Anyone else having a problem with excessive CPU usage from TiWorker.exe after todays Windows Updates? 

After installing todays Windows 8 updates, when Automatic Maintenance is run TiWorker.exe just permanently sticks at around 50% CPU usage until the computer is turned off (Automatic Maintenance doesn't finish either).  After rebooting, as soon as Automatic Maintenance runs again, it does the same thing.  If I manually stop Automatic Maintenance from Action Centre, after about 30 seconds the CPU usage goes back to normal.

All the updates seem to have installed OK, although the .NET update (KB2836947) initially failed, it showed as successful the second time.

I went to uninstall the Servicing Stack update (KB2821895), but unlike the other updates, it doesn't give any option to uninstall it.  I'm not sure if this screenshot means anything, something about cbscore.dll?

• Edited by AnaBna Tuesday, June 11, 2013 11:56 PM

I don't have this issue.

Please run xperf to tarce the CPU usage.

Install the WPT (http://social.technet.microsoft.com/wiki/contents/articles/4847.install-the-windows-performance-toolkit-wpt-en-us.aspx), open a CMD prompt with admin rights and type this:

xperf -on latency -stackwalk profile -buffersize 1024 -MaxFile 256 -FileMode Circular && timeout -1 && xperf -d HighCPUUsage.etl

after you captured 30s of the high CPU usage of TiWorker, go back to CMD prompt and press a key to stop the logging. Now compress the HighCPUUSage.etl as 7z (LZMA2, ULTRA) to reduce the size. Upload this file to your SkyDrive or Dropbox and post a link here.

Thank you for the reply.  I have uploaded the xperf file to the following link:
(Link Removed)

Somehow I get the feeling this is due to KB2821895 update, as I uninstalled all the Windows Updates apart from this one (as it wouldn't let me) and the problem was still there. 

I've just noticed someone else post about Windows Modules Installer Worker CPU usage today, which makes me wonder whether they're experiencing the same problem.
http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/w8itprogeneral/thread/e22dd6dd-a58f-4bcc-b14b-00a80c995090#e22dd6dd-a58f-4bcc-b14b-00a80c995090

 

• Edited by AnaBna Wednesday, June 12, 2013 7:09 PM

ok, the TrustedInstaller/Windows module installer tries to cleanup the WinSxS folder by compressing some files:

wcp.dll!CCSDirectTransaction::Scavenge
wcp.dll!ComponentStore::CRawStoreLayout::DeltaCompressComponents
msdelta_dl.dll!compo::PseudoLzxSearch::Lookup

The LZX compression takes some CPU power.

Just let the service run and enjoy more free space.

ok, the TrustedInstaller/Windows module installer tries to cleanup the WinSxS folder by compressing some files:

wcp.dll!CCSDirectTransaction::Scavenge
wcp.dll!ComponentStore::CRawStoreLayout::DeltaCompressComponents
msdelta_dl.dll!compo::PseudoLzxSearch::Lookup

The LZX compression takes some CPU power.

Just let the service run and enjoy more free space.

You seem to have hit the nail on the head!  That was some serious compressing it was doing, as it must have run for a few hours in total.

Thanks for your help, mystery solved.

• Marked as answer by Niki HanModerator Thursday, June 13, 2013 6:46 AM

Comment please on the fact that after installing KB2821895 I need to run the following two commands in order to get sfc /scannow to run without finding corrupt files. 

DISM /Online /Cleanup-image /Scanhealth
DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth

I have this, too and already asked this MS. I'm still waiting for a reply.

Could anyone help to tell me a official solution? I also had the same issue with it, but I couldn't find the solution.

also capture a xperf trace so that I can see what is wrong.

Hi there,

ok, mystery solved... but there is an issue with current notebooks revving up to fully annoying mode when such a load is running. The fan of my spanking new Fujitsu Lifebook U745 (i7-5600U) goes into full berserk mode every few minutes, and then the fan is cut off. Silence. After a minute or so it revs up again... you get the idea. TiWorker "only" consumes 1 core, but believe me, this is annoying. It appears to have something to do with the "turbo" mode of the cores, which allows overclocking of at least one core to 120% clock. My hotfix was to limit CPU utilization to 98% in the energy settings. This effectively disables this turbo (and costs you 25% of your CPU performance), and it keeps the fan noise below ear-searing levels, most of the time. I sincerely ask myself whose design fault this is. Is it too complicated to allow the overclocking of a core only for a limited time to avoid heat strain? I don't care how long this background process runs, but I do care if such a thing is torturing my ears and my work environment.

The same effect (but worse) on a Lenovo T420s with a i7-2640M. Limiting the CPU utilization to 98% and using TPFanControl makes it bearable again. 

with best regards

Jens

• Edited by Jens Glathe 18 hours 17 minutes ago

Hi there,

ok, mystery solved... but there is an issue with current notebooks revving up to fully annoying mode when such a load is running. The fan of my spanking new Fujitsu Lifebook U745 (i7-5600U) goes into full berserk mode every few minutes, and then the fan is cut off. Silence. After a minute or so it revs up again... you get the idea. TiWorker "only" consumes 1 core, but believe me, this is annoying. It appears to have something to do with the "turbo" mode of the cores, which allows overclocking of at least one core to 120% clock. My hotfix was to limit CPU utilization to 98% in the energy settings. This effectively disables this turbo (and costs you 25% of your CPU performance), and it keeps the fan noise below ear-searing levels, most of the time. I sincerely ask myself whose design fault this is. Is it too complicated to allow the overclocking of a core only for a limited time to avoid heat strain? I don't care how long this background process runs, but I do care if such a thing is torturing my ears and my work environment.

The same effect (but worse) on a Lenovo T420s with a i7-2640M. Limiting the CPU utilization to 98% and using TPFanControl makes it bearable again. 

with best regards

Jens

• Edited by Jens Glathe Sunday, May 24, 2015 1:07 PM