DisplayFusion RSS: High CPU usage when changing wallpaper https://www.displayfusion.com/Discussions/RSS/?TopicID=7f86c65f-edcd-4fcf-ae7c-dfdc7075154f DisplayFusion RSS: High CPU usage when changing wallpaper Sun, 19 Apr 2026 15:03:13 GMT en hourly 1 https://www.displayfusion.com/Discussions/RSS/?TopicID=7f86c65f-edcd-4fcf-ae7c-dfdc7075154f RE: High CPU usage when changing wallpaper https://www.displayfusion.com/Discussions/View/high-cpu-usage-when-changing-wallpaper/?ID=7f86c65f-edcd-4fcf-ae7c-dfdc7075154f#31 Fri, 28 Feb 2020 17:21:33 GMT Binary Fortress Software https://www.displayfusion.com/Discussions/View/high-cpu-usage-when-changing-wallpaper/?ID=7f86c65f-edcd-4fcf-ae7c-dfdc7075154f#31 DisplayFusion Note: I'm seeing the same thing as the original poster: windows freezing when wallpaper changed. When I went to disable the accent color, I clicked on the accent color I wanted and saw the exact same behavior. I turned it off and pushed up my timer to every minute to test the affect this had.

been going for many minutes now with absolutely no issues.

Thanks! ]]> RE: High CPU usage when changing wallpaper https://www.displayfusion.com/Discussions/View/high-cpu-usage-when-changing-wallpaper/?ID=7f86c65f-edcd-4fcf-ae7c-dfdc7075154f#30 Mon, 24 Feb 2020 18:27:35 GMT Binary Fortress Software https://www.displayfusion.com/Discussions/View/high-cpu-usage-when-changing-wallpaper/?ID=7f86c65f-edcd-4fcf-ae7c-dfdc7075154f#30 DisplayFusion Yeah, it's a Windows thing for sure, I think DF just exaggerates the impact because the hooks get flooded with messages every time Windows changes the accent colour. I think it's because each window is refreshing every time the colour changes :( ]]> RE: High CPU usage when changing wallpaper https://www.displayfusion.com/Discussions/View/high-cpu-usage-when-changing-wallpaper/?ID=7f86c65f-edcd-4fcf-ae7c-dfdc7075154f#29 Sat, 22 Feb 2020 13:03:59 GMT Binary Fortress Software https://www.displayfusion.com/Discussions/View/high-cpu-usage-when-changing-wallpaper/?ID=7f86c65f-edcd-4fcf-ae7c-dfdc7075154f#29 DisplayFusion I disabled that a long time ago, because it always gives stutters, even when not using DF, so I guess it's a Windows thing... ]]> RE: High CPU usage when changing wallpaper https://www.displayfusion.com/Discussions/View/high-cpu-usage-when-changing-wallpaper/?ID=7f86c65f-edcd-4fcf-ae7c-dfdc7075154f#28 Fri, 21 Feb 2020 23:01:00 GMT Binary Fortress Software https://www.displayfusion.com/Discussions/View/high-cpu-usage-when-changing-wallpaper/?ID=7f86c65f-edcd-4fcf-ae7c-dfdc7075154f#28 DisplayFusion Aaaaannndddd there it is... No stuttering with that disabled. :)

Just curious... Is this a Windows thing that can't be fixed or something that might be able to be worked on in a future version of DF? It's nice to have the accent colors automatically match up with all of the beautiful wallpaper. :) ]]> RE: High CPU usage when changing wallpaper https://www.displayfusion.com/Discussions/View/high-cpu-usage-when-changing-wallpaper/?ID=7f86c65f-edcd-4fcf-ae7c-dfdc7075154f#27 Fri, 21 Feb 2020 22:52:03 GMT Binary Fortress Software https://www.displayfusion.com/Discussions/View/high-cpu-usage-when-changing-wallpaper/?ID=7f86c65f-edcd-4fcf-ae7c-dfdc7075154f#27 DisplayFusion
Quote:
Thanks Shawn! There's definitely something weird going on there, but the log doesn't give me enough info.

