Thread: Abnormal CPU use with Gnome Shell

I upgraded to Ubuntu 11.10 on a one-core laptop. With Gnome shell, Xorg eats between 50 and 60 % of my CPU and gdl_box eats the rest of the CPU. That makes the computer unusable, though I could use it with Compiz and another mode than Gnome shell to have a normal CPU consumption.

I then upgraded in the same way on a 8-thread laptop (Intel i7 processors). With Gnome shell, Xorg and gdl_box take each a full thread at 100 %, i.e., eating 2 full threads out of 8. The computer is still very fast, but the processor temperature increases to 75 degrees C leading to fans turning at full speed.

I saw in other threads people having a similar issue with Unity, but not with Gnome shell. The small laptop has an ATI card while the big one has an Nvidia one. Does anyone has a suggestion about what is happening and how to solve the problem? Thanks in advance for any piece of information.

Originally Posted by mpiter

I upgraded to Ubuntu 11.10 on a one-core laptop. With Gnome shell, Xorg eats between 50 and 60 % of my CPU and gdl_box eats the rest of the CPU. That makes the computer unusable, though I could use it with Compiz and another mode than Gnome shell to have a normal CPU consumption.

I then upgraded in the same way on a 8-thread laptop (Intel i7 processors). With Gnome shell, Xorg and gdl_box take each a full thread at 100 %, i.e., eating 2 full threads out of 8. The computer is still very fast, but the processor temperature increases to 75 degrees C leading to fans turning at full speed.

I saw in other threads people having a similar issue with Unity, but not with Gnome shell. The small laptop has an ATI card while the big one has an Nvidia one. Does anyone has a suggestion about what is happening and how to solve the problem? Thanks in advance for any piece of information.

I am having this exact same issue on my Toshiba laptop. I am having it even when I boot to "classic." Anybody?

It's gdl_box (Google Desktop Linux). If you kill the process, CPU returns to normal. I went ahead and removed the google-desktop-linux package from my systems as it's no longer supported.

Originally Posted by ve1uxe

It's gdl_box (Google Desktop Linux). If you kill the process, CPU returns to normal. I went ahead and removed the google-desktop-linux package from my systems as it's no longer supported.

Thanks a lot. That was the solution. I did not dare to kill the process because I did not know what it was. I also removed the package from my computer and it works like a charm. Gnome 3 is the first desktop that seduces me a lot since Compiz + Gnome 2 or Compiz + XFCE4. Thanks.

I have the Same problems with gdl_box (Google Desktop Linux) after Upgraded to Ubuntu 11.10 recently

FYR. I just disabled the 'Quick Search Box' in the Google Desktop Preference, and the problem is solved.

Screenshot is attached.

Unfortunately, I have met the same problem when I upgrade to 11.10.
I also disabled the 'Quick Search Box' in the Google Desktop Preference, but the problem still exist.

Anyone has another solution?

Originally Posted by sunjunhuoyun

Unfortunately, I have met the same problem when I upgrade to 11.10.
I also disabled the 'Quick Search Box' in the Google Desktop Preference, but the problem still exist.

What about completely discarding Google Desktop:

Code:

aptitude purge GD_name

(I do not remember the name of the package)? I did it, and is solved the problem for me.

Originally Posted by mpiter

What about completely discarding Google Desktop:

Code:

aptitude purge GD_name

(I do not remember the name of the package)? I did it, and is solved the problem for me.

Thank you for your kindly reply.
I need Google Desktop to search my computer to find files. So I can't discard Google Desktop.
Is these any good solution?
Thanks.

Originally Posted by sunjunhuoyun

Thank you for your kindly reply.
I need Google Desktop to search my computer to find files. So I can't discard Google Desktop.
Is these any good solution?
Thanks.

I do not know. Because Google stopped supporting that package and even took it away from their Web site to be sure that nobody would download it again, I think the best solution is to find a replacement. You can search the forums to see if something good exist or start a new thread asking that question.

Originally Posted by sunjunhuoyun

Thank you for your kindly reply.
I need Google Desktop to search my computer to find files. So I can't discard Google Desktop.
Is these any good solution?
Thanks.

I'm still using Google Desktop Linux for my desktop search... Tracker/Tracker-needle is so useless , it can't even index PDF files unless rebuild manually with proper configurations.

I noticed that the GDL tray icon flickers a lot in the Gnome 3 so I guess this is what caused very high CPU Load. Unfortunately there is no way to hide the tray icon in Gnome 3 Desktop, so I log in to Unity Desktop , and hide the GDL icon rom the notification area using this trick here http://www.webupd8.org/2011/04/how-t...tion-area.html, but blacklist GDL instead of whitelist it - you may also you dconf-editor to change this too.

Not sure if this made any difference, but my GDL actually became much more stable after this tweak! I mean the high CPU load could occasionally happen sometimes when running too much programs altogether in Unity, but not very often now.