Fixing High Disk or CPU Usage by SDX Helper Microsoft Office

 

Zerrows.com - This article will discuss various solutions to fix high Disk or CPU usage issues by Microsoft Office SDX Helper. According to some affected users, this process takes up too much Disk or CPU usage and ends up making your PC sluggish. Now, let us examine in detail what this process is and how you can fix high Disk or CPU usage in this article.

What is Microsoft Office SDX Helper Process?

Microsoft Office SDX Helper or Sdxhelper.exe is a process associated with Microsoft Office. This is a Microsoft secure download manager that allows the safe download and update of Office modules. This process runs in the background and does not consume a lot of CPU and other CPU resources. However, some users complain of high CPU usage around 50-60% by Sdxhelper.exe. This problem is critical because it slows down the PC and prevents you from using the system normally.

Causes of High Disk or CPU Usage by SDXHelper.exe

Here are the possible causes of high Disk or CPU usage by SDXHelper.exe on your Windows 10 or Windows 11.

• Problems can occur if Office and Windows are not up to date.
• It can also be caused due to a corrupt or incorrect installation of Microsoft Office.
• Antivirus glitches can also cause the same problem.
• Corrupted Office Document Cache is another reason for the same problem.

Can I disable Microsoft Office SDX Helper?

You can disable the Microsoft Office SDX Helper or SDXHelper.exe processes. However, after disabling this process, you will have to install other Office features and update manually.

Fixing High Disk or CPU Usage by Microsoft Office SDX Helper

Suppose Microsoft Office SDX Helper (SDXHelper.exe) displays high Memory, Disk or CPU usage. In that case, the following methods need to be done to solve the problem. Let's look at each technique in detail.

1. Update Office

This issue may occur if you are using an out of date version of Office. So, make sure you are using the latest version of Microsoft Office. If your Office is not up to date, then install all available updates. For that, you can use the following steps.

• First, launch one of the Office applications like Word, Excel, PowerPoint and others.
• Next, go to the Home tab and click on Accounts in the left pane.
• Now, click on the Update Options drop-down menu and select the Update Now option.

• After that, Office will check for available updates, then download and install them.

When the update process is complete, check if the issue is resolved.

2. Update Windows to Latest Build

You need to make sure that your Windows and Office are updated to the latest builds. Suppose there is a mismatch issue between OS and Office modules. In that case, it can cause high Disk or CPU usage issues by Microsoft Office SDX Helper. So, make sure your Windows has been updated to the latest version.

For that, open Windows Settings by pressing Win key + I and clicking Windows Update. Click Check for updates to check for updates. If available, then download and install Windows updates on your PC.

If the problem happens again, you can try the next potential fix to fix the problem.

3. Add Exception for SDX Helper in your antivirus

If your antivirus is interfering with the operation of the Office module update, then this problem may appear. Therefore, adding Sdxhelper.exe to your antivirus exception list can help you solve the problem. To do so, follow the steps below.

• First, disable your antivirus and then analyze whether Sdxhelper.exe is no longer using a lot of CPU.
• If so, you can try adding Sdxhelper.exe to your antivirus' Exception or Exclusion list.
• Now, open your antivirus and go to Exception or Exclusion settings.
• Now, find Sdxhelper.exe in the below location:

For 64-bit:

C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\root\vfs\ProgramFilesCommonX64\Microsoft Shared\OFFICE16

For 32-bit:

C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\root\vfs\ProgramFilesCommonX64\Microsoft Shared\OFFICE16

Once done adding the Exception, activate your antivirus, and hopefully, the problem will be permanently resolved.

4. Clear Office Document Cache

This issue might be triggered due to a corrupt Office Document cache. So, clearing the Office Document cache will allow you to fix the problem at hand. Here are the steps to do it.

• Run Office Upload Center with administrator rights from the Start menu.
• In the Office Upload Center window, click Settings and then click Delete cached files.
• After that, restart your PC and check if the problem is solved now.

