Specify the maximum percentage of CPU utilization during a scan
- Policy ID
- Scan_AvgCPULoadFactor
- Scope
- Computer Configuration
- Supported on
- At least Windows Server 2012, Windows 8 or Windows RT
- Source
- Administrative Templates (.admx) for Windows 11 2026 Update (26H2) (version 1.0)
- Category
- Windows Components › Microsoft Defender Antivirus › Scan
Description
This policy setting allows you to configure the maximum percentage CPU utilization permitted during a scan. Valid values for this setting are a percentage represented by the integers 5 to 100. A value of 0 indicates that there should be no throttling of CPU utilization. The default value is 50.
If you enable this setting, CPU utilization will not exceed the percentage specified.
If you disable or do not configure this setting, CPU utilization will not exceed the default value.
Options
Registry
ComputerHKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
- AvgCPULoadFactor-
- AvgCPULoadFactorREG_DWORD