WDBackupEngine.exe at 50% CPU usage with "new" 1.6.0 Smartware - CPU hot and fan on constant

The newest release for this software FIX the last bug I had, the memory hog issue where the service was taking up huge amounts of memory (3+ Gb) and causing my PC to run slow (See here: http://community.wdc.com/t5/WD-Smartware/WDFME-exe-RAM-hog/td-p/250634 ).  Unfortunately now the WDBackupEngine.exe process is constantly taking up 50% of my CPU and causing not only PC slowdowns but also my fans to run at 100% trying to keep it cool.  If I stop the “WD Backup” service the process closes and my fans slow down within seconds, returning my computer to normal.

PLEASE fix this issue in your software, the version 1.5.??, although it used a ton of memory, didn’t cause my CPU to constantly overheat like this “new” 1.6.0 software does.  I don’t understand how you guys keep fixing bugs just to introduce new ones.

Note:  I have two seperate PC’s with this software.  Both has the memory problem with the 1.5.* software, both have this high CPU usage with the new 1.6.0 software.  Both are Windows 7 64 bit with 4Gb of ram.  One has a 1Gb My Essentials, the other has a 320Gb.

-Allan

Hi Allan

I must be lucky, because after the initial backup/synchronisation I have not suffered from the CPU usage that you have on either of my PCs (Dell XPS 8100 Win64 Prof 8Gb RAM & Samsung NP300E7A-A04UK Win64 Ultimate 6Gb RAM)

Maybe this is another motherboard specific issue?

Alex

Two different PCs.  One is a eVGA x58 and the other is a ASUS Maximus Gene III.  Different hard drives, different memory, exact same issue. 

I’ve set all three WD services to disabled to stop them from overheating the computer until WD can figure out wht they ruined this time.

-Allan

I am also experiencing the same after following all of the recommended steps - Earlier today I did a search for the .exe file that was dragging my computer, found a thread that lead me to the most recent update, I’ve now installed it, only to still have significant drag. I am in agreement with this poster - it’s not just him.

I don’t know if this is relevant or not, but the program seems to be running through “categorizing files” during this time. I don’t need all of my computer’s files categorized - I bought this drive to hold my music files only and it seems **bleep** bent on backing up my entire computer. If there is a way to just use it to hold my music files, please let me know.

Thank you,

Erick

If it from “catagorizing files” then thats a issue as it was doing it for over two days.  Not only that I have that turned off and only select a couple directories directly and am not using the catagories functionality.

Same issue.  Followed instructions for upgrading 1.6.0.20. WDBackupEngine.exe now consumes 30+% of CPU process time. Related WD processes also consume process time, for a sum of about 50%.  This is happening even without the little drive connected to the system.  Running a Lenovo T61, dual T7500 CPUs @ 2.2 GHz, 2GB RAM.  Note that I tried to terminate the process via Task Manager and it would not die. Yikes.

I just purchased and installed my 1Tb essentials backup drive. the WDbackupengine.exe is running anywhere between 70-95% of CPU power all the time. I am not even doing anything with the backup drive while this is going on. Please fix this.

I just emailed tech support and asked when they will fix this issue and pointed them to this thread also.  I suggest everyone else having the same issue also report it through email and maybe they will do something about it.

ditto, my Dell Laptop D620 has similar problem with excessive cpu and lots of page faults. Makes the computer nearly useless. WinXP pro, 2Gb ram. I have faithfully installed WD updates for the past year, and this performance problems only gets worse. My next step is to uninstall Smartware and do the backups myself – probably using Windows backup, unless forums users have a better idea.  I’ll keep using the WD drive, but not the software.

I got a email reply back from tech support telling me to uninstall and reinstall the software which I have already done but I’ll try again anyway. 

As a side not their software is always taking up 1 CPU core fully.  For example on my dual core i5 system it shows in task manager as using 50% of the CPU, on my i7 quad core it takes up 25%.   Why their software needs to constantly use a entire core is beyond me but on the i5 it over heats and is barely usable, on the i7 it doesn’t affect it as much.

I’ve just registered into this forum to add my complaint for the same issue.

I’m running Windows XP with WD Drive Service 1.6.0.4 and it is taking a lot of CPU even if the external drive is not connected…

I’m too encountered this problem with the CDU usage of 100% and a process wdbackupengine*32. A process for 32 bit on W7 64 bit operating system appears a bit strange to me.

Is ther any solution available?

