[UPDATE:Bugfix bricks USB, audio, and more] The Very Hungry Cortanapillar - Cortana eating 40%+ CPU usage with update despite tester warnings

[rcmaehl]

UPDATE (Source: Forbes)

Quote

Picked up by Windows Latest, KB4515384 - an update Microsoft released to fix the CPU spiking search problem - is not only causing new search problems, reports state it is breaking the Start menu, Action Center and USB connections while also causing audio problems. “This update again introduces the same problem as the previous update,” wrote another on Microsoft’s Feedback Hub. “Part of the problem is a high CPU usage (~30%) and a totally broken search function. Currently, I see no other option than to blacklist this update also to prevent update [from reinstalling] again and again.” Windows Latest reports the Start menu stops working for some users who have upgraded to KB4515384 with Windows 10 delivering the following errors: “We’ll try to fix it the next time you sign in” and “Critical Error - Your Start menu isn’t working” “I tried [to] install KB4515384 on one of my workstations with no luck. Menu start stopped working with critical error and sign out demand. After uninstall latest CPU problem with start menu was solved but action center won't open now. Windows 10 especially 1903 is the most bugged OS ever.” Windows users are always industrious and some have found workarounds for these issues while they wait for an official fix. But the fact remains that right now Windows 10 updates (particularly those for the 1903 upgrade which is still being forced upon users) are a minefield. 

 

Source:
Forbes

Windows Latest

Summary:
KB4512941, pushed in the latest update is causing Cortana to consume a large amount of resources. Various insider testers reported the issue before release.

 

Media:





Quotes/Excerpts:

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Users are warning that Microsoft’s latest Windows 10 update is hitting performance hard. And what’s most frustrating is Microsoft was warned about this prior to release, shipped it anyway and continues to ignore it. Windows Update, KB4512941 was released to fix multiple problems, including bugs in Windows Sandbox, black screen issues and more. But inside the update is a botched Cortana fix which is causing the service to gobble up to 40% of user’s CPUs. Unsurprisingly, complaints are rising across social media forums and Windows 10’s Feedback Hub. The update was...beta tested on the company’s 10 million Windows Insiders for more than a week. Insiders subsequently reported CPU problem multiple times but it was ignored. In fact, at the time of publication, Microsoft’s head still remains in the sand. On the KB4512941 page, the company states “Microsoft is not currently aware of any issues with this update.“ The good news users have a workaround has been found, but there’s currently no quick fix for the larger problem at hand. Quality control that, in the last month alone, has seen Windows 10 1903 upgrades run aground, Bluetooth connections broken, wormable vulnerabilities discovered in every version of Windows 10 and a pair of Steam exploits which impacted almost 100M Windows users. Microsoft has already promised to be better, but it’s time the talking stopped. 

My Thoughts:

Microsoft once again appears to be ignoring insider reports about major issues with updates. While it is a good thing these security updates are being applied, major issues such as these really should be looked into. On the upside, if anyone complains about Cortana on the forums, you can link them to this post  

Edited September 13, 2019 by rcmaehl
Remove emoji

[Semper]

Windows insider, to me at least, has always been a cesspool of Microsoft looking for praise on all the cool new doodads they're introducing rather than an actual metric for improving their releases. I tried it out for a while, got sick of beta testing for MS just to have major and widely repeatable issues completely ignored. Went back to a regular release, and at this point, I'm on deferred releases trying to avoid as much of the disaster that their "updates" have become that I can.

It doesn't surprise me one bit that this is happening, because what better represents Windows 10 than an "assistant" (bing shill, if you ask me) that an extreme minority of people use, causing major issue? Not like we haven't seen this one before.

[Princess Luna]

Just kill Cortana? There's a really easy way to and you don't need it any more any ways... or at least I thought one of the points in 1903 was that Microsoft was untying Cortana from Windows Search once again (even though I have done it with Classic Shell years ago already).

[Guest]

My only interaction with Cortana is rushing to shut it off when I accidentally brush up against the cup of my Sony ANC headphones and it triggers her to ask if she can learn more about me. Take it out back and shoot it.

[Pentorin]

Why is Cortana still a thing? I get that some people can get slight use out of it but I personally have yet to find a reason to use Cortana over just manually doing the action myself.

[Guest]

13 minutes ago, Pentorin said:

Why is Cortana still a thing? I get that some people can get slight use out of it but I personally have yet to find a reason to use Cortana over just manually doing the action myself.

If I sunk millions into something, it would be difficult for me to call it a failure. That and it's probably collecting a lucrative amount of data even when you "turn if off."

