Windows Modules Installer Worker:
A frequently encountered issue with Windows 10/8/7 is the unexplained High Disk usage which at times freezes all other processes of the system. In a lot of scenarios, upon checking the “Task Manager”, it is found that the Windows Modules Installer Worker C.P.U and Disk Usage is very high – at times even more than 50%!
The Windows Modules Installer Worker or WMIW or TiWorker.exe checks for new updates from the Windows server and installs them on your computer system. This process might cause load on the system and in some cases, push the disk usage to 100%, thus hanging or freezing all other processes. Restarting the system won’t work, and the issue does not resolve by itself.
What Is Windows Modules Installer Worker?
This system Process “enables installation, modification, and removal of Windows updates and optional components”, in keeping with its service description.
Windows 10 Automatically installs OS updates via Windows Update, therefore this method is probably going just installing updates in the background. However, if you select to uninstall an update or add or Remove an optional Windows feature, the Windows Modules Installer Worker process also will need to do some work.
While the process is named Windows Modules Installer Worker on the normal Processes tab in Windows 10 Task Manager, its file name is TiWorker.exe, and you’ll see that displayed on the Details tab.
Microsoft also release updates on “Patch Tuesday”, the 2nd Tuesday of every month. They may also release updates on different days, if necessary. If this process is using a lot of CPU, it’s likely that your computer has just downloaded new updates from Microsoft.
You may or may not have to restart your computer to install these updates, but Windows does a lot of updating work in the background so you can continue using your PC while it installs the updates.
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Windows Modules Installer Worker High C.P.U. or High Disk Usage:
- 1] Before you begin, you need to check if your Windows is running the Scheduled Automatic Maintenance task and if it is, then give it some time – maybe hours, to finish. You will see its settings here – Control Panel > All Control Panel Items > Security and Maintenance > Automatic Maintenance.
- 2] The usage may also go high if Windows Update is running – so give it some time. If it is not running then run Windows Updates and see if any are available and install them.
- 3] You might want to also scan your computer for malware. So run an antivirus scan.
- 4] Having done this, the next thing you can try is to kill the TiWorker.exe process in the Task Manager itself and restart it and see if it helps. But it’s quite possible that the matter will keep continual. Thus, the concerned service has to be stopped.
- 5] Run the Windows Update Troubleshooter and see if it helps you.
- 6] Run the System File Checker and DISM Tool to replace corrupted system files and fix a corrupted system image.
- 7] If nothing helps, you may want to see if you want to disable automatic Windows Update. If you do decide to, open the Services Manager. This can be done by opening the Run box by pressing the Win+R keys and then running the command services.msc.
Now look for ‘Windows Modules Installer Worker ‘within the list. The list is in alphabetical order.
Double click or execute the Windows Modules Installer Worker and open the Settings Window. It is usually set to Automatic. Please change the mode to Manual.
Now Search for ‘Windows Update ‘in the services.msc window. Double click on it and open the settings. Change the mode from Automatic to Manual just as in the previous case.
If you are using Windows 8.1 or Windows 7, open the ‘Control Panel’ and click on ‘Windows Update’ and then on ‘Change settings’.
Change the setting to ‘Check for updates however let me select whether to download and install them‘.
Windows 10 users may need to refer this post to disable Automatic Windows Update.
Reboot the system after completing the procedure above. The procedure above sets the ‘Windows Update’ to the Manual mode. Thus, it will not check for updates automatically and only when you command it to. This is a workaround till you are able to find the solution. Perhaps booting into Clean Boot State will help you troubleshoot the issue further. Do remember to check for and update your computer manually every week, in case you choose to follow the last suggestion.
Is It a Virus?
This process is a part of Windows itself. We haven’t seen any reports of malware disguising itself as the Windows Modules Installer Worker, or TiWorker.exe process. However, if you’re concerned about malware, it’s always a good idea to run a scan with your preferred antivirus program to check if anything’s amiss.
If you think something’s wrong
If you think something’s really wrong—perhaps the Windows Modules Installer Worker process has been churning away for hours, or perhaps you think it just runs too frequently—there are some troubleshooting steps you can take. These won’t help if the process is just running for normal reasons, but can potentially fix problems with Windows Update and the Windows operating system itself that could cause issues with the Windows Modules Installer Worker service.
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