NIS 2012: ccSvcHst.exe Slows System Shortly after Startup

PROBLEM:

ccSvcHst.exe resource usage shortly after system startup impedes system availability. I realize that there have been numerous blog posts concerning ccSvcHst.exe resource usage over the years. My purpose with this blog post is to find out:

 

  • 1.       What is ccSvcHst.exe actually doing shortly after system startup?
  • 2.       Are there are any NIS settings that can reduce resource usage without compromising security?

 

BACKGROUND:

About seven minutes after my computer is started from a cold boot, or awakened from “standby,” ccSvcHst.exe starts and runs for about fifteen minutes. During this time its CPU utilization is at 99%. Other running applications are slowed so much as to be unusable. The task manager shows the following approximate values for resource utilization:

 

·         Image Name:  ccSvcHst.exe

·         User:  SYSTEM

·         CPU Time:  15 minutes

·         I/O Read Bytes: 21 GB

·         I/O Read Bytes:  350 MB

 

I am running Windows XP SP3 on a 2.53 GHz Pentium 4. My hard drive has a capacity of 500 GB and contains 102 GB of data. ccSvcHst.exe is reading (scanning?) 20% of the data on my hard drive and writing 350 MB worth of data.