cidaemon

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In my case, the hint about acr*.tmp files in the windows\temp folder was a good lead. Inside that folder I had over 20,000 files, and I think most were acr* files. Too many files made Explorer crash, so from command prompt I was able to delete all files in the temp folder, and the indexing service recovered to normal cpu usage.

I had a problem where CIDaemon started using a lot of CPU as well. It happened after I installed Nero. Here was the solution for me...

http://kobyk.wordpress.com/2007/09/28/the-case-of-the-windows-desktop-search-cpu-hog/

Turns out nero uses an RTF file extension for files that aren't really RTF and these cause CIDaemon to thrash because it thinks they are actual RTF files and use tons of CPU. Rename the files in the nero directory with RTF extensions and the problem goes away! They are only used for VCD's so you probably don't need them anyway.

cidaemon.exe, along with Indexing Services make the difference in Windows 2000 on minimalist hardware between just able to run Windows and having and enjoyable computing experience. It's never advisable to simple turn off anything Windows developers include with your system without first finding out why the problem exists and how to repair it. There is a "hotfix" available for this issue from Microsoft support. My advice is to download it and continue to use Indexing. If maintaining Windows takes too much of your time or unduly frustrates you how about trying Linux? Ubuntu now endorsed by IBM INVENTOR of the Personal Computer!

All hail Leo! I've been looking for a solution to cideamon.exe running all the time for weeks. Why couldn't I just have found Leo the first search??? Good to have my puter back on track. Thanks loads.

Great! This stopped cidaemon.exe from running automatically. I think there was a conflict between it and Google Desktop that was slowing my machine down significantly. Processing faster now though.

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