Finder Using Nearly 100% CPU

I'm having a problem where the Finder uses WAY too much CPU time. It's using up to 100% of one of my cores.

I'm running 10.6.2 on a MacBook Pro w/ 6GB of RAM, plenty of fast (SSD) disk space. I also run DropBox and BackBlaze.

I've tried disabling my third party stuff (DropBox and BackBlaze), but that doesn't seem to help. It's killing my battery life!

Solution 1:

I think I found my problem—one or more of the files on my desktop.

After moving the various clutter off my desktop, the Finder stopped using so much CPU.

I suspect that it was either calculating folder sizes (as Benjamin Schollnick mentioned) or maybe trying to create an icon preview.

Solution 2:

Check Finder --> View --> View Options

If you are viewing a folder, especially one that has subfolders, and you have Calculate Folder Size turned on, the finder will have to go through and "size" all the folders...

I noticed that my Mac Pro will take about a minute or two minutes of nearly 100% usage when I initially turn that on, or if I start viewing the disk from the root.

Try turning that off and see if that resolves your issue... It's a work around, but it'll help isolate the issue.