I have a Dell Studio Slim that started having a buzz in the audio every 60 seconds after upgrading.  Dell was ready to replace the motherboard to fix it.  I finally remembered upgrading WD Smartware just before the buzz started.  I wanted the process monitor and saw the WD smartware exe spike cpu every time the buzz happened.  I stopped all 3 WD services and the buzz ceased.  I had to disable the services because they keep starting by themselves even when set to Manual.

This all started with WD Smartware version 1.6.0.16.  I wish I could find the earlier version somewhere until this bug is fixed.

thanks, Mike

This problem STILL EXISTS!  I am now running 1.6.4, did a fresh install (uninstalled all old WD software, rebooted, deleted temp files, and downloaded new version).

When the backup is NOT running the CPU usage from WDBackupEngine.exe is a constant 25% which is enough to kick my CPU fan to high.  When the backup IS running it’s a constant 50%.

Why is this program using 25% when it’s idle and not doing anything?   The only way I can fix this is to uninstall the software or disable all three WD services then enable them when I want to do a backup.  This is rediculous!

I bought drive specifically for backups & their backup software looked straightforward enough.

The drive installed quickly & was visible on Windows 7 immediately.

I went through Firmware & Software updates, including all the plug out & reboot x times.  Now on 1.6.4.6 according to version number on .exe

When I went for my first backup I could not get the Backup tab enabled & had to go to forums to find that you have to click on the icon representing the only external HDD for the software to allow access to the Backup.

Left the backup run overnight & it backedup files but gave access denied on some files including my reg file so I don’t value that as a complete backup.

Since installed the internal HDD has not stopped working with the 4 WD services processes constantly reading & writing to HDDs even though the external HDD is now off.  I assumed I had a virus it was so bad so I did full scan but nothing.

Also I am getting a lot of distortion on any music I have playing & that is annoying everybody.

Back to forums to see if others have same problem and quickly find that these two issues are common.

I disabled these services from startup & then stopped them and all these problems went away so I am convinced that it is WD software.

WD, Please sort this and allow the software sit idle if not needed.  Otherwise get rid of all the services & user the option to backup only when they want to.

I don’t see any option but to remove their backup software & either use the MyBook as a plain HDD or use other software.

For me it is a very big negative feature & makes we wonder if the software would be reliable enough to do a restore if needed!!!

Hey Western Digital - Do you guys have any intention of making your software work or should I give up and find another solution?

This bug is still around.  I just reinstalled my system from scratch, new SSD hard drive, fresh Windows 7 64 bit Ultimate install, and the latest version of WDSmartWare 1.6.5.  And guess what?  This software does the exact same thing…it uses up 100% of one core of the processor at all times. 

My PC is a i7 920 (4 core) and the WDBackupEngine.exe*32 process has been at 25% of the CPU for two days straight now with my fan ramped up to keep the CPU cool.  If I stop the WD services and set them to disabled the process goes away and my fans slow back down.

PLEASE fix this issue.  It makes your software pointless.  Why does no one ever respond to this and try to fix it?

-Allan

I just realized how old this thread is. Looks like I’m going to have to call WD and yell at them. I just realized my wife’s laptop has been running at 97% for days, could be weeks, even with the lid closed. I’m lucky the computer didn’t melt. I always had an issue with this software because it always seems to be running and I really can’t tell what it’s doing. I would rather just schedule periodic backups. What was once an annoyance, now is getting downright destructive.

Many months ago I had enough of this resource hungry process clogging up my RAM in the background, so the only option was to completely format the Passport drive and uninstall all traces of WDBackupEngine.

Now all I do is periodically, backup selected folders using Windows backup. 

Ridiculous piece of software from WD Digital.

I have emailed tech support multiple times about this.  The answer is always uninstall, reboot, reinstall which doesnt do a **bleep** thing.  I’ve done a clean install of Windows 7 and WDSmartWare and it STILL has the same issue.  

Side issue:  The software creates a directory on the hard drive with the computers name.  Then it creates a directory within there called Volume0.3282id4332f24d234f234324 or something random like that.  Then within there it actually does the backup.  Problem with this is I have 4,000 files that dont back up because the file name is too long.  They’re not too long on my hard drive but when you add  "MyComputer\Volume0.3282id4332f24d234f234324" to them then it’s too long.  Why does it need this huge name?

-Allan

Upgrade to WD SmartWare 2.1.0 seems to have helped, even when occasionally the cpu usage spikes up to 30%, I stop the service and of course it comes right back on, however it stays at 3%–6% range. Downloading in itunes seems to start the spike up.