prl_disp_service at 100% CPU

J

Jeremy Bernstein

Member
Since updating to 12092, prl_disp_service is running at 100%. I have the "share programs with mac" turned off, so there are no icons in the dock. This persists after a restart. It seems to only happen after I've put my computer to sleep and woken it back up. Beyond that, I have no idea. Any ideas?

Thanks
Jeremy
 
Correction. I had "share programs with mac" turned off, but the checkbox for Show Windows Application Folders in the Dock enabled (therefore, also disabled, since the "share programs with mac" checkbox turns the other preference off when it's disabled). I've since turned off the passive "Show Windows Application Folders..." off, so let's see what happens.
 
My take on this problem...

I first noticed this problem a day or two after installing OSX 10.6.8 and fixing the resulting Dock process problem. For me, the problem happens most often if I go two or three days without rebooting my Mac. It seems to happen fairly soon after bringing the computer out of sleep mode. It could be coincidence, but I've always had a browser open at the time, usually with a media plug-in like Java active. (Btw, my screensaver is set to never.)

My theory is this: one of the problems that 10.6.8 was supposed to fix was NVIDIA driver issues that my 10.5-era MacBook Pro had with all previous versions of 10.6. The outward symptom of these driver issues was that the screen would occasionally blank out for less than a second. It was a slightly irritating but harmless symptom, but I know a lot of people complained about it. After attempting to fix the problem with 10.6.6 and 10.6.7, Apple finally succeeded with 10.6.8--my screen has not blinked once since then.

However, I suspect those driver issues may be at work here, possibly triggered by the many media plugins that browsers require. An acquaintance of mine with a newer MacBook Pro that uses integrated Intel graphics has not noticed this problem with prl_disp_service--further supporting my theory. (Of course, he may just not be noticing the problem if it is happening.)

If my theory is correct, removing and reinstalling Parallels is not going to fix the problem. Only revised compatibility between Parallels, Snow Leopard 10.6.8, and the NVIDIA drivers will fix it. Perhaps that is why Parallels has released version 7? But before I buy version 7, I want to be TOTALLY sure that it fixes this prl_disp_service issue on 2009-era MacBook Pros.

You might be interested in the longer-running forum here about this same problem: http://forum.parallels.com/showthread.php?t=96981&page=4
 
MartinjnD, could you tell us what type and year of MacBook you have and what graphics card it contains? Also, are you running Snow Leopard 10.6.8? I'm trying to figure out if 10.6.8 NVIDIA driver conflicts are the cause. Also--if you have Parallels 7, you currently have free email support. If you would be willing to submit a ticket on our behalf and include this forum link, I'm sure we'd all appreciate it.

To everyone: I've mysteriously stopped having the problem appear, but I think it's because I reboot my computer nearly every day now. It seems to only happen on my system if I keep putting it in sleep for 5+ days without a reboot. Also, if anyone has any problems with this problem under Lion 10.7.x (or anything other than 10.6.8), could you let us all know here?
 
Mac OS X 10.6.8 (10K549)
MacBookPro5,1 : Intel Core 2 Duo 2.66 GHz (2008 model)

Had the problem coming out of sleep mode - only happened once.
Will check if i have free support.
 
Hello MartijnD, please be informed that Parallels Desktop 7 users have the following free support options:

1) 30 days of free phone support from the registration date (you have registered your version 7 key on October, 13)
2) free email support till September, 6, 2013

To contact technical support, please submit support request at: www.parallels.com/support/request
To see your support code please login to your account at: www.parallels.com/account

More about support options and support code:http://kb.parallels.com/8921
 
Problem solved in Parallels 8

As far as I can tell, this runaway process problem is gone from Parallels 8. When Parallels is off, the prl_disp_service process is not even active. And it doesn't seem to occur when the virtual machine is active, either. And I'm still using OSX 10.6.8 (the version that has the problem most).
 
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