Question Microsoft Word using many times more power and resources than Google Chrome!

[David_652]

Even after I end task on all the Web Viewer 2 and AI child processes, Microsoft Word still uses much more power and resources than Google Chrome. I shut Chrome down and I can still hear my machine grinding away. TaskManager shows 14 times more CPU use, more Memory use, and very high power use. The last time I posted about this, someone told me to live with it. I don't think so. How do I forever ban these processes while continuing to use Word 2021 on Windows 10?

 

[Grobe]

Chrome is a web reader and Word is mostly an application, integrated in the MS Office suite. Two completely different things. Even when you work in some online office solution, because more of the resources is used on the server instead of your local computer.

Btw: If resources is a problem, there exist other alternatives for MS Office, like Libre Office, or you have some standalone applications like Abiword (sorry I was a little fast here, you obvious use Windows).

 

[Math Geek]

have you tried uninstalling and reinstalling office?

that is def high and abnormal usage. don't think word uses more than 100 mb when i start it up. and it barely uses any cpu resources.

what are you doing with word when using it? just a simple doc your typing up? or something more complicated? that would make a difference in resources used if you got a 200 page doc with tons of flashy stuff in use.....

but if you shut it off and it's still running a bunch of processes and resourcers, suggests a problem with office itself. have you run your AV scan to be sure something malicious is not running?

 

[David_652]

Thank you, Grobe. I'm not a noob.

I used Google Chrome as an example of a well-known resource hog. Word was never the hog Chrome is; now it's more so. I was illustrating the sharp increase in Word hoggishness. Perhaps that wasn't clear. I hope I've clarified my point.

I am not looking for a Word replacement. I've used Task Manager to identify that two child processes are causing the resource drain. How do I permanently block the child processes Artificial Intelligence (AI) host for Microsoft Windows Operating System and Web Viewer 2? If it is impossible to do this without breaking Word, what other methods can I use to reduce the resources Word now uses?

Thank you again.

 

[Math Geek]

you'll need to check the settings to see if you can turn off that fake AI nonsense. most likely it's a new addition and its enabled by default. if they don't let you turn it off, then you have no real option but to deal with it or find an alternative.

not the answer you want, but it's reality. MS does not care about your wants/needs. they put it out there and you just have to accept that they know what is best for you.

you can go with an older version like office 2016 which likely won't get the new features and just run like you hope it will.

 

[David_652]

have you tried uninstalling and reinstalling office?

that is def high and abnormal usage. don't think word uses more than 100 mb when i start it up. and it barely uses any cpu resources.

what are you doing with word when using it? just a simple doc your typing up? or something more complicated? that would make a difference in resources used if you got a 200 page doc with tons of flashy stuff in use.....

but if you shut it off and it's still running a bunch of processes and resourcers, suggests a problem with office itself. have you run your AV scan to be sure something malicious is not running?

Yes, I did try that. I'm just writing content, short documents of less than 3,000 words. Word processes and resource issues stop when I close Word. I have run an AV scanner. I understand that MS Office 2021 and O365 are the same, except, of course, that one is installed on the desktop PC, and one is a web-based application. Perhaps this version is more resource intensive? Also, the child processes for Web Viewer 2 pile up when I have more than a few Word documents open at a time. When I close the other documents, those processes don't disappear, unless I close Word entirely.

 

[Math Geek]

that's pretty normal. each doc would get its own resources which is part of the sandboxing security features. so closing one doc would stop its processes but the open docs would still have theirs running.

i don't use that version so can't really speak as to what is normal resource usage. 2016 does not do that so i assume it is related to those new AI features they forced in.

 

[Rokinamerica]

I run Office 2016 and AI is here too, although no matter what I do, it stays steady at 9.3 MB for memory (way less than Edge) and 0.1% for CPU (the same as Edge). No real impact I can see.

I don't use Chrome so can't use that for comparison.

 

[David_652]

I found this thread from MSFT, which appears to acknowledge the AI issue and provide technical solutions that look plausible. I will let you know what I experience. https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us...gence-ai/743603b5-202e-47fd-87ab-c04f86fe463e

 

[David_652]

I renamed two ai.exe files in Office folders to ai.xxx and ai.yyy. Office apps seam to function normally so far. Updates may add the files back. I have made a note of my changes in case of any issues.