Nowadays, computers come preloaded with all kinds of extra applications. Some of them are designed to simplify the user experience by functioning as a digital assistant. The apps can help computer users by setting reminders, processing voice commands, and answering questions using information provided by search engines like Google or Bing.
Cortana is a virtual assistant developed by Microsoft. It is available in multiple languages and uses the Bing search engine to find information for users. Apps like Cortana can quietly operate in the background of your computer and run multiple CPU processes. One CPU process associated with Cortana that has concerned users is Searchapp.exe.
Searchapp.exe is an executable file and a CPU process that runs in the background and may eat up a huge amount of CPU power. Searchapp.exe is not a harmful file, but Internet users have been complaining online even at official Microsoft communities about it hogging system power. Typically, when a computer’s system resources are being depleted, other applications running on your computer may crash, your computer may start running slower than usual, or even stop working altogether. Since Searchapp.exe is connected to Cortana and other Windows search functions, removing it without taking proper precautions can cause you additional problems..
You can disable Searchapp.exe via Task Manager. To do that, open Task Manager and look for Searchapp.exe in the list of running processes. To disable it, right-click it and select “End task.”
Another method to carefully mitigate problems caused by Searchapp.exe is via the Command Prompt. First, you need to open the Command Prompt as administrators. It’s possible to do so by typing “cmd” into Windows search and clicking “Run as Administrator” below the app results. Next, you need to execute these commands you see on the screen:
cd %windir%\SystemApps
taskkill /f /im SearchApp.exe
move Microsoft.Windows.Search_cw5n1h2txyewy Microsoft.Windows.Search
Take note that you need to press “Enter” after each command to execute them. Upon completing this, you would need to restart your computer and Searchapp.exe should be removed from the computer. To make sure that your system is running smoothly, consider using system diagnostic tools like Performance Monitor for Windows to check for other system performance issues. It would also be a good practice to have a malware removal tool that would scan and remove potentially unwanted programs, adware, and other threats that may be responsible for system performance issues.
