mds_stores high cpu and disk usage

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Level 1

4 points

mds_stores high cpu and disk usage

The mds_stores process constantly runs when the MacBook lid is closed. My laptop was idle for about a day, and the mds_storage process worked for 23 hours! In addition, it wrote 300 GB of data (and read 20 GB). I only have 100 GB used space for all files on the disk.

I tried to reset the Spotlight database with mdutil, but it didn't help. What does mds_stores do when the computer is idle? How can we stop it from writing large amounts of data to the SSD disk?

MacBook Pro 14″, macOS 15.2

Posted on Jan 21, 2025 9:33 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Ian R. Brown

Level 7

24,633 points

Jan 22, 2025 1:00 AM in response to 10litrov

I had the same problem and the solution was simple though it may impact your ability to use Spotlight.

In System Settings open the Spotlight tab and scroll to the bottom where you will see the Search Privacy button.

Click it and in the window that opens add all your drives and click Done as in the screenshot below.

If the ability to search is essential there are a number of Spotlight alternatives including free ones like EasyFind on the AppStore.

Writing huge amounts can dramatically shorten the life of your SSD so the sooner you stop it the better.

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