SkyDrive Sync Engine Host

Anonymous
2013-10-19T14:50:56+00:00

So far the update to Windows 8.1 has gone very well. I have, however, noticed an issue on ONE of my PCs that's been updated.

The SkyDrive Sync Engine Host process in Task Manager is constantly consuming 12 - 15% of the CPU. Now all of my files that I've chosen to sync have already synced properly. The 'Size' and 'Size on Disk' match for all of the folders I've marked to sync offline.

I've rebooted the PC and, upon restart, the process goes right back in to its CPU consumption.

I will note, that even though the CPU consumption is up, the Network Utilization is not. So it can't be constantly downloading or uploading anything since it's not using the network.

Any ideas as to why this is happening and how I can fix it?

Thanks in advance.

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Files, folders, and storage

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  1. Anonymous
    2013-11-22T19:01:52+00:00

    It must be a bigger problem which Microsoft should investigate.

    After running w8.1 for about a month the problem suddenly popped up.

    I kill the service when on battery but I have the feeling the service reactivates after waking from standby making the problem very annoying.

    I get as others around 10-15% load on CPU (Intel 2630QM), its almost completely using up 1 thread (of 8). As mentioned no network load, not syncing new files, low ram usage but around 2-3MB/s disk usage.

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  2. Anonymous
    2013-11-07T23:52:12+00:00

    Having the exact same problem here -- I'm looking at my task manager and seeing the total CPU around 55%, with SkyDrive Sync Engine Host accounting for around 45% (tends to bounce between 42% and 49%), also occupying 4.6-4.7MB of memory, disc activity between 0 and 0.1 MB/s, and network activity of 0 Mbps.

    Since my machine is a laptop, this is having a severely adverse effect on my battery life, as well as making my laptop run unnecessarily warm (it's already spontaneously shut itself down twice today).

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  3. Anonymous
    2013-10-21T21:06:49+00:00

    I went in to the SkyDrive under PC Settings and completely disabled this functionality to see if that would have an impact on the overall service.

    Unfortunately, the SkyDrive Sync Engine Host continued to run at the same 12 to 15% as it has been. I also verified in Windows Explorer, again, that no files were syncing. All of the files I've marked as 'Available Offline' have been downloaded appropriately. This accounts for about 5.5GB of the total 10GB of storage I'm using on SkyDrive.

    I knew from the get go the suggestion to perform a clean boot would have no impact on this service, since clean boot instructions always say to 'hide' Microsoft Services, I did, however, attempt this process.

    No change. The SkyDrive Sync Engine Host continues to run between 12% and 15% upon a clean-boot.

    I have 2 other machines running Windows 8.1 Pro with Media Center and this is the only one with this problem. I did not experience this during the 8.1 Preview.

    *Note: I did perform a completely FRESH install of Windows 8 on all of the machines before upgrading to 8.1. I wanted them in 'clean states' for this update.

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  4. Anonymous
    2013-10-20T10:27:01+00:00

    Hi,

    The issue that you are facing is with SkyDrive Sync, I would suggest you to try turning off the sync option in SkyDrive and check if the CPU usage reduced after that.

    Method 1:

    Follow the steps to choose which settings to sync:

    a. Swipe in from the right edge of the screen, tap Settings, and then tap Change PC settings.

    (If you're using a mouse, point to the upper-right corner of the screen, move the mouse pointer down, click Settings, and then click Change PC settings.)

    b. Tap or click Sync your settings.

    c. Under Settings to sync, turn off the settings you no longer want to sync.

    Method 2:

    If the issue persists, I suggest you to place the computer in a clean boot and check if it helps.

    You may follow the article mentioned to perform a clean boot.

    Perform a Clean Boot

    Follow the instructions (Step 1 for Windows 8) given in this link to perform a clean boot:

    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929135

    Note: After performing the troubleshooting steps in clean boot, follow these steps to return the computer to Normal startup mode.

    a) Press the ‘Windows + R’ key on the keyboard.

    b) In the ‘Run’ windows type ’MSCONFIG’ and click ‘Ok’.

    c) On the General tab, click the Normal Startup option, and then click ok.

    d) When you are prompted to restart the computer, click Restart.

    For further reference, you may refer to the following Microsoft Help article.

    http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/skydrive/skydrive-help#skydrive-help=tab1

    Please reply with the status of the issue, so that we could help you better.

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