CPU usage expected during search?

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terrypin
Posts: 199
Joined: Mon Mar 18, 2013 2:41 pm

CPU usage expected during search?

Post by terrypin »

What is the typical CPU usage expected during searches please? It may be that I've not previously noticed such heavy usage, but my searches this morning seem to use 40-100% and take an unduly long time to complete. Are there any particular settings I should check that may have inadvertently been altered?

Terry, UK
therube
Posts: 4580
Joined: Thu Sep 03, 2009 6:48 pm

Re: CPU usage expected during search?

Post by therube »

How many files, what is your search, & are your particular search parameters indexed (like fast size sort...)?

Actually, if you map CPU usage (Process Hacker, Process Explorer), usage itself can be high (up to 75% or so), but duration is minimal to the point where system performance would not be impacted (in a general sense).
terrypin
Posts: 199
Joined: Mon Mar 18, 2013 2:41 pm

Re: CPU usage expected during search?

Post by terrypin »

Thanks, prompted by that I repeated one of my searches:
*hf*.pdf c:
That took 38 secs, with CPU usage in the 70-90% range.

However ... I think I found the cause. Somehow Match Path had become enabled. Removing it got the run down to 3 s, and as you say that was so fast I didn't even get around to looking at CPU.
therube
Posts: 4580
Joined: Thu Sep 03, 2009 6:48 pm

Re: CPU usage expected during search?

Post by therube »

No, something is not right (on your end).

38 sec is unheard of.
3 sec is far far too long.

We should be talking milliseconds.
void
Developer
Posts: 15096
Joined: Fri Oct 16, 2009 11:31 pm

Re: CPU usage expected during search?

Post by void »

How many files is Everything indexing?

A normal search should take about 15 milliseconds per 1 million files.
A match path search should take about 50 milliseconds per 1 million files.
wildcards will make the search slower.

Searching can be really slow if Everything is being paged to and from disk.
How much memory is Everything using? and how much memory is available?

Have you modified your Everything filter? Search Menu -> Organized Filters -> Everything -> Edit... -> Search should be empty.
terrypin
Posts: 199
Joined: Mon Mar 18, 2013 2:41 pm

Re: CPU usage expected during search?

Post by terrypin »

Thanks.

About 850,000 files on C: (SSD) and 1.3 million on D: Other external drives are indexed too, but irrelevant in the context of my examples.

Nothing modified in Everything filter.

Most searches are 'instant'. I haven't yet had another around 38 s but consistently get about 4 sec for the type of examples I gave:
*hf*.pdf c: 4s
*discovery*.pdf d: 5s

Removing the initial asterisk restores 'instant' performance.
froggie
Posts: 297
Joined: Wed Jun 12, 2013 10:43 pm

Re: CPU usage expected during search?

Post by froggie »

Interesting.
I am getting about 10 seconds with that search.
Match whole word drops it to 3
removing the period or putting a space before it makes it about instantaneous
therube
Posts: 4580
Joined: Thu Sep 03, 2009 6:48 pm

Re: CPU usage expected during search?

Post by therube »

Huh, what?
I'm on XP, e4300, 2GB RAM & see nothing like that.
froggie
Posts: 297
Joined: Wed Jun 12, 2013 10:43 pm

Re: CPU usage expected during search?

Post by froggie »

Its the

Code: Select all

*anything*.
that does it.

Searching for *hf*.pdf and Checking Match Whole Filename When Using Wildcards (which is the same logical search) is instantaneous.

Of course just omitting the "*"

Code: Select all

hf ext:pdf
is also the same and instantaneous
therube
Posts: 4580
Joined: Thu Sep 03, 2009 6:48 pm

Re: CPU usage expected during search?

Post by therube »

Care to post you Everything.ini?
(I don't think there is anything "personal" in there. Skim through. I didn't notice anything.)
terrypin
Posts: 199
Joined: Mon Mar 18, 2013 2:41 pm

Re: CPU usage expected during search?

Post by terrypin »

You're right, good find!

