Photos Conversion Services eating up entire CPU, refuses to Force Quit

Originator:spencer.samuel1
Number:rdar://39577317 Date Originated:April 19, 2018
Status:Open Resolved:
Product:macOS + SDK Product Version:10.13.4
Classification:Serious Bug Reproducible:Sometimes
 
Area:
Photos

Summary:
After quitting the Photos app, associated "decoder" and "conversion" processes remain open, and begin to monopolize the entire CPU. Attempts to quit or force quit these services results in a temporary cessation (about 30-60 seconds) before the processes restart themselves and again eat up the CPU. VTDecoderXPCService peaked at 270% CPU usage, according to Activity Monitor. com.apple.photos.ImageConversionService and com.apple.photos.VideoConversionService each use around 80-110% of the CPU, also according to Activity Monitor. These processes do not stop until the computer system is logged out, shut down, and / or restarted.

Steps to Reproduce:
1. Open Photos
2. Export a photo (or don't, just open the app and look through some photos), and leave the app open for a minute or two.
3. Close Photos
4. Wait a few seconds and listen as the computer's fans begin to work in overdrive, the battery starts to significantly (and very quickly) drain, and the CPU usage reported in Activity Monitor spikes and remains at unconscionably high levels.
5. Attempt to quit or force quit any or all of the following three processes: VTDecoderXPCService, com.apple.photos.ImageConversionService, or com.apple.photos.VideoConversionService
6. The CPU usage briefly begins to drop and return to normal. Then, within 30-60 seconds, any of the above three processes launches itself again and begins devouring the CPU to no end.

Expected Results:
No automated, non-user-initiated process of this nature should take up as much of the CPU as these processes do. Additionally, the system should ensure indefinite termination of these processes if requested by the user and if they are not critical to the computer's operation (which, by the looks of the process name, they are not). This really shouldn't be happening in the first place at all -- opening the Photos app to look at your photos for a few minutes shouldn't cost you the entire day in battery life (or bottleneck everything else) -- and especially not because of background processes that user had not initiated explicitly.

Actual Results:
Photos initiates background processes (esp. processes that are not user initiated, at least not clearly or directly) that cripple a MacBook's battery life in a matter of minutes and monopolize all of its CPU power. These processes refuse to quit and when they are force quit, they restart themselves less than a minute later. The only remedy to this issue is to shut down and restart your entire system.

Version/Build:
macOS High Sierra 10.13.4 (17E199)
Photos 3.0 (3271.13.150)

Comments


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