tracker3 taking 100% CPU for a long time

[Paddy Landau]

/usr/libexec/tracker-extract-3 and /usr/libexec/tracker-miner-fs-3 are constantly taking 100% CPU, causing the machine to overheat and the fans to work overtime.

This should not happen.

What doesn't help:
• Ubuntu Settings > Search > turn off search.
• Restart the machine.
The problem is that on the next boot, tracker3 restarts and again takes 100% of CPU.

EDIT: running "tracker3 status" claims "Estimated less than one second left", but it nevertheless runs continuously.

What does help:
• kill -9 for both processes (until the next boot).
• Disable tracker3 according to:
https://www.linuxuprising.com/2019/07/how-to-completely-disable-tracker.html

Description: Ubuntu 22.04.2 LTS
Release: 22.04

ProblemType: Bug
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 22.04
Package: tracker-extract 3.3.0-1
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 5.19.0-46.47~22.04.1-generic 5.19.17
Uname: Linux 5.19.0-46-generic x86_64
ApportVersion: 2.20.11-0ubuntu82.5
Architecture: amd64
CasperMD5CheckResult: pass
Date: Sat Jul 1 07:06:47 2023
ExecutablePath: /usr/libexec/tracker-extract-3
InstallationDate: Installed on 2022-08-28 (306 days ago)
InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 22.04.1 LTS "Jammy Jellyfish" - Release amd64 (20220809.1)
SourcePackage: tracker-miners
UpgradeStatus: No upgrade log present (probably fresh install)

[Launchpad Janitor (janitor)]

Status changed to 'Confirmed' because the bug affects multiple users.

[AlastairP (alastairp)]

Getting near impossible now to run a Mythtv backend/frontend system now due to this bug.

I never, ever need file indexing as this machine only runs the above! But tracker keeps popping up and consuming so much CPU (4 core CPU) that watching TV and recording just grind to a halt.

[Xiscu (francescbassas)]

Same CPU overloading since I upgraded to 24.04.

If I execute 'tracker3 status' I get the never ending "Data is still being indexed: Estimated less than one second left"

As suggested here https://www.reddit.com/r/pop_os/comments/t5qpbj/tracker_using_resources_even_if_disabled_in I executed `tracker3 reset -s` and the problem is gone.

[Paddy Landau (paddy-landau)]

@Xiscu — That's one of the solutions that I have tried (I tried again today after re-enabling tracker3), and unfortunately it doesn't work for me. It bizarrely said that it had completed the indexing, but still ran at 100% CPU.

[peddanet (peddanet)]

The problem came to me a week ago with the latest kernel update. If I try an older kernel it is still ok!

if 'tracker3 reset -s ' works I cannot confirm, I simply had to end this task to work again. So...if I am using the most recent kernel, the problem still persists and takes 80% of my 4 i7 cpu cores (excerpt hwinfo):
```
  vendor_id : GenuineIntel
  cpu family : 6
  model : 142
  model name : Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-10510U CPU @ 1.80GHz
  stepping : 12
  microcode : 0xfc
  cpu MHz : 3402.360
  cache size : 8192 KB
```

and kernel:
```
HPENVY13-aq1176ng 6.8.0-40-generic #40~22.04.3-Ubuntu SMP PREEMPT_DYNAMIC Tue Jul 30 17:30:19 UTC 2 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux
```

I am wondering there is not a bigger attention here...

[Paddy Landau (paddy-landau)]

> The problem came to me a week ago with the latest kernel update. If I try an older kernel it is still ok!

That's curious. This started when I was on kernel 5.19.0, so I wonder what's going on?

[Andres Muniz (andresmp)]

After upgrade from 24.0 to 24.1 this started to take 10% of CPU after a couple of minutes it went away. Kernel 6.8.0-45-generic.

Second boot this did not happen.

[Paddy Landau (paddy-landau)]

@andresmp

> After upgrade from 24.0 to 24.1 …

Do you mean from 24.04 to the daily build of 24.10?

Which kernel does your upgrade have?