AVG Cache Server Process AVGCHSVX.EXE

[EastCoasthandle]

Hello,

Do to what I've found this deserves it's own thread. I wanted to inform all you AVG users out there that if you open up AVG you may have an option to update it. That update is for AVG 9.X (Previous version should have been AVG 8.5). The new version isn't all that bad however, there is one particular process that I found completely and utterly annoying. That process is called avgchsvx.exe which is called AVG Cache Server Process. Once you install AVG 9.0 you will be asked if you want to optimze AVG scanning capability. Once you click on this option (I don't know the exact wording) you will not be able to undo it (at least I haven't found it). What I've observed is that this process doesn't start until a few minutes into desktop (bootup). Then the hard drive thrashes like crazy. There is no real end to it and it has slowed down the OS from normal every day tasks. I researched the problem and found this:

I should first point out that the help on the forum is from other AVG Free users ... since AVG 9.x is new even to us, only some of your questions can be answered.

The cache server is used to help speed up the AVG tests and resident shield to limit memory useage and so the testing doesn't take as long. It allows AVG to know what has been tested previously so it doesn't need to retest them unless they are changed or updated. In short, it optimizes AVG.

Moderator at AVG Forum

The AVGCHSVA service is running in the background for the first few hours (depending on how many files you have on your system) to fill the cache. It is running with low priority so it should not slow down your other apps. And after the cache is fully populated, the process will automatically minimize its CPU usage.

Moderator at AVG Forum

It's actually AVGCHSVX. AVGCHSVA was used to rename the file to stop this program from running. So again, if you enable this feature and noticed the hard drive light consistently on or always flickering when it wasn't in the past that maybe why. Making sure that no other process is causing this.

 

[jaycc]

AVG Update to V9.0

Hello,
This is an observation rather than a solution - updated AVG Free today 3 November 2009 at about 11:30. The AVG cache program ran at varying cpu load with lots of disc thrashing for about 8 hours. It has now stopped on this Toshiba Satellite Pro A300 running XP-Sp3 - thank goodness. AVG could have warned about this, couldn't they?
cheers
JackC.

 

[EastCoasthandle]

Thanks for the feedback. That's an awful long time!

 

[kid41212003]

Took me 15 hours+ to scan through ~1TB data, so, it's not that strange, beside, it was on his laptop...

There is a thing called "Full computer scan" in Norton, and it worked the same way.

 

[EastCoasthandle]

You've misunderstood here. We are not talking about the same thing LOL. Read the 1st post this is suppose to be a low priority operation not something you initially tell the program to do. Which is why 8 hours IS a long time.

 

[Disparia]

IDK, this is behavior that I expected (I recently upgraded to AVG 9). It could just be me though...

 

[EastCoasthandle]

Nah, that's a first for AVG. If you intentionally tell it to scan your PC that's another story.

 

[kid41212003]

The cache server is used to help speed up the AVG tests and resident shield to limit memory useage and so the testing doesn't take as long. It allows AVG to know what has been tested previously so it doesn't need to retest them unless they are changed or updated. In short, it optimizes AVG.

It worked the same way, i didn't say it the same thing.

 

[Disparia]

True, it could be a first for AVG. But I what I meant is that I would expect this behavior when I clicked on the "Optimize Scanning" option or whatever it's called (it was a couple days ago).

 

[EastCoasthandle]

It worked the same way, i didn't say it the same thing.

Seems to me you are not fully understanding the issue here.

True, it could be a first for AVG. But I what I meant is that I would expect this behavior when I clicked on the "Optimize Scanning" option or whatever it's called (it was a couple days ago).

Oh, no it should take that long, lol. Optimize scanning (IE: appears to be similar to indexing) and scanning the PC for infection are different things. Because there was little information about it at that time there maybe other things involved.

 

[kid41212003]

No, it's just what I said wasn't relate to the main point of your post. I just tried to point out the good thing of this process, which similar to Norton's "Full Computer Scan", that's it.

"It's a scanning process, it's going to scan through every bit of your data, that will take hours, and you can't undo it. Once it's finished, only new and updated files will be scan again."

 

[EastCoasthandle]

No, it's just what I said wasn't relate to the main point of your post. I just tried to point out the good thing of this process, which similar to Norton's "Full Computer Scan", that's it.

"It's a scanning process, it's going to scan through every bit of your data, that will take hours, and you can't undo it. Once it's finished, only new and updated files will be scan again."

That was not a good example and for the most part confusing and misleading. What you said in your post was that you did a full scan of your hard drive. The optimization set in AVG 9.0 update is not implied as a full scan feature but an optimization feature that's appears similar to indexing. So that when you actually do a full scan it's much faster.

I initially created this thread to warn of what to expect when your click on the "optimize scanning" button. As you cannot undo it once you click on it. The reply given stating that it takes 8 hours is a long time as this is a background process. You saying that "its normal" is not the point here because you told your AVP to do a full scan. Furthermore, one should have some control over when a program is going to be executed on your PC. As it can slow up other programs that you need to use.

Also take note of what he actually said, "The AVG cache program ran at varying cpu load with lots of disc thrashing for about 8 hours." From the look of it this isn't as benign as initially thought for a background process that suppose to have low cpu priority.

