High CPU usage from Adobe's Genuine Software Integrity Service

[BradCoe]

Adobe's Genuine Software Integrity Service is constantly running at 30-40% CPU usage (on a two CPU system) and leading to my laptop battery draining and difficulty running other applications.

I uninstalled both my copy of CS3 (work licenses) and Creative Cloud (personal copies of photoshop and lightroom) after my CS3 licenses stopped working this weekend (and would not repair successfully using the repair tool, perhaps an unrelated issue).  Uninstalling CS3 did not fix the problem, but uninstalling Creative Cloud fixed the problem temporarily.  The symptom returns as soon as I reinstall creative cloud.  My most recent install attempt was yesterday afternoon (Oct 15).

Checking adboegc.log did not reveal any entries corresponding to high CPU usage. There are clusters of log entries which seem normal; however there were none for today (Oct 16th) despite 4+ hours of the service running at full CPU.

I have since uninstalled Creative Cloud again so that I can use my laptop for other work.

System: Windows 10 Pro (with Anniversary Update and all updates as of yesterday)

I have searched the forums and seen some similar issues but nothing seems to match exactly.

Does anyone know if this is a known bug or if there is a workaround here?

[Tariq Ahmad]

Hi BradCoe ,

Sorry for the inconvenience.

I have sent you a private message, would you respond back with the requested information.

Regards,

Tariq Dar.

[Hutcho]

I am having the same problem.

I also have CS3 and cannot even get that to work anymore. Something has changed in the last month or so which has created this problem.

I have to go in to the Task Manager to stop this ridiculous background program which constantly chews up the resources.

Please help as I am extremely frustrated!!

Mark

[Jeffrey_A_Wright]

Mark what Adobe software do you currently have installed?  Did you install any new copies of Adobe software or updates recently?

[Hutcho]

Jeff,

I just have CS3 and it stopped working. I don't use it all that often (every couple of weeks).

I tried the fix and it did not work and then tried to re-install it several times before giving up.

I don't know if there were updates, they could have been in the back ground?

Mark

[Jeffrey_A_Wright]

Mark I would recommend removing you current installation of Creative Suite 3 to see if the high CPU usage you are experiencing continues.

When you are ready to reinstall Creative Suite 3 you can find the retail installation files at Download Adobe Creative Suite 3 products .  You can also locate your registered serial number at http://www.adobe.com/ for complete details see Find your serial number.

[BradCoe]

Hi Jeff,

I thought I would jump back in here.  I sent some additional information as well as some logs on to Tariq who is having someone in the product team review.  I am awaiting a reply but in the meantime I thought I would post the additional information here with some updated findings.

Perhaps Marks issues are similar....

Here is a slightly edited version of the information I sent to Tariq

I completely uninstalled all Adobe software on my system (including CS3 and acrobat reader) before testing:

The issue with the Adobe Genuine Software Integrity Service issue appears specific to my personal Creative Cloud Install (I have uninstalled and reinstalled all components in various combinations).

After the initial install of creative cloud everything looks ok until I reset the system and then Adobe Genuine Software Integrity Service (32 bit) starts up again and is the top CPU user on an otherwise idle system.

After reinstalling creative cloud my system the following happens:

Creative Cloud (32 bit) 10-20% CPU Starts at 400MB RAM climbs to > 1GB then resets itself and starts as a new process.

AGSSService.exe 12-16% CPU, 3.1MB RAM

When I check the Creative Cloud process with process explorer the sub-process “Adobe Desktop Service.exe” seem to be the culprit using the majority of the CPU and RAM of the Creative Cloud Process.

Also every time the “Adobe Desktop Service.exe” reaches ~ 1.2GB and restarts as a new process AGSSService.exe spikes to 30% CPU usage for a few minutes.

My System Information is as follows:

64 bit version of Windows 10 Pro 1607 Build # 14393.31

Intel Core i5 M560 2.67 GHz with 8GB RAM and an Intel 160GB X25-M SSD (A Lenovo X201)

Since then

I completely uninstalled all Adobe software from my system again (I am currently running no adobe products).

However....  Today I was using my laptop unplugged and noticed that my battery drained far too quickly.  I then checked and AGSSService.exe was running in the background using ~18% CPU (I tracked it for an hour and it kept running.  I have since deleted the Adobe Genuine Software Integrity folder and checked for all registry keys and task scheduler events that were initializing it.  I haven't reset my computer so I am not sure if it will reinitialize itself or if it was a residual from my most recent failed attempt to use my creative cloud software (which I uninstalled within hours). In contrast creative cloud on my mac is running fine.

So currently I have zero Adobe programs on my PC laptop. But AGSService.exe was still reducing my system to a nearly unusable state.

Cheers,

Brad

[Hutcho]

Yes, that sounds familiar.

I cannot even re-install CS3 now except for Adobe Acrobat Professional. Everything else fails.

It worked perfectly well until something changed about 4-6 weeks ago...