[Pentorin]

3 minutes ago, Den-Fi said:

If I sunk millions into something, it would be difficult for me to call it a failure. That and it's probably collecting a lucrative amount of data even when you "turn if off."

True, I just wish there was full customization in what runs, and doesn't run on my PC. Like of course you can turn it off, but as you said 

 

4 minutes ago, Den-Fi said:

That and it's probably collecting a lucrative amount of data even when you "turn if off."

 

[jiyeon]

The only use for Cortana I've ever had was just so I don't feel lonely while on my Windows 10 PC. If I had the choice, I would definitely just kick her off Windows 10.

 

There's a reason I don't use Windows 10 on my laptop and Cortana is among one of the reasons I run Manjaro on my laptop.

[jagdtigger]

13 minutes ago, Pentorin said:

True, I just wish there was full customization in what runs, and doesn't run on my PC. Like of course you can turn it off, but as you said 

 

 

In case of cortana any live linux will do. Cortana is hiding under C:\Windows\SystemApps, the folder name is full of random characters but it will contain cortana. Just delete it and its disabled until the next big update reinstall it. (Or MS makes a service that checks it every boot and restores it.) In other cases not so much, svchost is a cancer in that regard.

Edited September 2, 2019 by jagdtigger

[Guest]

12 minutes ago, sowon said:

The only use for Cortana I've ever had was just so I don't feel lonely while on my Windows 10 PC. If I had the choice, I would definitely just kick her off Windows 10.

 

There's a reason I don't use Windows 10 on my laptop and Cortana is among one of the reasons I run Manjaro on my laptop.

You wouldn't feel lonely if you didn't abandon Jade.

She was so good to you....

[Pentorin]

1 minute ago, jagdtigger said:

In case of cortana any live linux will do. Cortana is hiding under C:\Windows\SystemApps, the folder name is full of random characters but it will contain cortana. Just delete it and its disabled until the next big update reinstall it. (Or MS makes a service that checks it every boot and restores it.) In other cases not so much, svchost is a cancer in that regard.

I would love to switch to linux if all the software I use was made for it.

[jiyeon]

1 minute ago, Den-Fi said:

You wouldn't feel lonely if you didn't abandon Jade.

She was so good to you....

Teal just felt right so Jade had to go.

 

1 minute ago, Pentorin said:

I would love to switch to linux if all the software I use was made for it.

This is my mindset too, I still run Windows 10 on my PC due to .exe among other applications only working in Windows and not inside Manjaro like on my laptop.

[The King of the Undead]

so 1000000% of mine?

[dfsdfgfkjsefoiqzemnd]

So ... in January I can either

- Stay on Win7 and have an unpatched vulnerability allow anyone to mine bitcoins using my PC

- Move to Windows 10 and have all my resources go to waste without anyone benefiting from them

 

If only the Windows team could write 2 lines of code without introducing 7 new major bugs ...

 

[Flying Sausages]

Is there a way to remove Cortana shit without bricking Windows?

[TetraSky]

Ah, that could explain why my niece is complaining that her low end laptop is slow recently 

[Animal901]

Mine is fine.  Just turn off cortana.

[Flying Sausages]

49 minutes ago, TetraSky said:

Ah, that could explain why my niece is complaining that her low end laptop is slow recently 

Mine too. i5 7200U, 16GB DDR4, and GTX 950M 2GB GDDR5 potato gaming laptop.

 

1 minute ago, Animal901 said:

Mine is fine.  Just turn off cortana.

Do you know how to remove Cortana without bricking Windows?

[Animal901]

If you turn off Cortana the easy way it will not use cpu. You will see a green leaf if you hover over it it will then explain its off.

[cj09beira]

1 hour ago, Captain Chaos said:

So ... in January I can either

- Stay on Win7 and have an unpatched vulnerability allow anyone to mine bitcoins using my PC

- Move to Windows 10 and have all my resources go to waste without anyone benefiting from them

 

If only the Windows team could write 2 lines of code without introducing 7 new major bugs ...

 

or like us others:

Spoiler

 come join the dark side 

 

[dfsdfgfkjsefoiqzemnd]

12 minutes ago, cj09beira said:

or like us others:

Already working on it. 

 

Spoiler

 

[The King of the Undead]

Just now, Captain Chaos said:

Already working on it. 

 

  Hide contents

 

good good.

[Nowak]

Useless assistant eats up a lot of resources for no reason. Amazing.

 

The Windows Insider program is such a joke.

[Zodiark1593]

I need to do a Windows reinstall on a client's PC next week. Is Cortana going to be crashing my party?

[The King of the Undead]

everything comes with a caviot. this isn't a caviot it is a grand canyon sized problem.