Check who started it with 'ps faux | less'.briandc wrote:Every now and then I can hear my pc processing even when I'm not doing anything. I ran "top" and found an app called "find" was using 10-15% cpu. I tried to kill the process (the PID) but nothing happened, it kept on working. Is this normal? Why was it running and what for? Is it a necessary app?
I can do the command, but I had just turned the pc on. (I'm the only one using it.)raboof wrote:Check who started it with 'ps faux | less'.briandc wrote:Every now and then I can hear my pc processing even when I'm not doing anything. I ran "top" and found an app called "find" was using 10-15% cpu. I tried to kill the process (the PID) but nothing happened, it kept on working. Is this normal? Why was it running and what for? Is it a necessary app?
Perhaps part of the 'updatedb' process for the 'locate' database?
It's probably run (perhaps indirectly) from a crontab.briandc wrote:That's why I can't figure out: a) why it runs by itself
Probably, but it might still be interesting what exactly it is, and perhaps you don't want/need it.briandc wrote:b) if it's a normal behavior.
You don't want to remove the 'find' utility, it is a general tool - many scripts will break when you delete it. If you want to remove anything, you want to remove the process that is calling find.briandc wrote:Yes, I suppose I could just uninstall it. I usually use "locate" to find files rather than "find" anyway.
Yes, in fact I have now learned that "find" is part of the "findutils" package and when using synaptic to remove it there was a prompt warning me that removing it might "make my system unusable."raboof wrote:You don't want to remove the 'find' utility, it is a general tool - many scripts will break when you delete it. If you want to remove anything, you want to remove the process that is calling find.briandc wrote:Yes, I suppose I could just uninstall it. I usually use "locate" to find files rather than "find" anyway.
(something almost "Windows-like"... 
)http://www.gnu.org/software/findutils/m ... iderationsIt is common for the operating system to periodically invoke find for self-maintenance purposes.
'find' is not an application that does something useful in and of itself, it is a tool you can use when writing other scripts. You can think of it as 'an advanced version of ls': you wouldn't want to remove 'ls' from your system either, even when it can be invoked in a way that causes I/O (i.e. 'ls -R /').briandc wrote:As far as I can tell, this "find" app runs at start-up. However, I don't know how to pinpoint exactly which app is causing it to run.
So what applications would envoke it at startup, and why? It seems quite strange..raboof wrote: 'find' is not an application that does something useful in and of itself, it is a tool you can use when writing other scripts. You can think of it as 'an advanced version of ls': you wouldn't want to remove 'ls' from your system either, even when it can be invoked in a way that causes I/O (i.e. 'ls -R /').
If you know your way around the command line, you can find out using tools like top, ps and pstree. If you're not that comfortable, you could install htop or something similar. If you call it in a terminal, you can use the up and down arrows to navigate to the "find" process and have a look at its process tree, i.e. by which tool(s) it was called.briandc wrote:So what applications would envoke it at startup, and why? It seems quite strange..
Indeed, I discovered it was running just by running top. But how can I find the process tree?heix wrote:If you know your way around the command line, you can find out using tools like top, ps and pstree. If you're not that comfortable, you could install htop or something similar. If you call it in a terminal, you can use the up and down arrows to navigate to the "find" process and have a look at its process tree, i.e. by which tool(s) it was called.briandc wrote:So what applications would envoke it at startup, and why? It seems quite strange..
heix
If you run top, you'll see a column "PID". Note the number you see there in the line that has "find" as command. Quit top and type pstree followed by the number (the "process id" of the find process) you saw in top.briandc wrote: Indeed, I discovered it was running just by running top. But how can I find the process tree?
I did what you suggested, and the result it gave was "find." Since the user for find is "nobody," I also triedheix wrote:If you run top, you'll see a column "PID". Note the number you see there in the line that has "find" as command. Quit top and type pstree followed by the number (the "process id" of the find process) you saw in top.briandc wrote: Indeed, I discovered it was running just by running top. But how can I find the process tree?
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pstree nobodyCode: Select all
su__sh__findAaargh, yes it is!raboof wrote:'find' is not an application that does something useful in and of itself...
As well, yes indeed. It is one of the most vital administration tools.it is a tool you can use when writing other scripts...
Bottom line: why worry? Has it caused any problems? Your operating stuff is doing all sorts of stuff, often, when you are not doing anything. One of the reasons that we use Linux is that we expect it to be better at managing itself than some other OSs we could name.Every now and then I can hear my pc processing even when I'm not doing anything. I ran "top" and found an app called "find"
True, true. It's not causing any "problems" per se, although something does seem to initiate the find process at every boot, and although it only lasts a few minutes, it does slow down things when I begin work (unless I wait for it to finish). And, there *must* be a reason why it happens. Knowing the answer is part of the learning.Thad E Ginathom wrote:Bottom line: why worry? Has it caused any problems? Your operating stuff is doing all sorts of stuff, often, when you are not doing anything. One of the reasons that we use Linux is that we expect it to be better at managing itself than some other OSs we could name.Every now and then I can hear my pc processing even when I'm not doing anything. I ran "top" and found an app called "find"
Among the various options to find are those which list files by access and modification times, older or newer than. This is a vital admin tool, and it is quite possible that something like this is going on, perhaps to deal with outdated temp files, or old log files, etc etc. Removing the find binary would be like cutting off your arm because of mild itch on one finger. Don't even think about it!
Actually, there is a very good answer to the question Why worry? --- it is that an hour or two researching something like this, from the standpoint of pure curiosity, is a hugely educational process. It's how I did most of my learning back in the day when I earned my living from this stuff. Enjoy