Ok, this a replacement thread for “Slow response on all listers after 9.0 upgrade”. I’ve dropped the upgrade aspect as I have since just installed 9.0 straight and have duplicated the problem.
Problem: When listing files of various folders, drives, and partitions CPU usage goes up as high as %80 for about 1 min. The opening of the program is also sluggish. I’ve submitted a support request twice on this issue and have yet to receive a response so I am turning to the “unofficial” support of its users.
Attached are two XLS files zipped that uses Security Task Manager to list all running services, etc. One is in Safe Mode and the other is in regular. I’ve highlighted in yellow all the services that are running in Regular Mode that are not in Safe Mode. The reason for this comparison is to determine why DO9 works well in Safe Mode and runs slow, in every aspect really, in Regular Mode. Some of the services are easily identified and perhaps can be compared to other setups that are having the same problem I am.
As well, I’ve attached a RAR file that contains a small video of Task Manager responding to folder changes in DO9 to show the CPU usage. There is a process called “system” that seems to follow DO9 during its operations. It may be something but I am not a Windows XP guru.
My Setup: Intel Pentium D 2.8GHz, 2GB RAM, 2- 500GB 7200rpm SATA, NVIDIA GeForce 6600LE 256MB, Windows XP-SP2 (all patches applied as of last night), NOD32 AV, COMODO Firewall Pro, and COMODO BOClean.
Blessings, and thanks in advance for your assistance in this matter. change.rar (50.4 KB) STM_with_opus9.zip (20 KB)
[quote="pcnghana"]There is a process called “system” that seems to follow DO9 during its operations
[/quote]
If the System process goes high with opus operations, then there may be a Kernel Mode component that causes the high CPU utilization, especially third-party drivers like those installed by AntiVirus, Firewall, and Disk Imaging software (File System Filter Drivers are very suspecious here).
Actually, the System process is a virtual process that represents Kernel Mode threads (Windows Kernel threads + Drivers threads), so I'll suggest you a method to pinpoint the culprit in the kernel.
Double-click the System process, go to the Threads tab, and sort the list by CPU in a descending way as in image below.
Switch to Opus and do whatever you see causes you this high utilization, monitor Process Explorer and record the Thread name (Start Address) at the top.
Now the sympolic name of the Thread should reveal to which component it belongs. Usually, Windows Kernel Threads will start with ntoskrnl.exe!xxxxxxxxxx or ntkrnlpa.exe!xxxxxxxxxxx whilst First- and Third-Party drivers will start with the driver name like ntfs.sys!xxxxxxxxxx or ndis.sys!xxxxxxxxxxx or ....
If it's a driver name, then try to find to which software this driver belongs or list it here.
Ok Jon, you first. Attached is a video of me trying to list a couple drives and then a couple of folders. As you can see the listing is agonizingly slow.
I'll download the other program and try to run it tonight and post the results.
Ok, here are some pictures of the Process Explorer during 3 seperate Folder Listings. i really do not know what I'm Looking at here so this is where I just say... HELP!
From the screenshots, I can see 2 things upnormal.
First, (Note: although the CPU usage appears to be normal contrary to what you mentioned, I'll suppose by the time you took screenshots, the CPU usage had gone down)
snapman.sys and timntr.sys are File System Filter Drivers installed by Acronis True Image (also, snapman.sys is installed by Acronis Disk Director Suite).
The number of Threads multiplied by the Context Switch Delta (CSwitch Delta) of Acronis drivers is too high at any given piont.
So, all I can recommend here is to uninstall Acronis products (just for now to eliminate any factor maybe contributing to your problem, this doesn't mean Acronis products are the culprit, but maybe there are conflicting products on your system).
Second, the file name Kernel1.exe of your Windows Kernel is NOT standard one. This may imply either you used a different kernel to have a customized Boot Screen (manually or via a third-party product), or you're infected by a malware that changed the kerenl via the boot.ini switch /kernel=kern_file_name.
I'll leave this for now until you test your system after Acronis removal, if you still have problems, then I'll give hints about how to restore your original Kernel if you aren't aware of the details.
[Edit: I wrote this reply before seeing W0lfdale's reply above so we've said the same thing in places.]
pcnghana, thanks for making the video. It's great to finally see this issue.
Both snapman.sys and timntr.sys are part of Acronis True Image's Backup Explorer tool (which I think is the thing that allows you to mount a backup as a drive and copy individual files out of it). The two of them are at the top of all three of your lists which says they're at least worth investigating, though they may be innocent.
Which version of True Image are you running? I've been using TI for a couple of years now and never seen this problem and I'm currently running the most recent "Home" version, 10.0 (build 4,942). It's possible that there's a problem with the two TI drivers and your hardware which is causing the issue for you and not me so let's do a test.
