Q: MacBook Pro System CPU Spikes When Unplugged
Upgraded to Mavericks a few days ago and,whenever I unplug my MacBook Pro 13" (Early 2011 - 2.3GHz Intel Core i5 - 16GB RAM 1333MHz) and run just on the battery, my system CPU usage goes through the roof which results in my Mac running/responding very slowly and buggy.
However, looking at the iStat widget on my dashboard, it's reporting that my CPU isn't running hot nor does my MacBook Pro feel hot at all. It's also showing that I still have 10GB of RAM free.
As expected, once my magsafe is reattached to my laptop and plugged back in, the system CPU returns to a normal level. In Activity Monitor, it shows kernel_task as being the culprit.
I queried the log as suggested by Linc and TextEdit had something for me:
Dec 10 15:51:31 My-MBP kernel[0] <Debug>: Process Setup Assistant [307] disabling system-wide I/O Throttling
Anyone have any idea what this could be? Seems like it should be a simple software config but I just don't know.
Additionally, I also ran EtreCheck. These are the results when it's running unplugged:
Hardware Information: MacBook Pro (13-inch, Early 2011) MacBook Pro - model: MacBookPro8,1 1 2.3 GHz Intel Core i5 CPU: 2 cores 16 GB RAM Video Information: Intel HD Graphics 3000 - VRAM: 512 MB Audio Plug-ins: BluetoothAudioPlugIn: Version: 1.0 - SDK 10.9 AirPlay: Version: 1.9 - SDK 10.9 AppleAVBAudio: Version: 2.0.0 - SDK 10.9 iSightAudio: Version: 7.7.3 - SDK 10.9 System Software: OS X 10.9 (13A603) - Uptime: 1 day 18:10:35 Disk Information: M4-CT128M4SSD2 disk0 : (128.04 GB) EFI (disk0s1) <not mounted>: 209.7 MB SSD Macbook Pro (disk0s2) /: 127.18 GB (68.53 GB free) Recovery HD (disk0s3) <not mounted>: 650 MB MATSHITADVD-R UJ-898 USB Information: Apple Inc. FaceTime HD Camera (Built-in) Apple Inc. Apple Internal Keyboard / Trackpad Apple Inc. BRCM2070 Hub Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller Apple Computer, Inc. IR Receiver FireWire Information: Thunderbolt Information: Apple Inc. thunderbolt_bus Kernel Extensions: Problem System Launch Daemons: Problem System Launch Agents: Launch Daemons: [loaded] com.adobe.fpsaud.plist [loaded] com.adobe.SwitchBoard.plist [loaded] com.barebones.authd.plist [loaded] com.github.GitHub.GHInstallCLI.plist [loaded] com.google.keystone.daemon.plist [loaded] com.microsoft.office.licensing.helper.plist [loaded] com.oracle.java.Helper-Tool.plist [loaded] org.macosforge.xquartz.privileged_startx.plist Launch Agents: [not loaded] com.adobe.AAM.Updater-1.0.plist [loaded] com.adobe.CS5ServiceManager.plist [failed] com.extensis.FMCore.plist [loaded] com.google.keystone.agent.plist [loaded] com.hp.messagecenter.launcher.plist [loaded] com.Logitech.Control Center.Daemon.plist [loaded] com.oracle.java.Java-Updater.plist [loaded] com.wacom.pentablet.plist [loaded] org.macosforge.xquartz.startx.plist User Launch Agents: [loaded] com.adobe.AAM.Updater-1.0.plist [loaded] com.adobe.ARM.[...].plist [failed] com.apple.CSConfigDotMacCert-[redacted]@me.com-SharedServices.Agent.plist [loaded] com.codecm.uploader.plist [loaded] com.facebook.videochat.[redacted].plist [loaded] com.spotify.webhelper.plist [loaded] de.municode.Ephemera.plist User Login Items: ShiftIt 3rd Party Preference Panes: Air Display Preferences PenTablet DivX Flash Player Flip4Mac WMV Growl Java Logitech Control Center Perian Internet Plug-ins:: OfficeLiveBrowserPlugin: Version: 12.2.0 AdobePDFViewerNPAPI: Version: 10.1.8 Flash Player: Version: 11.9.900.170 - SDK 10.6 AdobePDFViewer: Version: 10.1.8 googletalkbrowserplugin: Version: 4.9.1.16010 AdobeExManDetect: Version: AdobeExManDetect 1.1.0.0 - SDK 10.7 iPhotoPhotocast: Version: 7.0 - SDK 10.7 QuickTime Plugin: Version: 7.7.3 FlashPlayer-10.6: Version: 11.9.900.170 - SDK 10.6 AdobeAAMDetect: Version: AdobeAAMDetect 1.0.0.0 - SDK 10.6 WidevineMediaTransformer: Version: (null) npgtpo3dautoplugin: Version: 0.1.44.29 - SDK 10.5 DivXBrowserPlugin: Version: 2.2 OVSHelper: Version: 1.1 Silverlight: Version: 5.1.10411.0 - SDK 10.6 Default Browser: Version: 537 - SDK 10.9 Flip4Mac WMV Plugin: Version: 2.4.2.4 o1dbrowserplugin: Version: 4.9.1.16010 SharePointBrowserPlugin: Version: 14.1.0 WacomTabletPlugin: Version: WacomTabletPlugin 2.0.0.4 JavaAppletPlugin: Version: Java 7 Update 11 Outdated! Update WacomNetscape: Version: 1.1.1-1 User