TrustedInstaller.exe high RAM usage for new Windows installs


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In the past few days I went through a clean install of Windows 7 on a repurposed HTPC build at home and also a Windows 8.1 install in a VM on my MacBook Air. Something I've noticed consistently in both cases is the excessive amount of RAM consumed by the TrustedInstaller.exe process when running Windows Update on a clean install. I counted anywhere between 160 to 180 updates for Windows 8.1 update 1 and Windows 7 SP1 (seriously MS, why no SP2).

 

In the case of the HTPC it has 2 GB of RAM and the VM is limited to 1.5 GB. The usage of TrustedInstaller.exe would completely fill up all RAM on both installs that excessive memory paging occurs, turning the update on the HTPC to last more than 2.5 hours with the amount of disk thrashing. Similar observation in the VM on my Mac though given the SSD the impact isn't as great.

 

There's a thread about this - http://marc.durdin.net/2012/02/further-analysis-on-the-trustedinstaller-exe-memory-leaks/ - looks like it's due to the amount of files locked by TrustedInstaller when applying an update. Having dozens and hundreds of updates magnifies the problem.

 

Anyone else seeing this on a low memory (2 GB typically) system? Looking like the best advice for folks on low RAM systems is to apply updates in small amounts at a time.

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Are you letting Windows install ALL the updates in one shot? Might want to selectively install updated till it's done, 2gb is nowhere close to enough to run a system decently 

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Also high CPU usage, it teems to help to right click that process and set it at low priority.

 

Maybe that explains why when you install 180 updates at first it blows past the first 30 pretty fast, then the installs get slower and slower and slower.

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Haven't noticed it as much on 8.1 installs, seemed a bit more conservative (ish), but yea the updater under Windows 7 is pretty aggressive during that first round of updates.  The systems here typically have 8-16GB and it uses about 7 on those.  I have one older system that's got 4GB and it hits the ceiling and goes swap happy for sure, slows it to a crawl because of that.. on low RAM systems I tend to do it in batches so it doesn't do that.  It's a once and done thing though, every system here I make an image of a fresh install so it never has to do that again.. if I replace a drive or whatever I just use that image and bam, done. Never actually checked but it only seems to do that on a fresh install.. wonder if one of the updates took care of that.

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Are you letting Windows install ALL the updates in one shot? Might want to selectively install updated till it's done, 2gb is nowhere close to enough to run a system decently 

 

Yeah it's something I plan to do from this point forward. I wasn't aware of this in the past but then it would be clean installs done with a lesser amount of Windows updates, plus my main systems have 6 to 8 GB of RAM.

 

For light tasks 2 GB should be enough - after all the cheap Dell Venue 10 Pro tablets have 2 GB RAM. I feel MS should at least have a look at what they're doing when patching Windows files or automatically schedule them in batches, for the benefit of less technically aware owners turning on their machines for the first time and getting a ton of updates.

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There might also be a hotfix from microsoft in the works for some memory issues + windows updates: http://blogs.technet.com/b/configurationmgr/archive/2015/04/15/support-tip-configmgr-2012-update-scan-fails-and-causes-incorrect-compliance-status.aspx

 

Whilst that is talking specifically about sccm, they seem to suggest it might be a windows update hotfix - so whether that'll improve memory usage in other cases will be interesting to see..

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There was a patch fixing a certificate issue in 8 that caused continuous TrustedInstaller scanning.  I don't really know if it affected 7 and 8.1 as well but it made a fresh 8 install hell. 

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I Should've done Images when I did fresh installs on Household systems Doh,  Will do next time for sure I do a fresh install that's for sure, I guess main Windows 8.1 Pro 64bit system, might do a fresh install Prior to Windows 10 Upgrade, then Image the 8.1 Install once all drivers are in and updates.   Then Install Windows 10 I think.

 

Yes it's a lot of time and aggravation though, but in the end restoring image faster than doing clean installs in the future if needed.       Will Windows Built in Image software work fine for Windows 7 32bit system (household one) and For Main 8.1 Pro 64bit With media center desktop. 

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I've noticed it with Windows 7 (though it's svchost not trustedinstaller) when scanning for updates but not thus far in Windows 8.x

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Pretty sure this has to do with it building .NET libraries on new install and .NET Updates. Seems to be normal.

 

Interesting you mention that - I noticed on new installs, in Windows Update .NET v4 is unchecked by default. Maybe this is why?

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