I'm not sure but I think you can take the two TI drivers out of the picture by doing this:
[ul][li]Go to Control Panel -> Device Manager[/li]
[li]Open up Acronis Devices at the top[/li]
[li]Right-click on Acronis True Image Backup Archive Explorer[/li]
[li]Disable it[/li]
[li]Reboot the computer[/li][/ul]Could you try that and then see if you get different results in Process Explorer? I think that will at least remove timntr.sys if not snapman.sys.
Once you're done you can go back into Device Manager and enable the device again as it might be needed for backups. If it does turn out to be causing the problem then we can investigate further.
Wolfdale / Nudel: I have removed Acronis from my system and the problem still remains. I’ve included a short video of the process explorer in action as I change directories and drives so you can see what is transpiring in the kernel. And yes, I have replaced the boot screen so that is why the Kernel1.exe exists.
Nudel, the manner in which you described to remove the two drivers caused the system to go through a reboot cycle where it would not load Windows. I just reverted to last known good configuration so no worries there. It did not affect my booting into Xandros (Debian Linux). I am using TI9 and use it on my laptop as well and there are no problems at all there. I do not think the problem is related to TI based upon the above.
I still don't see the System process goes high (as you mentioned) with opus operations considering you confirm this video was captured in real time!!!!
Anyway, I'm suspecious about something, so could you backup your opus config from your problematic system (don't take an old config) and restore it on another (working properly) system, or on a VM or VPC, and tell us if you still experience the same delay or not.
PS: I's important to restore your original kernel and retest again.
Wolfdale: Yes, the screen capture is in real time and done with Snagit 8.2.3. On the other thing you mentioned about trading configurations with another system, I will do this as soon as I upgrade my desktop to 9.0.0.8 in a minute. I am going to spend as much of this rainy day as possible dedicated to solving this problem. I really enjoy DO9 on my laptop and have even suffered through the slowness on my desktop just to keep using it. So, I am determined, with everyone's help of course, to solve this issue today.
Ok, could you create a new user account (make sure to make it member of the administrators group), and then logon with this new account.
Now, open opus and when you're asked where to store your config, make sure to select Private Configuration not shared one, and let us know how things are going.
OK, some small progress here. I created an Administrative account 'test' and loaded it. When I used DO9 the listings were a little bit faster. I could however still see the CPU usage for DO9 go up as high as 45% and there was still some delay in listing directories.
When I tried this previously with "The Administrator" account there was absolutely no difference. Even now I'm a little reserved at the increase in speed as it could just be the difference in items being loaded that are specific to accounts. I think what I will do now is begin the transfer of privilages to this account and use it for a while to see if I can live with the increase in speed.
However, the difference in responsiveness between my laptop (which is much slower processor and less RAM) and desktop running side-by-side is dramatic. Each unit has a similar directory and drive lable structure, i.e., drives, c, d, e, f, and PC, Doctorate Research, Downloads, etc. I made it this way so that when I Sync the data it makes it easier for me to locate the drive/directory and create pairs.
I'm looking at my BIOS now to see if I've adjusted something there when I was testing a Linux distro a few months ago. I can't remember doing so but then again my memory is not what it used to be along those lines.
Yes, the exact same except for NOD32. I changed to NOD32 for anti-virus on my desktop as part of the troubleshooting process (and the fact that it runs much faster and takes up les resources than NIS2007) but things remained the same.
I can't think of any as I try to make sure each unit is as close to each other as possible. I think the only difference is the boot screen and theme and I have eliminated those as possible culprits.
I have scanned for spyware, malware, and viruses using 3 different engines. No joy there either.
4)No, actually it was while using Windows Explorer that I noticed the magnitude of this issue and began to explore the reasons why. I even used a freeware product called Windows File Explorer to make sure it wasn't a system anomaly. However, I'm beginning to think that it might be a BOIS or hardware issue as I've thoroughly investigated all possible avenues that I and others have thrown at this problem.
I'm now looking at my BIOS settings and any other differences that might be possible causes. Since the issue does not expose itself while in safe mode it could be a driver/hardware issue. Just got to dig deeper.
Sorry it has taken me some time to get back to this but work was getting the best of me there for a while. Thank you for your willingness to help and troubleshoot with me on this.
1)I have reset the kernel as you suggest.
The keys are attached in separate zip files
3)Since I use Acronis Home 9.1 I do not use System Restore as it is somewhat redundant with setting the automatic backup at once a week.
Ok, you have an extra filter driver on your desktop called HpStore which is not running on your laptop. It's installed as an Upper File System Filter Driver (most likely you have an HP system with some system/quota managment software).
Try to find by which software is this hpstore.sys is installed, and uninstalll this software, then send me the same registry keys as above but only for your desktop to make sure the driver wa uninstalled successfully before you report failure or success.
Ok, can you give me some places to look as I cannot find this anywhere on my system and Google only points me to 5 pages that are not related to my system whatsoever. I have a Gateway 835GM that I have added extra RAM and hard drives as well as replaced the DVD-ROM/RAM dirve with an LG unit. The only thing I have that is HP is the printer and I have searched that inside out to no avail.
