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high cpu usage after latest graphics driver update (nov 2014)

GCobe
Beginner
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Hi,

I am running an ASUS laptop with Windows 7 and I also see high CPU usage by "igfxEM.exe", one instance for each opened user session, exactly since the Intel driver update.

Each instance is using a CPU thread at full speed (12,5% of total CPU on my Intel i7). See attached screenshot with driver version number and CPU usage display.

I believe this is the same issue that has actually not been solved : /message/257256# 257256 https://communities.intel.com/message/257256# 257256

Thanks,

Grégory

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30 Replies
RHowa3
Novice
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I've noticed some sort of problem with high CPU for the past few weeks and decided to really look into it just this morning. I also found this module consuming my computer. With three Windows LogonIDs all "logged on" (I flip back and forth between the three) they nearly consume up all the horsepower I have and I can get little else done.

If I "suspend" igfxEM.exe with the Process Explorer, everything returns to normal. I'm not sure whether I even have the option to uninstall this software ... or hopefully wait for a fix.

bob

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Allan_J_Intel1
Employee
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Thanks for joining the Graphics community.

GC430FR and OR-Bob

I would need more information in regards to your system configuration:

Which version of Windows do you have? 32 or 64bit.

Also, the exact processor model and the graphics controller:

http://www.intel.com/support/graphics/sb/CS-009482.htm Graphics Drivers — How to Identify Your Intel® Graphics Controller

Click the Windows icon, and then right-click Computer .

Select Properties .

Find System Type on the Properties window, and then note the processor model.

Please copy-paste or attach the Graphics report generated within the Intel Graphics control panel

http://www.intel.com/support/graphics/sb/cs-009476.htm Graphics Drivers — Intel® Graphics Driver Report

Allan.

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GCobe
Beginner
3,607 Views

Hi Allan,

The exact processor model is in screenshot from previous post : Intel HD Graphics 4600.

The operating system is 64 bits (Windows 7, service pack 1).

The processor is Intel Core i7-4700HQ CPU @ 2.40GHz (see attached screenshot here).

Also below is a copy of the report.

Thanks,

Greg

Intel(R) HD Graphics 4600

Report Date: Monday, November 24, 2014

Report Time [hh:mm:ss]: 10:12:08 PM

Driver Version: 10.18.10.3960

Operating System: Windows* 7 Ultimate (6.1.7601)

Default Language: French (France)

Physical Memory: 16267 MB

Vendor ID: 8086

Device ID: 0416

Device Revision: 06

Video BIOS: 2170.0

Current Resolution: 1920 x 1080

Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-4700HQ CPU @ 2.40GHz

Processor Speed: 2394 MHz

Processor Graphics in Use: Intel(R) HD Graphics 4600

Shader Version: 5.0

OpenGL* Version: 4.3

OpenCL* Version: 1.2

* Microsoft DirectX* *

Runtime Version: 11.0

Hardware-Supported Version: 11.0

* Devices connected to the Graphics Accelerator *

Active Displays: 1

* Built-in Display *

Display Type: Digital

DDC2 Protocol: Supported

Gamma: 2.2

Connector Type: Embedded DisplayPort

Device Type: Built-in Display

Maximum Image Size

Horizontal Size: 14.96 inches

Vertical Size: 8.27 inches

Supported Modes

1920 x 1080 (60p Hz)

1920 x 1080 (40p Hz)

Raw EDID:

00 FF FF FF FF FF FF 00 0D AF 20 17 00 00 00 00

02 15 01 04 90 26 15 78 02 ED 95 A3 54 4C 9C 26

0F 50 54 00 00 00 01 01 01 01 01 01 01 01 01 01

01 01 01 01 01 01 E1 36 80 AE 70 38 26 40 34 23

36 00 7E D7 10 00 00 1A 1D 24 80 A0 70 38 1F 40

30 20 35 00 7E D7 10 00 00 1A 00 00 00 FE 00 48

43 39 47 4B 80 31 37 33 48 47 45 0A 00 00 00 00

00 00 41 31 9E 00 00 00 00 02 01 0A 20 20 00 F3

* Other names and brands are the property of their respective owners.

