Mac is the most secure and powerful platform among the computer enthusiasts. Mac users have a great and easy-to-explore interface which gives them an edge over the other platform users. However, the situation is not always sunny. Mac users also have to experience dark times. These are dark times symbolize the errors and issues that Mac users face. In this post, we will cover one common error that Mac users struggle with. Here, we will discuss mds_stores and its high CPU consumption issue. I will explain What is mds_stores? and How to fix mds_stores high CPU usage?
Just fix your eyes on the screen and read along.
Contents
What is mds_stores in Mac?
mds_stores is a process for Apple’s Spotlight feature. The acronym “mds” stands for “MetaData Server,” and is an essential part of Spotlight, the efficient, powerful and very useful search feature built directly into the foundation of Mac OS X. You can access Spotlight by pressing Command+Spacebar.
You can identify if mds and Spotlight are indexing is to look at the Spotlight icon, present in the upper right corner of your menu bar. When Spotlight is indexing the magnifying glass will have a dot in the center like in the picture below.
If you click on the Spotlight icon, you’ll see your main hard drive is being indexed, with a progress bar and estimated time until completion. Here’s how it may look.
Q:- Is mds_stores process related to mdworker?
A:- mdworker is another part of Spotlight and it’s indexing engine. So the answer is Yes. Usually, you will see the mds_stores process in conjunction with mdworker.
Q:- How long does mds_stores and Spotlight take to complete indexing?
A:- The time taken to update the Spotlight index depends on a few variables, but mostly the size of your hard drive, the amount of data being indexed, major changes to the filesystem, and the time since last indexing. You should just let the indexing complete, it generally takes between 15 and 45 minutes to complete.
Q:- Can we disable Spotlight and its indexing?
A:- Yes. If you never use Spotlight, you can disable it. This will automatically stop mds_stores and its indexing.
This is all you should know about mds_stores process. Now we can move further to learn about its high CPU consumption issue, and ultimately to know how to fix it. Keep your eyes hooked and scroll down.
mds_stores Process consuming high CPU usage
Mac users face a number of issues. However, the most annoying ones are those, which makes the Mac slow and sloppy. The mds_stores consuming high CPU usage issue is very annoying due to this exact reason. In this issue, mds_stores process starts consuming a very high amount of CPU power, up to 100%. This leads to the Mac heating up abnormally and performing extremely slow. At times, the system may also crash down or freeze.
If your Mac is heating up a lot or the fans are moving at high levels to cool the system, and it is performing frustratingly slower, you should head to Activity Monitor. Check the Activity Monitor and see the amount of mds stores processes, both are related to Spotlight’s indexing. If these processes are consuming an abnormally higher amount of CPU, you are the victim of mds_stores consuming high CPU usage issue.
How to fix mds_stores consuming high CPU usage?
Like always, I’d suggest that you start off with the simplest method, and if that doesn’t work, then you can roam in the complexities. The first thing you should try to fix mds_stores consuming high CPU usage is simple restarting. Just restart your Mac and check if the mds is still consuming a high amount of CPU usage. If restarting solved your problem, then you can stop reading right here. If it didn’t, continue with other methods to solve the issue.
There are 2 Methods available to fix the mds_stores consuming high CPU usage problem for once and for all. You don’t have to be a Mac master to use these. Just follow the steps that I’m suggesting and you’ll get through to the problem.
1. Remove some directories from Spotlight’s indexing
Removing the directories which have frequently changing content will help you to turn mds_stores CPU consumption back to normal. Before doing this, you should also delete Spotlight’s database and force it to re-index. Follow these steps in order to solve the problem:
Step-1: Firstly, delete the Spotlight’s database. Go to the Terminal, it is found in Applications/Utilities. Now copy and paste the following command in the prompt:
sudo rm -rf /.Spotlight-V100/*![]()
Step-2: Restart and let the re-indexing take place. As re-indexing may take a lot of time depending on the factors I mentioned earlier in this post, I’d suggest you let it happen overnight.
Step-3: Now you have to remove directories that have frequently changing content from the Spotlight’s indexing. Go to System Preferences, click the Privacy tab and then drag-and-drop onto it any directories you don’t want it to index.
Note: I removed my CrashPlan, MobileSync and Dropbox folders, and it helped a lot.
Step-4: Restart again and that’s it.
This is the best way to fix high CPU usage problem. There is one more method, if you want to try it too, scroll further down.
2. Disable Spotlight
If you are among the users, who rarely use Spotlight, then this method might become your favorite. You can simply disable Spotlight to prevent high CPU usage issue in Mojave. Follow these steps in order to solve the problem:
Step-1: Go to Terminal, it is found in Applications/Utilities. Copy and paste the following command in the prompt:
sudo mdutil -a -i off
Step-2: Restart your system.
Note: You can switch the Spotlight back anytime by simply pasting the following command in Terminal:
sudo mdutil -a -i off
Done.
Conclusion
mds_stores is a process related to Spotlight’s indexing. Sometimes it may start consuming high amount of CPU, this leads to the mds_stores high CPU usage issue. We have covered the best ways to fix the problem. For any queries, doubts, or suggestions, feel free to visit the Comments section. Hope I helped you.
I think the second command should be with on instead of off when spotlight terminal switching:
sudo mdutil -a -i on ??
Very useful , thanks.
Thank you thank you thank you! I used the terminal command and literally 10 seconds later my fans started calming down.
I cant turn spotlight off because I require some sort of password, and i can’t type when this password is required.
Just type in your password and hit enter, the text won’t show up on the screen but it’s still there.
I think where you state: “I removed my CrashPlan, MobileSync and Dropbox folders, and it helped a lot.”
you actually mean “added”, because the idea is to *prevent* Spotlight from indexing.
Besides that, this is very useful information.
Thank You very much your hely!!!!
This phenomenon almost ruined my positive experience with my first MacBook!
After I ran the code the fans slowed down to minimum, CPUs running on 3-5% at normal use, and it works for 7 hours on battery!
You saved my Mac! 😀
Hi.
This article gave me hope that could speed up my MBP. It’s been running really sloooow lately, 90-100% CPU load and very high temps, and the cursor becomes erratic.
I followed the step 1 instructions and pasted the prompt and hit return. It then displayed a Password prompt line and when I attempt to enter my password it will not let me do so. I’m hesitant to try step 2 and disable Spotlight because I probably won’t remember how to activate it when needed – I do use it frequently.
So, I’m stumped. Any help will be greatly appreciated. Cheers, Alan
I just did all the prescription and my mac is running just fine. I always take notes of all hacks in case I wish to go back, do that and don’t be afraid, go be happy!
How can you identify which folders are requiring Spotlight to do an abnormally high amount of indexing so that you can remove them from Spotlight’s indexing function?
It won’t let me put in a password it shows a key, it’s locked, how do I delete this crap program?
I followed the procedure for turning off Spotlight completely, and everything went exactly as you said it would with no problems. However, MDS is still using 96.7% of my RAM. Finder is using another 10.5%, so my computer runs like a slug. MDS has been running at this rate for over 40 hours. I have been trying to remove over 400,000 Thumbnails using “Finder”, but it is taking forever to accomplish. I have also moved most of my iPhoto libraries to an external hard drive. I am a photographer, so my iPhoto libraries were taking up more than 750GB. Now I have lots of memory, but it is still running slower than a snail.
mds and mds_store should be 0.0% right now. For some reason you could not disable Spotlight actually. You should try again…