Windows 8.1 explorer.exe sends cpu to 100% when searching in Metro interface

Hi Sarah,

-          Did you make any changes to the computer prior to this issue?

Let us follow these methods and check if this helps.

Method 1.

Boot the computer in safe mode and check if the issue re-occurs. Safe mode starts Windows with a minimal set of drivers and services.

Windows Startup Settings (including safe mode): http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-8/dual-booting-boot-manager-boot-options

If the issue does not occur in safe mode, then perform a clean boot state and check if this helps.

Boot the computer in a clean boot state and check the status. A clean boot helps to verify if any third party application service or startup item is causing this issue.

How to troubleshoot a problem by performing a clean boot in Windows Vista or in Windows 7, Windows 8:http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929135

Note: After you have finished troubleshooting, follow steps under “How to reset the computer to start as usual after troubleshooting with clean boot” in the article to boot to normal startup.

Method 2.

Run a full computer scan with Microsoft Safety Scanner to make sure that the computer is free from virus.

Microsoft Safety Scanner: http://www.microsoft.com/security/scanner/en-us/default.aspx

Safety Scanner Disclaimer: There could be a loss of data while performing a scan using Microsoft safety scanner to eliminate virus if any.

Hi Sarah,

-          Were you able to follow the methods provided in the previous reply? If yes what is the status?

Windows indexes the most commonly searched locations on your PC to make your searches faster.

Refer to these articles to know more about Indexing and search.

Indexing and Search: Frequently asked questions: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-8/search-index-faq

How to search: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-8/search-apps-files-settings

Reply with the status of the issue and we will be glad to offer our assistance.

Thanks Joseph. Had similar issue on one of my systems, and the issue occurred in safe mode too.

I had added a folder in a different drive to Libraries. However that was not added to the search index location.

Once I followed the nhkhanh's solution in the http://superuser.com/questions/666787/windows-8-1-search-charm-slow-with-explorer-exe-cpu-usage-at-100 thread and added everything in my library to index, the problem got magically fixed.

Hi,

Thank you for sharing the information.

Your efforts to resolve this issue is very much appreciated.

Hi,

Thank you for sharing the information.

Your efforts to resolve this issue is very much appreciated.

Feel free to post your query here on Windows Forums, we would be happy to assist you.

I think the most important thing is that MS recognizes which conditions lead to this problem, and implements a fix to prevent it. It really renders the system unusable, causing people to reinstall windows from scratch. That's a lot of unnecessary suffering!

I realize that this is an old post, but I just started experiencing the problem and this thread was at the top of the list when i searched for help on the issue.

I was able to solve the problem by deleting all indexes and rebuilding them.  The rebuild of the indexes (sp. indices?) made windows explorer consume 40% of the CPU, but when it finished my total CPU consumption leveled off at 1-3%.

The indexes can be deleted and rebuilt here:

1. Open control panel and select "Indexing Options".  You must be an Administrator.

2. Click on "Advanced".

3. Click "Rebuild" and follow the dialogue to delete and rebuilt the indexes.

It's probably worth mentioning that I simultaneously modified the list of indexed folders/items.  There were items in the list that I don't need to search, so i removed them from the list.  

I can't say conclusively whether modifying the list of indexes or rebuilding the indexes solved the problem.

I hope this helps.  If this works for you and you find a newer post on this topic, please spread the solution.

Good Luck.