Most background apps and processes on Windows don’t take much CPU resources. Even they don’t really come to your notice. But many users have been complaining about the HD Audio background process using a High CPU in Windows 11/10.
HD audio or RAVBg64.exe is one of the common issues that Windows users face. It consumes about 20% to 50% of your Windows CPU resources.
Luckily, fixing the issue is not as complicated as it might seem, and in this article, I will be talking about the possible fixes.
What is ravbg64.exe?
Most users think that ravbg64.exe is some virus. But thankfully, it is not a virus. Instead, it is a background process related to Realtek software responsible for managing sound on your Windows PC.
Ravbg64.exe is one of the important elements on your computer, and it is beneficial when you run applications like Skype or Realtek sound controllers. The ravbg64.exe connects PCs to different apps and helps you establish a seamless connection between the audio drivers and communication applications.
Since this is a component related to the sound, you will often find the ravbg64.exe process in Task Manager.
Fix HD Audio Background process using High CPU in Windows 10
Now that you know how useful ravbg64.exe is, you don’t really have to panic about any virus attack at all. However, things can go out of hand when it starts using too much CPU power, and below, I have shared some methods to get rid of the error.
- Update Realtek drivers
- Disable and Enable Realtek Audio Programs
- Reinstall Realtek audio driver
- Add Registry Keys
So now let’s talk about all of these fixes individually:
1] Update Realtek drivers
One of the first things that you should do is update Realtek drivers. Since the issue might appear because of outdated drivers or corrupted drivers. To update the drivers, you can follow the below steps:
- Right-click on the Start menu and select Device Manager.
- Double click on Sound, video, and game controllers to expand the list
- Right-click on Realtek Audio driver and select Update Driver.
- Then from the popup window, select Search automatically for updated driver software.
- Next, follow all the screen instructions and update the driver if available in Windows Update > Optional Updates.
- Once you have updated drivers, reboot your PC and then check if you still see the same error or not.
2] Disable and Enable Realtek Audio Programs
This is also one of the common ways to fix the audio background process using too many resources. So go ahead and follow the below steps:
- Go to the Windows search bar.
- Type down Task Manager and launch it.
- Then switch to the Startup tab.
- Look for Realtek audio items in the list.
- Once found, select the first Realtek item in the list and click Disable located at the bottom right. You need to do the same with all the Realtek audio items in the list.
- After you are done disabling, click on the First Realtek item and select it.
- Now click on the enable option from the bottom right corner.
- Then close all the Windows icons.
- Finally, launch Task Manager once again and see if you can spot RAVBg64.exe using too many CPU resources or not.
3] Reinstall Realtek audio driver
You can also try reinstalling Realtek audio driver. If the audio driver is corrupted, then a new version of the driver will get installed on your system.
To reinstall the audio driver, follow the below steps:
- Right-click on the Start menu and select Device Manager.
- Expand Sound, Video, and Game Controllers.
- Next, right-click on Realtek High Definition Audio and select Uninstall and follow all the onscreen instructions.
- Then restart your PC.
- After that, go to Device Manager again and click on the Action tab located on the toolbar.
- Select Scan for Hardware Changes and let Windows detect missing hardware.
- After that, Windows will automatically install the driver for you.
4] Add Registry Keys
You can also try adding registry keys to fix the issue. High CPU Usage can also occur when there are SRS labs, and APO registry keys are missing. So you have to add the keys manually.
But before you go ahead and make any changes to the registry, it is recommended that you take a backup of registry keys. So in case if things go wrong, you can deal with it.
To add a registry, follow the below steps:
- At first, launch RUN by pressing Windows Key + R.
- Type regedit and press enter button.
- Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE.
- Then right-click on Software and select New > Key.
- Name the key as SRS Labs.
- Also, add a sub-key and name it as APO.
- Finally, close the registry editor and restart your computer.
Then open Task Manager and check if the HD Audio Background process using a high percentage of CPU. If not, then your problem is now fixed.
Is it OK to disable Realtek HD Audio Manager?
No, it would be best if you did not disable Realtek Audi Manager as the component is beneficial for handling your PC’s audio. If you disable it, there is a high chance that the audio may not work properly on your computer.
Do I need Realtek HD Audio universal service?
No, it is not necessary to have Realtek HD Audio universal service installed on your computer. However, some computers may need it, and some don’t. But if we talk about usability, the software helps in enhancing the audio quality. So it would help if you kept it.
Do I need the Nvidia HD audio driver?
Yes, you need an Nvidia HD audio driver to transmit audio signals via your video cards’ HDMI connector.
So those were a few fixes for the HD Audio Background process using a High CPU in Windows 11/10 error. Now go ahead and try to solve the issue by following the above steps and seeing if they help you or not.