 

[peteesco]

I have my solution

The way I have dealt with these unstoppable or returning processes since avg 8 is to replace the offending file with a shortcut to a little app called Dummy Executable which does nothing and exits leaving the computer free of memory hoggers. Avgrsx.exe recieves same treatment.
Avg seems happy and still usable/updatable as a scanner.
I also have a shortcut which starts the avg service (previously disabled) when context scans or updates are required command line may be "X:\WINDOWS\system32\sc.exe start avg9wd" where X is system disk.
So I can have zero footprint with needed functions.
Thanks, Peter.

 

[Mussels]

while i dont use AVG, this is just another good reason to make sure everyone i know continues to not use it.

Thanks for the heads up on this.

 

[EastCoasthandle]

peteesco,

Thanks for the tip but I neglected to check back on this thread to later find out about it months later. I only wished you provided an example of how you did it.

 

[slyfox2151]

That was not a good example and for the most part confusing and misleading. What you said in your post was that you did a full scan of your hard drive. The optimization set in AVG 9.0 update is not implied as a full scan feature but an optimization feature that's appears similar to indexing. So that when you actually do a full scan it's much faster.

exacly, it will speed up the full scan. but it needs to know the current state of the files. its going to take longer to cache it then full scan vs just a full scan the first time this is run.

but now that its already cached, the full scan will be done much faster.



what makes you think an 8 hour low priority scan is excessive? its low priority.. meaning if your using your PC AT ALL in anyway it will overide the scan and slow it down.... so if windows or a program your running writes or reads anything at all.. it will slow it down. that is one reson it takes so long to run the scan.
(if your pc lags due to this, somthing else is wrong. maybe its a slow HDD)







(it has to do a "Full Scan" of your files to cache them so the Full scan that looks for virii will be faster.)
thats what he was saying. the cacheing process does a full scan of your files to cache them

 

[EastCoasthandle]

snip

I honestly don't have the time to go back on something that I already discussed several months ago. But the gist of it is very simple, it a feature once started cannot be stopped. Along with everything else I mentioned about it several months ago.

 

[Midnight_Voice]

avgchsvx is not working as described

Hi

My Compaq Presario V2000 laptop here, running XP Home, is maxed out most of the day, and as a result it gets very hot indeed. Usually, the major process causing this is AVG's avgchsvx.exe.

I read about what it is intended to do, and that it needs a good run to get set up, after which it's very light, picking up only the few file changes made since last time it ran.

Well, that's the theory, but it's not the reality. I left the laptop on all night a few days ago, and sure enough in the morning, avgchsvx was nice and quiescent.

Great, I thought, it's happy now.

But later that day, the heavy CPU usage started up again, and it's continued so ever since, on and off. Looking at it right now again, it's quiescent again, but it's had 3:41 of CPU time this morning, at a point where the System Idle Process has had less than 15:00.

And it doesn't even back off when I'm busy, when it's running. Burning 65% CPU on tasks I intended to get done, it takes the other 35%.

Some people have said well, it's CPU you're not using anyway. I say, I'd like the keyboard surround not to get uncomfortably hot.

I don't think AVG have got this right. This process should be much more background than it is. And why 100% CPU anyway? A full, real, AVG scan doesn't hammer the CPU like that, so why should a pre-scan?

And I can Pause a scan, if I need more resources for whatever else I'm doing. But I can't Pause avgchsvx.exe. I can't even 'End Process' it in Task Manager - or rather I can, but it's back in a few seconds.

I've seen fixes for this that involve renaming the offending file. If I have things aright, you just need to go to Tools/Advanced Settings/Cache Server and turn the nasty thing off.

In the scenario above, it might even have been enough to turn off just 'Enable Adding New Files into Cache'.

But I do hope AVG will revisit this option and rethink it; it spoils an otherwise good product that I don't really want to switch away from.

Finally, I note that the Help for Tools/Advanced Settings/Cache Server says
'We strongly recommend to keep this feature activated unless you have an explicit reason to switch it off.'

Well, I do have an explicit reason. It's MY computer, and I want it back.

 

[marcoguy]

AVG CPU Usage High

Installed AVG 9.0.851 a couple of weeks ago and found the computer was slow and freezing XP Home windows. Noticed the CPU Usage high running 70 - 80%, mostly due to Avgchsvx.exe, Avgwdsvc.exe and System Idle Process. Went into AVG Tools Advanced Settings and Disabled both Cache Server boxes. The CPU Usage went down to 4- 5% immediately. Just to see if it would go right back up to the High CPU Usage, enabled both boxes. The CPU Usage stayed low. Why?? Computer has been running for over 12 hours and still low CPU Usage. Hope it stays low so I have My Computer back!

 

[EastCoasthandle]

Thanks for the feedback. I'm sure your personal experiences will provide some insight for others.

 

[EastCoasthandle]

Custom dynamic link libraries are being loaded for every application

If you are seeing this warning from event viewer (type event viewer in start's search box then select it) then perhaps the temp fix will work for you.
-Thread
-Avgrsstx.dll will be removed in AVG v10
-Manger's temp fix
-User correction fix as they didn't find that key