The Settings Synchronization Host Process (SettingSynchHost.exe) is responsible for updating and syncing your system’s configuration across all of your connected devices. It synchronises everything from music to wallpaper, so if you update one computer, it will automatically update the others.
In a similar vein, it synchronises your Internet Explorer, OneDrive, Xbox, and other helpful programmes. This is a fairly crucial Windows process, and it can be located in the System32 folder.
Despite its potential usefulness, this procedure frequently leads to issues such as excessive CPU usage for extended periods of time. In some instances, this procedure constantly used up one logical processor at 100% of its available resources.
Method 1: Improving Windows With Updates
When users began reporting that “SettingSyncHost.exe” was using an excessive amount of CPU, Microsoft apparently took swift action and put its engineers on the case. Not too long after, the mammoth released a string of upgrades that fixed these and other issues.
Make sure all the Windows updates are installed right away if you haven’t done so already. In order to function properly and without hiccups, operating systems need regular upgrades and bug fixes. Do remember that updating your computer necessitates a live connection to the internet.
Step 1: Just use the Windows key plus S, then put “Windows update” into the search box and hit Enter.
Step 2: To see if Windows needs any updates, click the “Check for updates” button and let it do the downloading.
Step 3: To see if the improved performance was indeed due to the updates, you should restart the machine.
Method 2: Registry Key Ownership Assignment
It appears that the procedure ‘SettingSyncHost.exe’ is unable to successfully update a registry key or write a file to a specified directory. That’s why your CPU is working so hard; it keeps trying to write the files over and over again.
We can try to assume control of the key in your computer’s registry and see if that has any effect. It’s possible that this fix will call for elevated permissions from an administrator.
Step 1: To open the Registry Editor, hit the Windows key plus R, then type “regedit” and hit Enter.
Step 2: Enter the following path into the registry editor:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\InputPersonalization\TrainedDataStore\en-GB\2
Step 3: To change the permissions for this entry, right-click it and choose “Permissions” from the context menu.
Step 4: Select “Full Control” for each of the user groups individually. It’s as simple as pressing the Apply button to save your changes and leave.
Step 5: See if the issue still exists after restarting the machine.
Method 3: PowerShell Script Execution (Only for Advanced Users)
If neither of the above options works, we can try to create a PowerShell script. The purpose of this script is to periodically (every five minutes) terminate the ‘SettingSyncHost.exe‘ process on your machine.
To officially register for this position on the computer, you will need to input your credentials. This is a solution for the technically savvy only.
Step 1: To launch PowerShell with administrative privileges, press Windows + S, enter “PowerShell” in the search box, then right-click PowerShell.
Step 2: Here is some code to run once you’ve gained superuser privileges:
Register-ScheduledJob -Name “Kill SettingSyncHost” -RunNow -RunEvery “00:05:00” -Credential (Get-Credential) -ScheduledJobOption (New-ScheduledJobOption -StartIfOnBattery -ContinueIfGoingOnBattery) -ScriptBlock { Get-Process | ?{ $_.Name -eq “SettingSyncHost” -and $_.StartTime -lt ([System.DateTime]::Now).AddMinutes(-5) } | Stop-Process -Force}
As you can see, registering the job on your computer will necessitate entering credentials. Verify that the “SettingSyncHost” operation ends normally once you enter the credentials. In case it doesn’t, try restarting your computer and then rechecking.
Step 3: After registering the job, if you decide you no longer want it, you can terminate it by using the following command:
Get-ScheduledJob | ? Name -eq “Kill SettingSyncHost” | Unregister-ScheduledJob
Step 4: Simply restarting your computer should remove the employment registration.
