Outlook 2007 - 100% CPU usage bug

M

mister.jones

Hi, there seems to be a problem with Outlook 2007 that uses 100% CPU time
nearly always when messages are written.
I know this problem from earlier versions of Outlook, but there I solved it
by not using Word as the default editor, which is no longer possible with
Outlook 2007.
This is a quite annoying bug for mobile users, because it quickly drains the
batteries when writing emails.
Is there a hotfix, workaround, etc?
Thanks
mister.jones
 
E

Emily Lin [MSFT]

Hi Mister,

There is an Office update 933493 to improve the general responsiveness of
Outlook 2007 during common operations. Please check if you have installed
this update (via Microsoft Update or manually download/install it.)

You can download the update directly from the Microsoft Download Center at:

Update for Outlook 2007 (KB933493)
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=c262bcfd-1e09-49b6-
9003-c4c47539df66&DisplayLang=en

After installing this update, check if Outlook is working fine now. If not,
Let's come into Outlook safe mode to see if it workaround this issue.

Step 1: Outlook safe mode
===========
1. Quit Outlook. Click Start menu, and click Run.
2. In the Open box, type: "Outlook /safe" (without the quotation marks).
Notes: There is a space character between Outlook and the forward slash (/).
3. Click OK. Is Outlook working fine under Outlook safe mode?

If the problem doesn't occur under Outlook safe mode, please restart
Outlook in normal mode and remove Add-Ins
----------
1. On the Tools menu, click Trust Center Settings, and then click Add-ins.
2. In the Manage box, click the Com Add-ins, and then click Go.
3. In the "Add-Ins available" list, click to clear the check box for any
add-ins that are installed.
4. Click OK.

Does the issue still persist? If so, let's go ahead and perform the next
step.
Step 2: Rename the Cache Files
======
Search for the following four files and rename them by changing the file
extension from ".dat" to ".old". These four files are temporary cache files
that Outlook 2003 loads on startup. (Be sure to check the "Search hidden
files and folders" box under "More advanced options")

outcmd.dat
extend.dat
frmcache.dat
views.dat

Generally the files can be located in the folder C:\Documents and
Settings\<LogName>\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook\. Some
of them may not exist, please ignore it.

Note: The folder is hidden by default. Please use the following method to
show it:

1. From the Start menu, go to Settings-->Control Panel-->Folder Options.
2. Go to View tab and select "Show hidden files and folders". The hidden
folder will be shown then.
3. Start Outlook to see if the problem is resolved.

If the problem is still there, try step 3.

Step 3: Create a new profile
================
1. Click Start menu > Control Panel
2. Double-click the Mail icon
3. In the Mail Setup dialog box, click Show Profiles. Click the General
tab, click "Prompt for a profile to be used".
4. Click Add.
5. In the New Profile dialog box, under Profile Name, type a descriptive
name for the new profile, and then click OK.
6. In the E-mail Accounts dialog box, select "Add a new e-mail account" in
the e-mail options, and then follow the wizard to configure your email
account.
7. Start Outlook with the new profile and perform a test.
For detail information, please refer to the following KB article.
How to create a new e-mail profile in Outlook 2007 and in Outlook 2003
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=829918

Is the issue resolved in the new Outlook profile?

If anything is unclear or if you have any other concerns, please don't
hesitate to contact me.

Regards,

Emily Lin

Microsoft Online Partner Support
Get Secure! - www.microsoft.com/security
====================================================
When responding to posts, please "Reply to Group" via your newsreader so
that others may learn and benefit from your issue.
====================================================
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.
 
M

mister.jones

Hi Emily,
thanks for the instructions. I tried now:
1. KB933493 was already installed.
2. Safe-mode does remove problem.
3. COM-Add-Ins removed, problem remains
4. Cache files removed, no effect
5. New profile created, still same problem.

So, the problem (100% CPU usage after the first paragraph is written in new
email) disappears with safe mode, but all the other solutions did not help.
What else can I do?
Thanks
mister.jones
 
E

Emily Lin [MSFT]

Hi Mister,

I am glad to hear that the issue is fixed under Outlook safe mode. Let's
continue to the steps below to see if Outlook works fine under Normal mode.