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RHowa3
Novice
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I have a 64-bit Windows 7 system with all MS updates applied. It's a fairly new (only a few months) Dell "small desktop" running Windows 7 (they still make that available).

The processor: "Intel(R) Pentium(R) CPU G3240 @3.10GHz 3.10GHz"

The Graphics Adapter: "Intel(R) HD Graphics"

bob

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Allan_J_Intel1
Employee
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OR-Bob and GC430FR

I have not been able to replicate same situation with CPU usage. I have installed latest driver 3960.

Does this problem occur with customized drivers from your computer manufacturers?

Does it happen with earlier driver versions? if so, please provide versions.

Allan.

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RHowa3
Novice
3,607 Views

Hello again,

This problem does not occur all the time ... but when it starts, the only way to stop it is either to "suspend" igfxEM.exe or re-boot.

I re-booted a couple of days ago (not because of this but because I installed something unrelated and it required a re-boot), and the problem has not occurred since then and igfxEM.exe is not currently suspended.

If the pattern repeats itself, however, I would assume that the problem will occur given enough time.

For me, this problem seems to have started when some maintenance was applied to my system back on October 21st. At that time, an updated version of "Intel(R) Graphics Driver" was downloaded and installed as an "optional" update in Windows Update. The "details" from Windows Update is as follows:

==================================================================================================================

Intel Corporation - Graphics Adapter WDDM1.1, Graphics Adapter WDDM1.2, Graphics Adapter WDDM1.3 - Intel(R) HD Graphics

Installation date: ‎10/‎21/‎2014 3:48 PM

Installation status: Successful

Update type: Optional

Intel Corporation Graphics Adapter WDDM1.1, Graphics Adapter WDDM1.2, Graphics Adapter WDDM1.3 software update released in October, 2014

More information:

 

http://sysdev.microsoft.com/support/default.aspx http://sysdev.microsoft.com/support/default.aspx

Help and Support:

 

http://support.microsoft.com/select/?target=hub http://support.microsoft.com/select/?target=hub

==================================================================================================================

A new version of igfxEM.exe seems to have be included in this update.

I don't know if the problem is actually in igfxEM.exe ... but when I suspend igfxEM.exe the high cpu goes away.

So when I look into the Windows Control Panel's "Programs and Features", I see "Intel(R) Graphics Driver". Is the actual graphics driver contained in that package? Or is that package some "optional" software that I can possibly do without?

If I can do without that software, I would consider uninstalling it.

bob

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GCobe
Beginner
3,607 Views

Hi Allan,

A few additional infos:

* My laptop is running also an nVidia 750M graphics card ; with latest certified drivers. The problem does not seem related to any change on that side. The problem was clearly after the optional windows update of Intel drivers, as Bob said.

* I believe the problem occurs when switching between users (several user sessions are opened) and/or when system was previously in Sleep or Hibernate. But I am not 100% sure.

* I have created a "full dump" of the "igfxEM.exe" process that was running at full speed using process explorer. It is about 72MB. Should I send it to you ? What would be the best way ?

Regards,

Greg

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RHowa3
Novice
3,607 Views

Agree with Greg.

I should add that you might be able to eliminate hibernate since that's turned off on my computer.

In my power plan, I have "sleep after" set to zero, so it shouldn't sleep ... but I did have "hybrid sleep" set to "yes" so I just set it to "no". The screen turns off after 5 minutes ... other than that, everything stays awake (again, this is a desktop).

I also switch between Windows LogonIDs periodically ... so that can be a source of the issue.

I took the Intel graphics software off the tray .. not sure how to get it back....

Hope this is helpful info...

bob

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Allan_J_Intel1
Employee
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Thank you guys for the information.

