High CPU usage with Radio Loyalty

[swogden]

Radio Loyalty just made changes in it's security codes (capchas) which involve looking at another video ad (similar to those you see with the daily email).

I didn't have a problem with that until I found that my computer was running close to 100% CPU usage with just Radio Loyalty running.

I am running Radio Loyalty on a XP Windows OS on a Dell desktop.  I'm using FireFox, as I usually do, for this part of Fusion Cash.

I ran a scan to see it I had a virus (none found), cleared my cookies/temps, but Radio Loyalty is still causing my pc to run at max cpu.  

Is anyone else seeing the same thing on your computer?

You can check your CPU usage by bring up your Windows Task Manager (click Control/Alt/Del) and look at both Performance and Processes.

I really like Radio Loyalty, but not if it is going to preclude me from doing anything else on my computer.

I put in a support ticket on this issue.  It would help, if you are seeing the same problem, to add your comments to this thread.  If you have a solution or suggestion, add your thoughts below.

Update:  I tried running Radio Loyalty on IE on the XP desktop.  While I did not have the CPU problem, I did lose my scroll bars (horizontal and vertical) on the RL window.  In addition, the entire site (RL and FC windows) just closed down on me:  once right before the 10 min mark and once just after.

I also tried Google Chrome.  I was able to log into FC, but all attempts to move around the site failed.  The site just locked up.
Don't think that problem had anything to do with Radio Loyalty.

[kingreyam24]

I have been getting that message a lot more recently, but I only get it when I am using Radio Loyalty and doing something else on the computer. I don't get it if I just let Radio Loyalty run without doing anything else. It doesn't cause any problems for me though. I want to say that once it locked up my browser, but other than that it just tells me I'm using a lot. It's probably because it has that other video advertisement at the same time. I haven't had as much of a problem with it that it seems you have had though. When I go into Norton and check my usage, I do see big spikes every 10 minutes, so that video captcha must just really take a lot to run.

[BlackSheepNY]

How much RAM does your computer have?  Right click on "My Computer," click "Properties," and on the "General" tab you will be able to see how much RAM you have installed.  At least 1GB would give you "decent" performance on XP.  However, let's face it, if your computer's a few years old, it's going to be slower by today's standards.

Have you tried defragging your hard drive?  When your programs are fragmented and pieces are all over your hard drive, it will take much longer for something to open.  I defrag first and then "error check" at least once a month, whether it needs it or not.

Another thing that can make your computer take forever is too much junk running in the background.  Computers like DELL and HP are notorious for this (the reason why I'd much rather put my own computers together).  I also like to turn things off that really aren't necessary to run at "start up."  I don't need any programs checking for updates.  The only "updates" I leave are the Microsoft updates and my anti-virus' updates.  Everything else I check manually.

Sometimes, it's just time for some maintenance.  Get rid of programs installed on your computer that you don't use any more or that you no longer need.  DO NOT DELETE them - UNINSTALL them from the Control Panel.  Then run a program like CCleaner afterwards to clean up all the junk the uninstalls leave behind in your System Registry.

[swogden]

Thanks for your comments, BlackSheepNY.

I have 1.25 GB Ram on my Dell.  And yes, it is a old computer. circa 2005.  But I don't have a lot of unused programs on my machine any more.

I  check my cpu usage and processes with the Windows Task Manager. 
One of the processes that I noticed (with Firefox) is plugin-container.exe.  This is used by Firefox to control the use of plugins so that if the plugin crashes, it will not cause Firefox to crash.  I see this in heavy use on my XP computer when I run Radio Loyalty -- probably because of the multiple video ads. It frequently is using 80-90+ cpu. 

There are some articles online about this process and even Firefox has some suggestions on how to modify my plugins to reduce the overuse of CPU.  Suspect that while it might solve the high CPU usage, it may cause other problems. (ie not being able to see any video ads).

I am concerned that if I run my PC consistently at 90%+cpu, I may end up damaging it so that it won't work at all.

[BlackSheepNY]

Thanks for your comments, BlackSheepNY.

I have 1.25 GB Ram on my Dell.  And yes, it is a old computer. circa 2005.  But I don't have a lot of unused programs on my machine any more.

