Windows and its programs run on hundreds of background services quietly running behind the scenes and keeping everything together. Unfortunately, however, these programs can sometimes cause problems too.
In this article, we’re looking at Adobe’s CEF helper service, what it does and what you can do if it starts causing problems.
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What is Adobe CEF Helper?
Adobe CEF Helper stands for Adobe Chromium Embedded Framework Helper and is a service used to render components used by the Creative Cloud programs. The service only runs when a Creative Cloud application is running and helps in rendering.
The service is a necessary process, primarily if you use multiple Creative Cloud operations. If you were to remove it, you’d run into rendering issues with menus and items inside Creative Cloud programs.
Is it malware?
Many malware operators disguise their malicious programs under process names from legitimate services. This can leave users confused about whether or not a background process is legitimate.
The CEF Helper a perfectly safe and legitimate service. Considering you’ve installed Adobe applications in the default location, you’ll find the executable for this service in either C\:\Program Files\Adobe Systems\Adobe Creative Cloud or C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Adobe.
If, however, the service you’re seeing resides in any other folder, unless you know it’s an Adobe related file (locations can change depending on where you install your programs), you should go ahead and scan your computer.
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Adobe CEF helper causing high memory or CPU usage
While generally, the application shouldn’t use too many system resources, in case it does, you can try out the following fixes.
Update your PC
The first thing you should do is to update your PC. Updating your PC will, in most cases, update your drivers and fix any issues in the process.
Check out this detailed guide to know how to update your PC here
Restart your PC
The age-old fix of rebooting your machine still applies here. There’s a chance that the CEF Helper process might be stuck doing something, and rebooting your computer can fix that.
Run an SFC scan
Corrupt files are the number one reason your PC might behave weirdly. Here’s how you can get rid of them and potentially resolve your issue.
Step 1: Press Windows Key + S to bring up the Cortana/Search box and search for Powershell. Open Windows Powershell from the search results.
Step 2: Type sfc /scannow to scan your system for issues.
Step 3: If the SFC scan finds any problems, use the following command to resolve them.
DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth
Restart your PC, and the process should run okay now.
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Temporarily disable your antivirus
This might sound counterintuitive, but invasive antivirus programs often scan every service running in the background, which can often cause a deadlock as the antivirus program can’t access the service because it’s running. Try disabling your antivirus to see if the CPU or memory load decreases.
Reinstall the Adobe Creative Cloud Suite
If you’re still experiencing problems with the CEF helper service, reinstalling the entire Creative Cloud suite from scratch can help fix problems. Reinstalling ensures any corrupt files that may be causing issues are replaced with updated versions, resolving the issue.
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