I am currently researching on this issue. As soon as I can, I will send you a message with my findings.

Allan.

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GCobe
Beginner
3,607 Views

Hi Allan,

Using "Process Explorer", I made a "full dump" of the igfxEM.exe" process. This could be helpful for debugging. Shall I send it to you ?

Grégory

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GGrof
Beginner
3,607 Views

I can confirm the same issue on my desktop. It started after installing the latest drivers. My PC specs:

CPU: i3 4150

RAM: 4GB DDR3

OS: Windows 7 64bit

I'm using the integrated Intel HD4400 as the primary graphics card.

At random occasions the igfxEM.exe process starts hogging the CPU (task manager reports that it uses about 25% of CPU). the only solution is to either manually kill the process or reboot.

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RHowa3
Novice
3,607 Views

Just wanted to report that the problem surfaced again and I had to suspend igfxFM.exe. I eventually rebooted and all's well for now.

I also need to report that I was incorrect about my system not having hibernate enabled. I recently noticed that hibernate was enabled. That must have happened when I changed power plans. I did turn it off in the active power plan and disabled it within Windows (the hiberfile is gone) ... but I now need to go back into my saved powers plans to ensure that hibernate is off in each plan (just in case I ever decide to use that plan again).

It seems that this program ... igfxFM.exe ... is being called the graphics driver, but it's not the actual name of the graphics driver program.

What is the purpose of this program?

Is it part of some optional software that we may be able to disable until the actual problem is resolved??

Bob

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GCobe
Beginner
3,607 Views

Hello,

@allan_intel : have you reproduced the problem ?

@bob : As a workaround until it is fixed ; I have installed the previous driver (from August, available on Intel Download section) and it works fine

Rgds,

Gregory

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RHowa3
Novice
3,607 Views

Thanks Gregory. I didn't think of that option until you mentioned it. I downloaded and installed the August edition and will await further info from Allan.

Bob

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OS1
Beginner
3,607 Views

I confirm I have the same problem, Lenovo Desktop, i7-4770 CPU at 3.40GHz, igfxEM.exe version 6.15.10.3960. Windows 8.1. The problem occurs (not every time) after switching users (I use admin and non-admin accounts at the same time for different purposes) or waking the computer from sleep. See the attached screens. All 4 cores go to over 55C pretty quickly.

I hope a solution can be found soon.

Thanks,

Oleg

RHowa3
Novice
3,607 Views

Oleg mentions an additional point that may help since it was also my situation ... I was also switching between admin and non-admin users. OR-Bob

ROBERT_U_Intel
Employee
3,607 Views

All,, we have replicated the issue and are currently working to resolve it. Please continue to use the August driver build if you are experiencing this issue and watch this thread for updates.

Thanks

Robert

RHowa3
Novice
3,607 Views

awesome news! will keep posted for news on this matter. bob

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DWalt6
Beginner
3,607 Views

That's great Robert. If you need more examples, let me know if I can help. I've been researching this for a couple of weeks and finally stumbled upon this thread. This is happening on TWO brand new computers of mine, a high-end desktop and a laptop both purchased within the last couple of months. On both machines the exact same thing happens as described here--at various times I notice the CPU is running "hot" and when I look I see igfxEM.exe taking up something like 12% CPU for EACH user that is logged on to the machine. My kids were complaining about how slow our new laptop was and when I checked there were like 4 instances of igfxEM.exe running, each at around 12% CPU! I logged everyone off then one user back on and it was resolved, until the NEXT time, which is quite unpredictable.

I can get you whatever you require including process dumps, let me know if I can be of any help! Given that this is happening on two machines I am thinking this is probably fairly widespread in its impact 😐

SDann1
Beginner
3,152 Views

Just throwing it out there that I am also having this issue. Exactly 25% processor usage on a brand new machine built from scratch last week running windows 7 professional 64-bit.

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