Microsoft Excel is a powerful tool where especially in somewhat old computers it will cause high CPU usage from time to time. Other times, the high CPU usage has everything to do with plug-ins and add-ons rather than clean installed Excel.
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- 1Excel Causes High CPU Usage (3 Solutions to Try)
- 11) Download and install updates for Office
- 22) Delete local Excel files
- 33) Use Microsoft Excel in safe mode and disable all add-ins
Excel Causes High CPU Usage (3 Solutions to Try)
It is not easy to tell what is the root cause behind the high CPU load, which usually causes the entire operating system to slow down and potentially crash. High CPU usage could also be a sign of an impending corrupt spreadsheet.
To help you solve this problem, I have decided to give you some easy-to-perform tips.
To solve this, you will need to follow these steps:
- Download and install updates for Office
- Delete local files for Excel
- Use Microsoft Excel in safe mode and disable all add-ins
Let’s find out about them in detail
1) Download and install updates for Office
All Microsoft Office updates are done through Windows Update. So your job will be to make sure that you have updated your computer to the latest version available for your operating system.
- Open Settings
- Open Update & Security
- Select Windows Update
- Click Advanced Options _
- Turn on Get updates for other Microsoft products when you update Windows.
Once this is done, updates for the program should be automatic, but you can manually check for updates whenever you like.
2) Delete local Excel files
Before proceeding with this procedure, remember that:
Deleting local content means you will lose your work.
Therefore, it would make sense to copy any data that is on the spreadsheet and save it elsewhere. With that done, it’s time to move on to the good stuff.
To remove all local data files for Microsoft Excel, close the program, then access the following:
C:\Users\Username\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Excel
From inside that folder, delete everything, then restart Windows 10.
3) Use Microsoft Excel in safe mode and disable all add-ins
Add-ons are excellent tools to use to make our work easier and increase our productivity, however keep in mind that by adding new features to the program, we will increase the workload, with a possible negative consequence on our computer.
If you have noticed that the CPU values increased after adding any add-ins to Excel, I recommend that you put Excel in safe mode, then disable all add-ins.
To do this you will need:
Hold down the CTRL key and from there open Excel from the shortcut and it should open in safe mode.
If you see performance improvements, I suggest you remove all add-ons by clicking File > Options > Add-ons . From there, you’ll want to scroll down to where you see Manage and make sure you select Excel Add-ins from the drop-down menu.
The next step, then, is to click Go and a new window should appear with a list of all your add-ons. Each should have a checkbox next to them, so uncheck the boxes to disable them.
Finally, restart Excel and try to do some work once more. Now you can continue to use Excel without causing a CPU increase.