Hello Neil,
although it is normal for there to be multiple instances of CefSharp visible in the Task Manager, usually the amount is lower.
If you check the Task Manager as soon as you open the program, do you immediately see these processes displayed (or when you open the project), or do they appear only when running the preview?
Thank you.

Hi, if I check Task Manager before opening a preview there might be 6-8 instances of CefSharp running but as soon as I open a preview that number starts to increase. In some cases the preview window can just be closed again as normal but other times it 'sticks' open and can't be closed again until after the program unfreeze itself again.  

I've tried killing some of the CefSharp processes but that just results in more instances opening and I just have to wait it out. 

Hello Neil,
if you have multiple projects you are working on, does this occur with all of them or only a specific one?
I remain available.

I do have another project I haven't need to work on in a while but I'll open it this evening and check. 

So, with X5 closed, there are no CefSharp processes running. Opening X5 with no project selected, causes five instances to run. Opening a very basic project with just a couple of pages increases the processes to 7/8. 

Previewing that site brings it up to 10/12.

Reverting back to the original project  and opening a preview saw it jump to 34 and X5 because unresponsive. After approximately 5 minutes the processes gradually shut down again until it reached 10/12 again and X5 began responding again. 

Just a further update to that post. Tried another preview and got up to 82 instances running !

Hello Neil,
could you please check the situation after a reinstall of the software with these steps?
The folders to be deleted with these steps usually do not contain any projects, that by default are stored at C:\Users\YourUsername\Documents\Incomedia\WebSite X5 - Pro, but you can check their contents to make sure of this.

1) Uninstall the software normally, from the Windows panel.
2) Go to the path C:\Users\YourUserName\AppData\Local\Incomedia and delete the folder corresponding to your version of the software (it should be WebSite X5 – Pro).
3) Go to the path C:\Program Files and, if it is present, delete the folder corresponding to your version of the software (it should be WebSite X5 – Pro)
4) Do the same at the path C:\Users\YourUsername\AppData\Local\Programs, deleting the folder WebSite X5 – Pro if present.
5) Restart the PC.
6) With VPN (if you use one), antivirus and firewall temporarily disabled, run as admin the installer you can find here: https://www.websitex5.com/download/v2025.2/wsx5_pro.exe

I remain available.