# 100% CPU Plex process versus low CPU use in Plex web ui **URL:** \ **Category:** Plex Media Server\ **Tags:** server-linux\ **Created:** [May 30, 2024, 7:16am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/100-cpu-plex-process-versus-low-cpu-use-in-plex-web-ui/878885 "2024-05-30T07:16:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Gruzlor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/77aa72/32.png) [@Gruzlor](https://forums.plex.tv/u/Gruzlor)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2024, 7:16am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/100-cpu-plex-process-versus-low-cpu-use-in-plex-web-ui/878885/1 "2024-05-30T07:16:26Z")
Hi there, I’m running Plex server on a Ubuntu VM. Any idea why the CPU usage in the Plex dashboard would remain pretty low whilst the CPU load shows 100% for Plex when checking the processes using the [top] utility. This happens even when there is no playback ongoing and I cannot see anything weird in the logs. Restarting the Plex service only helps for several minutes, before the CPU load increases again to 100%. Any idea why this discrepancy? Any clue about the root cause? Thanks! ![image](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/plex/original/4X/d/c/a/dcafeb36140ae07dac28865ebdf18154650fa617.jpeg) Server Version#: 4.116.1 Client Version#: AppleTV version v8.35 (8302) ---
**Author:** ![OttoKerner](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/ottokerner/32/10079_2.png) [@OttoKerner](https://forums.plex.tv/u/OttoKerner)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2024, 10:14am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/100-cpu-plex-process-versus-low-cpu-use-in-plex-web-ui/878885/2 "2024-05-30T10:14:13Z")
How many cores does your CPU have? How many did you assign to the VM with Plex in it? Are you aware that `top` shows 100% when just _one_ of many CPU cores is fully loaded? and over 100% when there is more than one core in your CPU loaded? (e.g. if your CPU has 4 cores, and they are all fully loaded, you’d see the number 400% in `top`) The display in Plex shows 100% when all cores are fully loaded – just like any other operating system or load indicator would. ---
**Author:** ![pshanew](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/pshanew/32/160555_2.png) [@pshanew](https://forums.plex.tv/u/pshanew)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2024, 10:23am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/100-cpu-plex-process-versus-low-cpu-use-in-plex-web-ui/878885/3 "2024-05-30T10:23:10Z")
Also, your `top` screenshot is showing your system as 93.6% idle (93.6 id in the screenshot). In `top`, press ‘t’ and then ‘4’ to see a view of all your CPUs’ utilizations. ---
**Author:** ![Gruzlor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/77aa72/32.png) [@Gruzlor](https://forums.plex.tv/u/Gruzlor)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2024, 10:38am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/100-cpu-plex-process-versus-low-cpu-use-in-plex-web-ui/878885/4 "2024-05-30T10:38:09Z")
No, I did not know that, thanks for the info. I’ll check again! ---
**Author:** ![Gruzlor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/77aa72/32.png) [@Gruzlor](https://forums.plex.tv/u/Gruzlor)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2024, 10:38am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/100-cpu-plex-process-versus-low-cpu-use-in-plex-web-ui/878885/5 "2024-05-30T10:38:32Z")
Thanks for the tip. I’ll check that! ---
**Author:** ![Gruzlor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/77aa72/32.png) [@Gruzlor](https://forums.plex.tv/u/Gruzlor)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2024, 1:03pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/100-cpu-plex-process-versus-low-cpu-use-in-plex-web-ui/878885/6 "2024-05-31T13:03:32Z")
So this was a combination: - I was indeed reading `top` incorrectly. Pressing ‘t’ and 4 helped. I also found toggling between Irix and Solaris modes (`shift` + `i`) convenient. - the Plex service was still around 60% CPU usage when idle. It turned out that the partition became too small. I resized it and it is now below 8% when idle. Thanks again! ---
**Author:** ![OttoKerner](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/ottokerner/32/10079_2.png) [@OttoKerner](https://forums.plex.tv/u/OttoKerner)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2024, 1:18pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/100-cpu-plex-process-versus-low-cpu-use-in-plex-web-ui/878885/7 "2024-05-31T13:18:13Z")
> [@Gruzlor](#): > > It turned out that the partition became too small. Be very careful to not run into such a situation again. If the [Plex data folder](https://support.plex.tv/articles/202915258-where-is-the-plex-media-server-data-directory-located/) runs out of space, it can lead to database corruption. The nasty thing about that is, that it doesn’t necessarily show immediately. You can end running for weeks, months, or even years with a damaged database. Which almost inevitably leads to data loss eventually if it remains undetected. So be on the lookout. Assign a lot more drive space than what it seems to require. Particularly during server upgrades, which is when there might be more space required for DB schema updates. Perform a DB health check from time to time. Keep an eye out for the DB backups. They appear beside the working copy of theDB file(s). If they don’t, or if they have a file date which is several weeks or older, do a repair and hope it can restore the DB. ---
**Author:** ![Gruzlor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/77aa72/32.png) [@Gruzlor](https://forums.plex.tv/u/Gruzlor)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2024, 11:06am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/100-cpu-plex-process-versus-low-cpu-use-in-plex-web-ui/878885/8 "2024-06-05T11:06:24Z")
Great piece of advice! I’ve more than doubled the partition, and I’ll definitely keep an eye on the DB. Thanks again! ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/plex/original/3X/2/a/2acb9765406f63293d357b4ec509ec39aa28f2ad.png) [@system](https://forums.plex.tv/u/system)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2024, 11:06am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/100-cpu-plex-process-versus-low-cpu-use-in-plex-web-ui/878885/9 "2024-09-03T11:06:54Z")
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