diasf
asked on
RoboHelp takes 99% of processor
Can anyone help me?
I'm trying to use Macromedia RoboHelp, to create help files for an application.
Everything worked so far. I really don't know what has changed.
What happens now is like this: I open RoboHelp, and it runs ok. Next, I open an existing project, the same I've worked all the time, and it takes ages to answer anything. I open Task Manager / Processes, and I see RoboHelp process increasing so much high, in some seconds it reaches 99% in CPU usage. From that moment, it just stops responding, and I can do nothing else in my PC except abort that process. After aborting the process, everything is back to normal in my PC.
This happens after I open the project. It runs ok before opening. I've created a new project, and it works fine.
Can anyone help me to find the problem and correct it?
I'm trying to use Macromedia RoboHelp, to create help files for an application.
Everything worked so far. I really don't know what has changed.
What happens now is like this: I open RoboHelp, and it runs ok. Next, I open an existing project, the same I've worked all the time, and it takes ages to answer anything. I open Task Manager / Processes, and I see RoboHelp process increasing so much high, in some seconds it reaches 99% in CPU usage. From that moment, it just stops responding, and I can do nothing else in my PC except abort that process. After aborting the process, everything is back to normal in my PC.
This happens after I open the project. It runs ok before opening. I've created a new project, and it works fine.
Can anyone help me to find the problem and correct it?
How much information do you have in the existing project (number of and size of files)?
How long do you let it run before aborting the process?
Is the disk activity light flashing a lot during this?
How long do you let it run before aborting the process?
Is the disk activity light flashing a lot during this?
ASKER
Hi giltjr
- The full project, including images and other files, is a little over 100MB.
- I've waited for 20 minutes, until I could do anything. But any operation takes several 10's seconds to accomplish.
- When it's opening, after the first minutes, it flashes about... once a second... or so...
- The full project, including images and other files, is a little over 100MB.
- I've waited for 20 minutes, until I could do anything. But any operation takes several 10's seconds to accomplish.
- When it's opening, after the first minutes, it flashes about... once a second... or so...
Is this project actually stored on the harddrive of your PC? It sounds almost as if it is stored on a file server.
ASKER
Yes and no... :)
The main project is in a File Server. But when I noticed this issue, I've copied it to my PC harddrive and working from it since than. The result is exactly the same.
Anyway, I found a way to "reorganize" the project database, and now it's much faster. That was exactly a problem of time it took to open the project and "start working".
Now it's working. Slow, but works.
The main project is in a File Server. But when I noticed this issue, I've copied it to my PC harddrive and working from it since than. The result is exactly the same.
Anyway, I found a way to "reorganize" the project database, and now it's much faster. That was exactly a problem of time it took to open the project and "start working".
Now it's working. Slow, but works.
I would check the settings on the "project." We had a problem like this once and it turned out that somebody changed something and that Robo Help was using a file server instead of the local hard drive for temp work files. When it opened the project it copied the current project to the temp work file location, so it was copying from the file server back to the file server.
I am not the one that figured out where or how to change the parm, I the one that figured out that it was using the file server for the temp files.
I am not the one that figured out where or how to change the parm, I the one that figured out that it was using the file server for the temp files.
I would like to know what the solution was.
ASKER
giltjr
As I wrote above, I solved it by reorganizing the database.
Maybe you know, all data of the project is stored in an MS Access database (.mdb), with the extension .cpd and the same name of the project. And that database suffers of the same problem as regular Access databases, i.e., any modification is stored in the database itself. So it had, now, over 4MB. The solution was:
- start by creating a backup copy of the full project (of course!!! :)
- recreate the .hhp file, by saving the project as Webhelp (in Batch Generate)
- erase or rename both the .cpd file and the .xpj files
- open the same project by double-clicking on the .hhp file. Doing so, it rebuilds both .cpd and .xpj files.
That's all! The 4MB file has decreased to a little below 500K, and increased the speed.
As I wrote above, I solved it by reorganizing the database.
Maybe you know, all data of the project is stored in an MS Access database (.mdb), with the extension .cpd and the same name of the project. And that database suffers of the same problem as regular Access databases, i.e., any modification is stored in the database itself. So it had, now, over 4MB. The solution was:
- start by creating a backup copy of the full project (of course!!! :)
- recreate the .hhp file, by saving the project as Webhelp (in Batch Generate)
- erase or rename both the .cpd file and the .xpj files
- open the same project by double-clicking on the .hhp file. Doing so, it rebuilds both .cpd and .xpj files.
That's all! The 4MB file has decreased to a little below 500K, and increased the speed.
ASKER
To Community Support
Is it better to delete this question, or leave it closed, so someone who has the same problem can read the solution I just wrote?
Is it better to delete this question, or leave it closed, so someone who has the same problem can read the solution I just wrote?
---> "Now it's working. Slow, but works."
This sounds like you are still having a problem to me, that is why I asked about the solution.
This sounds like you are still having a problem to me, that is why I asked about the solution.
ASKER
Not exactly, giltjr. The "slow" is just a "comment"... It does not represent a problem. It's slow because of the over 100 MB in the full project. It works nice, after the reorganize. I've made some modifications after what I described, and it works ok. Opens fast enough, and everything runs ok.
ASKER CERTIFIED SOLUTION
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ASKER
- Windows XP
- Processor 1,6 GHz
- RAM 512 MB
- Lots of disk space
diasf