I have a problem with wuauclt.exe. It activates about every 20 minutes and completely stalls all other activity on my computer, using 90% - 100% of my CPU. I have read that the fix is to turn off Automatic Updates. I have done that, I've rebooted and yet I still have this problem. If I go to the Task Manager when wuauclt.exe is running and I manually stop the process, my CPU usage immediately drops right back down. I don't want to delete wuauclt.exe permanently since I may want to use it as some point to get my updates. Is there anything else that I can do, and if not, how do I delete wuauclt.exe?9 people need an answerI do too

There's a lot about your system you could tell, like what computer you have/operating system/what anti-viral software do you have?/etc,.. Where'd you read a fix is to turn off Automatic Updates?You're right to not delete without information.Though wuauclt.exe is a normal process of updates, yours could be a number of things, even a virus causing problems. Look for and run some alternative anti-virus software too (MS Malicious Software Removal Tool, House call, Malwarebytes, SuperAntiSpyware). MicroSoft even has a online automated full system "Safety Scanner" that has a virus scanner in it. Check these free versions. They're helpful. Make sure your not dealing with virus problems. Don't have two anti-virus programs on real time/automatic protection and don't run scans with any at the same time. But it doesn't hurt to have execute files for backup manual software in the data base. Though some programs do conflict, even if they are in manual mode, it's been an experience that malware can get by some anti-viral software, but not all, and a backup or two can be a good thing. Check this out. It may help. This advocates running systems checks before and Anti-viral software after. If possible, I like to eliminate the possibility of a virus 1st thing, and then move on. And/or come back with some more info.http://social.answers.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/vistawu/thread/77afd24f-f65b-4eee-8fd5-87a0d1a05c81X

Most likely it's not a virus/malware problem since I observe it on too many "healthy" systems with antivirus installed, firewalls, anti-spyware.. everything, and definitely not a low-memory problem. It seems to be the natural behaviour of wuauclt to reserve up to .5 GB RAM (in my PCs) and -nearly- all CPU time until it's finished.However, since meaningful updates are available only once/twice a month, I suppose you can safely (Windows key + R) >"services.msc">find Auto-updates> right-click> Properties> and set it (first tab) not to launch automatically. (You may get some warning at startup).You should, though, enable it by hand to receive updates when you don't mind the stall.

I have a Dell Inspiron 1300 Laptop running Win XP with SP3. If I disable Automatic Updates, the system works fine. If I enable them, the hard drive light stays lit for at least 15 or more minutes continuously, and the computer is extremely, extremely slow during that time.I read somewhere that wuauclt.exe should only be in my computer in one location, but in my machine, it is in four places: c:386, c:windows/prefetch,c:windows/system32, and c:windows/servicepack filesIs that a problem? Does that indicate a possible virus/trojan? I have McAfee which doesn't detect anything in the computer.I could set Automatic Updates to occur in the middle of the night, when I won't care about slow performance, but my system is connected wirelessly, and it automatically disconnects from the internet some time after I finish using it. Thanks in advance for your help.Sam K.

Most likely it's not a virus/malware problem since I observe it on too many "healthy" systems with antivirus installed, firewalls, anti-spyware.. everything, and definitely not a low-memory problem. It seems to be the natural behaviour of wuauclt to reserve up to .5 GB RAM (in my PCs) and -nearly- all CPU time until it's finished.However, since meaningful updates are available only once/twice a month, I suppose you can safely (Windows key + R) >"services.msc">find Auto-updates> right-click> Properties> and set it (first tab) not to launch automatically. (You may get some warning at startup).You should, though, enable it by hand to receive updates when you don't mind the stall.Thanks for the very helpful tip.

This all makes no sense. I haven't changed the memory, cpu or anything else in my PC and suddenly, within the past probably month I start having this problem with wuauclt.exe and svchost.exe consuming huge amounts of memory and slowing my PC to a crawl for the first 15 or 20 minutes. What did Microsoft change that now makes these processes hog the computer? At the risk of sounding too cynical but also believing it could quite likely be, I can't help but wonder if Microsoft is trying to force people to become so unhappy with their XP systems that they run out and get a new Windows 7 system.The activity also sounds like it could be malware activity but if it is then no one is detecting it. I have run Malwarebytes, ESET NOD32 and Microsoft Security Essentials and none of them find anything wrong so I have to suspect Microsoft.