Step 1:
========
1. Close all Office applications.
2. Come to the folder C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\OFFICE11\ADDINS\
3. Choose all the files on this folder and press Ctrl + X.
4. Come to the desktop, press Ctrl + V to copy out all the files. Make sure
that there is not a file in the ADDINS folder.
5. Restart Outlook. What is the result?

Step 2: Remove the Outlook addin registry keys
==================
1. Click Start menu > Run > type regedit > click OK.
2. Locate the following registry key.

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\Outlook\Addins\
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Office\Outlook\Addins

3. Click File menu > Export to save them as 1.reg and 2.reg on the desktop.
4. Right click all the sub keys under Addins and choose Delete to delete
them. Restart the computer and test the issue in Outlook. What is the
result?

Step 3:
=========
Check taskmgr to see if any processes are loading with outlook if so
removed related software

Step 4: Disable all macros to see if it works
=========
1. In Outlook, click Tools menu > Trust Center.
2. Click "Macro Security", choose "No warnings and disable all macros."
click OK.
Restart Outlook 2007. What is the result?

If anything is unclear or if you have any other concerns, please don't
hesitate to contact me.

Sincerely,

Emily Lin,
Microsoft Online Partner Support

Get Secure! - www.microsoft.com/security
======================================================
When responding to posts, please "Reply to Group" via your newsreader so
that others may learn and benefit from this issue.
======================================================
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.
======================================================
 
E

Emily Lin [MSFT]

Hi Mister,

I am glad to hear that the issue is fixed under Outlook safe mode. Let's
continue to the steps below to see if Outlook works fine under Normal mode.

Step 1:
========
1. Close all Office applications.
2. Come to the folder C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\OFFICE12\ADDINS\
3. Choose all the files on this folder and press Ctrl + X.
4. Come to the desktop, press Ctrl + V to copy out all the files. Make sure
that there is not a file in the ADDINS folder.
5. Restart Outlook. What is the result?

Step 2: Remove the Outlook addin registry keys
==================
1. Click Start menu > Run > type regedit > click OK.
2. Locate the following registry key.

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\Outlook\Addins\
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Office\Outlook\Addins

3. Click File menu > Export to save them as 1.reg and 2.reg on the desktop.
4. Right click all the sub keys under Addins and choose Delete to delete
them. Restart the computer and test the issue in Outlook. What is the
result?

Step 3:
=========
Check taskmgr to see if any processes are loading with outlook if so
removed related software

Step 4: Disable all macros to see if it works
=========
1. In Outlook, click Tools menu > Trust Center.
2. Click "Macro Security", choose "No warnings and disable all macros."
click OK.
Restart Outlook 2007. What is the result?

If anything is unclear or if you have any other concerns, please don't
hesitate to contact me.

Sincerely,

Emily Lin,
Microsoft Online Partner Support

Get Secure! - www.microsoft.com/security
======================================================
When responding to posts, please "Reply to Group" via your newsreader so
that others may learn and benefit from this issue.
======================================================
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.
======================================================
 
E

Emily Lin [MSFT]

Hi Mister,

How's everything going?

I'm wondering if the suggestion has helped or if you have any further
questions. Please feel free to respond to the newsgroups if you need any
additional help.
Sincerely,

Emily Lin,
Microsoft Online Partner Support

Get Secure! - www.microsoft.com/security

======================================================
PLEASE NOTE: The partner managed newsgroups are provided to assist with
break/fix issues and simple how to questions.

We also love to hear your product feedback!
Let us know what you think by posting
from the web interface: Partner Feedback
from your newsreader: microsoft.private.directaccess.partnerfeedback.
We look forward to hearing from you!
======================================================
When responding to posts, please "Reply to Group" via your newsreader so
that others may learn and benefit from this issue.
======================================================
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.
======================================================
 
M

mister.jones

Hello Emily,
After some more testing, I am sure now that the bug is not related to any
Add-In (I tried your suggestions, to no avail).