You can also clear the Office Document cache manually by going to the following location and deleting all the files it contains.

C:\Users\user_name\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Office\16.0\OfficeFileCache

5. Disable Multiple Tasks in Task Scheduler

If the problem persists, you can try disabling some relevant tasks in the Task Scheduler to resolve the issue. This task includes Office Feature Updates and Office Feature Updates. Note that after disabling this task, you will need to update the Office applications manually.

Following are the steps to disable the relevant task in Task Scheduler.

• Open Task Scheduler from the Start menu or by pressing Win + R keys, type taskschd.msc and press Enter.
• In the Task Scheduler window, navigate to Task Scheduler Library - Microsoft - Office in the left pane.
• Next, from the middle pane, right-click on the Office Feature Updates task and click Disable.
• After that, repeat the steps above for the Office Feature Updates Logon task.
• Finally, restart your PC and then check if the problem is solved.

You can also run the commands below (one by one) in Powershell (Admin) to disable the above task.

Schtasks /change /s $_ /tn ‘\Microsoft\Office\Office Feature Updates’ /disable

Schtasks /change /s $_ /tn ‘\Microsoft\Office\Office Feature Updates Logon’ /disable

6. Rename SDX Helper File

If none of the above solutions worked for you, try renaming the SDX Helper file. Some users have reported fixing the problem using this solution, and it might work for you too. However, after changing the name, you may have to update Office manually.

Here are the steps to rename the SDX Helper file.

• Open Task Manager by pressing Ctrl + Shift + Esc.
• In the Task Manager window, switch to the Details tab, then right-click on SDXHelper.exe and select End task to end the process.
• Now, navigate to the following path in File Explorer.

For 64-bit:

C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\root\vfs\ProgramFilesCommonX86\Microsoft Shared\OFFICE16

For 32-bit:

C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\root\vfs\ProgramFilesCommonX86\Microsoft Shared\OFFICE16

• Next, select and right-click on sdxhelper.exe and select Rename from the context menu.
• After that, enter a new name with an extension, for example, something like sdxhelper1.new.

When the file is renamed, check if the problem resolve or not.

7. Repair Office

The high CPU usage of Sdxhelper.exe can be caused due to a corrupt or incorrect installation of the Office suite. If the scenario applies to you, you should be able to fix the problem by repairing the Office suite. To perform an Office repair, here are the steps you should take.

Note: If you are using Microsoft 365, you may have to fix it via Command Prompt.

• Open Control Panel by pressing Win + R, then type control and press Enter.
• In the Control Panel window, click Uninstall a Program under the Programs section.
• Then click Microsoft Office from the list of programs that appears in the window and click Change.
• The Microsoft Office Repair utility will open. Select Quick Repair or Online Repair and click Repair. Confirm the process and wait a few moments for it to finish.

When the process is complete, check if the problem resolve or not.

8. Reinstall Office

If none of the solutions above work for you, the last resort is to reinstall the entire Office suite on your PC. The problem may lie in the installation of a corrupted Office module that cannot be repaired. So, check with a fresh install, it might solve the problem for you.

• First, you have to uninstall the Microsoft Office suite application completely. Then, browse the following path below in File Explorer and delete the Office folder.

\Users\user_name\AppData\Local\Microsoft

• Next, go to the following address and delete the folder named Microsoft Office and/or Microsoft Office 15.

C:\Program Files

• Next, go to the following path and delete the folder named Microsoft Office and/or Microsoft Office 15.

• Once done, download the latest version of the Office suite from the official source, then install it on your system.

I hope this will help you eliminate SDX Helper high Disk or CPU usage issues on your Windows 10 or Windows 11 PC. Hopefully, it is valid and helps you fix high Disk or CPU usage by Microsoft Office SDX Helper on Windows 10 or 11. Don't forget to leave your comments below to share your thoughts and experiences in following this tutorial. Thank you.