Actionuri oop server: What is it and why does it keep running in the background?

Whether you checked the Task Manager out of curiosity or because of the slow system performance, you might see a process named ActionUri OOP Server in there. This process might have multiple instances running at the same time (some users saw 47 instances of this process in the task manager). This process will consume considerable amount of resources of your system. You will also notice that ending the process does remove it from the list of running processes but it eventually comes back in the list. Some people might also see another process named as Reminders WinRT OOP Server with the ActionUri OOP Server process.

The reason you are seeing these processes in the Task Manager is because they are Windows own processes. The ActionUri OOP Server and Reminders WinRT OOP Server belongs to the Windows 10 Cortana. These are the server processes used by the Windows Cortana to send information back to Microsoft. So, you don’t have to worry about a malware when you see these processes in the Task Manager (if you are suspecting unusual activities then you should scan the PC, it is never a bad idea to scan your system). The reason why these processes come back in the Task Manager is because Windows Cortana keeps running in the background and initiates these processes whenever needed. So, even if you end these processes, they will come back eventually.

As we have mentioned above, the process ActionUri OOP Server is related to Windows Cortana. So, you will have to deal with the process consuming the resources if you want to keep using Cortana. However, if you really want to get rid of this process then you will have to disable Cortana from Windows. There are a couple of other workarounds to control the system consumption by this process but you will have to disable or turn off Cortana to completely get rid of the resource usage by these processes. So, go through each of the methods listed below and apply the one that suits your requirements.

Method 1: Disable Cortana from Local Group Policy Editor

Cortana can be disabled from the Local Group Policy Editor. Disabling Cortana will get rid of all the processes related to the Cortana including the ActionUri OOP Server. So, this is the best choice for people who aren’t a fan of Cortana.

Note: Local Group Policy Editor is only available in Windows Enterprise, Pro and Education edition. If you aren’t running any of these versions then skip to the next method.

Here are the steps for disabling Cortana via the Local Group Policy Editor

1. Hold Windows key and press R
2. Type gpedit.msc and press Enter

3. Go this address Computer Configuration/Administrative Templates/Windows Components/Search. If you don’t know how to navigate to this location then follow the step given below
   1. Locate and double click Computer Configuration from the left pane
   2. Locate and double click Administrative Templates from the left pane
   3. Locate and double click Windows Components from the left pane

4. Locate click Search from the left pane
5. Locate and double click Allow Cortana from the right pane

6. Click the option Disabled
7. Click Apply then select ok

8. Locate and double click Do not allow web search from the right pane

9. Click the option Enabled
10. Click Apply then select ok

11. Locate and double click Don’t search the web or display web results in Search from the right pane

12. Click the option Enabled
13. Click Apply then select ok

That’s it. This should disable Cortana on your system. Reboot once you are finished and you should be good to go.

Note: This method will only disable Cortana the personal assistant, and not the Cortana process (SearchUI.exe) used by Windows Search. So, if you see the Windows Search or Cortana in the Task Manager then it is completely normal. The ActionUri OOP Server process shouldn’t run anymore. The other processes like Cortana should only consume very small amount of resources.

Method 2: Disable Cortana via Registry Editor

You can also disable Cortana from the Registry Editor. The first method guides you on how to disable the Cortana from Local Group Policy Editor. But, Local Group Policy Editor isnt available on all editions of Windows 10. So, for people who can’t follow the steps in method 1, this method should work well for them.

Follow the steps given below to disable Cortana

1. Hold Windows key and press R
2. Type regedit and press Enter

3. Now, navigate to this address HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Windows Search. If you don’t know how to navigate to this location then follow the step given below
   1. Locate and double click HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE from the left pane
   2. Locate and double click SOFTWARE from the left pane
   3. Locate and double click Policies from the left pane
   4. Locate and double click Microsoft from the left pane
   5. Locate and double click Windows from the left pane

4. Locate click Windows Search from the left pane. Note: If there isn’t any Windows Search then you will have to create this entry yourself. Right click on the Windows (from left pane) and select New > Key and name it Windows Search. Now, Select Windows Search and right click on the right pane > Select New > DWORd (32-bit) Value and name it AllowCortana
5. Locate and double click AllowCortana from the right pane

6. Type 0 in the Value data section and click Ok

Once done, you should be good to go. Simply restart and check if the problem is resolved or not.

Note: This method will only disable Cortana the personal assistant, and not the Cortana process (SearchUI.exe) used by Windows Search. So, if you see the Windows Search or Cortana in the Task Manager then it is completely normal. The ActionUri OOP Server process shouldn’t run anymore. The other processes like Cortana should only consume very small amount of resources.

Method 3: Disallow ActionUri Inbound/Outbound via Firewall

Since the ActionUri OOP Server is initiated when the Cortana has to send information to Microsoft, creating rules that won’t allow Cortana to send and receive any information will prevent the resource consumption. You can create rules in the Windows Firewall advanced settings to prevent ActionUri OOP Server from connecting to the internet. Again, this will prevent Cortana to use web for searching as well.

