NOTE: There will be new software controls being installed for the V7 Windows/Microsoft Update sites soon. If you do not want to wait for them and are experiencing the SVCHOST issue, then download the latest Windows Update Agent for x86 [Win2K, XP, Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Vista]
or
Windows Update Agent for x64 [XP, Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Vista]
Save it, do NOT run it.
Then download and save KB927891 This is NOT FOR VISTA
When the downloads are complete close the browser.
Now run WindowsUpdateAgent30-xXX.exe
Finally, install KB927891
PLEASE NOTE that there are different download links on the KB927891 page for x86 | x64 XP ,an x86 version for Win 2K, and x86 | x64 | ia64 for Microsoft Windows Server 2003
This is NOT FOR VISTA
Restart the system
From The WSUS Product Team Blog - Update on svchost/msi performance issue and 3.0 Client distribution plan
There are numerous threads in the Microsoft Windows Update Newsgroup that deal with the Infamous SVCHOST Issue
MS states that it's caused by the Windows Installer, specifically the msi.dll.
There are even [b]2[/b] MSKB articles that offer a newer version of msi.dll.
KB916089 states that one should not even bother with it. Instead, MS states KB927891 supercedes KB916089
Symptoms of the issue usually appear when a system first boots up, is awakened from Standby, Sleep, or Hibernation, and/or, accesses the Windows or Microsoft Update sites.
When systems with the Automatic Updates service running do any of the above , SVCHOST will start to consume most of the CPU cycles while spawning the wuauclt.exe [Windows Automatic Update Client] process.
SVCHOST may even take all of the CPU cycles, effectively locking the system up, temporarily, until the detection scan has finished.
Other contributing factors in this issue may also be disk fragmentation, data | log corruption, left over files,binaries, or metadata in the SoftwareDistribution folder, and/or interference | file corruption by security software.
Temporary steps that will help mitigate this issue :
1) First, show hidden files, folders, and system files
2) Using Windows Explorer, navigate to the WINDOWS\SoftwareDistribution\Download folder.
Delete the contents of this folder. Exit Windows Explorer.
Initiate a manual visit to the Windows|Microsoft Update site.
If that did not resolve the issue
3) Go to Start > Run > type in net stop wuauserv
Click OK or press Enter
Using Windows Explorer, navigate to the WINDOWS\SoftwareDistribution\DataStore folder
Delete DataStore.edb
NOTE: This will remove the update history that one sees on the Windows | Microsoft Update sites
4) Go to Start > Run > type in net start wuauserv
Click OK or press Enter
Initiate a visit to the Windows|Microsoft Update site.
5) If the above does not resolve the issue, then stop the Automatic Updates service from either the Services console or by running the command previously given.
Then either rename the SoftwareDistribution folder to SoftwareDistribution.old or delete it's contents, not the folder itself.
Now restart the Automatic Updates service.
The contents of SoftwareDistribution will be recreated the first time the system accesses the Windows | Microsoft Update sites or when the Windows Automatic Update Client is spawned.
The Hard Drive can be defragmented using either the native Windows utility or from a 3rd party tool.
Please consult the Help file from Start > Help and Support
Enter disk defragmentation in the Search field and then click the Green arrow.
Check the Help file of the installed antivirus software so that it can be configured to not scan the SoftwareDistribution folder during regularly scheduled system scans. At this time, there is no malware that uses that folder as an infecting vector.
UPDATE - Virus scanning recommendations for computers that are running Windows Server 2003, Windows 2000, or Windows XP
Do not scan the following files and folders. These files are not at risk of infection. If you scan these files, serious performance problems may occur because of file locking. Where a specific set of files is identified by name, exclude only those files instead of the whole folder. Sometimes, the whole folder must be excluded. Do not exclude any one of these based on the file name extension. For example, do not exclude all files that have a .dit extension. Microsoft has no control over other files that may use the same extensions as the following files.
• Microsoft Windows Update or Automatic Update related files
• The Windows Update or Automatic Update database file. This file is located in the following folder:
%windir%\SoftwareDistribution\Datastore
Exclude the Datastore.edb file.
• The transaction log files. These files are located in the following folder:
%windir%\SoftwareDistribution\Datastore\Logs
Exclude the following files:
• Edb*.log
Note The wildcard character indicates that there may be several files.
• Res1.log
• Res2.log
• Edb.chk
• Tmp.edb
And, above all, cross your fingers and toes that
Service Pack 3 is in the works for XP :wink: