iCloud photos - major overheating because of "photos agent"

Question

Rockwell75 Author

Level 1

11 points

iCloud photos - major overheating because of "photos agent"

Hi can anyone help - iCloud photos and "photos agent" is overloading my Mac Mini...

I'm using photos on a Mac Mini mid 2011 (old, but good).

I'm also using an external HDD for my photos folder, to free up space on the hard drive (I bought a SSD, 500 Gig).

photos agent is using 350% of my CPU, causing the fan to go wild, overheating and slowing the machine down.

so, my understanding is that this 'photos agent' is dealing with my shared folders, and even when photos is switched off, it is running in the background. The only way to stop this is to switch off iCloud in preferences, but then I can't upload and view the iCloud photos.

my suggestion is that the shared folders should only download a limited selection, similar to how the ipad works.

for some reason photos downloads and seems to manage all of the shared photos from icloud locally (on the external HDD). This is very inefficient.

is there a way around this, apart from switching off iCloud? 'photos agent' seems to be running a lot of unnecessary tasks, and should be restricted somehow...

any suggestions?

many thanks.

Mac mini, iOS 11.4.1, external HDD/ iCloud shared folder

Posted on Jul 25, 2018 2:21 AM

Reply

Answer 1

Best reply

Eric Root

Level 10

684,015 points

Jul 25, 2018 11:48 AM in response to Rockwell75

try the Safe Mode.

Safe Mode - About

Safe Mode Startup – El Capitan. also Sierra

If it works in the Safe Mode, try running this program when booted normally and then copy and paste the output in a reply. The program was created by Etresoft, a frequent contributor. Please use copy and paste as screen shots can be hard to read. Click “Share Report” button in the toolbar, select “Copy to Clipboard” and then paste into a reply. This will show what is running on your computer. No personal information is shown.

Etrecheck – System Information

Reply

Answer 2

Rockwell75 Author

Level 1

11 points

Aug 31, 2018 3:20 AM in response to Eric Root

EtreCheck version: 4.3.6 (4D041)

Report generated: 2018-08-31 18:15:57

Download EtreCheck from https://etrecheck.com

Runtime: 2:40

Performance: Excellent

Problem: Computer is too slow

Major Issues:

Anything that appears on this list needs immediate attention.

Time Machine backup out-of-date- The last Time Machine backup is over 10 days old.

Heavy CPU usage- Some processes are using an unusually high amount of CPU.

Minor Issues:

These issues do not need immediate attention but they may indicate future problems.

Time Machine auto backup disabled- Time Machine auto backups are disabled.

Clean up- There are orphan files that could be removed.

Unsigned files- There are unsigned software file installed. They appear to be legitimate but should be reviewed.

Vintage hardware- This machine may be considered vintage.

32-bit Apps- This machine has 32-bits apps that may have problems in the future.

Hardware Information:

Mac mini (Mid 2011) - Vintage!

Mac mini Model: Macmini5,1

1 2.3 GHz Intel Core i5 (i5-2415M) CPU: 2-core

8 GB RAM - At maximum

BANK 0/DIMM0 - 4 GB DDR3 1333 ok

BANK 1/DIMM0 - 4 GB DDR3 1333 ok

Video Information:

Intel HD Graphics 3000 - VRAM: 512 MB

Philips 234CL 1920 x 1080 @ 60 Hz

Drives:

disk0 - Samsung SSD 860 EVO 500GB 500.11 GB (Solid State - TRIM: No)

Internal SATA 6 Gigabit Serial ATA

disk0s1 - EFI (MS-DOS FAT32) [EFI] 210 MB

disk0s2 - Macintosh HD (Journaled HFS+) 499.25 GB

disk0s3 - Recovery HD [Recovery] 650 MB

disk1 - TOSHIBA External USB 3.0 2.00 TB

External USB 480 Mbit/s

disk1s1 - EFI (MS-DOS FAT32) [EFI] 210 MB

disk1s2 - T*********T (Case-Sensitive Journaled HFS+) 2.00 TB

Mounted Volumes:

disk0s2 - Macintosh HD 499.25 GB (282.39 GB free)

Journaled HFS+

Mount point: /

disk1s2 - T*********T 2.00 TB (1.52 TB free)

Case-Sensitive Journaled HFS+

Mount point: /Volumes/T*********T

Network:

Interface usbmodemfd1235: Nokia 6700 classic

Interface usbmodemfd123D: Nokia 6700 classic 2

Interface usbmodemfa132: SAMSUNG_Android 3

Interface usbmodemfd1312: SAMSUNG_Android 2

Interface usbmodemfd1311: SAMSUNG_Android

Interface SAMSUNG_MDM: SAMSUNG Modem

Interface en0: Ethernet

One IPv4 address

Interface en4: iPhone

Interface fw0: FireWire

Interface en1: Wi-Fi

802.11 a/b/g/n

One IPv4 address

Interface en3: Bluetooth PAN

Interface bridge0: Thunderbolt Bridge

iCloud Quota: 28.88 GB available

System Software:

macOS High Sierra 10.13.6 (17G65)

Time since boot: Less than an hour

System Load: 5.20 (1 min ago) 6.12 (5 min ago) 5.02 (15 min ago)

Configuration Files:

/etc/hosts - Count: 4

Security:

System	Status
Gatekeeper	Mac App Store and identified developers
System Integrity Protection	Enabled

Unsigned Files:

Launchd: ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.amazon.music.plist

Executable: /Applications/Amazon Music.app/Contents/MacOS/Amazon Music Helper

Details: Exact match found in the whitelist - probably OK

Launchd: /Library/LaunchAgents/com.oracle.java.Java-Updater.plist

Executable: /Library/Internet Plug-Ins/JavaAppletPlugin.plugin/Contents/Resources/Java Updater.app/Contents/MacOS/Java Updater -bgcheck

Details: Exact match found in the whitelist - probably OK

Launchd: /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.oracle.java.Helper-Tool.plist

Executable: /Library/Internet Plug-Ins/JavaAppletPlugin.plugin/Contents/Resources/Helper-Tool

Details: Exact match found in the whitelist - probably OK

Launchd: /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.microsoft.office.licensing.helper.plist

Executable: /Library/PrivilegedHelperTools/com.microsoft.office.licensing.helper

Details: Exact match found in the whitelist - probably OK

32-bit Applications:

24 32-bit apps

Kernel Extensions:

/System/Library/Extensions

[Not Loaded] CiscoVPN.kext (2.0.1)

[Not Loaded] ssuddrv.kext (DEVGURU Co., Ltd., 1.4.32 - SDK 10.6)

/System/Library/Extensions/ssuddrv.kext/Contents/PlugIns

[Not Loaded] ssudmdmcontrol.kext (DEVGURU Co., Ltd., 1.4.32 - SDK 10.6)

[Not Loaded] ssudmdmdata.kext (DEVGURU Co., Ltd., 1.4.32 - SDK 10.6)

[Not Loaded] ssudmtp.kext (DEVGURU Co., Ltd., 1.4.32 - SDK 10.5)

[Not Loaded] ssudserial.kext (DEVGURU Co., Ltd., 1.4.32 - SDK 10.6)

System Launch Agents:

[Not Loaded]	7 Apple tasks
[Loaded]	175 Apple tasks
[Running]	111 Apple tasks
[Other]	One Apple task

System Launch Daemons:

[Not Loaded]	36 Apple tasks
[Loaded]	195 Apple tasks
[Running]	106 Apple tasks

Launch Agents:

[Loaded]	com.microsoft.update.agent.plist (Microsoft Corporation - installed 2018-08-23)
[Other]	com.tvmobili.artwork.plist (? 5da12c3e - installed 2013-12-23)
[Loaded]	com.google.keystone.agent.plist (Google, Inc. - installed 2018-07-18)
[Loaded]	com.oracle.java.Java-Updater.plist (? 2a1b2941 - installed 2015-04-11)

Launch Daemons:

[Loaded]	com.microsoft.OneDriveUpdaterDaemon.plist (Microsoft Corporation - installed 2018-05-19)
[Loaded]	com.microsoft.autoupdate.helper.plist (Microsoft Corporation - installed 2018-08-23)
[Loaded]	com.apple.installer.osmessagetracing.plist (Apple - installed 2018-07-04)
[Other]	com.tvmobili.tvmobilisvcd.plist (? 3abda99a - installed 2013-12-23)
[Loaded]	com.adobe.fpsaud.plist (Adobe Systems, Inc. - installed 2018-07-28)
[Loaded]	com.microsoft.office.licensing.helper.plist (? 6d8cb30e - installed 2012-04-02)
[Loaded]	com.oracle.java.Helper-Tool.plist (? e3fefdd2 - installed 2015-04-11)
[Loaded]	com.oracle.java.JavaUpdateHelper.plist (? 95986cc6 - installed 2015-06-10)
[Loaded]	com.google.keystone.daemon.plist (Google, Inc. - installed 2018-07-18)
[Loaded]	com.microsoft.office.licensingV2.helper.plist (Microsoft Corporation - installed 2018-04-10)

User Launch Agents:

[Running]	com.spotify.webhelper.plist (Spotify - installed 2014-10-11)
[Running]	com.amazon.music.plist (? 0 - installed 2014-10-02)

Internet Plug-ins:

FlashPlayer-10.6: (installed 2018-08-15)

QuickTime Plugin: (installed 2018-07-18)

Flash Player: (installed 2018-08-15)

o1dbrowserplugin: (installed 2015-12-16)

SharePointBrowserPlugin: (installed 2018-05-20)

googletalkbrowserplugin: (installed 2015-12-12)

Silverlight: (installed 2016-09-05)

JavaAppletPlugin: (installed 2015-06-10)

User Internet Plug-ins:

ZoomUsPlugIn: (installed 2017-08-10)

UPEditorSafari: (installed 2014-12-04)

Safari Extensions:

TranslateMe.safariextz - Marek Piechut - http://marekpiechut.github.io/translate(installed 2015-08-09)

3rd Party Preference Panes:

Flash Player (installed 2018-07-28)

Java (installed 2015-06-10)

Plantronics (installed 2012-09-08)

Time Machine:

Skip System Files:

Mobile backups:

Auto backup: No

Volumes being backed up:

Destinations:

T*********T [Local] (Last used)

Total size: 2.00 TB

Total number of backups: 39

Oldest backup: 2018-02-24 04:07:50

Last backup: 2018-07-12 13:14:54

Top Processes by CPU:

Process (count)	Source	% of CPU	Location
cloudphotosd	Apple	162
mds	Apple	55
mds_stores	Apple	28
kernel_task	Apple	22
WindowServer	Apple	7

Top Processes by Memory:

Process (count)	Source	RAM usage	Location
kernel_task	Apple	703 MB
mdworker (18)	Apple	439 MB
com.apple.WebKit.WebContent (8)	Apple	428 MB
cloudphotosd	Apple	352 MB
Photos	Apple	322 MB

Top Processes by Network Use:

Process	Source	Input	Output	Location
cloudphotosd	Apple	455 MB	2 MB
mDNSResponder	Apple	479 KB	79 KB
apsd	Apple	42 KB	27 KB
cloudd	Apple	7 KB	2 KB
netbiosd	Apple	2 KB	658 B

Top Processes by Energy Use:

Process (count)	Source	Energy (0-100)	Location
cloudphotosd	Apple	54
mds	Apple	18
mds_stores	Apple	8
WindowServer	Apple	3
Activity Monitor	Apple	2

Virtual Memory Information:

Available RAM	3.19 GB
Free RAM	15 MB
Used RAM	4.81 GB
Cached files	3.17 GB
Swap Used	0 B

Software Installs (past 30 days):

Name	Version	Install Date
Adobe Flash Player	30.0.0.154	2018-08-15
Microsoft OneNote for Mac	16.16.18081201	2018-08-16
Microsoft Excel for Mac	16.16.18081402	2018-08-16
Microsoft PowerPoint for Mac	16.16.18081201	2018-08-16
Microsoft Word for Mac	16.16.18081201	2018-08-16
Microsoft Outlook for Mac	16.16.18081201	2018-08-16
Dr. Antivirus	2.3.0	2018-08-22
Dr. Cleaner	3.3.6	2018-08-22
Microsoft AutoUpdate	4.2.18081201	2018-08-23
Gatekeeper Configuration Data	153	2018-08-28

Clean up:

/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.tvmobili.tvmobilisvcd.plist

/Applications/TVMOBiLi.app/Contents/MacOS/tvmobilisvcd

Executable not found

/Library/LaunchAgents/com.tvmobili.artwork.plist

/Applications/TVMOBiLi.app/Contents/MacOS/tvmobiliqlhandler

Executable not found

Diagnostics Information (past 7 days):

2018-08-28 17:27:41 Microsoft Outlook.app Hang

/Applications/Microsoft Outlook.app

End of report

Reply

Answer 3

Rockwell75 Author

Level 1

11 points

Aug 31, 2018 4:26 PM in response to Eric Root

Thanks, Eric. But the problem persists:

I have deleted tvmobili from launchagents and launchdaemons (see below), but the PhotosAgent is still CPU greedy (159% CPU, energy impact 200).

Note, I am using an external photos library, but I don't see why this should make a difference in the long term.

The only way I have found to stop PhotosAgent from overheating my Mac (so far) is to turn off iCloud 'shared albums.'

See further report below, thanks.

EtreCheck version: 4.3.6 (4D041)

Report generated: 2018-09-01 07:19:19

Download EtreCheck from https://etrecheck.com

Runtime: 2:46

Performance: Excellent

Problem: Computer is too slow

Major Issues:

Anything that appears on this list needs immediate attention.

Time Machine backup out-of-date- The last Time Machine backup is over 10 days old.

Heavy CPU usage- Some processes are using an unusually high amount of CPU.

Minor Issues:

These issues do not need immediate attention but they may indicate future problems.

Time Machine auto backup disabled- Time Machine auto backups are disabled.

Unsigned files- There are unsigned software file installed. They appear to be legitimate but should be reviewed.

Vintage hardware- This machine may be considered vintage.

32-bit Apps- This machine has 32-bits apps that may have problems in the future.

Hardware Information:

Mac mini (Mid 2011) - Vintage!

Mac mini Model: Macmini5,1

1 2.3 GHz Intel Core i5 (i5-2415M) CPU: 2-core

8 GB RAM - At maximum

BANK 0/DIMM0 - 4 GB DDR3 1333 ok

BANK 1/DIMM0 - 4 GB DDR3 1333 ok

Video Information:

Intel HD Graphics 3000 - VRAM: 512 MB

Philips 234CL 1920 x 1080 @ 60 Hz

Drives:

disk0 - Samsung SSD 860 EVO 500GB 500.11 GB (Solid State - TRIM: No)

Internal SATA 6 Gigabit Serial ATA

disk0s1 - EFI (MS-DOS FAT32) [EFI] 210 MB

disk0s2 - Macintosh HD (Journaled HFS+) 499.25 GB

disk0s3 - Recovery HD (Journaled HFS+) [Recovery] 650 MB

disk1 - TOSHIBA External USB 3.0 2.00 TB

External USB 480 Mbit/s

disk1s1 - EFI (MS-DOS FAT32) [EFI] 210 MB

disk1s2 - T*********T (Case-Sensitive Journaled HFS+) 2.00 TB

Mounted Volumes:

disk0s2 - Macintosh HD 499.25 GB (273.45 GB free)

Journaled HFS+

Mount point: /

disk1s2 - T*********T 2.00 TB (1.52 TB free)

Case-Sensitive Journaled HFS+

Mount point: /Volumes/T*********T

Network:

Interface usbmodemfd1235: Nokia 6700 classic

Interface usbmodemfd123D: Nokia 6700 classic 2

Interface usbmodemfa132: SAMSUNG_Android 3

Interface usbmodemfd1312: SAMSUNG_Android 2

Interface usbmodemfd1311: SAMSUNG_Android

Interface SAMSUNG_MDM: SAMSUNG Modem

Interface en0: Ethernet

One IPv4 address

Interface en4: iPhone

Interface fw0: FireWire

Interface en1: Wi-Fi

802.11 a/b/g/n

One IPv4 address

Interface en3: Bluetooth PAN

Interface bridge0: Thunderbolt Bridge

iCloud Quota: 28.88 GB available

System Software:

macOS High Sierra 10.13.6 (17G65)

Time since boot: About 13 hours

System Load: 3.78 (1 min ago) 4.08 (5 min ago) 3.77 (15 min ago)

Configuration Files:

/etc/hosts - Count: 4

Security:

System	Status
Gatekeeper	Mac App Store and identified developers
System Integrity Protection	Enabled

Unsigned Files:

Launchd: /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.microsoft.office.licensing.helper.plist

Executable: /Library/PrivilegedHelperTools/com.microsoft.office.licensing.helper

Details: Exact match found in the whitelist - probably OK

Launchd: /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.oracle.java.Helper-Tool.plist

Executable: /Library/Internet Plug-Ins/JavaAppletPlugin.plugin/Contents/Resources/Helper-Tool

Details: Exact match found in the whitelist - probably OK

Launchd: /Library/LaunchAgents/com.oracle.java.Java-Updater.plist

Executable: /Library/Internet Plug-Ins/JavaAppletPlugin.plugin/Contents/Resources/Java Updater.app/Contents/MacOS/Java Updater -bgcheck

Details: Exact match found in the whitelist - probably OK

32-bit Applications:

16 32-bit apps

Kernel Extensions:

/System/Library/Extensions

[Not Loaded] CiscoVPN.kext (2.0.1)

[Not Loaded] ssuddrv.kext (DEVGURU Co., Ltd., 1.4.32 - SDK 10.6)

/System/Library/Extensions/ssuddrv.kext/Contents/PlugIns

[Not Loaded] ssudmdmcontrol.kext (DEVGURU Co., Ltd., 1.4.32 - SDK 10.6)

[Not Loaded] ssudmdmdata.kext (DEVGURU Co., Ltd., 1.4.32 - SDK 10.6)

[Not Loaded] ssudmtp.kext (DEVGURU Co., Ltd., 1.4.32 - SDK 10.5)

[Not Loaded] ssudserial.kext (DEVGURU Co., Ltd., 1.4.32 - SDK 10.6)

System Launch Agents:

[Not Loaded]	8 Apple tasks
[Loaded]	163 Apple tasks
[Running]	122 Apple tasks
[Other]	One Apple task

System Launch Daemons:

[Not Loaded]	36 Apple tasks
[Loaded]	183 Apple tasks
[Running]	118 Apple tasks

Launch Agents:

[Loaded]	com.microsoft.update.agent.plist (Microsoft Corporation - installed 2018-08-23)
[Loaded]	com.google.keystone.agent.plist (Google, Inc. - installed 2018-07-18)
[Loaded]	com.oracle.java.Java-Updater.plist (? 2a1b2941 - installed 2015-04-11)

Launch Daemons:

[Loaded]	com.microsoft.OneDriveUpdaterDaemon.plist (Microsoft Corporation - installed 2018-05-19)
[Loaded]	com.microsoft.autoupdate.helper.plist (Microsoft Corporation - installed 2018-08-23)
[Loaded]	com.apple.installer.osmessagetracing.plist (Apple - installed 2018-07-04)
[Loaded]	com.adobe.fpsaud.plist (Adobe Systems, Inc. - installed 2018-07-28)
[Loaded]	com.microsoft.office.licensing.helper.plist (? 6d8cb30e - installed 2012-04-02)
[Loaded]	com.oracle.java.Helper-Tool.plist (? e3fefdd2 - installed 2015-04-11)
[Loaded]	com.oracle.java.JavaUpdateHelper.plist (? 95986cc6 - installed 2015-06-10)
[Loaded]	com.google.keystone.daemon.plist (Google, Inc. - installed 2018-07-18)
[Loaded]	com.microsoft.office.licensingV2.helper.plist (Microsoft Corporation - installed 2018-04-10)

User Launch Agents:

[Loaded]

com.spotify.webhelper.plist (Spotify - installed 2014-10-11)

Internet Plug-ins:

FlashPlayer-10.6: (installed 2018-08-15)

QuickTime Plugin: (installed 2018-07-18)

Flash Player: (installed 2018-08-15)

o1dbrowserplugin: (installed 2015-12-16)

SharePointBrowserPlugin: (installed 2018-05-20)

googletalkbrowserplugin: (installed 2015-12-12)

Silverlight: (installed 2016-09-05)

JavaAppletPlugin: (installed 2015-06-10)

User Internet Plug-ins:

ZoomUsPlugIn: (installed 2017-08-10)

UPEditorSafari: (installed 2014-12-04)

Safari Extensions:

TranslateMe.safariextz - Marek Piechut - http://marekpiechut.github.io/translate(installed 2015-08-09)

3rd Party Preference Panes:

Flash Player (installed 2018-07-28)

Java (installed 2015-06-10)

Plantronics (installed 2012-09-08)

Time Machine:

Skip System Files:

Mobile backups:

Auto backup: No

Volumes being backed up:

Destinations:

T*********T [Local] (Last used)

Total size: 2.00 TB

Total number of backups: 39

Oldest backup: 2018-02-24 04:07:50

Last backup: 2018-07-12 13:14:54

Top Processes by CPU:

Process (count)	Source	% of CPU	Location
cloudphotosd	Apple	148
com.apple.photos.ImageConversionService (2)	Apple	21
kernel_task	Apple	13
Photos	Apple	9
Activity Monitor	Apple	5

Top Processes by Memory:

Process (count)	Source	RAM usage	Location
com.apple.WebKit.WebContent (35)	Apple	1.80 GB
kernel_task	Apple	670 MB
com.apple.WebKit.Networking (32)	Apple	649 MB
Photos	Apple	491 MB
cloudphotosd	Apple	373 MB

Top Processes by Network Use:

Process	Source	Input	Output	Location
cloudphotosd	Apple	566 MB	931 KB
mDNSResponder	Apple	4 MB	2 MB
helpd	Apple	1 MB	15 KB
com.apple.WebKit.Networking	Apple	8 KB	30 KB
netbiosd	Apple	8 KB	4 KB

Top Processes by Energy Use:

Process (count)	Source	Energy (0-100)	Location
cloudphotosd	Apple	54
helpd	Apple	22
com.apple.photos.ImageConversionService (2)	Apple	6
photolibraryd	Apple	4
Photos	Apple	4

Virtual Memory Information:

Available RAM	1.63 GB
Free RAM	14 MB
Used RAM	6.37 GB
Cached files	1.61 GB
Swap Used	102 MB

Software Installs (past 30 days):

Name	Version	Install Date
Adobe Flash Player	30.0.0.154	2018-08-15
Microsoft OneNote for Mac	16.16.18081201	2018-08-16
Microsoft Excel for Mac	16.16.18081402	2018-08-16
Microsoft PowerPoint for Mac	16.16.18081201	2018-08-16
Microsoft Word for Mac	16.16.18081201	2018-08-16
Microsoft Outlook for Mac	16.16.18081201	2018-08-16
Dr. Antivirus	2.3.0	2018-08-22
Dr. Cleaner	3.3.6	2018-08-22
Microsoft AutoUpdate	4.2.18081201	2018-08-23
Gatekeeper Configuration Data	153	2018-08-28

Diagnostics Information (past 7 days):

2018-08-28 17:27:41 Microsoft Outlook.app Hang

/Applications/Microsoft Outlook.app

End of report

Reply

Answer 4

Rockwell75 Author

Level 1

11 points

Aug 31, 2018 7:22 PM in response to Eric Root

Actually, ignore my comment below. It looks like photos agent has finished its tasks now, and CPU use is now down to 0.0% of CPU. It is possible that this change is a result of Eric Root's suggestion, above, to uninstall com.tvmobili.tvmobilisvcd.plist - I deleted all files related to tvmobilisvcd.

I will wait a while before confirming, but it looks like this issue is now solved.

Reply

Answer 5

Eric Root

Level 10

684,015 points

Aug 31, 2018 12:39 PM in response to Rockwell75

[Other]

com.tvmobili.tvmobilisvcd.plist (? 3abda99a - installed 2013-12-23)

Try uninstalling the above using the Developer's uninstall instructions.

Reply

iCloud photos - major overheating because of "photos agent"

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