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deathstalker
Former Member
Message 11 of 31

Re: McAfee Real Time Scanning Slowing Computer Down After Patch?

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Hmm...that means something's changed with Real-Time scanner now? It is now using more CPU resources? I really hope this is not an underlying hardware issue though.

Ex_Brit, can you please invite a tech guy to confirm this? Maybe they can look into how Real-Time scanning has changed, pertaining to using CPU resources?

Message was edited by: deathstalker on 17/08/13 14:51:22 CDT
exbrit
MVP
MVP
Message 12 of 31

Re: McAfee Real Time Scanning Slowing Computer Down After Patch?

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I have no idea, sorry.  Tech Support might know though if you want to ask them.

deathstalker
Former Member
Message 13 of 31

Re: McAfee Real Time Scanning Slowing Computer Down After Patch?

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How do I contact tech support via email? Perhaps you can help me escalate this problem to one of the techs?

selvan
McAfee Retired
McAfee Retired
Message 14 of 31

Re: McAfee Real Time Scanning Slowing Computer Down After Patch?

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Hello,

> The default setting for RTS (OAS) is to strike a balance between Performance and Scan

I have a clarification -Previously while games are working fine the status of RTS settings are ???

                                      After the update the settings changed to ???

After update and stuttering issues the settings were changed to "Use minimal resources" which resolved the issue.

You can do a SMART test to check your HDD health.

Windows Experience index score will tell if your GPU is in optimized performance with the CPU. Rolling back graphics drivers will help SOMETIMES.

Keep me informed

exbrit
MVP
MVP
Message 15 of 31

Re: McAfee Real Time Scanning Slowing Computer Down After Patch?

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Selvan will give you expert help.

deathstalker
Former Member
Message 16 of 31

Re: McAfee Real Time Scanning Slowing Computer Down After Patch?

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Selvan, thanks for your reply and concern in my issue.

In reply to your questions:

1) I do not remember the previous settings for RTS (OAS) when the games were running fine. But it could be "Strike a balance between Performance and Scan", since you mentioned it is the default setting and I never ever change any default settings for RTS. I have never experienced this before since using McAfee Security Center 2 years ago and playing the various mentioned games. I suspected the latest update may have caused this because I have not made any changes to settings of Windows or McAfee or even the graphics settings for each game.

2) Regarding SMART test, how do I actually run one? Anyway, the HDD is working fine as usual without any slowdowns or abnormal noises. I can defrag, save, run apps or do anything without any notice of performance issues (not counting the problem we're discussing right now). Also, CHKDSK shows up clean. I know these may not be definite proof that my HDD is 100% healthy but then it should not be the prime suspect at the moment right? Also, the Windows Experience Index score for my GPU is 6.9, which should be more than enough to run the games I am having, right? It can run all games I have now before and even now (when RTS is set to minimal).

My system specs are as follow:

Alienware M15x laptop (this was the latest model of the M15x before Dell discontinued it)

Windows 7 Pro SP1 (with all latest patches/updates applied)

GTX 460M GPU

Intel Core i7 Q740 CPU @ 1.73 GHz

8 Gb RAM

500 Gb HDD with 330 Gb free space at the moment

NEW DISCOVERY ON MY PART

Experiment session 1

Ok, now I also want to tell about a new discovery. I noticed that when games are run and McAfee RTS (OAS) is set to "strike a balance", the game stutters no matter how low the graphic settings I changed to. Curious to know how much CPU resources is used by RTS/McShield, I brought up the Windows Task Manager and I noticed that McShield is taking up a whopping 7-15% (it fluctuates but hovers usually around 10%) of average CPU power! Pretty much and rather abnormal for a resident virus scanner, no? To put things into perspective, t6mp.exe (which is CoD: Black Ops 2 multiplayer, which I'm running tests on) takes up around 20% of CPU usage.

Also, memory usage by McShield.exe alone can reach as high as 373,000 K, which is the next highest after Black Ops 2 (t6mp.exe) at 564,000 K. Of course McShield.exe starts off from around 100,000 K and keeps climbing until the 373,000K mark after I launched Black Ops 2.

Note: I let Black Ops 2 (game app) run in the background and Windows Task Manager & Resource Monitor run concurrently the whole time when I am experimenting, so get as much accurate data as possible.

Now, compared to when I changed RTS to "Use Minimal resources", the effect was immediate. Stuttering gone and graphics were immediately smooth. It wasn't a gradual improvement, but an immediate one, so you might want to take note. The CPU usage by McShield.exe in this setting then gradually drops to 7%, 5%, 2% then finally stops at a mere 0.01%. While the memory usage still shows usage 373,000 KB (Commit: 373,000K, Working set: 349,916KB, Shareable: 17,848K, Private: 332,052KB).

Experiment session 2

I restarted the computer for a new session and launched Black Ops 2 again with RTS still set to "Use minimal resources"). Now I notice that CPU usage by McShield.exe is at 0.01% and memory usage is only around 198,000KB at peak.