I know you don't have the Aero Colour Mode option enabled in the DisplayFusion Settings because I can see it in the troubleshooting info, but can you check the Windows settings as well? In the Windows Settings > Personalization > Colours tab, is "Automatically pick an accent colour" enabled?


It's enabled. I assume I should try with it disabled? ]]> RE: High CPU usage when changing wallpaper https://www.displayfusion.com/Discussions/View/high-cpu-usage-when-changing-wallpaper/?ID=7f86c65f-edcd-4fcf-ae7c-dfdc7075154f#26 Fri, 21 Feb 2020 20:06:35 GMT Binary Fortress Software https://www.displayfusion.com/Discussions/View/high-cpu-usage-when-changing-wallpaper/?ID=7f86c65f-edcd-4fcf-ae7c-dfdc7075154f#26 DisplayFusion Thanks Shawn! There's definitely something weird going on there, but the log doesn't give me enough info.

I know you don't have the Aero Colour Mode option enabled in the DisplayFusion Settings because I can see it in the troubleshooting info, but can you check the Windows settings as well? In the Windows Settings > Personalization > Colours tab, is "Automatically pick an accent colour" enabled? ]]> RE: High CPU usage when changing wallpaper https://www.displayfusion.com/Discussions/View/high-cpu-usage-when-changing-wallpaper/?ID=7f86c65f-edcd-4fcf-ae7c-dfdc7075154f#25 Thu, 20 Feb 2020 22:48:40 GMT Binary Fortress Software https://www.displayfusion.com/Discussions/View/high-cpu-usage-when-changing-wallpaper/?ID=7f86c65f-edcd-4fcf-ae7c-dfdc7075154f#25 DisplayFusion Done. See attached. Timestamp should be a bit after 4:45pm US Central time. Thanks! ]]> RE: High CPU usage when changing wallpaper https://www.displayfusion.com/Discussions/View/high-cpu-usage-when-changing-wallpaper/?ID=7f86c65f-edcd-4fcf-ae7c-dfdc7075154f#24 Thu, 20 Feb 2020 19:47:03 GMT Binary Fortress Software https://www.displayfusion.com/Discussions/View/high-cpu-usage-when-changing-wallpaper/?ID=7f86c65f-edcd-4fcf-ae7c-dfdc7075154f#24 DisplayFusion Thanks for the video, Shawn, that's super weird! It looks like windows are repainting a bunch of times in a row, which is super weird. Could you send me a full debug log for this?

  • On the DisplayFusion Settings > Troubleshooting tab, change the Logging drop-down to "L1: Log Minimal" and click Apply
  • Reproduce the issue and note the time so we'll know where to check in the log file
  • Click the "Export Info to File" button on the Settings > Troubleshooting tab
  • Reply with the file attached
  • Disable debug logging after sending the log

Thanks! ]]> RE: High CPU usage when changing wallpaper https://www.displayfusion.com/Discussions/View/high-cpu-usage-when-changing-wallpaper/?ID=7f86c65f-edcd-4fcf-ae7c-dfdc7075154f#23 Wed, 19 Feb 2020 20:14:16 GMT Binary Fortress Software https://www.displayfusion.com/Discussions/View/high-cpu-usage-when-changing-wallpaper/?ID=7f86c65f-edcd-4fcf-ae7c-dfdc7075154f#23 DisplayFusion Ok, so I'm still finding I get major slowdowns when the wallpaper change happens even with the "Process the wallpaper images internally" setting enabled. See what I see here:

https://youtu.be/UhN4L7pcPXk

Freeze/slowdown hits at about the 7s mark and lasts until about the 12s mark. I moved the calculator app window around to make it more obvious. You can see perf monitor in the background, and nothing is crazy out of whack. CPU seems to only spike to about 60%, no major spikes in disk or GPU. Not sure what else it could be :( ]]> RE: High CPU usage when changing wallpaper https://www.displayfusion.com/Discussions/View/high-cpu-usage-when-changing-wallpaper/?ID=7f86c65f-edcd-4fcf-ae7c-dfdc7075154f#22 Tue, 11 Feb 2020 16:58:13 GMT Binary Fortress Software https://www.displayfusion.com/Discussions/View/high-cpu-usage-when-changing-wallpaper/?ID=7f86c65f-edcd-4fcf-ae7c-dfdc7075154f#22 DisplayFusion Just saw this update. Will enable that setting and see how it goes! Thanks! ]]> RE: High CPU usage when changing wallpaper https://www.displayfusion.com/Discussions/View/high-cpu-usage-when-changing-wallpaper/?ID=7f86c65f-edcd-4fcf-ae7c-dfdc7075154f#21 Tue, 11 Feb 2020 14:12:52 GMT Binary Fortress Software https://www.displayfusion.com/Discussions/View/high-cpu-usage-when-changing-wallpaper/?ID=7f86c65f-edcd-4fcf-ae7c-dfdc7075154f#21 DisplayFusion Excellent, glad to hear it! ]]> RE: High CPU usage when changing wallpaper https://www.displayfusion.com/Discussions/View/high-cpu-usage-when-changing-wallpaper/?ID=7f86c65f-edcd-4fcf-ae7c-dfdc7075154f#20 Sun, 09 Feb 2020 22:32:42 GMT Binary Fortress Software https://www.displayfusion.com/Discussions/View/high-cpu-usage-when-changing-wallpaper/?ID=7f86c65f-edcd-4fcf-ae7c-dfdc7075154f#20 DisplayFusion So far so good! Haven't seen any freezes since changing that setting! ]]> RE: High CPU usage when changing wallpaper https://www.displayfusion.com/Discussions/View/high-cpu-usage-when-changing-wallpaper/?ID=7f86c65f-edcd-4fcf-ae7c-dfdc7075154f#19 Fri, 07 Feb 2020 22:53:28 GMT Binary Fortress Software https://www.displayfusion.com/Discussions/View/high-cpu-usage-when-changing-wallpaper/?ID=7f86c65f-edcd-4fcf-ae7c-dfdc7075154f#19 DisplayFusion Done, will observe... ]]> RE: High CPU usage when changing wallpaper https://www.displayfusion.com/Discussions/View/high-cpu-usage-when-changing-wallpaper/?ID=7f86c65f-edcd-4fcf-ae7c-dfdc7075154f#18 Fri, 07 Feb 2020 19:48:59 GMT Binary Fortress Software https://www.displayfusion.com/Discussions/View/high-cpu-usage-when-changing-wallpaper/?ID=7f86c65f-edcd-4fcf-ae7c-dfdc7075154f#18 DisplayFusion Thanks guys! Could you try enabling the "Wallpaper: Use Internal Wallpaper Processing" option in the Advanced Settings as well? You'll need to restart DisplayFusion after enabling that. ]]> RE: High CPU usage when changing wallpaper https://www.displayfusion.com/Discussions/View/high-cpu-usage-when-changing-wallpaper/?ID=7f86c65f-edcd-4fcf-ae7c-dfdc7075154f#17 Fri, 07 Feb 2020 16:24:13 GMT Binary Fortress Software https://www.displayfusion.com/Discussions/View/high-cpu-usage-when-changing-wallpaper/?ID=7f86c65f-edcd-4fcf-ae7c-dfdc7075154f#17 DisplayFusion As agreed, here's mine as well!... ]]> RE: High CPU usage when changing wallpaper https://www.displayfusion.com/Discussions/View/high-cpu-usage-when-changing-wallpaper/?ID=7f86c65f-edcd-4fcf-ae7c-dfdc7075154f#16 Thu, 06 Feb 2020 21:22:34 GMT Binary Fortress Software https://www.displayfusion.com/Discussions/View/high-cpu-usage-when-changing-wallpaper/?ID=7f86c65f-edcd-4fcf-ae7c-dfdc7075154f#16 DisplayFusion I'm on my Macbook ATM, will do this tomorrow when I am behind my PC again... ]]> RE: High CPU usage when changing wallpaper https://www.displayfusion.com/Discussions/View/high-cpu-usage-when-changing-wallpaper/?ID=7f86c65f-edcd-4fcf-ae7c-dfdc7075154f#15 Thu, 06 Feb 2020 21:19:02 GMT Binary Fortress Software https://www.displayfusion.com/Discussions/View/high-cpu-usage-when-changing-wallpaper/?ID=7f86c65f-edcd-4fcf-ae7c-dfdc7075154f#15 DisplayFusion Done. Mine's a desktop as well. i7-8700k, 32gb DDR4, GF1080 GPU, 512gb Samsung 970 Pro SSD. ]]> RE: High CPU usage when changing wallpaper https://www.displayfusion.com/Discussions/View/high-cpu-usage-when-changing-wallpaper/?ID=7f86c65f-edcd-4fcf-ae7c-dfdc7075154f#14 Thu, 06 Feb 2020 16:45:56 GMT Binary Fortress Software https://www.displayfusion.com/Discussions/View/high-cpu-usage-when-changing-wallpaper/?ID=7f86c65f-edcd-4fcf-ae7c-dfdc7075154f#14 DisplayFusion @Fear na Boinne and Shawn: Could you send me a copy of your troubleshooting info? Here are the steps:

  • Open the Settings > Troubleshooting tab
  • Click the "Export Info to File" button
  • Reply with the file attached
]]> RE: High CPU usage when changing wallpaper https://www.displayfusion.com/Discussions/View/high-cpu-usage-when-changing-wallpaper/?ID=7f86c65f-edcd-4fcf-ae7c-dfdc7075154f#13 Wed, 05 Feb 2020 20:09:45 GMT Binary Fortress Software https://www.displayfusion.com/Discussions/View/high-cpu-usage-when-changing-wallpaper/?ID=7f86c65f-edcd-4fcf-ae7c-dfdc7075154f#13 DisplayFusion Desktop gaming PC, i5-4670k, 32GB RAM, GTX1070Ti, 2x SSD, Windows 10, DF Pro via Steam. ]]> RE: High CPU usage when changing wallpaper https://www.displayfusion.com/Discussions/View/high-cpu-usage-when-changing-wallpaper/?ID=7f86c65f-edcd-4fcf-ae7c-dfdc7075154f#12 Wed, 05 Feb 2020 19:53:04 GMT Binary Fortress Software https://www.displayfusion.com/Discussions/View/high-cpu-usage-when-changing-wallpaper/?ID=7f86c65f-edcd-4fcf-ae7c-dfdc7075154f#12 DisplayFusion Quick question, are you guys using laptops or desktop PCs? ]]> RE: High CPU usage when changing wallpaper https://www.displayfusion.com/Discussions/View/high-cpu-usage-when-changing-wallpaper/?ID=7f86c65f-edcd-4fcf-ae7c-dfdc7075154f#11 Wed, 05 Feb 2020 07:27:19 GMT Binary Fortress Software https://www.displayfusion.com/Discussions/View/high-cpu-usage-when-changing-wallpaper/?ID=7f86c65f-edcd-4fcf-ae7c-dfdc7075154f#11 DisplayFusion Mine's still doing it! Perhaps people on newer CPUs with many more cores will have less of an impact, but my i5-4670K is definitely hanging up for a few seconds everytime the wallpaper changes! ]]> RE: High CPU usage when changing wallpaper https://www.displayfusion.com/Discussions/View/high-cpu-usage-when-changing-wallpaper/?ID=7f86c65f-edcd-4fcf-ae7c-dfdc7075154f#10 Tue, 04 Feb 2020 23:25:19 GMT Binary Fortress Software https://www.displayfusion.com/Discussions/View/high-cpu-usage-when-changing-wallpaper/?ID=7f86c65f-edcd-4fcf-ae7c-dfdc7075154f#10 DisplayFusion @LGotkin, did you ever see this resolved? I'm seeing the same behavior you mentioned. When the wallpaper changes, my machine nearly locks for 3-5 seconds & some elements flicker. I've mostly negated the impact by just setting the wallpaper to change only once per day, but it's jarring when that happens in the middle of something. ]]> RE: High CPU usage when changing wallpaper https://www.displayfusion.com/Discussions/View/high-cpu-usage-when-changing-wallpaper/?ID=7f86c65f-edcd-4fcf-ae7c-dfdc7075154f#9 Thu, 26 Sep 2019 14:35:07 GMT Binary Fortress Software https://www.displayfusion.com/Discussions/View/high-cpu-usage-when-changing-wallpaper/?ID=7f86c65f-edcd-4fcf-ae7c-dfdc7075154f#9 DisplayFusion I was seeing the same, and following your guidelines only made it slow, but did not change the behavior.
Then I spotted in the main DF Options screen the "Aero color settings (Windows 7 and higher)" section... I changed that from "Change the Aero color based on the current wallpaper image" to "Don't change the Aero color", and it seems the issue has gone away, including the weird flickering in some topmost Windows applications! ]]> RE: High CPU usage when changing wallpaper https://www.displayfusion.com/Discussions/View/high-cpu-usage-when-changing-wallpaper/?ID=7f86c65f-edcd-4fcf-ae7c-dfdc7075154f#8 Thu, 25 Jul 2019 01:46:04 GMT Binary Fortress Software https://www.displayfusion.com/Discussions/View/high-cpu-usage-when-changing-wallpaper/?ID=7f86c65f-edcd-4fcf-ae7c-dfdc7075154f#8 DisplayFusion Ok, thanks! Just wanted to double-check that your symptoms were the same as his. Could you try a few things for me?

