5 Ways to Fix Microsoft Office Click to Run High CPU Usage

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Key notes

  • Click to Run is an important component of Microsoft Office that keeps all the Office apps up to date.
  • Since this process runs continuously in the background, it has been found guilty of triggering issues such as high CPU usage.
  • In this guide, we have listed some of the best solutions that will help you fix the problem at your end. For example, you might need to repair the Microsoft Office client.
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Microsoft Office Click to Run is a program that runs in the background to install the latest updates for Microsoft Office quickly.

Also, the Microsoft Office Click to Run service lets users use the Office applications before the updates are actually installed.

They make use of streaming and virtualization technology to let users run multiple versions of the Office apps on the same computer.

However, Microsoft Office Click to Run has frequently been found to be guilty of excessive CPU usage, resulting in system freezes, hangs, or performance lags.

You will find multiple user reports on Reddit and official Microsoft forums regarding the high CPU usage of the Microsoft Office Click to Run service.

Thankfully, in this guide, we will give you 5 of the best solutions that will help you fix the high CPU usage problem of the Microsoft Office Click-to-Run service. Let us take a look at the solutions.

What is Microsoft Office Click-to-Run and do I need it?

As already mentioned, Microsoft Office Click to Run is a background service that makes use of streaming and virtualization technology to keep the Office apps up-to-date and also allows users to run multiple instances of the Office apps.

You can also check if you have the Click to Run installed for Microsoft Office or not by following the below steps:

Via Office app

  1. Open any of the Microsoft Office apps such as Excel, Word, or Outlook 2013 or 2016.
  2. Navigate to File > Office Account > About Outlook (or any other app).
  3. On the right side, you will see About Microsoft.
  4. If the installed version is the Click to Run version, then you will see the text Click to Run.

Via Control Panel

  1. Open the Start menu.
  2. Search for the control panel and open it.
  3. Select Programs and Features.control panel programs and features
  4. Click on Microsoft Office.
  5. Right-click on Microsoft Office, and then click on Change.
  6. If it shows How would you like to repair your Office programs? and has two options to do Quick Repair or Online Repair, then you can understand that it is the Click-to-Run version.

Should I uninstall Microsoft Office Click-to-Run?

Click to Run is an alternative to Windows’s traditional installer-based MSI method of installing and updating any of the Microsoft Office apps.

If you were thinking of simply uninstalling this service and getting rid of the Microsoft Office Click to Run high CPU usage problem, then you should hold your horses.

Notably, it is an important component of Microsoft Office and it should not be uninstalled. If you try to uninstall it by any means, then it will corrupt your Microsoft Office files and installation.

How do I fix the Microsoft office click to run high CPU usage?

1. Repair Microsoft Office client

  1. Open the Start menu.
  2. Search for the control panel and open it.
  3. Select Programs and Features.control panel programs and features
  4. Click on Microsoft Office.
  5. Select Change.
  6. Click on Quick Repair and hit Repair to start the repairing process.
  7. Restart your PC and check if this fixes the error.

Since Microsoft Office Click to Run is an installer component, there are chances that because of some missing files or bugs, the process is eating up your CPU memory.

You can easily fix that by running the repair of the program following the above steps.

2. Scan your PC for malware

  1. Open the Start menu.
  2. Search for Windows Security and open it.
  3. Select Virus & threat protection.virus and threat protection steam error e502 l3
  4. Hit the Quick Scan button to begin the virus scan.

We have displayed the steps for the in-built Microsoft Windows Defender antivirus tool, but you can use any of the installed third-party antivirus tools on your PC to perform a scan for viruses.

The presence of a virus can not only make your PC slow or freeze, but it will trigger multiple other issues.

So, it is very important that you have an antivirus installed on your PC. If you are confused about which antivirus to go for, we would advise you to check out our guide which lists some of the best antivirus software tools that you can install on your Windows PC.

ESET Internet Security is one such program for malware scanning and feature prevention on Windows PCs. It is the greatest overall malware scanner and offers a more user-friendly interface for both novices and expert users.

ESET offers a greater variety of online security features, such as camera restrictions and password management. ESET Internet Security allows you to perform a virus scan safely and for free for 30 days.

3. Reinstall Microsoft Office

  1. Open the Control Panel.
  2. Select Programs and Features.control panel programs and features
  3. Click on Microsoft Office and select Uninstall from the top.
  4. Follow the on-screen prompts to uninstall the program from your PC.
  5. Visit the official website.
  6. Download Microsoft Office and check if this resolves the issue or not.

Reinstalling not only fixes the Microsoft Office issues because of corrupt or missing important files, but it also installs the latest available version of the program.

4. Disable Click-to-Run Service

  1. Press the Win + R keys to open the Run dialogue.
  2. Type the below command and press Enter. services.msc
  3. Locate Microsoft Office Click-to-Run service.
  4. Right-click on it and select Properties.
  5. Under the General tab, go to Startup type and select Disabled.
  6. Click OK.
  7. Restart your PC.

Disabling this process isn’t recommended. But if you are still experiencing lag and high CPU usage issues with this service, then you can go ahead and disable the process.

5. Uninstall Click to Run

  1. Open the Control Panel.
  2. Select Programs and Features.control panel programs and features
  3. Click on Microsoft Office Click to Run and select Uninstall from the top.

If you have Microsoft Office Click to Run installed on your PC, then you can uninstall it from the Control Panel.

We have a dedicated guide covering how you can get the Click to Run service back on your PC after you have uninstalled it if you change your mind afterward.

What happens if I disable Microsoft Office Click to Run?

Once you disable the Microsoft Office Click to Run, your Microsoft Office apps won’t get automated services. That is, they will not be automatically updated or installed with the most recent feature or security patches.

Disabling Click to Run adds a new process of manually updating Microsoft Office apps. So, if you wish to avoid that, only disable the service when nothing works.

Can I delete the Click-to-Run folder?

Yes. You can delete the Click to Run folder on your PC, but only if you are cautious enough, and don’t want to hamper the original process.

The Click to Run folder is commonly found in the path: C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\ClickToRun

You might have to make the hidden folders visible in order to view the Click to Run folder. You can right-click on it and check the size of the folder.

If it is in mere MBs of size, then there is nothing to worry about. However, if you see the folder eating up GBs of space, then you can open it and delete the different sub-folders that are older.

If the problem persists, you might have to remove Office Click to Run, and we have a whole guide dedicated to it.

For instance, if you see folders from 2021, then you can delete them as we are currently in 2022. After you delete the older sub-folders, you can check with any of the Microsoft Office apps if they are working fine or not.

More about the topics: Microsoft Office