Here are the steps for creating rules in Windows Firewall

1. Hold Windows key and press R
2. Type firewall.cpl and press Enter

3. Click Advanced Settings

4. Click Inbound Rules from the left pane
5. Select New Rule…

6. Select Program and click Next

7. Select the option This program path:
8. Enter the address %SystemRoot%\SystemApps\Microsoft.Windows.Cortana_cw5n1h2txyewy\ActionUriServer.exe in the This program path You can also click on the Browse button and navigate to this location C Drive > Windows > SystemApps > Microsoft.Windows.Cortana_cw5n1h2txyewy > Select ActionUriServer.exe and click Open
9. Select Next

10. Select the option Block the connection and click Next

11. Check all the boxes (Domain, Private and Public) and click Next

12. Write any name you want in the Name This name will be used to identify the rule in the list so select a name that can help you identify this specific rule from the rule list (in case you want to delete it)
13. Click Finish. This should stop any connections from the internet

14. Now, click Outbound Rules from the left pane
15. Follow steps 5-13 to create the same rule that will block the outgoing connection from your computer.

Once done, you should be able to see the block rules on the top of the list.

Note: You can follow the steps given above to block connection for other applications as well. For example, if you are continually seeing the Reminders WinRT OOP Server with the ActionUri OOP Server then you can block its inbound and outbound connections as well. Simply follow the steps given above and select the ReminderServer.exe (or the executable of the program you want to block) in step 8 and proceed.

Method 4: Renaming Cortana Folder

Note: This method might break your Start menu or some other functionality dependent on the Cortana. Proceed at your own risk

If nothing else worked and you want to get rid of the Cortana (and its related processes) then renaming/deleting the Cortana folder will do the job for you. This will disable Cortana and its search features from the Windows.

Note: Once you are done with this process, do not update the Windows. Updating the Windows will reset this process. However, if you really want to update then install the Windows updates and performs these steps again.

Before we do anything, we would have to take the ownership of the Cortana folder. So, the first few steps will help you create a Take Ownership entry in the Context Menu. This entry will help you take the ownership of the folder by simply right clicking it. Since the process of taking ownership of a folder is complicated, it is a good idea to perform these steps once and use the Context Menu entry to take the ownership whenever needed. You can also remove the entry if you don’t want it anymore.

So, here are the steps for creating a Take Ownership entry in the Context Menu

1. Hold Windows key and press R
2. Type regedit and press Enter

3. Locate and double click HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT from the left pane
4. Locate and double click * entry from the left pane
5. Locate and double click shell from the left pane

6. Right click shell
7. Select New then select Key and name it runas

8. Make sure the runas key is selected
9. Double click (Default) key from the right pane

10. Type Take Ownership in the Value data: section
11. Click Ok

12. Right click on an empty space in the right pane
13. Select New then select String Value

14. Name the newly created string as NoWorkingDirectory

15. Now, you have to create another key under the runas. Right click runas
16. Select New then select Key and name it command

17. Make sure the command key is selected

18. Double click (Default) key from the right pane

19. Type cmd.exe /c takeown /f \”%1\” && icacls \”%1\” /grant administrators:F in the Value data: section
20. Click Ok

21. Right click on an empty space in the right pane. Make sure the command entry is selected from the left pane before right clicking.
22. Select New then select String Value

23. Name the newly created string as IsolatedCommand

24. Double click the IsolatedCommand
25. Type cmd.exe /c takeown /f \”%1\” && icacls \”%1\” /grant administrators:F in the Value data: section
26. Click Ok

27. Now, we need to perform these steps in another location as well.
28. Locate and double click HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT from the left pane
29. Locate and double click Directory from the left pane
30. Locate and double click shell from the left pane

31. Right click shell
32. Select New then select Key and name it runas. Note: If there is a runas entry already under the shell then skip to step 34

33. Make sure the runas key is selected

34. Double click (Default) key from the right pane
35. Type Take Ownership in the Value data: section
36. Click Ok

37. Right click on an empty space in the right pane
38. Select New then select String Value

39. Name the newly created string as NoWorkingDirectory

40. Now, you have to create another key under the runas. Right click runas
41. Select New then select Key and name it command

42. Make sure the command key is selected

43. Double click (Default) key from the right pane
44. Type cmd.exe /c takeown /f \”%1\” /r /d y && icacls \”%1\” /grant administrators:F /t in the Value data: section
45. Click Ok

46. Right click on an empty space in the right pane. Make sure the command entry is selected from the left pane before right clicking.
47. Select New then select String Value

48. Name the newly created string as IsolatedCommand

49. Double click the IsolatedCommand
50. Type cmd.exe /c takeown /f \”%1\” /r /d y && icacls \”%1\” /grant administrators:F /t in the Value data: section
51. Click Ok

That’s it. This should add a new Take Ownership entry in the Context Menu. It should start working once you close the Registry Editor. Right click any folder and there should be a Take Ownership entry in the Context Menu.

Now that we have the Take Ownership entry, we can proceed to changing the name of the Cortana folder.

1. Hold Windows key and press R
2. Type C:\Windows and press Enter

3. Right click on an empty space, select New and select Folder

4. Name the folder SystemApps.bak and press Enter

5. Double click SystemApps folder
6. Right click the folder named Windows.Cortana_cw5n1h2txyewy and select Take Ownership

7. Now, select the folder Windows.Cortana_cw5n1h2txyewy and press CTRL + X
8. Press the Backspace key to go back to the Windows folder
9. Double click SystemApps.bak folder
10. Hold CTRL key and press V to paste the folder here
11. If you see a permissions dialog then press CTRL, SHIFT and Esc (CTRL + SHIFT + Esc) keys to open the Task Manager. Select the exe process and click End Task. Repeat this for Cortana, ActionUri OOP Server and any other Cortana related process you might see in the Task Manager
12. Once done, close the Task Manager and give the permission to move the folder

The folder should successfully move to the newly created SystemApps.bak folder and this should disable the Cortana for you. If you want the Cortana back, simply cut/paste the folder back to the SystemApps folder.