Internet Plug-ins:: WebEx64: Version: 1.0 - SDK 10.5 SlingPlayer: Version: (null) Bad Fonts: None Old applications: Cisco WebEx Meeting Center: Version: 11.24.32.0 - SDK 10.5 /Users/USERNAME/Library/Application Support/WebEx Folder/1224/Meeting Center.app Edge: Version: 0.10.0 - SDK 10.5 /Applications/Adobe Edge Preview/Edge.app FacebookVideoCalling: Version: 1.2.0.157 - SDK 10.5 /Users/USERNAME/Library/Application Support/Facebook/video/1.2.0.158/FacebookVideoCalling.app Microsoft AutoUpdate: Version: 2.3.3 - SDK 10.4 /Library/Application Support/Microsoft/MAU2.0/Microsoft AutoUpdate.app SLLauncher: Version: 1.0 - SDK 10.5 /Library/Application Support/Microsoft/Silverlight/OutOfBrowser/SLLauncher.app Transmit: Version: 4.2 - SDK 10.5 /Applications/Transmit.app VLC: Version: 2.0.1 - SDK 10.5 /Applications/VLC.app WhatSize: Version: 5.2.1 - SDK 10.5 /Applications/WhatSize.app asannotation2: Version: 8.25.31.0 - SDK 10.5 /Users/USERNAME/Library/Application Support/WebEx Folder/1224/asannotation2.app atmsupload: Version: 4.14.29.0 - SDK 10.5 /Users/USERNAME/Library/Application Support/WebEx Folder/1224/atmsupload.app convertpdf: Version: 1.2 - SDK 10.5 /Users/USERNAME/Library/Application Support/WebEx Folder/1224/convertpdf.app dynamiclinkmanager: Version: 6.0.0 - SDK 10.5 /Library/Application Support/Adobe/Common/dynamiclink/CS6/dynamiclinkmanager.app dynamiclinkmediaserver: Version: 6.0.1 - SDK 10.5 /Library/Application Support/Adobe/Common/dynamiclinkmediaserver/1.0/dynamiclinkmediaserver.app Time Machine: Time Machine not configured! Top Processes by CPU: 8% mds 7% WindowServer 5% Dock 3% EtreCheck 1% Google Chrome Top Processes by Memory: 180 MB Google Chrome 164 MB mds_stores 131 MB softwareupdated 115 MB Dock 82 MB installd Virtual Memory Statistics: 10.52 GB Free RAM 2.94 GB Active RAM 752 MB Inactive RAM 1.81 GB Wired RAM 4.31 GB Page-ins 0 B Page-outs
Does anyone have any ideas on why this is happening or are experiencing anything similar? I can't for the life of me figure out if it's a Mavericks issue or if it's a hardware issue. Any advice would be much appreciated! Thanks!
MacBook Pro, OS X Mavericks (10.9), 13" Early 2011 i5 16GB RAM 1333MHz
Posted on Dec 17, 2013 12:51 AM
You're not going to believe this but I just now found a working solution!!!
Thanks to the talents of a man named, Rhys Oxenhams, and his flawless tutorial, eveything's running normally now!
BEFORE READING ON...make sure you backup all of you data! I take no responsibility for anything bad that happens to your machine. I'm providing this information because it worked for me. There's no guarantee it will work on your system. TAKE ALL NECESSARY PRECAUTIONS BEFORE READING ON and BACKUP YOUR DATA IMMEDIATELY.
Here's what you need to do:
1. In the Finder menu bar, click on Go and select Computer.
2. In the window that comes up, double-click your computer's HD. For me, it's Macintosh HD.
3. From there, click on System > Library > Extensions.
4. Now look for a file called IOPlatformPluginFamily.kext.
5. Right-click on IOPlatformPluginFamily.kext and choose Show Package Contents.
6. In that new window that comes up, click on Contents > Plugins and locate ACPI_SMC_PlatformPlugin.kext.
7. Just like in step 5, right-click on ACPI_SMC_PlatformPlugin.kext and choose Show Package Contents.
8. Just like in step 6, in that new window that comes up, click on Contents > Resources and locate your Model Identifer.
• In case you don't know what your Model ID is, click on the in the top left of the screen and choose About This Mac
• In the window that comes up, click on More Info...
• In the next window that comes up, click on System Report
• In the very first screen, towards the top, locate the entry Model Identifier
- Write this info down on a piece of paper. You will need it. In my case, I wrote down MacBookPro8,1
9. Back in the Resources folder, locate the .plist file that has your model identifier. In my case, it was MacBookPro8,1.plist
10. You're not going to delete that file but instead move it to a differnt folder inside your home folder--doesn't matter which folder, just put it somewhere inside your home folder.
11. Restart your machine and you are good to go!
Let me know how it turns out for you. REMINDER: Backup your data before doing this!
Posted on Dec 17, 2013 7:09 PM