EvilRaat

Q: kernel_task high memory usage

Hi, since I upgraded from Lion to Mavericks yesterday, the kernel_task process has been running consistently with 4.7GB of RAM.  The OS is now constantly running at full usage of physical RAM and swapping more than 10GB to disc.

 

I have a MBP Early 2011 with 8GB RAM.

 

What is the kernel_task process and is there anyway of limiting its drain on my system.  As it is, my MBP is pretty much useless as it takes forever to even load a webpage, let alone run servers and IDE's which I need to do.

 

Hopefully I don't have to revert to my Lion backup, but without a solution to this I'm going to have to.

 

Hope someone has a pointer for me.

 

Thanks,

Paul

 

Screen Shot 2013-10-27 at 12.36.42.png

Screen Shot 2013-10-27 at 12.37.00.png

MacBook Pro (17-inch Early 2011), OS X Mavericks (10.9)

Posted on Oct 26, 2013 4:40 PM

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Q: kernel_task high memory usage

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  • by mountainhome,

    mountainhome mountainhome Sep 6, 2014 1:37 PM in response to reefa_tree
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 6, 2014 1:37 PM in response to reefa_tree

    USING BATCHMOD - I'm concerned about damaging permissions and clearing xattrs warning concerns me also... I've been having issues with a slow machine and tried removing HP printer .kext files and then removing any before 2013... No luck. My machines boots up slowly and applications hang up.

     

    Any suggestions or comments about using BATCHMOD are welcome.

  • by System9X,

    System9X System9X Sep 26, 2014 7:30 AM in response to EvilRaat
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 26, 2014 7:30 AM in response to EvilRaat

    I experienced a problem similar to this a few months back. My Virtual ram reached 200+GB, and my kernel_task was using 300% CPU. My iMac would beach ball just by trying to log in; that would last for a few minutes. then because the apple menu was gone and the status menu didn't work I would try to open system preferences, which would cause my Mac to beach ball until I restarted it. I managed to fix this problem by Go>Go to Folder (Shift-Command-G)> type /Library/Preferences

    Screen Shot 2014-09-26 at 9.25.08 AM.pngScreen Shot 2014-09-26 at 9.20.07 AM.png

    You will see a lot of .plist files.  and delete any that say Zero bytes (this means that the file is corrupted, by deleting it you remove the corrupted file which will automatically be replaced by one that is not corrupted) then restart your computer and reset the PRAM, then verify/ disk permissions.

     

    This was able to fix my problem, so I hope this helps.

  • by Leo Chen Taiwan,

    Leo Chen Taiwan Leo Chen Taiwan Dec 9, 2014 8:43 AM in response to System9X
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 9, 2014 8:43 AM in response to System9X

    Whenever I run some 3D related Plug-Ins for FCPX, I found my computer quickly run-out memory and then freezed.
    How come?

     

    PS: I have checked the usage of my computer's memory, I found the kernel_task has taken almost all memory.

    PS: I am using Yosemite now. I have no idea when this problem begins.

  • by n5571,

    n5571 n5571 Feb 7, 2015 12:32 PM in response to EvilRaat
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 7, 2015 12:32 PM in response to EvilRaat

    This solved my problem..

    Method 1:

    1. Go to About this mac under the apple in the upper left and click on More info

    2. Click on system report

    3. make a note of what it says after Model Identifier

    4. go to your master drive – System -Library – Extensions – IOPlatformPluginFamily.kext -Contents – Plugins – ACPI_SMC_PlatformPlugin.kext – Contents – Resources – find the name from step 3 and move it to a folder that you can find again if needed.

    4.1. Open Applications->Utilities->Terminal and type:

    cd /System/Library/Extensions/IOPlatformPluginFamily.kext/Contents/PlugIns/ACPI_SMC_PlatformPlugin.kext/Contents/Resources/ ls

    *Do you see your Mac Model Identifier listed? If not, move on to Method 2, if so then type the following if your model is Macbook Pro 1,2:

    sudo mv MacbookPro1_2.plist ~

    5. Restart and you’re done

  • by Keni CL,

    Keni CL Keni CL Feb 15, 2015 4:53 PM in response to n5571
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 15, 2015 4:53 PM in response to n5571

    Where's the method 2 please? my mac isn't in the list

  • by danielfernandezlugea,

    danielfernandezlugea danielfernandezlugea Mar 9, 2015 5:38 AM in response to n5571
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 9, 2015 5:38 AM in response to n5571

    Please, what's method number 2 ????!!!  Thank you

  • by r.euben,

    r.euben r.euben Mar 12, 2015 6:12 PM in response to danielfernandezlugea
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 12, 2015 6:12 PM in response to danielfernandezlugea

    1. In Finder use Command + Shift + G: and enter /System/Library/Extensions/IOPlatformPluginFamily.kext/Contents/PlugIns/ACPI_SMC _PlatformPlugin.kext/Contents/Resources

     

    2. Create folder on your desktop called 'Resources backup' or similar (does not matter) and move (not copy, but move) the files from the previous folder to this new one

     

    3. Restart your Mac holding Cmd + Alt + P + R, only release those keys after you hear the startup sound for the second time

     

    4. You should be fine after that, my Mac's back okay and I tried all the previous methods.

     

     

    Credits go to some guy on YouTube and me for the NVRAM thing (which may have helped too)

  • by Alessio Ferrara,

    Alessio Ferrara Alessio Ferrara Mar 13, 2015 4:14 AM in response to EvilRaat
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 13, 2015 4:14 AM in response to EvilRaat

    Hi everybody,

    I have same problem on both imacs i use (iMac9,1 and iMac10,1). Both updated from Maveriks to Yosemite some months ago and since last 2 weeks kernel_task "eat" to much RAM.

