Eudora hogs CPU - normal?

[Cobalt]

I was typing a new message in Eudora (5.1b20) and it seemed like the text wasn't appearing on screen as fast as it normally would -- there seemed to be a delay in what I typed. While investigating this (sometimes it got more responsive), I noticed that Eudora was taking 40%-50% of the CPU whenever I was typing. As soon as I stopped typing, it would go down to 0%-4%. But as long as I was continuously typing, CPU usage would be way up there.

I thought "Ah ha, the spell checker is on, that must be always looking at text and comparing it to the dictionary an sucking cycles." So I turned off spell-checking, and it didn't change things at all. 'Top' still reported 40-50% CPU usage. (Same thing in ProcessViewer.)

I even logged out and back in. Typing was more responsive, but the CPU usage was still high. (BTW, this is on a G4 867 MHz running 10.1.2 with 1.5 GB RAM.)

Is this normal? I'd never checked the CPU usage of Eudora before, so I don't have a baseline to check it against, but it seems odd that it would need 50% of the CPU just to deal with me typing....

Tom

[Phil St. Romain]

I just checked, and sure enough, Eudora cpu usage rises to about 30-40% when I'm typing, but I'm not experiencing any significant slowdowns when that happens (500mhg/640RAM).

I'm typing this on Mozilla, and CPU usage while I'm typing is also around 30-40%. No significant slowdowns.

Could it be that Eudora was stuck on trying to call up some kind of ad while you were typing? Every now and then that happens to my while I'm typing, and everything turns to sludge until the new ad kicks in--3 to 5 seconds, at most.

Phil

[Cobalt]

Could it be that Eudora was stuck on trying to call up some kind of ad while you were typing?
I don't think that's it, because I tested typing over the course of 10 minutes (and my DSL connection seems to be fast enough otherwise). I also just tried it again now, and had the same result. Also the ad hasn't changed in the few minutes since I stopped the latest experiment.

However, it does seem that Eudora has slowed down a bit since I started looking into this problem today. :mad: Especially when checking mail. Let me ask you this: What does your CPU usage look like when you check mail? Mine spikes well above 80%, which seems odd, especially since it seems that Eudora is spending time waiting for the email server (the progress of the status when checking mail is slower than usual, but I'm guessing that the mail servers are slower in responding, and that the slowdown isn't caused by Eudora; I could be wrong, however). Unless maybe it hogs the CPU while checking mail?

Maybe I should start a new thread for this other question, but does anyone have ideas on how to deal with cleaning out mailboxes, given that trying it currently causes Eudora to crash? I.e., if you command click on the numbers in the bottom-left corner, Eudora will crash. Cmd-clicking there used to clean up the mailbox. I currently have over 4MB of "trash" in my inbox that hasn't been cleaned up, and I'm hoping it doesn't have any ill effects. Is there hope that this will be fixed soon? Is there a way to get around the problem?

Tom

[RichB]

To compact a Eudora mailbox simply click that numbers box. Command-click is a known bug in the beta. Option-click compacts all mailboxes!

[Cobalt]

To compact a Eudora mailbox simply click that numbers box. Command-click is a known bug in the beta. Option-click compacts all mailboxes!
Oh. Wow, that works wonderfully! Thank you. (My Inbox thanks you as well.)

Tom

[ronsard]

hey phil and cobalt,

i'm still having the problems of three to five second time outs while typing in eudora. whether i'm on or off the net (dsl for the record).

my version is eudora pro so it couldn't be looking for an ad.

the timeouts occur about every minute or so.

very irritating as i do much of my writing in eudora.

i have tried turning spell checking on and off. to no avail.

any ideas on what other x-preference it might be?

regards,

ronsard

[Cobalt]

i'm still having the problems of three to five second time outs while typing in eudora. whether i'm on or off the net (dsl for the record)....
the timeouts occur about every minute or so. Hmm, I'm not sure. You don't have it checking your email every minute, do you? Do you have some other background process running that interrupts the CPU every minute? I'd try running "top -u -s2" in the terminal, and leave it visible while you switch to Eudora and type, etc., but keep an eye on the Terminal and see what pops to the top of the list and how much CPU it's taking.

Cobalt

[ronsard]

thanks cobalt.

here's a little more background info.

no, i don't have it set to automatically check mail ever.

there are no other problems like this on my system right now (after problems i've ripped out all of the haxies/ie enhancements and allow myself only x-assist and default folder).

even stranger this effect happens on both ibook and DP 500. granted that both are operating off of the same eudora folder.

only other unique aspect of my system is an old ADB turbomouse with an iMate.

i'll have another look at top and see what it says. i haven't been able to catch it in the past.

if the problem were in any application except eudora, i wouldn't care. but since i use eudora so much, it's a real nuisance.

the only other thing i can think of is that i have a lot of customized x-settings and preferences over the years. i'm very reluctant to try to set up my eudora prefrences from scratch though (over a dozen email accounts just for starters).

[Phil St. Romain]

I'm up with the current Eudora version and still get the 30 - 40% cpu usage when typing, which doesn't produce any lags or slowdowns. This is about the same cpu usage I get when typing this message in Safari. I get only about 10% usage when typing in Appleworks.

Cobalt's suggestion for using "top" to see what happens when you type is a good next step. You might also try using File/New Text Document to see what happens. Also see what happens with or without a signature. . . just fishing, here, really.

[ronsard]

phil and cobalt,

thanks for the suggestions. i tried running with top open. when the pause struck, it's true Eudora CPU use did jump up to 70 or 80%.

next, i tried writing into just a text document, as opposed to an emai. no apparent pauses at all.

so it does seem to be something to do with signatures and emai itself rather than just the input routine of the program.

i will do some more experimentation over the next couple of days. any ideas for the ideal signature settings to apply to avoid these pauses?

thanks,

ronsard

[Phil St. Romain]

What's your cpu usage with Eudora to the front, a new message open, but you're not typing in it? I've only got about 5 - 10% usage like that.

Also, see what happens if you're online or not. 5 - 10% usage here.

Anything else you can let us know . . . like usage with a signature vs. none. Makes no difference on my set-up, but something's definitely going on with yours.

[ronsard]

hello phil,

with an open message and no typing my eudora cpu levels were only 2 to 6%.

but what i've done is take my enormous inbox and archive all messages for last year (over 2000 messages) and my enormous outbox (similar). the initial returns are surprising.

the snap seems to be back in the typing within email messages. i'll let you know how it goes over the next few days, but it may be that large open mailboxes (as i had in and out open most of the time as i use them all the time for my writing) slow down typing.

thanks for your help.

ronsard

ps. these boards and this site are great. i've been a (supporting) member on the main site for a long time and just visited the forums again recently.

the best there is for os x. and so fast. great job.

[Phil St. Romain]

Glad you found a solution. Yes, a lot of messages in the Out box could well have been the problem. It seems there's some live connection with messages and the outbox. E.g., if you're editing a message you queued in the out box and you close the out box, the message closes.

Thanks for the compliments about the site. Griffman and crarko keep it well-oiled, and the regulars here are just world-class people when it comes to expertise and courtesy!