Experiment session 3

Now comes the interesting part. I did another fresh restart and I accidentally discovered that, if I launch Black Ops 2 (or any other affected games) with RTS set to "Use minimal resources" from previous session, it runs smoothly right? So if I launch Black Ops 2, then Alt+Tab and change McAfee RTS to "strike a balance", the game will still run smoothly like before. I then tested with "Scan more thoroughly, even though PC might be slower" and the game is still running smoothly! Weird huh? No stutters, no lags, no choppiness.

So, I tried to bring up Windows Task Manager and Resource Monitor again and I noticed there's no huge spike in CPU usage by McShield.exe (running at about 1-2%) and memory usage was about 200,000KB. But, after several minutes letting Black Ops 2 run, I quit the game and Steam (Black Ops 2 is a Steam game) and relaunched Black Ops 2 and Steam together again, the problem returns. Stuttering and CPU usage spikes by McShield.exe and all. Also, I notice the problem can return also after sometime playing the affected games. I've verified this with several consistent cycles, and in every time, these behaviours repeated.

Conclusion

I can run every game at peak performance when RTS is set to "Use minimal resources". I can also run every game at peak performance when RTS is set to "Strike a balance" or even "Scan more thoroughly", but I must first set RTS to "Use minimal", restart and run the affected games FIRST BEFORE changing RTS settings by using Alt+Tab. Also, the sudden and huge CPU resource spikes might be of interests to you.

Do let me know what you think of these discoveries for now. I do hope my entire hardware system is fine as is, since I can run everything smoothly if RTS is not added to the equation.

Thanks!

deathstalker
Former Member
Message 17 of 31

Re: McAfee Real Time Scanning Slowing Computer Down After Patch?

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Also, Selvan, I do appreciate it if you can confirm on your part if the recent update (the one I got around 16 Aug 2013 or 17 Aug 2013 UTC+08:00) changed RTS (OAS) behaviour? If the update did in fact made changes to RTS, then perhaps you and your team can narrow down the cause of the problem? But please do let me know if there's indeed changes made to RTS behaviour if any.

Thanks!

EDIT: More info to add about Experiment session 3

I repeat the entire procedure for this particular scenario. First, I must set RTS to "Use minimal resources". Then I MUST restart the computer. Then I MUST first launch the affected game (Black Ops 2 for example) which will then also launch Steam application at the same time (Since Black Ops 2 needs Steam to run). Then only I change the RTS settings to "Strike balance" using Alt+Tab without quitting the game nor Steam itself. I've monitored this scenario for up to an hour playing several matches (Windows Task Manager & Resource Monitor constantly running behind) and everything runs fine without stuttering or performance slowdowns. CPU usage by McShield.exe hits 1.08% at max and mostly hovers around 0.4-0.5% only. Also, memory usage by McShield.exe hits around 220,000KB max and stays there. I can quit Black Ops 2, or any other games that requires Steam (notice this KEY, games requiring Steam connection ONLY are affected), but I must NOT quit Steam itself.

If I quit the game and close Steam, then if I relaunch the game and Steam, the problem will return. The CPU and memory usage by McShield.exe will spike to mentioned heights, which are quite abnormal. I will then have to change the RTS settings back to "Use minimal resources" and restart the entire process, or I can just stick with "Use minimal resources" and not change back to "Strike balance" to not have the stuttering problem.

I also wish to bring to your attention that I've tested Starcraft 2, which is NOT a Steam game, and it is NOT affected by this problem. Meaning no performance issues or stuttering. So perhaps this has something to do with McAfee and Steam having some compatibility issues.

Also, while you guys are at it investigating this issue, I want to add that (though this is an entirely unrelated issue) McShield.exe does not allow Steam to install games properly (when performing first time setup of a newly downloaded game) as it will try to block it from launching whatever installer (like updating Direct X or installing .NET). I will have to disable RTS to get past the first time setup of certain Steam games, which are completely safe apps by the way, so it is like McShield.exe is identifying false positives.

Message was edited by: deathstalker on 18/08/13 13:52:55 CDT
deathstalker
Former Member
Message 18 of 31

Re: McAfee Real Time Scanning Slowing Computer Down After Patch?

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Selvan, or any other McAfee techs, are you still following up this case? I hope I can have some updates as it is already the 3rd day since my previous post. I don't mind even if it's just a small update of progress, as it's better than nothing at all.

If you guys are in the middle of it, then I want to say that I do appreciate your efforts in trying to fix the problem.

selvan
McAfee Retired
McAfee Retired
Message 19 of 31

Re: McAfee Real Time Scanning Slowing Computer Down After Patch?

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Hi deathstalker,

I've Sent you a Private Message Kindly respond to it.

selvan
McAfee Retired
McAfee Retired
Message 20 of 31

Re: McAfee Real Time Scanning Slowing Computer Down After Patch?

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Hi Deathstalker,

My home PC has ATI Radeon graphics card and system manufacturer is  Sony which is entirely different from yours However i'll try to reproduce the issue based on your observations and  will post here If am able to Reproduce it.

Thanks & Regards

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