    I tried to solve with all kind of resets, move files from ACPI_SMC _PlatformPlugin.kext, hardware test, reinstall and restore from time machine and finaly also with a complete clean reinstall (without TM restore!). But kernel_task run with too much RAM usage.

    I feel frustrated and I seem to be back like Windows users!

    So, i think problem could be associated to some software upgrade (DropBox? Skype? Osx update? don't know). Anyone knows if there are usefull debugs system log for kernel_task usage?

    Thank you!

  • by danielfernandezlugea,

    danielfernandezlugea danielfernandezlugea Mar 13, 2015 5:04 AM in response to r.euben
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 13, 2015 5:04 AM in response to r.euben

    Thank you very much for your response.

    Do you know the Mountain Lion version for this trick? I cannot use Maveriks because it doesn't work with some essential software I use. I saw this method in another thread: 

     

    1. Go to About this mac under the apple in the upper left and click on More info

    2. Click on system report

    3. make a note of what it says after Model Identifier

    4. go to your master drive – System -Library – Extensions – IOPlatformPluginFamily.kext -Contents – Plugins – ACPI_SMC_PlatformPlugin.kext – Contents – Resources – find the name from step 3 and move it to a folder that you can find again if needed.

    3. Restart and you’re done


    But my MacBookPro 9,2 is not listed in the stated folder (System -Library – Extensions – IOPlatformPluginFamily.kext -Contents – Plugins – ACPI_SMC_PlatformPlugin.kext – Contents – Resources )

     

    Thank you very much!

  • by Alessio Ferrara,

    Alessio Ferrara Alessio Ferrara Mar 13, 2015 6:11 AM in response to danielfernandezlugea
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 13, 2015 6:11 AM in response to danielfernandezlugea

    Already tried danielfernandezlugea without appreciable results!

  • by BobHarris,

    BobHarris BobHarris Mar 13, 2015 6:25 AM in response to Alessio Ferrara
    Level 6 (19,479 points)
    Mac OS X
    Mar 13, 2015 6:25 AM in response to Alessio Ferrara

    The kernel task is generally only affected by 3rd party kernel extensions, such as unneeded anti-malware products and other hacks that try to hook directly into the kernel.

     

    You should really start you own "New" post, and describe your problem so answers are not mixed, as it is rare that a similar symptom has the same cause.

     

    Also a "New"  post is more likely to get more people looking at it, than one that is 6+ pages long and annoying to find the last post, and annoying to figure out which replies go with which conversation happening the the same room.

     

    If you decide to create a new post, I suggest you include the EtreCheck output

    <https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-6174>

  • by Franco428,

    Franco428 Franco428 Mar 17, 2015 9:30 PM in response to BobHarris
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 17, 2015 9:30 PM in response to BobHarris

    I'll tell you what solved the problem for me, and I didn't have to do anything thing with the system files at all.  Turns out my computer was running `hot.  I found out using the program istat pro that my fan was at 0rpms, meaning it wasn't running at all.  My CPU temp was running in the 80's-high 90's and my HD temp was elevated as well. I ended up taking the bottom cover off my mac and found out my fan was stuck.  I manually manipulated it until it unstuck and put the case back on.  When I booted up my computer, I put my ear close to the vent and could hear the fan running. I checked the istat program again, and my fan was running at about 1900rpms and my HD and CPU temp were much lower.  I even used a spare UBS powered cooling pad I had laying around to bring the temp even lower, and now my mac runs smooth as butter.  When I was googling I found out that high temps cause activity on mac activity to slow down as a protective measure to keep it from overheating.  I hope this works for you all.

  • by Alessio Ferrara,

    Alessio Ferrara Alessio Ferrara Mar 18, 2015 2:06 AM in response to Franco428
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 18, 2015 2:06 AM in response to Franco428

    Thank you Franco428 for your suggestion, but not help me because all funs works right!

    I suppose was a third part software update / malware... it seems solved since last few days. How?

    1. EtreCheck find a Malware

    2. Some users here suggest me AdwareMedic for a quit clean... reboot

    3. IceClean: Cleanup-> Deep System Cleanup -> Remove all files and after Maintenance -> All Tasks and reboot

     

    Kernel_task use less RAM and loading wheel appears less often. That's it...

  • by Franco428,

    Franco428 Franco428 Apr 5, 2015 10:20 PM in response to Alessio Ferrara
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apr 5, 2015 10:20 PM in response to Alessio Ferrara

    Can you tell what the temp of you CPU and hard drive are?

  • by outtacontext,

    outtacontext outtacontext Apr 8, 2015 3:39 PM in response to EvilRaat
    Level 1 (14 points)
    Mac OS X
    Apr 8, 2015 3:39 PM in response to EvilRaat

    Yes, a simple reboot will TEMORARILY solve the problem but it will happen again. I'm having this problem and it seems to have to do with Firefox and/or one of the plugins or extensions. If I keep my computer on overnight when I come back to it in the morning many of the apps have been paused because they ran out of memory. My kernal_task is up to 9GB (I have 16GB total). If I force quit Firefox then the kernal_task goes back to a normal 1GB or so.

     

    So, now I'm trying to figure out why, all of a sudden this is happening. I am on Mavericks 10.9.5. Now I did add an external drive, daisy-chained with Firewire 800 recently.

     

    If I quite Firefox at night, I have no problems in the morning.

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