Microsoft's latest cumulative update for Windows 10 May 2019 Update ended up causing huge CPU spikes for some users. A number of Windows 10 users reported over the weekend that a Cortana-related bug is causing higher CPU and memory usage. Microsoft took its sweet time, but the company has finally acknowledged the problem.
In a tweet, the Windows maker wrote that it is investigating the issue of high CPU usage related to SearchUI.exe that has apparently arrived with the latest cumulative update (KB4512941) for Windows 10 version 1903.
We are currently investigating an issue where users are reporting high CPU usage linked to SeachUI.EXE after installing the optional update on August 30 (KB4512941). We will provide an update in an upcoming release.
— Windows Update (@WindowsUpdate) September 3, 2019
Microsoft hasn't shared any further details and it remains unclear if this is a widespread issue. The company also hasn't said anything about what caused this bug. The latest acknowledgement only asks users to wait for an upcoming update that will bring a fix to this problem.
While we do hope to see this bug addressed with the release of the upcoming Patch Tuesday updates arriving next week, these problems brought in by Windows 10 cumulative updates actually end up pushing users away from updates. The problems usually only affect a small subset of users, but there is no denying that every update seems to be bringing at least some small bugs and nuisances with it.
The company also hasn't shared any workarounds or temporary fixes, but as reported earlier, you can uninstall the optional Windows 10 cumulative update build 18362.329, or edit the registry to avoid this problem.
How to uninstall Windows 10 cumulative update KB4512941 to avoid high CPU usage issue
One way to avoid this issue is to uninstall Windows 10 update that seems to have introduced this problem. Here is how to do that:
- Go to Settings > click on Update & Security.
- Click on Windows Update and go to View update history.
- Next, click on Uninstall updates, choose the update (KB4512941) you want to uninstall and click the Uninstall button.
- Confirm the process by clicking Yes on the next popup.
- Restart your device to go back to the earlier build.
As shared earlier, for the registry edit, go to the Registry Editor, navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\ Windows\CurrentVersion\Search, and change the value of BingSearchEnabled from 0 to 1.
Do let us know if you have been experiencing this CPU spike problem after installing the latest Windows 10 cumulative update.
