Hidden Windows Services That Are Hogging Your CPU — and How to Disable Them

Windows can do a lot — but it also comes with a bunch of background processes you didn’t ask for. And if your PC isn’t exactly high-powered, you’ve probably noticed this: things feel sluggish, and Task Manager shows your CPU working overtime, hitting 80–100%… even when you’re not running anything. Often, the culprits are background services that run “by default.” The good news? Some of them can be safely disabled — and your system will feel faster almost instantly.

Runtime Broker

This little service manages app permissions for Microsoft Store apps. In theory, it should only use around 20–30% of your CPU — but in practice, it often spikes much higher, especially if something in the background is requesting access.

These spikes are short, but on systems with limited RAM, they can freeze everything — forcing a hard reboot.

If you’re not using any Store apps, you don’t need Runtime Broker at all. To disable it:
— Open Task Manager
— Go to the Processes tab
— Find and end the Runtime Broker process

It won’t restart unless you launch a Microsoft Store app.

Windows Search Indexer

This service creates an index of all your files so you can search them quickly in File Explorer. Sounds helpful — but when Windows updates or rebuilds that index, it can max out your CPU.

If you don’t use file search every day, you’re better off turning it off:

1. Press Win + R, type services.msc, hit Enter
2. Find Windows Search in the list
3. Double-click it
4. Click Stop
5. Under Startup type, select Disabled

Heads up: File Explorer search will become noticeably slower. But if you rarely use it — you’ll survive.

Antimalware Service Executable

This is part of Windows Defender — the MsMpEng.exe process that constantly scans your system in the background. Sometimes it gets aggressive and starts scanning big folders or archives, spiking CPU usage.

Together with the search indexer, it can eat up to 50% of your CPU — or more.

Can you disable it? Technically yes, but it’s risky. Turning off real-time protection leaves your system open to threats. Better to limit its activity.

To temporarily disable real-time scanning:
1. Open Windows Security
2. Go to Virus & threat protection
3. Click Manage settings
4. Turn off Real-time protection

It’s safer to leave Defender on and schedule scans for nighttime — or use a lighter antivirus.

CTF Loader

CTF Loader (ctfmon.exe) handles voice input, handwriting, and other non-standard input methods. If you don’t use any of those — it’s just wasting resources.

Killing it in Task Manager isn’t enough — it’ll just come back. Here’s how to disable it properly:

1. Press Win + R, type services.msc, press Enter
2. Find Text Input Management Service
3. Double-click it and click Stop
4. Set Startup type to Disabled

If you use a touchscreen, stylus, or on-screen keyboard, some features may stop working.

Background Microsoft Store Apps

Windows loves to install apps by default — Outlook, Teams, Copilot, and others. Even if you never open them, they can still run in the background and use up your CPU.

The best option? Uninstall what you don’t need. But if you’d rather keep them:

Option 1: Disable them at startup

1. Open Task Manager
2. Go to the Startup tab
3. Right-click any app you don’t need and click Disable

Option 2: Prevent them from running in the background

1. Open Settings → Apps
2. Go to Installed Apps
3. Click the three dots next to an app → Advanced options
4. Under Background app permissions, choose Never

This way, the apps stay installed — but won’t run unless you open them yourself.

Summary

Windows 11 is great — but it’s not shy about eating up your system’s resources. Let it do its thing unchecked, and your CPU will be gasping for air.
Take a little time to disable unnecessary services, clean up startup apps, and optimize your background processes — and even an older machine will start feeling snappier.