Windows 10 Patch Could Address PC Users Experiencing Odd Spikes In CPU Usage

Folks who are using Windows 10 may have noticed unusual CPU usage, something that Microsoft is aware of. And like most bugs, the only way to address this is through patches. It appears there is now an update available, something that can address CPU spikes or something referred to by most as the “race condition.”

The next cumulative update for Windows 10 is now available for previewing and there is a chance that it could make PCs run faster after installation. The patch could be the answer to the woes of PC users under the Windows 10 OS, a problem that has plagued the Microsoft Feedback Hub as of late.

It appears the issue hounding the Windows 10 CPU usage surge is the race condition bug. This occurs when two threads access a shared variable at the same time. The first thread reads the variable, and the second thread reads the same value from the variable.

Then the first thread and second thread perform their operations on the value, and they race to see which thread can write the value last to the shared variable. The value of the thread that writes its value last is preserved because the thread is writing over the value that the previous thread.

It would be best to note that the complaints mellowed down when Microsoft made the KB5001391 available some weeks ago. It was classified as a cumulative update preview for Windows 10 version 20H2. Some fixes will be included in the Patch Tuesday update expected to roll out on May 11.

While this should be good news for Windows 10 users experiencing the problem, it would be wise to taper expectations. There remains no guarantee that this preview update can help address the race condition bug. There is a chance that it may be due to some other problem. But at this point, Windows 10 users may want to try it out and have nothing much to lose.