Fix: High CPU Usage Caused By Windows Problem Reporting (Werfault.exe)

Abnormally-high CPU usage can manifest in different ways. Few examples are a sudden increase in your computer’s fans’ workload, the system struggling with simple tasks such as opening files, and overheating. In some situations, the computer may freeze or crash and become unusable.

That is how users described their experience after encountering a problem with the Windows Problem Reporting process, also known as Werfault.exe.

If you recently had a similar issue and are looking for a way to solve it, keep reading, as the following guide covers this topic in detail.

Without further ado, let’s get straight into it.

Werfault.exe Process High CPU Usage Issue Explained

It’s worrying when a process we don’t know much about takes much of our CPU’s resources for itself, leaving not much to work with.

So, to soothe the worries before we resolve the problem, it is important to know that Werfault.exe is a dependable, included Windows procedure that cannot harm your computer in any way. Its function is mostly as the name suggests, and that is to report errors to Microsoft so that the creators can obtain more details and prevent comparable problems in the future.

However, it is known for sometimes causing a high CPU usage problem on all versions of Windows, as well as crashing and restarting which leads to disruptive error prompts showing on the user’s screen.

There are two reasons you may be experiencing the high CPU usage issue caused by this process.

• It’s pointing to a legitimate problem, such as malfunctioning software on your PC that keeps running or restarting in the background. Removing the faulty program will solve the issue, as was the case with the user who answered in this specific thread on the Microsoft forum.
• The Werfault.exe process malfunctions and keeps restarting. If this happens frequently, it can cause all CPU resources to be allocated specifically for that cause, so the PC may freeze and crash or become unacceptably slow. In this case, it’s best to disable the Windows Problem Reporting process on your PC.

Below you can find multiple methods to fix this problem, and if you don’t want the Windows Problem Reporting process running on your computer entirely, you’ll learn how to disable it.

Method 1: Uninstalling The Program Reported By Werfault.exe

It’s optimal finding the root of the problem and solving it like that rather than just disabling the Windows problem Reporting process altogether.

This can be a bit tricky to do, especially if you are a newer Windows user, but if you follow the steps below, you’ll get it done effortlessly.

Here’s what we recommend:

1. Simultaneously press Windows + S on your keyboard to open the Windows Search Box.
2. Type in Event Viewer and press Enter.
   
3. Ensure Event Viewer (Local) is selected in the left sidebar menu. Then, under the Summary of Administrative Events section, expand the Error category by clicking on the + sign, as shown in the image below.
   
4. Find the event with the most reports in the past 24 hours, and double-click it. If this has been an ongoing problem, it will be easy to find it as the number of reports for it should be substantially higher than for other events.
5. Gather information about the potential perpetrator, then search your computer and uninstall/reinstall/fix that specific program.

This will fix the problem immediately, considering you’ve found the right application/program malfunctioning and being continuously reported by Windows Problem Reporting.

Method 2: Disabling Windows Problem Reporting On Your Computer

If you dislike this feature and feel it’s causing more harm than good for your computer, there are ways to disable it.

With this, the frequent error reporting and high CPU usage should also go away.

Here’s a simple way to turn off Werfault.exe on your Windows PC:

1. First, right-click an empty area on your Taskbar and choose Task Manager from the list of options.
   
2. Open the Processes tab, then find Windows Problem Reporting on the list. Right-click it and choose End Task. Open the Startup tab, see if it’s on the list there, then if it is, right-click it and select Disable.
3. Press Windows + R to launch your operating system’s Run utility. In it, type in services.msc, then press the OK button.
   
4. Click on a random process from the list, then press W on your keyboard to scroll the results down to where processes starting with that letter are.
5. Find Windows Error Reporting Service, right-click it, and choose Properties.
   
6. Expand the list of options under the “Startup type:” section, then the service’s status to Disabled. Confirm the action by clicking Apply and then OK at the bottom.
   
7. Restart your computer for the changes to take effect.

Now the Windows Problem Reporting service will no longer start on computer boot. So, unless you manually activate it, you should no longer see the errors or high CPU use caused by it.

Method 3: Running The Windows System File Checker Tool

One of the reasons why the Windows Problem Reporting (werfault.exe) process is not functioning properly is due to file damage.

The quickest way to ensure no system files are corrupt on your computer is by running the System File Checker.

Here’s how to do that:

1. Press Windows + R to open the Run utility.
2. Type in cmd and press CTRL + SHIFT + ENTER to launch an elevated Command Prompt window.
3. Within Command Prompt, type in sfc /scannow and press Enter. This will start the verification phase of the system scan.  
   
4. Wait until the process is complete. You should see a confirmation message that corrupt files have been found and fixed, as shown in the image below.
   

Restart your computer, and the problem should now be fixed.

Conclusion

The errors caused by the Windows Problem Reporting process caused a lot of frustration among members of the Microsoft community.

So far, there hasn’t been an official answer from a Microsoft representative about the problem, even though it has been frequently reported by users for years. Luckily, the tested methods listed in this guide helped many overcome it.

Hopefully, the above-mentioned solutions worked and restored your ability to use your computer without further interruptions.