CPU Ram Management has always been one of the main concerns of Windows users. We try to use every part of that memory to do something that is productive. Constantly visiting Task Manager, trying to kill and kill background processes is more of an obsession for many of you. Tracking memory usage and space occupied by your applications is something that may concern you. But trust me, you shouldn’t worry about that at all. Computers today are smart enough to do that job on their own. They absolutely do not need our intervention. With this in mind, let’s talk about wsappx , a constantly running background app.
If you are a Windows 8 and later user, you may have noticed a certain wsappx application mentioned in your task manager and it also consumes a lot of CPU memory (about 8-10%) and also a lot of battery. Such a significant amount of disk resources being used by a background application that you didn’t use in the first place can be frustrating. In this article we are going to know more about the wsappx application and if and how to kill it.
Before we go on to explain what wsappx is, let’s first clarify what it is not.
What is wsappx?
Wsappx was a service first introduced by Microsoft for Windows 8 in light of Microsoft’s Universal Application Platform. It is used to update, install and uninstall applications from the Windows store, automatically updating the ones that are pre-installed in Windows, such as Paint3d, Mail, Calculator, etc.
As you already know, wsappx was introduced in Windows 8 and 10. wsappx includes the AppX Deployment Service (AppXSVC). In Windows 10, you will also see the Client License Service (ClipSVC). In Windows 8, you will also see Windows Store Service (WSService) instead of ClipSVC. By expanding the wsappx process running in your Task Manager, you will see subservices running (depending on the version of Windows you are using).
Is it the wsappx virus?
Computer viruses and malware can literally eat your system upside down. So whenever we see something running that we don’t know, our first thoughts and fears are that it is a virus. Relax, wsappx is not a virus. It was introduced by Microsoft itself and you don’t have to worry. You may ask what if a malware has disguised itself as wsappx. Well, that has never been reported and is highly unlikely.
Why does WSAPPX use so much CPU?
Now let’s look at the main concern of wsappx servic, which generally uses a noticeable amount of CPU, especially when our PC is installing, uninstalling or updating applications in the Windows Store, either by manual or automatic choice.
But if you don’t want to update these apps and they aren’t of much use, you can always ask the Store not to update your apps automatically.
Follow the steps below to do so:
- Launch the Windows Store.
- Click on the user icon. You will find it in the upper right corner of the window.
- Select the “Settings” option.
- Set the “Automatically update apps” slider to the “Off” position.
In case you ever change your mind, you can simply take the following steps:
- Navigate to the Windows Store.
- Click on the icon for your user profile.
- Select the “Downloads and Updates” option. Select the applications you want to update.
This will prevent the wsappx service from using the CPU to update applications in the background. The only downside is that every time you have to update manually and you won’t get the latest app updates automatically. Don’t think that this will reduce CPU and RAM usage. It will still use system resources like CPU and RAM, but you will be able to choose when they will be used.
Warning: Microsoft frequently updates the applications included with Windows, such as Mail, Movies & TV, OneNote, Photos, and Calculator, so we do not recommend disabling this feature.
Is it safe to disable Wsappx?
Even if you think you can do without wsappx services, you can’t really disable these processes.
They don’t always run in the background like you think. Windows starts them as needed and closes when they are not needed. To confirm this, launch a Store app and you will see ClipSVC appear. Similarly, launch the Windows Store and you will see AppXSVC appear. Install or uninstall an application and you will see that AppX uses some system resources to complete the process.
Windows does not advise disabling wsappx services. If you try to kill the wsappx process from Task Manager, Windows warns you that your system will become unusable or shut down. There is also no way to forcibly disable wsappx in the service utility.
Take final!
Even if you could prevent the wsappx processes from running, trust me you wouldn’t want to. They are an extremely critical part of Windows.
And you don’t need to worry because they only run when needed and use very little system resources most of the time. It really isn’t as much of a problem as you think it is. They will only use system resources when you install, uninstall, or update an app from the Store.
Also Read: Fix Windows Store Error
Hope you found the article informative. Feel free to comment if you have any further questions. Thank you for reading!
