'System Interrupts Causing High CPU Usage' Issue

The System Interrupts process is a Windows component that works below the operating system level. It is not linked to any particular Windows process; yet, it can be observed through the Task Manager. Hardware interrupts normally appear as a means of communication between the computer's hardware components and the CPU (Central Processing Unit). They happen when signals are sent to the CPU that its resources are needed for another process with higher priority than for the particular hardware that is being served currently. Although it is a straightforward procedure that runs in the system's normal operation, some users report excessive CPU usage (above five percent) for the System Interrupts process.

Too much CPU powered being employed by this process could indicate that some hardware driver is not functioning properly or the hardware component itself has a problem. This is not a severe problem, and affected users have several options to fix the issue.

Before looking at more complex solutions, you can try simply restarting your computer at first. Checking if you have the latest Windows updates is also a thing to do – type' check for updates' in the Search and click on the result that shows up. This should automatically send you to the Windows Update section, where any available updates will appear. If the CPU usage of the Hardware Interrupts process is still higher than it should be, you can check for disk errors. Run the corresponding Windows tool from the Command line or through a graphical interface.

Another option is to unplug external devices individually and one by one, while at the same time observing the CPU usage through the Task Manager. This will indicate which of the components (mouse, microphone, keyboard or webcam) is causing the problem. After you identify which peripheral device is causing the excessive CPU usage, you might need to update the associated driver. To update a driver, open Device Manager by typing' device manager' in the Search or by right-clicking the Windows Start button and selecting Device Manager from the menu.