How To Fix Shell Infrastructure Host Has Stopped Working In Windows 10

Users usually deal with “shell infrastructure host has stopped working” when opening a guest account in Windows. No matter how hard a user tries, the alert keeps on popping up, and the issue usually stays as long as the user is logged into the guest account. Although Microsoft has officially announced no fix, we have found a few workarounds with the help of which you can fix the “shell infrastructure host has stopped working” issue. But, before that, let’s get down into few nitty-gritty details –

What Is a Shell Infrastructure Host?

The Shell Infrastructure host is one of the core components of Windows OS. It is executed in the background and can only be terminated with the help of the Task Manager. Deleting this file can lead to severe consequences as it is responsible for running several Windows features such as the Action Center, Start Menu, and Context Menu.

Also Read: Ways To Fix Windows 10 Task Manager Not Responding

So, essentially the error implies that the SiHost.exe process, short for the Shell Infrastructure host process, which handles graphical elements and aforementioned features, has crashed.

What Leads To “Shell Infrastructure Host Stopped Working” On Windows 10?

While there is no particular reason for the issue, it could have been caused by some corrupt system file or missing file.

Easiest Way To Resolve “Shell Infrastructure Host CPU Has Stopped Working” Issue In Windows 10

While there are various manual workarounds to deal with this issue, some of these workarounds might be more suitable for advanced users. If you are a beginner, you can install a Windows utility like Advanced System Optimizer and resolve the issue without having much technical know-how.

Advanced System Optimizer has a module by the name Disk Cleaner & Optimizer using which you can scan your PC for corrupt or unwanted files and fix errors. This module consists of a System Cleaner, Disk Optimizer, Disk Tools and Disk Explorer. All which helps clean disk and system-related errors. This ensures smooth functioning of your PC, and in the process, it can resolve, “Shell Infrastructure Has Stopped Working” issue. Here is how you can use this best PC cleaner known as Advanced System Optimizer.

1. Install and run Advanced System Optimizer
2. From the left-hand pane click on Disk Cleaner & Optimizers
3. Click on System Cleaner from the right-hand side
4. When the System Cleaner window opens click on Start Scan Now
5. Wait for the scan to finish, once done fix all the errors.

In addition to this we suggest running other modules like Disk Optimizer, Disk Tools.

The goodness of Advanced System Optimizer doesn’t end here. Here are some of the other features of this tool –

• Smart PC Care which lets you scan and get rid of various type of issues in one click
• Disk Explorer and Disk Optimization tools to fix fragments and other disk issues
• Backup and Restore files.
• Fix common PC issues with one-click with common issues fixer
• Uninstall redundant programs, sort system startup and scheduled scans

Here’s a comprehensive review of Advanced System Optimizer

Now, let’s learn the manual ways to fix Shell Infrastructure Host CPU.

Ways To Resolve “Shell Infrastructure Has Stopped Working”

1. Reinstall Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable Packages

1. Type Control Panel in the Windows search bar and click on Open from the right-hand side
2. Click on Programs and Features
3. Scroll down through the list of programs until you have found Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable Package
4. Click on each of these and hit the Uninstall button
5. Visit Microsoft’s website and reinstall both vcredist_x64.exe and vcredist_x86.exe
6. Once the packages are reinstalled, restart your computer, log into guest account and check if you have been able to resolve the “shell infrastructure host has stopped working” issue

2. Run DISM

DISM short for Deployment Image Servicing And Management is a tool which looks for errors in Windows. Here’s how to run DISM using Command Prompt as an administrator –

1. Type CMD in the Windows search bar
2. From the right-hand pane choose Run as administrator
3. When the prompt appears, click on Allow
4. Type or copy-paste the following command in the command prompt and press enter –

DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth

 Wait for some time for the process to complete and then again restart your computer.

3. Change Startup To Selective Startup

1. Open Run dialog box by pressing Windows + R button
2. Type msconfig and press enter
3. When the System Configuration window opens, click on the General tab
4. Now, check the Selective startup radio button and check the Load system services and Load startup items
5. Click on Apply and then on OK
6. Reboot your system

Log in again into guest account and check if the issue has been resolved

4. Run The SFC (System File Checker) Tool

SFC or System File Checker is a utility in Windows 10 which helps users scan for any corrupted files. The SFC /scannow is a command prompt which scans all system files, and it then replaces the corrupt files with a cached copy that can be found in  %WinDir%\System32\dllcache. You can run the SFC /scannow command to fix “shell infrastructure host has stopped working” issue –

1. Open the Command Prompt and Run as administrator as shown in the above method
2. Type SFC /scannow in the Command Prompt window and press enter
3. Wait for the process to complete

Once, the scan is finished, again restart your computer and check

5. Delete Old Guest Account And Create A New Guest Account

One of the ways you can get rid of “shell infrastructure host CPU” error is by deleting your old guest account and creating a new one. For this, you might have to ask your admin to delete your old guest account. Here’s how you can create a new guest account –

1. Open Settings by pressing Windows key + I
2. Select Accounts
3. From the left-hand pane click on Family & other users
4. From the right-hand side click on Add someone else to this PC under Other people
5. Click on I don’t have this person’s sign-in information link at the bottom
6. You can click on any of the three links. For instance, you can Add a user without a Microsoft account
7. Set the username and password and then follow the onscreen instructions
8. Click on Next

Conclusion

So, these were some of the possible ways to deal with and resolve “shell infrastructure host  CPU has stopped working” issue on Windows 10. You can either opt for the manual workarounds, or you can take the easier route and employ a Windows utility like Advanced System Optimizer.

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