Why do the memory resources used by Creative Cloud keep growing on my IMAC

[unique_Whisper98A5]

Why do I have problems with my iMAC and not when using a Mac Pro laptop (i7 16GB RAM, 512MB SSD) or my Windows 10 PC ( i7 16GB RAM PC)?

I have an IMac i5 8GB RAM, ITB (Mid 2011 running Sierra 10.12.4) which had the original Creative Cloud installation and now rendered absolutely useless if any remnant of Creative Cloud is present. What happens is that the applications won't either install or uninstall properly and the iMAC becomes progressively slower to a  standstill and a check on Activity Monitor shows all the physical memory has been taken up and into huge swap files.

e.g. on 1st June 2017 after eventually trying again to install Photoshop which took forever to install and then wouldn't work I noted in Activity monitor:

CCLibrary 36.68 GB,

ExManBridgeTalkCmd 2.18 GB

AdobeGCClient 1.42 GB

all on an iMAC that has 8GB only of physical memory!

In the Activity Manager I can force quit the items but they quickly re-establish and grow again!

The only way I can use this iMAC as a functioning computer is to remove anything to do with Adobe with CleanMyMac3.

I can only think in my case the solution is to reformat the hard drive and start again as there must surely be something lurking in the installation but loath to do this because I have no idea what is causing these files to grow in real time to many times the physical memory of the machine.

Any help much appreciated.

Peter

[kglad · Accepted solution]

uninstall everything cc including preferences, https://helpx.adobe.com/creative-cloud/help/uninstall-remove-app.html

then uninstall the cc desktop app, https://helpx.adobe.com/creative-cloud/help/uninstall-creative-cloud-desktop-app.html

clean your computer of cc files per http://www.adobe.com/support/contact/cscleanertool.html

restart your computer (don't skip this)

reinstall the cc desktop app, https://creative.adobe.com/products/creative-cloud.

disable font and file sync'ing

use the desktop app to install your cc programs/trials

[Kanikas]

Moving to Creative Cloud Download & Install​

[Jeffrey_A_Wright]

Moving this discussion to the Adobe Creative Cloud forum.

[unique_Whisper98A5]

I'm sorry but none of this results in an install of Creative Cloud Desktop that does not run away with memory,

After doing all suggested above and then installing Creative Clod Desktop, I note in Activity Monitor the memory go from low pressure green to orange to red in minutes and eventually a completley unusable iMAC until I force quit. Which is the problem every time I try to reinstall Creative Cloud

The last attempt today ended up with memwith Creative Cloud ory resoiurces below before I forced Force Quit CCL Library (which had grown to 17.65GB with 8GB physical memory):

Physical Memory 8GB

Memory Used 7.55GB

Cached Files 459.1 MB

Swap 1.61 GB

Adobe files:

CCLibrary 17.65 GB

Kernal-task 4.7GB

I don't get any of these problems on my Macbook Pro or a PC Windows 10 and it is confined to the iMAC.

To me the only answer is to reformat the iMAC hard disk and create a fresh installation or abandon Adobe products as I have wasted so much time on this problem.

I am sure that I am not alone with Creative Cloud installations gobbling up all memory resources and rendering the computer useless and presume it is all to do with the checking that you don't have more than two installations registered. It would be nice though to know exactly what the problem is.

In the meantime I will be using Serif Affinity Photo rather than Photoshop on the iMAC and incredibly cheap and hassle free the Affinity is too.

[kglad]

have your disabled font and file sync?

[unique_Whisper98A5]

I did in the Creative Cloud Desktop Manager

[kglad]

are you using sierra on your imac?

[unique_Whisper98A5]

Yes I am using Siera but I had the problem over a year ago and the problems have been over various IOS upgrades.

[kglad]

i suspect there's some program (other than adobe) that's causing a conflict, but i'm not sure about that.

using a browser that allows popups and cookies,  contact adobe support during pst business hours by clicking here and, when available, click 'still need help', http://helpx.adobe.com/x-productkb/global/service-ccm.html

[unique_Whisper98A5]

I really appreciate your efforts to try and resolve my problems.

After spending many hours with adobe support on this problem in the past, all without success, and days of my own time I really cannot face another excruciatingly long on-line session(s) on this.

Basically in my view the Creative Cloud software is deeply flawed - any of the Creative Cloud programs take an age to download and configure and the problem is hugely aggravated by a problem which gobbles up resources when Adobe files CCLibrary, ExManBridgeTalkCmd, AdobeGCClient, Kernal-task grow in real time out of control and render the computer inoperable.

What I am going to do now is have the hard disk on the iMAC reformatted and a fresh installation of Sierra installed and then again try and install Creative Cloud on the iMAC.

What is clear is that there is not yet a cleaning tool that eradicates this problem.

Again thank you for contacting me.

[kglad]

you're welcome.

[unique_Whisper98A5]

AT LONG LONG LONG LAST SUCCESS! BY REFORMATTING THE HARD DISK!

I have said all along and for over a year that my hunch was that the only thing to do to cure the problem was to reformat the hard disk on the iMAC and reinstall the Mac OS - I took the bull by the horns and did this this morning very painlessly (reboot Cmd + R) re-formatted the hard disk followed by reinstall of Sierra 10.12.5 and everything works perfectly.

Before I did this this morning the iMAC computer was almost completely frozen and no wonder - CCLibrary was 44GB (yes 44GB!!) AdobeGCClient 6.74GB and kernel 4.74GB all with just  8GB of physical memory. This was with just the Creative Cloud Desktop and no other Adobe products installed (they wouldn't install anyway).

After the reformat of the hard disk and reinstallation of the OS and with Photoshop installed as well, CCLibrary is now just 48MB (yes MB not GB) no sign of AdobeGCClient or kernel at all.

What has amazed me is how smoothly the reformatting and restore of the OS was and how infinitely quicker this approach was to trying to all the previous attempts with the problem of gobbled up resources and an ineffective computer.

Now it all works fine, the iMAC is like a brand new one and I just hope this helps other users who have had Adobe painful experiences like myself.

Peter

[kglad]

thank you for the follow-up.  (and congrats on getting your computer working like new!)