How to fix “Service Host Local System Network Restricted” High CPU usage

Service host: Local System (Network Restricted) is a Windows process often reported to cause high CPU or Disk usage. Users may see svchost.exe processes that stack in Device Manager and consume a lot of system resources. This, therefore, leads to various lags and generally slower PC performance, putting convenient system usage at a significant risk. Note that such a problem is not entitled to one single cause. Different users can have different reasons for why it occurs. Most of the reported cases have been diagnosed to originate from problems with Windows Update, Windows Audio, and other system services. Luckily, there are a couple of ways you can try to resolve the issue. Follow our institutions below to learn what may be the reason behind extremely high resource usage and apply potential solutions to fix it.

1. Disable SysMain (Superfetch) service

At times, the working SysMain (a.k.a Superfetch) service can go crazy and lead to higher resource usage. Although SysMain is a native Windows service that is enabled by default, you can still disable it without consequences. Otherwise, it will continue holding your disk or CPU at unbearably high consumption rates. You will find the necessary instructions to turn it off down below.

1. Press Windows key + R together and type services.msc into the window.
2. Open it up and search for SysMain or Superfetch service (the name depends on which Windows version you use).
3. Once found, right-click on it and choose Properties.
4. In General tab, click on Stop and then OK to save the changes.

Check if this helped you reduce the number of consumed resources. If not, try doing the same steps for the following services as well:

Windows Update
Update Orchestrator Service
Background Intelligence Service
Windows event log

2. Install fresh updates

Some updates released by Microsoft are aimed at resolving system instabilities and therefore issues. Thus, if you have any updates pending, we recommend you install them to see if it affects the issue in a positive way.

1. Right-click on the Start Menu button at the bottom taskbar of your desktop and choose Settings. You can also press Windows Key + I buttons instead.
2. Go to Update & Security and then navigate to Windows Update. Click Check for updates.
3. If updates have already been found, simply Download and install them.

3. Check integrity of system files

Corrupted or missing files may also be the reason for various problems in proper communication between Windows services. For this exact reason, we encourage you to run SFC (System File Scan) and DISM (Deployment Image Servicing and Management), both of which are command-line utilities designed to detect and solve various issues related to files and system configuration.

Using SFC

1. Open Command Prompt by typing cmd into the searching loop next to the Start Menu button.
2. Right-click on Command Prompt and choose Run as administrator.
3. Once the console is opened, type the sfc /scannow command and click Enter.
4. When the fixing process is done, restart your computer.

Using DISM

1. Open Command Prompt as we did in the previous step.
2. Copy and paste this command DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth.
3. Click Enter and wait until Windows ends the scanning and fixing.
4. Once done, restart your PC and try to open the problematic program again.

4. Run a Clean Bootup

It is possible that high CPU usage due to Service host: Local System (Network Restricted) is affected by some third-party application that was downloaded from the web. Some users said the issue arose while they were using some audio adjustment software. Malware should also be counted, so it would be reasonable to give your PC a scan for malicious presence. Clean bootup allows users to start their PCs with in-built apps and services to find out whether some secondary app prompts the issue. To launch your system with clean bootup, follow the steps below:

1. Do Windows key + R combination and paste msconfig.
2. Then in the opened window go to the Services tab located on top.
3. Check the box next to Hide All Microsoft Services and click on Disable all button.
4. Now choose the General tab and select the Selective startup option. Make sure that the box is checked only next to the Load System Services.
5. Click Apply and OK. Then reboot your PC.
6. Now you can check the CPU/Disk usage as you are in the Clean Bootup mode. If there is no sign of pressure as it was before, then there is a chance that some third-party software is causing the issue. If you suspect any recently-installed program to cause the problem, delete it and see whether it resolves the issues.

To delete a recently-installed program:

1. Right-click on the Start button and choose Programs and Features.
2. Find the name of a program you installed recently, right-click on it and press the Uninstall button.
3. Confirm follow-up windows if any of them appear. Hopefully, this will stop the error from its appearance.

If deleting the program did not help or there is simply no such in your mind to remove, then it might be reasonable to run a full scan of your system, in case there is any malicious presence that spikes your resource consumption. You can do it either using the in-built Windows Defender or use a more advanced antivirus. We recommend Malwarebytes – a trusted and talented group of experts constantly updating their software to fight off both local and global threats. You can download it now using the link below and get a 14-day trial of the ultimate antimalware experience completely for free.

Malwarebytes main window

Malwarebytes settings

Malwarebytes scan results

5. Update/Reinstall Audio drivers

As mentioned, one of the reasons for unusually high CPU usage can be the misoperation of audio features. To fix it, we can try to update audio drivers. You can do it either using manual steps or with a special utility that will detect insufficient/outdated drivers fully on its own.

To update the driver:

1. Right-click on the Windows 10 icon and select Device Manager.
2. In the opened tab, find and expand a section called Sound, video and game controllers.
3. Right-click on audio-related drivers, select Update Driver, choose Search automatically for drivers and follow the on-screen instructions.
4. Windows will start searching for available updates and automatically install them on your computer.

Updating each driver manually can be time- and energy-consuming. If you want to update drivers faster in bulk, we recommend using a special utility called Driver Booster from IObit. The program is equipped and always updated with broad databases of drivers for all Windows devices, including audio. You can download it using the button below.

Driver Booster start screen

Driver Booster scan results

Driver Booster tools section

6. Adjust Sound Settings

One more thing you can do with regard to sound is run various adjustments in Windows sounds settings. Strangely enough, some users managed to decrease the number of consumed system resources by running various sound adjustments in settings. This solution is definitely not ideal, however, it can at least fix the issue temporarily. Here are a couple of possible methods you can use to fix the problem:

Note: instead of trying the beneath-listed solutions, you can try and install the KB5014019 update from the Microsoft page. Some users reported it addressed the high CPU issue without doing any audio adjustments. You should try downloading the update manually if updating your system previously did not resolve the issue.

Disable sound effects and other adjustments:

1. Click on the Search loop icon next to Start Menu and type Control Panel.
2. Choose Sound from the list. If you do not see it, make sure View by is set to Large icons.
3. Then, go to Playback tab, right-click on Speakers and open Properties.
4. Navigate to Enhancements and select Disable all sound effects.
5. After this, go to Advanced and uncheck the box next to Allow applications to take exclusive controls of this device.
6. Finally, click Apply and OK to save the changes.

If this does not help, some users also reported that after turning off Realtek(R) Audio Speakers, the CPU usage bounced back to its normals. This action may leave you with no sound unless you have additional devices like headphones to use.

Disable speakers:

1. Open Sound from Control Panel and Playback tab as we did above.
2. Right-click on Speakers – Realtek(R) Audio and click Disable. After this, check how this affects your CPU usage.
3. To turn the speakers back on, simply right-click again and choose Enable.

A better alternative to the above would be to try and switch from stereo (dual) to mono audio channels.

Turn on Mono channel:

1. Right-click on Windows icon and select Settings from the list.
2. Go to Ease of Access and Audio afterwards.
3. Switch on the toggle under Turn on mono audio.

Summary

This is basically it. Unusually high resource eat-ups due to Service host: Local System (Network Restricted) are quite weird indeed and should not be happening at all. Unfortunately, Windows is imperfect and tends to experience various conflicts with other system services. We hope our guide was enough to fix the issue and get back to convenient experience without sacrificing quality in other areas like sound.