Mark

[Jeffrey_A_Wright]

Mark are you receiving any specific error messages when you reinstall Creative Suite 3?  You can find details on how to locate the installation errors at Troubleshoot installation with install logs | Adobe Creative Suite 3, Adobe Creative Suite 4​.   You are welcome to post any specific errors you discover to this discussion.

[Hutcho]

Finally had another opportunity try loading again.

I have the original DVD package but when I tried checking my registered products it said the product was already registered. I am not sure how this is even possible unless I have done it on an old email address?

The only question I get along the way with installation is it cannot find an Adobe DLL file.

Otherwise I get this screen.

[Tariq Ahmad]

Hi Brad,

I have sent you a private message would you please check that. And help us with the information requested.

Regards,
Tariq Dar.

[TechTed]

I have a very similar issue.

Have had an active install of CS3 for a couple years

Recently purchased and installed Premiere Elements 15

Adobe Genuine Software Integrity Service now eating up 25 to 30%  on a 3 ghz core I3

Legal registration of CS3 Web Premium halted and refuses to reinstall after all proper uninstall and cleaning steps

Very annoyed!!! and Frustrated!!!

Ted Burris

[Hutcho]

Once I have tried installing the software again, it runs the "Adobe Genuine Software Integrity Service" and cripples my PC.

What has changed for this to happen!!!??

Now an unhappy customer!

[Jeffrey_A_Wright]

Mark what error messages are you seeing in the installation logs?  You can find details in post #8 of this discussion on how to locate your installation log error.  You are welcome to post any specific errors you are seeing in the log.

[Hutcho]

Hi,

I found the installation log file, but I have tried three separate programs to unzip it without success.

Any ideas?

Mark

[Jeffrey_A_Wright]

Mark the installation logs are stored in gzip format.  Any utility for Windows that can open a gzip file should work.

[Hutcho]

Hi,

I have finally had an opportunity to look at this issue again. I need to do some work asap (volunteer work) , but alas still cannot get this software to install.

I also had some luck with the opening of the log file.

As per the helpdesk page, the three items cannot be found.

This is so frustrating. How can software work one day and not the next and then it cannot be installed. I have wasted so much of my time on this.

I have a box on my desk named Creative Suite 3 and it is currently useless.

Is there anything else I can try.

Of course in the background is the "Adobe Genuine Software Integrity service" running in the background chewing up 25% of my CPU and probably shortening the life of my PC as it heats up!

Regards

Mark

[Jeffrey_A_Wright]

Mark I am sorry you continue to face difficulties with the installation.  You indicated that you located and opened the log file.  Were there any occurrences of the word ERROR or FATAL within the log file?  The most recent occurrence would be at the end of the file.  You are welcome to post any errors which you discover to this discussion.

Unfortunately Creative Suite 3 marked the introduction of installation log files.  Later versions were more verbose but there should still be some indication of the error that is causing the installation to fail.

[Hutcho]

Hi,

The log file does not contain those words. Error or Fatal.

Is there somewhere I can send the log file so someone can look at it.

Regards

Mark

[Jeffrey_A_Wright]

Mark I have sent you a message with my e-mail address.  You are welcome to send a copy of the log files to my e-mail.

If you discover any occurrences when using the find command you are welcome to post them to this discussion.  I would also recommend that you begin backing up any personal files and documents in case no errors are discovered within the log files.

[Jeffrey_A_Wright]

Mark thank you for sending over the log but I am concerned that you may not be looking at the installation log.  Can you please a screen shot of the \Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Adobe\Installers\ directory on your computer?  You can find details on how to post a screen shot at FAQ: How do I capture and post a screen shot or video?

[Hutcho]

[Jeffrey_A_Wright]

Ok thanks for the confirmation Mark.  Unfortunately the Creative Suite 3 logs do not appear to be verbose enough to determine the cause of the installation error.

If you are using Windows 10 you may want to consider utilizing a Creative Cloud membership or single App membership for any applications you would like to use.  The applications are designed to be installed under modern operating systems such as Windows 10 and macOS 10.12.  You can find more details regarding Creative Cloud memberships at Adobe Creative Cloud | Software and services for creative professionals ​.

The other option is you could back up any documents and settings and do a fresh install of Windows 10.  Creative Suite 3 was created, and received it's last update, before Windows 10 was ever developed.  I am unsure how much effort you will want to put in for applications which may still face additional errors running under a modern OS.

My apologies that we weren't able to locate any errors to determine how to resolve the current installation failures.  If you do decide to proceed with reinstalling Windows 10 you are welcome to update this discussion if you have any questions. 

Finally, you may also want to consider reverting to Windows 8.1 as you may have better compatibility with Creative Suite 3.

[Hutcho]

Hi,

It looks like my only choice may be to reformat Windows 10. Painful process. This is software that was working fine but now does not.

I can not justify the monthly prices as I use the software only once or twice a month for a volunteer organisation.

Can you help me with this though...

This is frustrating...

[Jeffrey_A_Wright]

Mark considering that you are not able to install the Creative Suite 3 software there could be other issues affecting your installation.  If the Adobe Genuine Software Integrity Service is using that much CPU usage then it likely due to difficulties reading the licensing information on the computer.