It doesn't make sense because it is guessing about what things might be.After the last round of Microsoft monthly updates (8/13/2010) some (not all) systems seem to be having this problem. Would you say your issues came up on or shortly after 08/13/2010?Allegedly, Microsoft has issued a statement:"We have gotten reports from multiple sources and consider this to be a live service issue and we are investigating it as a Priority 1."I can't wait for MS, so this is my statement on how to manage the issue for now (there is no trial and error or guessing):The Automatic Update service seems to be involved in this issue. Not all machines experience the problem though. It may be more frequenton systems that have installed 512MB of RAM or less, but it varies. How much RAM does your system have installed?When you restart your system, the Automatic Update is supposed to run, look for stuff to do and if it finds nothing to do, it should turnitself off in a "little while". It is sometimes not turning itself off or taking a very long time to figure things out and keeps runningand one popular symptom is excess HDD activity, slow response time and in Task Manager, the wuauclt.exe Process does not go away like itshould when the automatic check for updates would normally be complete.As a test to see if this is involved in your issue, you can temporarily totally disable the Automatic Updates service in XP, restart yoursystem and see how things look with AU disabled. If things are better, you can leave it that way and not have any future problems andwait for ideas and perhaps a fix from Microsoft or you can change the way Automatic Updates are handled and leave the Automatic UpdateService running.You can completely disable the AU service as a test and then see how things work. To do that, click Start, Run and in the box enter:services.mscFind the Automatic Updates service, right click it, Stop it if it is running (it could take a little while to stop). In the Properties,set the Startup type to Disabled, click OK, etc. to close the Services applet, then restart your system and see how things look now.You can look in the Task Manager Processes tab and should NOT see the wuauclt.exe process running (it is disabled).If the system works okay with AU disabled, you can keep reading for my workaround or if the system still has issues, you may have some other problem.There are two kinds up updates you can get from the Microsoft web site (they come in automatically or manually):Windows UpdatesMicrosoft UpdatesThe workaround I use is to configure your Automatic Updates to leave the automatic Windows Updates enabled and disable just theautomatic Microsoft Updates. You will just have to check for any Microsoft updates manually until the issue has a betterresolution.If you disable the Microsoft updates, you will not get updates for MS Office, Windows Live or Silverlight until you enable theMicrosoft updates again (later) but that may be acceptable to you. Here are the temporary consequences:What are the differences between Windows Updates, Automatic Updates, and Microsoft Updates? Microsoft says this:"While Windows Update provides you with updates specifically for Windows, Microsoft Update expands the service to downloadand install updates for other Microsoft software, such as Microsoft Office and Windows Live [as well as Silverlight & MicrosoftSecurity Essentials]. Automatic updating is a feature that allows you to set your PC to automatically download and installupdates using either service, making it easy and convenient for you to keep your Windows PC current."You will still automatically get the Windows updates that come out the second Tuesday of every month (Microsoft calls this "PatchTuesday") and sometimes you may get more Windows updates before the next Patch Tuesday, but until MS figures it out and fixes ityou will have to remember to check for any Microsoft Updates yourself by hand (you are going to disable this part for now).To turn off Microsoft updates, you must be using Internet Explorer, click Tools, Windows Update and on the left hand side of theUpdate page, click Change settings.Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click the box that says:Disable Microsoft Update software and let me use Windows Update only Click Apply changes now and reply in the affirmative (Yes) to the message box. Then restart your system and you should see the wuauclt.exe process show up in Task Manager like it always does on a reboot, and ifyour system needs no updates, the wuauclt.exe process should go away - in a few minutes depending on your system.That should be it. You may want to reboot a time or two and check the Processes tab in Task Manager as soon as your system is ableand you can watch to see if the wuauclt.exe Process go away once it catches up and settles down. This could take several minutes,but it should go away eventually.If you want to turn the Microsoft Updates back on sometime later to see if there are any updates, using Internet Explorer, clickTools, Windows Update and on the Update page, click the green arrow "Go" button to the right of the message "Get Microsoft UpdateToday!" That will turn the Microsoft update back on and you will have the wuauclt.exe problem again the next time you reboot(unless it is fixed by then).You can turn your Microsoft Updates back on anytime you want and check for updates or, if you can remember after the next PatchTuesday, you can turn your Microsoft Updates back on and check for Microsoft Updates then and get whatever updates needed. Youare in control.When you get done with all your updates, either disable the Automatic Update service again and reboot, or disable just the MicrosoftUpdate part again and reboot when you are done.Maybe Microsoft will have this figured out soon, but this is what I am doing for the moment.Thanks PA Bear for the notes and other postings.I need YOUR votes and points for helpful replies and Propose as Answers. I am saving up for a pony!

Sorry. I didn't mean to propose this as an answer. I thought I would be prompted to Post an answer.I did find an answer that works perfectly. Someone with the username Micarl on Tech Support Forum suggested the following:______________________________________________________________________The issue is with Microsoft Updates, not Windows Updatesvisit http://update.microsoft.com/microsoftupdateclick Change Settings on the leftScroll down and DISABLE MICROSOFT UPDATE______________________________________________________________________It worked like a charm. However I still find it inexcusable and consequently highly suspect that Microsoft has taken so long to fix the problem. They obviously have known about it for quite some time. I still think they did this intentionally to try and push people who can't solve tgis issue to go by Windows 7 machines. How disgusting and sleazy!

Where do I click "change settings"? Please elaborate. Thanks.