- The issue of “Waasmedic Agent Exe” for taking up all the storage is giving the users a hard time, which can be solved by some reliable methods.
- There are fixes like pausing Windows updates for a few days if the users are experiencing high CPU or disk usage.
Are you also facing an issue about how your system ends up using all the storage which leaves nothing left in the room, then continues to read. WaasMedic.exe or WaasMedic Agent Exe is a vital Update component that plays a significant role by running as a background service on Windows 10. It was originally added in the 10th edition of Windows to ensure a smooth installation of updates and that all the update-related components remain undamaged or corrupted.
Whenever Windows faces any update struggle, it helps in resolving such issues. Some users have complained that when WaasMedic.exe is on, there is frustratingly high usage of system resources up to 100% which can be caused by several reasons. For instance, there can be a conflict between WaasMedic.exe and external devices, let’s say, hard drive or USB device as they are connected to the system. On the other hand, the cause can also be third-party malware software causing compatibility issues with WaasMedic.exe. Whatever the case, it is not going to disappear itself, unless we find a solution. The WaaSMedicSVC service will likely continue to slow down the device due to high memory use, CPU, or Disc. To fix this, there are some methods presented below.
Why High Resource Consumption Occurs?
Windows Update Medic Service (WaasMedicAgent) is a background system service that looks after part of the Windows Update process and is responsible for protecting Windows Update from being mishandled or disabled (by, for example, rogue malware infections). Many Windows users are facing issues where the System process is using the whole RAM, disk, or CPU, resulting in problems due to which they are unable to perform. As mentioned above, there can be some reasons why this may be happening, and those are as follows:
- The device might be heating or slowing down
- Conflicts between WaaSMedic.exe and system hardware
- Windows OS is not up-to-date.
- Some third-party antivirus-malware causing issues to WaasMedic.exe
How To Fix High Resource Consumption?
With this executable file, people often face maximum resource utilization error, and hence, they wish to uninstall it. But, as it is a Windows component, the users cannot uninstall it. Rather, they can disable it from running in the background and continue with their tasks. Here are some of the verified methods that can help the users to get over this issue:
Upgrading to the Latest Windows Version
You can try updating to the latest Windows if you’re using an old version. There are many situations where not updating the Windows or using older versions leads to this cause.
- By right-clicking on the Windows icon, go to Settings from your Start Menu.
- Then click on Update and Security.
- After that, press on Check for Updates and wait for the results to load.
Windows will start and install the updates automatically after downloading and restarting the system. Then the user can check if the issue has been resolved or not.
Also Read: Troubleshooting Windows 0x0 0x0 Error
Allowing WaasMedicAgent.exe to complete its operation
While downloading and installing the Windows update, WaaSMedicAgent.exe uses the maximum number of system resources. After the process is complete, the user can give a restart to their system and see if it works normally now or not.
Pause Windows updates for a few days
If the user is facing the same issue, he or she can try to keep the Windows updates paused for some time. This way the error might get resolved, and the user can give a restart to their system after the pending updates are completed positively.
Ways To Verify WaasMedic Ownership
In order to assure the users that they are not using a virus, there are some steps that they can follow:
Verifying WaasMedic Agent.exe ownership through Task Manager:
- Search in the Start Menu or press Ctrl + Alt + Delete to open Task Manager.
- Then in the Processes tab find wusvcs where Windows Update Medic Service will be a sub-option. Then right-click on it to enter Properties.
- Then switch to the Details tab and find Microsoft copyright information.
Verifying WaasMedic Agent.exe ownership through File Explorer:
- Open This PC.
- Copy and Paste the next address bar of file explorer and press enter.
- After reaching System 32 folder, press F3 and search WaaSMedicAgent.exe
- Then press Alt + Enter to enter its Properties and check its ownership by going to Details tab.
If in the above-given steps, you’re unable to find the copyright information of Microsoft in the copyright section, then there’s a possibility of the executable file involving a virus.
Disable WaaSMedicAgent.exe
Although it is the least possible, if any of the past discussed methods did not work, the one final thing the user can do is disable the service. It is also better to make the required changes so that the same doesn’t happen again. The steps for the process are as follows:
- With the help of Start Menu, search and open Services.
- Then double-click on Windows Update Medic Service to open its Properties.
- After that, in the new windows, switch the Startup type to Disable and then click on Apply/Ok.
- When you click on Apply, a popup showing error showing Access is denied would appear.
Since waasmedicagent.exe is a Windows component, the user can’t disable it directly. Hence, the user has to change some registry values in order to get access.
There are two ways of changing the registry values.
- Use a third-party tool called Windows Update Blocker.
- Use the Built-in Registry Editor.
As third-party software applications can’t be considered safe, the user can go ahead with the following steps for Built-in Registry Editor:
- Click on Windows + R to open the Run Dialog box and type ‘regedit’ for opening the Registry Editor.
- Then paste the path given below after “Computer/” in the address bar to enter the folder of waasmedicagent.exe-
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\WaaSMedicSvc
- Find Start and double-click to open its options in the WaasMedicSvc registry editor folder.
- After that, change its Value Data to 4 from 3. Then reboot your system after clicking on OK and confirming the changes.
- Go to Services again, after the successful start of your system, and search Windows Update Media Service which is disabled now.
- In order to re-enable, change the value data of Start again in the Registry Editor folder of WaaSMedicSVC. However, this time do the vice versa i.e., change it back to 3 and if the error still occurs, then try inserting 2 instead of 3.
FAQs
Q1. Is WaaSMedicSVC a virus that is harmful to the system?
Ans. Some third-party software applications might detect ‘waasmedic agent exe‘ as a threat or virus. However, that can be a chance of this being an error of judgment. There are two ways that the virus creators can use to their advantage, and they are as follows:
- They can create some third-party antivirus and program it in such a way that it will judge WaasMedicAgent.exe as a virus. So, when a user will disable this executable file, it allows them to exploit the security flaws of the user’s system.
- That executable file can be malware because malware creators often use executable files to inject malware into a system.
Therefore, the users should never use any unknown third-party antivirus and rather rely on the popular ones, but if popular ones also mark that executable file as a threat or virus, then the users should confirm that executable file’s ownership.
The file is not malware if it’s marked as © Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
Q2. Is it alright to disable the WaasMedicAgent.exe?
Ans. Waasmedicagent.exe is an important component of the Windows update service, which helps in the restoration and protection of Windows update components. Even though the user can’t disable it directly by going to the Services option, they can still manage to do so , but that will result in errors during Windows updates.