  • In the Desktop Wallpaper Configuration window, click Wallpaper Settings and disable the "Use transitions" when changing option
  • In the Windows Settings > Personalization > Colours tab, is "Automatically pick an accent colour" enabled? If so, disable it.
  • In the DisplayFusion Advanced Settings window, enable the "Run as a Low Priority Process" option and restart DisplayFusion.
]]> RE: High CPU usage when changing wallpaper https://www.displayfusion.com/Discussions/View/high-cpu-usage-when-changing-wallpaper/?ID=7f86c65f-edcd-4fcf-ae7c-dfdc7075154f#7 Wed, 24 Jul 2019 19:44:02 GMT Binary Fortress Software https://www.displayfusion.com/Discussions/View/high-cpu-usage-when-changing-wallpaper/?ID=7f86c65f-edcd-4fcf-ae7c-dfdc7075154f#7 DisplayFusion As the originator of this problem wrote, there are cases where this severely impacts the operation of the computer. The machine is basically disrupted/locked up for several seconds.
In my experiences, two things happen. In some cases, the active window display starts flickering. I've seen this a lot in applications like Notepad++, Microsoft Word and Microsoft Access. It's just the active window that starts flickering. Other open windows are not effected. In other cases, where I'm typing text into an application (Word), the characters I'm typing do not appear on the screen for approx 5 seconds and then all appear at once. It's like the window display is locked up and after DisplayFusion is done doing it's thing, all the buffered characters I've typed appear at once.
Now this problem seems also to be related to how long my computer has been running. I run my main computer 24x7 and, at first, this problem is not seen. After about 2 days of operation, the effect becomes more noticeable. After about 4-5 days, the disruption is severe enough that I'm forced to restart the computer. So as the original poster said, 'workflow' is impacted. ]]>