Fix Microsoft Office SDX Helper High Disk or CPU Usage

In this guide, we are going to discuss various solutions to fix the issue of high CPU usage of Microsoft Office SDX Helper. As per some affected users, this process takes too much CPU usage and ends up making your PC sluggish. Now, let us check out in detail what is this process and how you can fix its high CPU usage in this article.

What is the Microsoft Office SDX Helper process?

The Microsoft Office SDX Helper or Sdxhelper.exe is a process related to Microsoft Office. It is Microsoft’s secure download manager that enables secure download and update of Office modules. This process runs in the background and doesn’t consume much CPU and other CPU resources. However, some users have complained of high CPU usage of about 50-60% by Sdxhelper.exe. This problem is crucial as it slows down the PC and prevents you from using your system normally.

Now, if you are facing the same problem, this article is intended to help you out. You can find all the possible fixes to resolve the problem.

What causes high CPU usage of SDXHelper.exe?

Here are the possible causes for high CPU usage of SDXHelper.exe on Windows 11/10:

• The problem may occur if Office and Windows are not up to date.
• It can also be caused due to corrupted or faulty installation of Microsoft Office.
• Antivirus interference can also result in the same issue.
• Corrupted Office Document Cache is another reason for the same problem.

Do I need Microsoft Office SDX helper?

If you use Microsoft Office or Microsoft 365 on your computer, having the Microsoft Office SDX is mandatory. No matter whether you use these apps on Windows 11 or Windows 10 computer, you need to have this process running. You can disable Microsoft Office SDX Helper or SDXHelper.exe. But then, you will have to manually install features and other updates of Office.

Fix Microsoft Office SDX Helper High Disk or CPU Usage

If Microsoft Office SDX Helper (SDXHelper.exe) displays high Memory, Disk or CPU Usage then here’s what you need to do to resolve the problem.

1. Update Office.
2. Update Windows to the Latest Build.
3. Add Exception for SDX Helper in your Antivirus.
4. Clear the Office Document Cache.
5. Disable some tasks in Task Scheduler.
6. Rename the SDX Helper ‌‌‌‌‌‌File.
7. Repair Office.
8. Reinstall Office.

Let us discuss these solutions in detail now!

1] Update Office

This problem may occur if you are using outdated versions of Office.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

1. Firstly, launch any of the Office apps like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.
2. Next, go to the Home tab and click on the Account option.
3. Now, press on the Update Options drop-down and then select the Update Now option.
4. After that, Office will check for available updates and download and install them
5. When the update process is complete, check if the issue is now resolved.

2] Update Windows to the Latest Build

You need to make sure that both Windows and Office are up to date. If there is an incompatibility issue between OS and Office modules, it can cause the problem of high CPU usage of Microsoft Office SDX Helper. So, make sure your Windows is updated to the latest build and if it is not updated, update Windows and then see if the problem is resolved.

You can open the Windows Settings app and then navigate to the Windows Update tab and then check for updates. After that, download and install Windows updates.

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

Read: Fix Services and Controller app High CPU usage.

3] Add Exception for SDX Helper in your Antivirus

In case your antivirus is interfering with the Office module update operations, this issue may arise. Hence, adding Sdxhelper.exe to the exception list of your antivirus might help you resolve the issue. To do that, follow below steps:

1. Firstly, disable your antivirus and then analyze if Sdxhelper.exe is not having much CPU usage.
2. If yes, you can try adding Sdxhelper.exe to the exception or exclusion list of your antivirus. For that, open your antivirus and go to the Exclusion settings.
3. Now, you will find Sdxhelper.exe at the below location:

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

4. When done adding the exception, enable your antivirus and hopefully, the problem will be resolved permanently.

See: Microsoft Excel causes High CPU usage when running on Windows.