However, I think to know now that it is the spell-checker included in Word
that is at the base of the problem.
When writing a new mail in Outlook under a standard user account (does not
seem to be a problem under an administrator account!), CPU usage goes to
100% when "Check grammar as you type" is active.
I can resproduce this problem on a Toshiba M200 by copying/pasting the
following two lines into a new mail:
Asdf asdf asdf asdf asdf asdf asdf asdf asdf asdf asdf asdf asdf asdf asdf
asdf asdf asdf asdf asdf
Asdf asdf asfd
I cannot reproduce this problem on a Dual Core desktop computer.
Thanks for your help.
mister.jones
 
G

Gordon

Emily Lin said:
Hi Mister,

How's everything going?

I'm wondering if the suggestion has helped or if you have any further
questions. Please feel free to respond to the newsgroups if you need any
additional help.
Sincerely,

What are you talking about and to whom? This is a USENET NEWSGROUP, not a
web forum. Please use the Usenet custom of quoting the post you are replying
to.
 
P

Patrick Schmid [MVP]

If you view this with a newsgroup client, you should see the messages in
threaded form and hence should be able to see the rest of the thread as
well. Quoting the previous content of the post would be desirable for a
lot of people, but it isn't necessary due to the threaded view of
newsgroup clients.

Patrick Schmid [OneNote MVP]
--------------
http://pschmid.net
***
Outlook 2007 Performance Update: http://pschmid.net/blog/2007/04/13/105
Office 2007 RTM Issues: http://pschmid.net/blog/2006/11/13/80
***
Customize Office 2007: http://pschmid.net/office2007/customize
RibbonCustomizer Add-In: http://ribboncustomizer.com
OneNote 2007: http://pschmid.net/office2007/onenote
***
Subscribe to my Office 2007 blog: http://pschmid.net/blog/feed
 
G

Gordon

Patrick Schmid said:
If you view this with a newsgroup client, you should see the messages in
threaded form

But only new posts - especially in high-volume groups.....
 
X

XS11E

Gordon said:
But only new posts - especially in high-volume groups.....

You're using OE, other newsreaders will show as many posts as you
desire, regardless of the groups volume.
 
E

Emily Lin [MSFT]

Hi Mister,

Great! I am glad to hear that you find the root cause of the issue.
According to current situation, let's just uncheck the option "check
grammar as you type" when you are login as a standard user account on the
specific computer.

At this moment, I'd like to write a simple summary of this issue for other
persons' reference:

ARCR
***********
A (Action): write new emails in Outlook
R (Result): 100% CPU usage
C (Cause): spell check settings in Word, login as a standard user
R (Resolution): uncheck the option "check grammar as you type" to
workaround it.

If you have any other questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to
contact me. It is always my pleasure to be of assistance.

Have a nice day!

Best regards,

Emily Lin
Microsoft Online Partner Support

Get Secure! - www.microsoft.com/security

======================================================
When responding to posts, please "Reply to Group" via your newsreader so
that others may learn and benefit from this issue.
======================================================
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.
======================================================






From: "mister.jones" <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: Outlook 2007 - 100% CPU usage bug
Date: Fri, 18 May 2007 11:50:47 +0200
Newsgroups: microsoft.public.office.misc

Hello Emily,
After some more testing, I am sure now that the bug is not related to any
Add-In (I tried your suggestions, to no avail).

However, I think to know now that it is the spell-checker included in Word
that is at the base of the problem.
When writing a new mail in Outlook under a standard user account (does not
seem to be a problem under an administrator account!), CPU usage goes to
100% when "Check grammar as you type" is active.
I can resproduce this problem on a Toshiba M200 by copying/pasting the
following two lines into a new mail:
Asdf asdf asdf asdf asdf asdf asdf asdf asdf asdf asdf asdf asdf asdf asdf
asdf asdf asdf asdf asdf
Asdf asdf asfd
I cannot reproduce this problem on a Dual Core desktop computer.
Thanks for your help.
mister.jones
 

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