How to Resolve High WindowServer CPU Usage on Mac [macOS Ventura/Monterey/Big Sur]

Running Windows Server on Mac involves a process that creates the visual components of a display. Usually, this operates seamlessly in the background, but if it begins to consume significant CPU resources, your Mac might experience performance slowdowns. Here are some solutions to address this issue.

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You might observe a process named WindowServer in the Activity Monitor that is consuming significant amounts of CPU and memory resources. Although there isn't a direct method to explicitly reduce the WindowServer process's CPU and memory usage, it's essential to identify that the WindowServer process consistently utilizes high CPU resources.

You might wonder why WindowServer consumes so much CPU resources, how to reduce the high CPU usage of WindowServer on a Mac, and other related queries. Let's address these points in detail.

Overview: What is WindowServer on Mac? WindowServer is an essential component of Apple's macOS operating system that plays a crucial role in managing windows, graphics, and display-related tasks. It is part of the Aqua user interface and the Core Graphics framework, working behind the scenes to ensure smooth and efficient operation of the graphical user interface (GUI). WindowServer's primary function is to handle the creation, placement, and rendering of windows on your screen. When you open an application or perform any action that requires visual feedback, WindowServer takes care of displaying the necessary elements, such as menus, icons, and content within application windows. It also manages the compositing and layering of these elements to create the seamless appearance of the desktop environment. Additionally, WindowServer handles input from various devices like mice, trackpads, and keyboards, translating these inputs into actions on the screen. For example, when you click on a window to bring it to the front, WindowServer processes that input and updates the window stacking order accordingly. Another key responsibility of WindowServer is managing multiple displays and handling Spaces, which is macOS's virtual desktop feature. It allows users to organize their applications across different desktop spaces, providing a more organized and productive workspace. In summary, WindowServer is a vital process on a Mac that enables the smooth functioning of the graphical interface, managing windows, graphics rendering, input handling, and multi-display support, contributing to the overall user experience.

As a macOS process, WindowServer utilizes more CPU cycles proportionate to the number of active windows or graphical elements on your screen. Since most graphical components need frequent updates, WindowServer necessitates these CPU cycles to ensure smooth performance and visual coherence.

WindowServer connects all interface programs and operations to your display. It is responsible for drawing what you see on your screen whenever you open a new window, launch an application, or browse to a new website.

Upon logging into your Mac, the WindowServer process commences, and it concludes when you log out. The presence of WindowServer as a fundamental component of macOS suggests its criticality to the system's functioning. Forcing its termination can lead to undesirable consequences, resulting in high CPU usage on your Mac.

Reasons: Why Does WindowServer Have High CPU Usage on Mac

In highly unusual circumstances, the WindowServer process could become uncontrolled and consume between 30 to 50% of your CPU resources. What might trigger this occurrence?

1. Increased user interaction. Frequent activities like video editing, gaming, or any task demanding rapid screen updates might be the actual cause behind the increase in WindowServer activity.
2. Malware presence. Continuous refreshing while using your device due to malware can also lead to a surge in the WindowServer process.
3. Multiple displays. Working with several high-resolution screens along with various transparency effects and drop shadows can collectively result in prolonged increments in WindowServer activity.
4. Disorganized desktop. Every change in the desktop content necessitates the redraw of each icon, which can impact WindowServer activity.

All your apps start to stutter, using the Finder becomes challenging, the screen saver begins to oscillate, and every command seems to run slowly.

Methods: Resolving High CPU Usage by WindowServer on Mac

Here are the steps you can take to address high WindowServer CPU usage issues on your Mac:

Method 1: Restart your Mac

To clear caches and other temporary files from your Mac and free up RAM, you should restart your Mac.

Rebooting your Mac can also address issues with特定程序占用过多CPU资源，比如WindowServer高CPU或kernel task高CPU。因此，从苹果菜单中选择“重新启动”来重启你的Mac。等待重启完成后再判断WindowServer Mac高CPU问题是否已解决。

Method 2: Delete Files and Folders on Mac Desktop

Having numerous files on your Mac's desktop can result in disorganization and increased CPU usage within the WindowServer. This is because the presence of more visual elements requires greater computational resources as the number of files grows.

To prevent this from occurring, you should either move all of these files to a new location or remove them from the desktop. The simplest approach is to delete the files and folders into the Trash Bin or force empty the Trash on Mac if you're unable to delete certain files.

