.
Step 3: Under App Updates, Set the slider to off position for Update Apps Automatically
If there are still any apps you would like to update, consider doing them manually. Open the Windows store and then click your user profile icon. From the drop-down menu select “Downloads and Updates” option. The following screen will display all available updates for your installed apps and you can choose to update only the ones you want.
Method 2: Disable Windows Store
The above first method will stop the AppX Deployment Service (AppXSVC) from getting activated unknowingly. But the other Wsappx service ClipSVC service or WSService (depending on your Windows version) may still run and cause high disk & CPU usage. To stop ClipSVC from doing so, consider disabling the windows store itself. To do so follow the steps mentioned below:
There are actually two ways to disable the windows store, let’s have a look at both and choose to follow the one that seems simpler.
Using Group Policy
Step 1: Open Run by pressing the Windows logo key and R button simultaneously on your keyboard
Step 2: Type gpedit.msc and press Enter
Step 3: Locate Computer Configuration and then select Administrative Templates
Step 4: Next, head to Windows Components and select Store
Step 5: Double left click on ‘Turn Off The Store Application‘ or right click and select edit.
Step 6: The default status would read Not configured. Change the status to Enabled. Click Apply followed by OK. Restart for good measure.
Using Registry Editor
In some versions of Windows, you won’t be able to find the Group Policy Editor option. Try using the registry editor instead.
Step 1: Press the windows key on your keyboard to bring up the start menu and then type regedit
Step 2: Follow the following path HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE > SOFTWARE > Policies > Microsoft > WindowsStore key
Step 3: Here within the Windows Store key, create a new DWORD value and name it RemoveWindowsStore and give it a value of ‘1‘
Method 3: Increase Virtual Memory
This method is kind of a long shot but go ahead and try it if nothing else works.
Step 1: In the search bar, type Adjust the Appearance and Performance of Windows
Step 2: Go to the Advanced Tab and under Virtual Memory, click on Change
Step 3: Uncheck the “Automatically manage paging file size for all drives” on the top
Step 4: Select the drive where your Operating System is installed and click on Custom Size
Step 5: The initial size should be set to the actual RAM in megabytes and enter Maximum Size as double of Initial size
Step 6: Click Set > OK > Restart your PC
Method 4: Remove Bloatware
Another easy method to avoid Wsappx from causing you any trouble is to remove bloatware apps. Bloatware applications are the ones that come pre-installed on your personal computer. In most cases,90% of these apps aren’t used by anyone. Cm’on how often have you opened the preinstalled Candy Crush Saga huh? One? Two? or as in my case zero. To delete apps that you don’t use, head to settings and then Apps. Under Apps, you should find Apps & Features. Right-click on any app you would like to Uninstall and click on uninstall.
Method 5: Stop Apps from running in the background
The final method is disabling apps from running in the background. Like the previous method, head to Settings and then Privacy. From the left menu, select Background Apps. You can disable all the apps at once from the top toggle. Or choose individual apps that are allowed to run in the background and that are not. Be careful when performing this method, as apps won’t be able to actions when you are not using them like checking notifications.
Final Words
We hope the above-mentioned methods helped you bid adieu to the High Disk and CPU usage caused by Wsappx service. If there are any methods that we missed out on, please let us and other fellow windows users know about them in the comments section.