I  check my cpu usage and processes with the Windows Task Manager. 
One of the processes that I noticed (with Firefox) is plugin-container.exe.  This is used by Firefox to control the use of plugins so that if the plugin crashes, it will not cause Firefox to crash.  I see this in heavy use on my XP computer when I run Radio Loyalty -- probably because of the multiple video ads. It frequently is using 80-90+ cpu. 

There are some articles online about this process and even Firefox has some suggestions on how to modify my plugins to reduce the overuse of CPU.  Suspect that while it might solve the high CPU usage, it may cause other problems. (ie not being able to see any video ads).

I am concerned that if I run my PC consistently at 90%+cpu, I may end up damaging it so that it won't work at all.

Ahhhhh, yes, "plug-in container."  This one has been a wild hair for me, too (I also use Firefox).  I've read all I can about plug-in container and have tried all I can try.  Unfortunately, nothing has worked.  Is your Firefox actually crashing when plug-in container goes crazy?  You can enable "Crash Reporting" to Firefox so they get a report each time your browser crashes.

Click:  Tools, Options, Advanced - Under "Advanced" are other tabs, choose "Data Choices" and then under "Crash Reporter" click "Enable Crash Reporter."

Firefox just recently updated once again - it's now Version 21.0.  Make sure you have the most updated version.  To do this, click on "Help," "About Firefox," and update from there if you don't have version 21.0.

Do you use Add-Ons and Plug-Ins?  If so, click on "Tools," then "Add-Ons" then on the upper right hand side of the page, click the icon that looks like a GEAR and click CHECK FOR UPDATES.  If there are any updates to your Add-Ons, it will be apparent on the LEFT hand side of the page where you will see the words "Available Updates" and a number next to that indicating how many of your Add-Ons have updates.  Click it, and update those Add-Ons.

For Plug-Ins, again click on the word "Plugins" on the left hand side of the page.  At the top of that page, you will see a link that says, "Check to see if your plugins are up to date."  Click that link and it will open a new page to check all of your installed plugins.  If there are any on that page that tell you you need an update, update them ASAP because when these plugins are not running the most recent versions, they can be a real pain and leave your computer vulnerable to other problems.  Most of the plugin updates will need to be downloaded and installed, but don't neglect updating them - it could be a reason why you're having problems.

[swogden]

Thanks, BlackSheepNY for the checklist.

Turns out, I was running on version 17 for Firefox. It's now at version 21. Still have plugin-container.exe running, but the average cpu while playing music is in the mid 50's.  I can live with that.

It does rise to 95-100% when the capcha video comes up and when there are other videos playing.  But it's better than on version 17. Will continue to watch it, though, since the video ads really push the cpu up.

When I reviewed the material about plugin-container, the impression I got is that if you remove/disable the plugins from plug-container, they will just shift to the main Firefox.exe.  So while you'll have less cpu usage for one process, you'll have more on the other. Not worth the effort to change.

Appreciate the direction about add-ons and plug-ins.  Never knew that existed.   Only have 1 add-on that is enabled (4 that are disabled); all are up to date.

Likewise on the plug-ins; all up to date.  I use Avast and it lets me know when updates are available as do most of the plug-ins.  Don't trust myself enough to let go  of the automatic update notices.

[kingreyam24]

Hey...look at that. I was using an older version of Firefox too. Thanks, Blacksheep!

[BlackSheepNY]

Glad to be of help to you both!   

[bessie1111]

Thx....this info. was very helpful.

[swogden]

I've decided to abandon running Radio Loyalty on my old Dell with only 1.25 GB ram.  It ran at 50-60% cpu for a time, then just moved up to 90-100% most of the time.  Clearing cookies and temps didn't help.

Firefox never crashed, but the response was noticeably slower.  Just didn't want to take a chance that running at just a high cpu % would damage the computer.

So I shifted RL over to my Dell laptop with Windows 7.  It is a newer machine and has 8.0 GB Ram.  The cpu usage runs steadily between 30-60% with RL running.

Several months ago (before the new captcha system) I tried running RL on my laptop along with my Playdom games (both use Adobe Flash) and Firefox frequently crashed. Can't run them at the same time at all anymore.