Symptoms:
svchost.exe is taking up too much CPU, around 50% and taking a lot of Memory Usage. Some users may encounter a full 100% CPU usage, see solution below.
Solution:
--> Stop the Automatic Updates Service by going to Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Services.
Find the Automatic Updates service on the list on the right hand side of the window. Right click on the list and click Stop.
--> Download
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=43264
After downloading the file from Microsoft, you may be asked to Validate your copy of windows. If not, run the tool and install it.
--> Restart your computer in SAFE MODE. (
What is Safe Mode?)
~Go to the directory of WINDOWS (Located in C:\WINDOWS)
~Locate and RENAME the folder 'Software Distribution' to 'Software Distribution.old'. After renaming it, find a
text file called 'Windows Update.log' (some users may have a 'WindowsUpdate.log' without a space). Rename 'Windows Update.log' or 'WindowsUpdate.log' to 'Windows Update.log
.old'
--> REBOOT your computer in Normal Mode
Go back to Administrative Tools and click Services. Find the Automatic Updates service. This time, click RESTART to restart the service. Don't end it, don't start it, just RESTART it.
Good luck and hope this thread is useful for thousands of users who are experiencing this problem.
If you know what System Restore is, it is recommended that you make a restore point just in case you spoof up. If you forgot to restore a point, just rename the files that you added '.old' to.