After High CPU Usage, Microsoft’s Latest Windows 10 Update Affects Search Tool

Microsoft’s latest update for Windows 10 seems to be beset with bugs as users are reporting high CPU usage and issues with Windows Search. Earlier, Microsoft had said that it was “currently investigating an issue where users are reporting high CPU usage linked to SeachUI.EXE after installing the optional update on August 30 (KB4512941).”

The acknowledgement came after several users reported the update was affecting the performance of PCs with the virtual assistant Cortana being particularly harsh on CPU consumption. As per reports, users are taking to social media, forums, and the Windows 10 Feedback Hub app to complain about the built-in search tool in Windows 10 running into problems due to the latest update. Instead of results, the search box in Taskbar displays a black box. The issue is being attributed to the Windows 10 KB4512941 update and the Group Policy or Registry entry for how Windows Search and Bing (Microsoft’s online search engine) work together, according to Tech Radar.

Worse, some Windows Insiders are encountering a 0x800f081f error code when they try to install the update. It might not be a bad idea to uninstall the update until Microsoft sorts out these issues. This is not the first time that Microsoft has drawn flak from users over bug-ridden Windows 10 updates. In fact, in August, Microsoft acknowledged the discovery of two “critical” Remote Code Execution (RCE) vulnerabilities which are “wormable”, meaning they could be used to launch malware that spreads automatically from PC to PC.