But what exactly does "Match Whole Filename When Using Wildcards " mean? I'm using asterisks because I don't know the whole filename.
terrypin
Posts: 199
Joined: Mon Mar 18, 2013 2:41 pm

Re: CPU usage expected during search?

Post by terrypin »

therube wrote: Fri Mar 13, 2020 3:46 pm Care to post you Everything.ini?
(I don't think there is anything "personal" in there. Skim through. I didn't notice anything.)
Not sure if you meant me or froggie (or both) but here's mine:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/2nn695xjlqv1t ... g.ini?dl=0
froggie
Posts: 297
Joined: Wed Jun 12, 2013 10:43 pm

Re: CPU usage expected during search?

Post by froggie »

@terrypin

Code: Select all

But what exactly does "Match Whole Filename When Using Wildcards " mean? I'm using asterisks because I don't know the whole filename.
You don't need the asterisks. Everything will match a search string wherever it appears. So "hf" will match "hf", "abchf", abchfdefg", etc.
The search string

Code: Select all

hf ext:pdf
is all you need.

Code: Select all

hf .pdf
is fewer keystrokes and will also work in most cases, although it will find files like "xxxhfxxx.pdf.doc"
therube
Posts: 4580
Joined: Thu Sep 03, 2009 6:48 pm

Re: CPU usage expected during search?

Post by therube »

terrypin
Posts: 199
Joined: Mon Mar 18, 2013 2:41 pm

Re: CPU usage expected during search?

Post by terrypin »

therube wrote: Fri Mar 13, 2020 4:51 pm No issues here ...
But I'm guessing you have "Match Whole Filename When Using Wildcards " enabled?

With that enabled, I can reproduce your results.
terrypin
Posts: 199
Joined: Mon Mar 18, 2013 2:41 pm

Re: CPU usage expected during search?

Post by terrypin »

froggie wrote: Fri Mar 13, 2020 4:25 pm You don't need the asterisks. Everything will match a search string wherever it appears.
Thanks, that's a revelation to me.

So, do we ever need asterisks?
therube
Posts: 4580
Joined: Thu Sep 03, 2009 6:48 pm

Re: CPU usage expected during search?

Post by therube »

But I'm guessing you have "Match Whole Filename When Using Wildcards " enabled?
I used just whatever was in your Everything.ini (which I hope was its "slow" mode).


OK, so you did have (Tools | Options | General -> Search) 'Match whole filename when using wildcards' enabled.
Disabling that, & searching using wildcards was noticeably slower, but still not 3 seconds, much less anything more then that.
therube
Posts: 4580
Joined: Thu Sep 03, 2009 6:48 pm

Re: CPU usage expected during search?

Post by therube »

do we ever need asterisks?
May depend on what you're trying to get out.

Code: Select all

ncmain   .exe
Returns:

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NCMAIN.EXE
NCMAIN.EXE.7z
NCMAIN.EXE.not
Google Search_ ncmain.exe.url
nc.exe   ncmain.txt
---

Code: Select all

ncmain*.exe
ONLY returns, NCMAIN.EXE (in my case)
(But, it could find more - if I happened to have some other file name that matched the pattern, like, "ncmainisthebomb.exe".)
froggie
Posts: 297
Joined: Wed Jun 12, 2013 10:43 pm

Re: CPU usage expected during search?

Post by froggie »

Code: Select all

So, do we ever need asterisks?
Maybe in the middle of a string: "xxx*yyy"

But even in this case I would start with "xxx yyy" and see if there is a need to use a more complex search - often this will find what I need without creating a more complex search.
terrypin
Posts: 199
Joined: Mon Mar 18, 2013 2:41 pm

Re: CPU usage expected during search?

Post by terrypin »

froggie wrote: Fri Mar 13, 2020 8:50 pm

Code: Select all

So, do we ever need asterisks?
Maybe in the middle of a string: "xxx*yyy"

But even in this case I would start with "xxx yyy" and see if there is a need to use a more complex search - often this will find what I need without creating a more complex search.
Thanks, understood.
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