[Solved] High CPU Usage By Sppsvc.exe ‘Office Software Protection Platform’

Microsoft Office software protection platform helps to validate and prevent tampering with Microsft software like Office, One drive, etc. The complete process is done in Windows through Sppsvc.exe. 

However, Sppsvc.exe can at times result in high usage of CPU. As a result, your computer slows down and after a certain time, it crashes. 

How To Solve High CPU Usage by ‘Software Protection Platform Service’ Sppsvc.exe

Below, you will get to know all the effective fixes by which you can easily solve the Office software protection platform Sppsvc.exe causing high CPU usage on your computer. 

Fix 1 – Run the Windows System Maintenance Troubleshooter

Running the Windows system maintenance troubleshooter can fix this problem on your PC. To do that, follow these directions:

1. Press the Windows Home key and I button together to launch the Settings window.
2. Navigate to the Update & Security section and select the Troubleshoot tab on the left pane.
3. Scroll down the page until you find the System Maintenance section, select it. After that, click on the Run the troubleshooter option.
4. During the troubleshooting process, the system will find the problem and you can fix it automatically by clicking on the Apply Fix option.
5. After finishing the troubleshooting, reboot your computer and check if the error still persists or not. 

Fix 2 – Perform a Clean Boot

In order to fix the High CPU usage problem by Sppsvc.exe software protection platform service, it is necessary to perform a clean boot on your computer. Follow the undermentioned steps:

1. Press the Win + R keys to launch the Run box.
2. Type ‘msconfig’ and then click on the OK option or hit the Enter button.
3. When you are in the System Configuration window, go to the Services tab and then mark the Hide all Microsoft services option. 
4. After that, click on the Disable all button. Then click on the Apply button followed by the OK option.
5. Next, navigate to the Startup tab and click on the Open Task Manager link.
6. From the Task Manager window, select each service one-by-one and then click on the Disable option. 
7. After doing all these, reboot your computer and then check if the CPU usage problem is fixed or not. 

Fix 3 – End Sppsvc from Task Manager

This is one of the most effective fixes to resolve the High CPU Usage problem on your computer. So, you can end the background process of ‘software protection properties’ from the Task Manager to resolve the high CPU usage problem. To do this:

1. Press the Ctrl + Shift + Esc buttons to open the Task Manager window.
2. From the Task Manager window, move to the Processes tab and look for Software Protection properties, select it.
3. After that, click on the End Task option to stop the process. 

Fix 4 – Disable the Service (sppsvc)

If the service (sppsvc) is turned on then you can face this issue. So, you can disable this service completely using the Registry Editor. To disable it, follow the steps hereunder:

1. Hold the Windows Home key and press the R button to open the Run box. 
2. Type ‘regedit’ and then hit the Enter key or click on the OK button. 
3. When you are in the Registry Editor window, go to the following path” Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\sppsvc
4. On the sppsvc directory, find the Start key and double-click on it to open the Edit DWORD (32-bit) Value window. 
5. In that window, set the Value data is to 4 and then click on the OK button to save the changes. 

After performing these steps, if the Software Protection service is not disabled, then you can disable it from the Services window. Follow these steps carefully:

1. Press the Win + R buttons to launch the Run box. Type services.msc and then press the Enter key or click on the OK button.
2. From the Services window, look for Software Protection, right-click on it. 
3. After that, choose All Tasks and then select the Stop option.
4. Now the Software Protection service will stop instantly. 

Fix 5 – Disable the Sppsvc service from the Task Scheduler

If the Task Manager does not help in ending the service, then you can try to turn off it from the Task Scheduler. Take a look at the steps cited hereunder:

1. Type Task Scheduler in the Search box and then hit the Enter button.
2. When you are in the Task Scheduler window, select the Task Scheduler Library section to expand it on the left panel.
3. After that, go to the following path: Microsoft > Windows.
4. Then, search for the SvcRestartTask, right-click on it. After that, choose the Disable option. 

Fix 6 – Run the System File Checker Scan

Sometimes, the High CPU Usage problem can be caused by a corrupted system file. So, you need to repair those files by using the System File Checker scan. The following steps will help you:

1. Right-click on the Start button to launch the WinX menu list and select Command Prompt(Admin).
2. Type SFC/scannow in the Command Prompt window and then press the Enter key. 
3. Once the scanning process is complete, reboot the device. 

Fix 7 – Run DISM Tool

If the SFC scan does not work, then you can run the DISM tool. It is also an in-built tool on Windows. To run this tool, follow the steps hereunder:

1. Launch the Command Prompt window
2. Type “DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth” and then press the Enter button.
3. Wait for few minutes for the scan to complete. After that, restart your PC and then check if the problem is fixed or not. 

Fix 8 – Install the Latest Version of the Operating System 

If you are using an older version of the Operating System then you may face this High CPU Usage problem by Software protection platform service. So, you must keep the system up to date. Perform the following steps:

1. Press the Windows Home key and I button together to launch the Settings window.
2. Go to the Update & Security section and select the Update tab.
3. From the Update tab, click on the Check for updates option to find whether any updates are available or not. 
4. If yes, then click on the Update button. After updating the system, check if the issue still shows up or not. 

Fix 9 – Perform a System Restore

If the above fixes did not help you out then you can try to perform the System Restore to get rid of this issue from the device. To know more about it follow these steps:

1. Type System Restore in the Search box and then press the Enter key.
2. On the System Restore window, click on the Next option.
3. Choose the restore point from the list and then click on the Next button.
4. In the next window, Windows will confirm your actions. Click on the Finish option. Now the restore process will begin. 
5. Once the process completes, reboot your computer.