4] Clear the Office Document Cache

This problem may be triggered in the case of a corrupted Office Document cache. So, clearing the office Document cache should enable you to fix the issue at hand. Here are the steps to do that:

1. Firstly, start the Office Upload Center from the Start menu as an administrator.
2. Now, open its Settings and then click on the Delete cached files button.
3. After that, reboot your PC and then check if the problem is resolved now.

You can also manually clear the Office document cache by going to the following location and deleting all the files:

C:\Users\<USERNAME>\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Office\16.0\OfficeFileCache

Replace <USERNAME> with your username. After clearing the cache, reboot your PC after cleaning the cache and then see if the issue is gone.

5] Disable some tasks in Task Scheduler

If the issue still persists, you can try disabling some relevant tasks from Task Scheduler to counter the problem. These tasks include Office Feature Updates and Office Feature Updates Logon tasks. Do note that after disabling these tasks, you will need to manually update the Office applications.

Here are the steps to disable relevant tasks in Task Scheduler:

1. Firstly, open Task Scheduler from the Start menu.
2. Now, navigate to the Task Scheduler Library > Microsoft > Office section from the left panel.
3. Next, from the middle panel, right-click on the Office Feature Updates task and click on Disable.
4. After that, repeat step (3) for the Office Feature Updates Logon task.
5. Finally, restart your PC and then check if the problem is resolved.

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

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

6] Rename the SDX Helper ‌‌‌‌‌‌File

If none of the above solutions work for you, try renaming the SDX Helper ‌‌‌‌‌‌file. Some users have reportedly fixed the problem using this workaround, and it might just work for you as well. However, after renaming it, you may have to update Office manually.

Here are the steps for renaming the SDX Helper file:

First, open Task Manager and end the SDXHelper.exe process.

Now, navigate to the following address in File Explorer:

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

The above location may vary for you, so navigate to whichever location where the file is present.

Next, select and right-click on sdxhelper.exe, and from the context menu, click on Rename.

After that, enter the new name with an extension. For example, you can use a name like sdxhelper1.new

When the file is renamed, check whether the problem is resolved or not.

Read: Service Host Delivery Optimization High Network, Disk or CPU usage.

7] Repair Office

The high CPU usage of Sdxhelper.exe can be caused due to a corrupted or faulty installation of the Office suite. If the scenario is applicable to you, you should be able to fix the problem by repairing the Office suite. To perform Office repair, here are the steps to follow:

1. Firstly, open the Settings app by pressing Windows + I hotkey.
2. Now, go to the Apps tab and then click on the Apps & features option.
3. Next, scroll down to the Office app and then click on the three-dot menu button present next to it.
4. After that, click on the Modify option and then press Yes on the UAC prompt.
5. Then, choose the Quick Repair or Online Repair (recommended) option and then tap on the Repair button to start Office repairing process.
6. When the process is done, check whether or not the problem is resolved.

8] Reinstall Office

If none of the above solutions work for you, the last resort is to reinstall the entire Office suite on your PC. The problem might lie with the corrupted installation of Office modules which is beyond repair. So, check with a fresh installation, it might resolve the problem for you.

Firstly, you will have to completely uninstall the Microsoft office suite using the Settings app. Then, move the following address in File Explorer and delete the Office folder:

\Users\%Username%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\

Next, go to the following address and delete folders named Microsoft Office and/or Microsoft Office 15

%programfiles(x86)%

When done, download the latest version of the Office suite from an official source and then install it on your system.

Hopefully, this will help you get rid of the problem of SDX Helper high CPU usage

See: Modern Setup Host high CPU or Memory usage.

How do I fix Microsoft Office SDX helper has stopped working?

If Microsoft Office SDX helper has stopped working, the problem might be caused due to corrupted installation of Microsoft Office. You can try repairing Office using Quick Repair or Online Repair. If that doesn’t help, uninstall and then reinstall Microsoft Office on your PC.

That’s it!

Now read:

• What Is Spooler SubSystem app & why the High CPU usage?
• Microsoft Office Click-To-Run High CPU usage.