megalo's dashboard

megalo replied on August 29, 2008 19:56 to the problem "SPF: 100% CPU load when copying files over LAN" in Sunbelt Software:

That's what I call an orgy: "it appears that the reason you are seeing CPU load is due to the machine constantly caching the data, filling up the buffers, and purging the data."

:-)

megalo replied on August 29, 2008 19:44 to the problem "SPF: 100% CPU load when copying files over LAN" in Sunbelt Software:

"any IDS/packet filtering will not"
I understand the subtle hint that this isn't a permanent solution. ;-)

Anyway, thanks again for your help. Now all I need is a new version of SPF that fixes my problem :P

Just a more or less random thought: Is it possible that the cache/purge orgy is caused by the chipset or chipset drivers?

megalo replied on August 29, 2008 19:32 to the problem "SPF: 100% CPU load when copying files over LAN" in Sunbelt Software:

Great! Disabling the NDIS IM filter did the trick. No idea what it does, though. But I'm sure you know.

A comment on the problem "SPF: 100% CPU load when copying files over LAN" in Sunbelt Software:

Thanks. Again: I can't disable HIPS because the driver won't shut down. Also, HIPS is unchecked in SPF anyway. (Not sure if this prevents it from running in the first place or if this might be the reason why it won't shut down.) – megalo, on August 29, 2008 19:23

megalo replied on August 29, 2008 19:00 to the problem "SPF: 100% CPU load when copying files over LAN" in Sunbelt Software:

OK, I killed as many processes as possible, freeing around 250 megs of memory. However, I could not detect any speed increase or lower CPU usage. During the file transfer, the free RAM fell to around 190 megs, but that was it.

I have prepared a new set of log files reflecting this change. If you want, I can email them.

megalo replied on August 29, 2008 18:47 to the problem "SPF: 100% CPU load when copying files over LAN" in Sunbelt Software:

Let's try something else: I will kill as many processes as possible on this machine and see what happens. I'm pretty sure I can free around 250 Megs of RAM. Would that -- theoretically -- be enough to prevent the hiccup?

"Windows is being emulated within Boot Camp."
FYI: It's not. Boot Camp is basically just a boot loader that only emulates BIOS since Windows can't recognize EFI. Everything else runs natively.

Just my two cents as a Mac zealot. :P

Thanks! I'll keep you posted.

megalo replied on August 29, 2008 18:31 to the problem "SPF: 100% CPU load when copying files over LAN" in Sunbelt Software:

Thanks so much for your help. But if this is a RAM issue, why don't I see the same behavior with ZoneAlarm (which in itself is a miserable memory hog) or Windows Firewall?

Unfortunately(?), all my other machines are Macs. (One runs Vista in Boot Camp, but still, it's a different OS.) Would it help to try it there?

megalo replied on August 29, 2008 17:30 to the problem "SPF: 100% CPU load when copying files over LAN" in Sunbelt Software:

Thank you. (And wow, you're even doing this during lunch? That's dedication!)

Since I'm not sure what you mean by speed comparison (CPU load -- which is my concern -- or transfer speed) I'll give you both.

Copying a 350 Meg file to the machine with SPF on:
2m25s / CPU avg. ~98%

With SPF off:
0m50s / CPU avg. ~40%

Also: AntiVir (8.1.0.331) / Ad-Aware (7.1.0.10) are both the most recent versions.

megalo replied on August 29, 2008 16:58 to the problem "SPF: 100% CPU load when copying files over LAN" in Sunbelt Software:

Thanks for noticing the memory issue ;-) It's my oldest machine and I only use it for a few tasks -- like moving files around the network :(

I disabled both AntiVir and AdAware (well, you can't really disable the AdAware service short of uninstalling the whole app, so I killed the process but it restarts after a few seconds). No change.

Since my machine doesn't have this problem with other firewalls I really don't think it's a third party app. Unless, of course, SPF is the program that has a problem with it.

Thank you!

megalo replied on August 29, 2008 16:24 to the problem "SPF: 100% CPU load when copying files over LAN" in Sunbelt Software:

Okay, done. I hope there's not too much gibberish in there. I'm running a German version of XP and I don't know how far the translation goes...

Thanks!

megalo replied on August 29, 2008 16:11 to the problem "SPF: 100% CPU load when copying files over LAN" in Sunbelt Software:

Same problem with Network Security module disabled. I'm about to send the email. Should I enter some specific subject or will you know that it's me?

megalo replied on August 29, 2008 15:55 to the problem "SPF: 100% CPU load when copying files over LAN" in Sunbelt Software:

Oops. sorry. The service couldn't be stopped.

megalo replied on August 29, 2008 15:54 to the problem "SPF: 100% CPU load when copying files over LAN" in Sunbelt Software:

Nope. Same thing.

megalo replied on August 29, 2008 15:44 to the problem "SPF: 100% CPU load when copying files over LAN" in Sunbelt Software:

Okay, I did a clean uninstall. Unfortunately, the file transfer problem persists with default settings via LAN and WiFi. By the way: the process going throught the roof is explorer.exe. (Curiously, I could have sworn that previously (i.e., months ago) it was System, not Explorer. But then again, I'm no longer sure.)

megalo replied on August 29, 2008 15:09 to the problem "SPF: 100% CPU load when copying files over LAN" in Sunbelt Software:

I will share my results ASAP. And thanks for your help.

A comment on the problem "SPF: 100% CPU load when copying files over LAN" in Sunbelt Software:

Last removal was via add/remove. Do you think there are some bad settings left? – megalo, on August 29, 2008 15:01

megalo replied on August 29, 2008 14:59 to the problem "SPF: 100% CPU load when copying files over LAN" in Sunbelt Software:

Oh, I forgot: It's probably not the driver, I have the same issue when moving/copying files via WiFi.

megalo replied on August 29, 2008 14:57 to the problem "SPF: 100% CPU load when copying files over LAN" in Sunbelt Software:

I regularly update my Ethernet driver, and the last time I did was before I (re-)installed SPF. However, this issue has occured with all previous versions of the Rhine II driver when SPF was installed (I haven't been using SPF for several months but I had the same thing happening before.)

megalo reported a problem in Sunbelt Software on August 29, 2008 14:49:

SPF: 100% CPU load when copying files over LAN

Sunbelt Personal Firewall 4.6.1845 is causing full CPU load while I'm moving or copying files via LAN TO the machine (XP SP3) running SPF. (Interestingly, this doesn't occur when I'm copying/moving FROM the machine.)

This bug has been with SPF for several versions and other firewall products -- ZoneAlarm, Windows Firewall -- don't cause this issue.

Any ideas? I was thinking that maybe it's the Ethernet driver (latest VIA Rhine II) or a specific driver setting, but who knows...