You can significantly reduce the Windowserver's CPU usage by doing this.

Deleting the files you no longer need can be liberating, but emptiness that comes with it is often accompanied by the discomfort of potentially losing important data. The act of emptying the Trash, as mentioned earlier, is meant to permanently remove unwanted items. However, this sometimes leads to the accidental deletion of crucial files, leaving you in a predicament when you later realize their importance.

In that scenario, you can utilize the Data Recovery Wizard for Mac tool to perform a comprehensive recovery in case you accidentally deleted crucial photos, videos, or documents.

You can carry out research, read objective product reviews and comparisons on reputable IT websites, and trust in a distinguished, powerful, and efficient Mac Data Recovery Software link that guarantees a recovery rate of 99.7%.

Method 3: Quit Unused Programs and Apps

More CPU resources are consumed when Windows and browser tabs are open. The WindowServer has to exert more effort, particularly if you're using an older Mac computer. Here's how to force quit apps on Mac.

• Before closing any window or application, make sure to save your files first to avoid losing data.
• Also, consider closing any active applications that you're not currently using.
• To access the "Force-Quit" menu, press Command + Option + Escape.
• Select the unnecessary app from the menu, and then click "Force Quit."

Method 4: Stop Mission Control Spaces

When utilizing Spaces and the virtual desktop environment on a Mac, you can significantly change how WindowServer operates by preventing the spaces from rearranging themselves based on usage.

How to proceed:

1. Click on "Mission Control" in the System Preferences section of the Apple Menu. 2. Disable the option to "Automatically rearrange spaces based on most recent use." 3. Although this change might seem minor, it significantly improves the performance of WindowServer, as Spaces will no longer shift positions independently.

这一操作会减轻 Mac 上 WindowServer 的工作负荷，从而降低 CPU 使用率。

Method 5: Disable Unwanted Login Items

Programs that launch when you log into your Mac are referred to as "login items." Some of these applications may not necessarily need to run immediately. To prevent unnecessary login items from launching, follow these steps:

1. Access "Users and Groups" under "System Preferences" in the Apple menu. 2. Click on the "Login Items" tab to select the startup item you wish to disable. 3. Click the "-" button located at the bottom of the list. 4. To secure your changes, unlock the padlock in the bottom-left corner.

底线

The WindowServer on a Mac is essential for facilitating communication between displays and applications. However, it can sometimes utilize a significant amount of CPU resources, which might lead to your computer running slower.

If so, you can verify it and make the necessary corrections. Now that you're more familiar with WindowServer on Mac, you know how to address high CPU and memory usage issues and how to recover deleted files using tools like Data Recovery Wizard for Mac.

"WindowServer Mac high CPU" FAQs in English would be "Frequently Asked Questions about WindowServer consuming high CPU on Mac."

Here are some other inquiries regarding the high CPU usage of WindowServer on Mac:

< strong >1. How to check if the WindowServer is using high CPU usage?

Use the Activity Monitor app that comes with macOS to find out exactly how much CPU the WindowServer process is utilizing:

1. Launch Activity Monitor by opening Finder, then click on Applications and navigate to Utilities. 2. Click on the CPU column header to sort processes by CPU usage. 3. Search for "WindowServer" within the list of processes. 4. The CPU consumption of WindowServer will then be displayed.

2. What happens if I quit WindowServer?

When you forcibly quit WindowServer, your Mac will log you out, terminate all open applications, and update its operating system. Do not attempt to terminate the WindowServer process in the same manner as other processes, and exercise caution to prevent data loss.

3. How to fix the issue of WindowServer preventing the system from sleeping?

Your Mac will stay awake while the macOS Spotlight is indexing your computer; it will only enter Sleep Mode once the indexing is completed. Allow the indexing process to finish before expecting your Mac to successfully go into Sleep Mode. The indexing time for the hard drive on a Mac can range from a few minutes to several hours. To learn more techniques, you can refer to this article: macOS Ventura WindowServer prevents from sleeping.

4. How to resolve high CPU usage by WindowServer on a Mac?

By eliminating unnecessary objects from the Mac desktop, dismissing unimportant windows, disabling Mac's visual effects, and manually eliminating viruses, you can reduce WindowServer's high CPU usage.