sea-haze

Q: Why is mavericks listed memory usage exceeding the total for all processes used?

Hello,

 

My macbook pro (OS X 10.9.5) has been running very slow, often taking a half a minute to load icons in finder, or open a new finder window etc., with the rainbow wheel appearing whenever I attempt very basic tasks.  I have followed several of the tips provided on the apple support community (apart from installing more RAM) but have been unable to solve this issue.  (It seems that 4GB of RAM should be sufficient for executing basic tasks and running 3 or 4 standard programs simultaneously, and indeed, it used to be.)

 

I am wondering if the following observation provides any clues; when I open a few programs at once (e.g. currently I have Safari with 4 tabs, two modestly sized MS excel files 200-1000 KB each), Activity Monitor  and 6 Finder windows) I appear to already be reaching close to my maximum RAM according to the "Memory used" in the Activity Monitor. Currently it says I am using 3.97 GB out of Physical Memory 4.00 GB (Virtual Memory reads 5.23 GB and app memory reads 2.31 GB).  I am not sure if the memory being used by individual processes should add up to the total Memory Used listed at the bottom, but in my case it does not.  I copied the list in an excel file and calculated the total memory used to be only 2.26 GB.

 

Does this indicate something is wrong with the memory management on my system, and could this explain the extreme sluggishness of my system?

 

In case it is also relevant, the top memory users are

 

Safari Web Content 599.4

kernel_task 513.3

Safari Web Content 193.5

Safari Web Content 103.1

com.apple.IconServicesAgent 88.3

WindowServer 78.2

Finder 72.8

Microsoft Excel 65.9

Dropbox 59.5

Safari 51.3

Flash Player (Safari Internet plug-in) 43.1

Safari Networking 33.1

mds 26.9

mds_stores 25.3

softwareupdated 25

 

I have also posted some basic system information below.

 

Thank you in advance for any suggestions.

 

Model Name: MacBook Pro

  Model Identifier: MacBookPro9,2

  Processor Name: Intel Core i5

  Processor Speed: 2.5 GHz

  Number of Processors: 1

  Total Number of Cores: 2

  L2 Cache (per Core): 256 KB

  L3 Cache: 3 MB

  Memory: 4 GB

System Version: OS X 10.9.5 (13F1096)

  Kernel Version: Darwin 13.4.0

  Boot Volume: Macintosh HD

  Boot Mode: Normal

  Secure Virtual Memory: Enabled

MacBook Pro (13-inch Mid 2012), OS X Mavericks (10.9.5), 4GB RAM

Posted on Aug 9, 2015 3:03 PM

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Q: Why is mavericks listed memory usage exceeding the total for all processes used?

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  • by Kappy,Helpful

    Kappy Kappy Aug 9, 2015 3:09 PM in response to sea-haze
    Level 10 (271,291 points)
    Desktops
    Aug 9, 2015 3:09 PM in response to sea-haze

    Nothing you've reported is unusual. Memory management is not how you think it is. OS X takes up almost all the available RAM in order to facilitate memory management as applications' demands change.

     

    Ways to help make a slow Mac faster

     

    17 Reasons Why Your Mac Runs Slower Than it Should

    Slow Mac Performance? This Article Solves It!

    Fix slow start-ups in OS X | MacFixIt - CNET Reviews

    6 Easy Tips to Speed Up OS X Yosemite on Your Mac

     

    Avoid using any third-party software that claims to clean up your computer. Usually this software does more bad than good. Furthermore, you don't need it. Note that all computers will become slower over time even under normal use. Experienced users typically erase the hard drive and do a clean install from scratch at least once a year or whenever installing a major OS upgrade. Of course doing so also means you must maintain regular and multiple backups.

     

    Add more RAM or cut back on the number of concurrently running applications and utilities. Remove unnecessary software such as anti-malware and software that promises to clean your Mac. Check for runaway processes: Runaway applications can shorten battery runtime, affect performance, and increase heat and fan acti… Also see:

     

    Mavericks and later

     

    Open Activity Monitor in the Utilities folder.  Select All Processes from the View menu.  Click on the CPU tab in the toolbar. Click twice on the %CPU column header to display in descending order.  If you find a process using a large amount of %CPU, then select the process and click on the Quit icon in the toolbar.  Click on the Force Quit button to kill the process.  See if that helps.  Be sure to note the name of the runaway process so you can track down the cause of the problem.

     

    If you don't find a solution from the above, then download the freeware utility, EtreCheck 2.2. Run a check, copy the results and post them here. Make a  regular copy, not a screen image.

  • by sea-haze,

    sea-haze sea-haze Aug 9, 2015 3:29 PM in response to Kappy
    Level 1 (1 points)
    Aug 9, 2015 3:29 PM in response to Kappy

    Thank you very much, Kappy.  I will follow these instructions to see if I can't figure out what is eating up the memory.  Naturally I don't want to cut down on the number of utilities I am running at once (since as you can see what I am currently running on my mac is already so minimal and basic - anything less and my computer is worthless) and since 4GB of RAM seems like it should be sufficient for such rudimentary computing tasks.  In fact, I would suggest that if this is anything close to normal memory usage for Mavericks OS, apple should not be recommending the upgrade for any systems 2013 or older.

     

    If I learn anything useful from following all of the other recommended tips that I have not already tried, I will post a reply here.

     

    Thanks again.

  • by Kappy,

    Kappy Kappy Aug 9, 2015 3:59 PM in response to sea-haze
    Level 10 (271,291 points)
    Desktops
    Aug 9, 2015 3:59 PM in response to sea-haze

    You appear to have sufficient memory. Nothing is apparently eating up your memory. The amount of RAM shown for Mavericks is what is expected on your system.

  • by Drew Reece,Helpful

    Drew Reece Drew Reece Aug 9, 2015 4:04 PM in response to sea-haze
    Level 5 (7,559 points)
    Notebooks
    Aug 9, 2015 4:04 PM in response to sea-haze

    Mavericks makes judging how much RAM you need easy…

     

    Open up Activity Monitor, select the memory tab & leave the window open. When the OS slows, check Activity Monitor. The memory pressure graph has 3 colours…

     

    Green = Memory is OK

    Orange = Memory is being compressed, this will try to keep as much data in RAM but uses a little CPU to squash RAM into a smaller size.

    Red = Free memory has depleted, all RAM compression was not enough, RAM is now being moved to disk - a.k.a 'swapping memory to disk'. This is slow, but the OS has no choice.

     

    If you see red often, you need to install more RAM. Orange & green is OK.  The OS tries to use all the RAM too, otherwise what is the point in having it installed to leave it empty? It will cache data in RAM & then purge that as other apps request memory. Try to avoid assuming no free RAM is a bad sign - it isn't how the OS is designed to run.

     

    If the 'Swap used' figure climbs to a few GB you also need more memory, this figure is recorded over time, so if you miss the info in the graph the figure will still be shown.

     

    Memory is only one part of the system, slow disks, failing hardware or just a system that needs some repairs can cause 'slowness'. Third party apps can add another layer of compatibility issues.

    2GB is the minimum Apple recommend for 10.9, personally I think 4GB is low considering your model supports upto 16GB.

    OS X Mavericks system requirements - Apple Support

     

    10.9 should actually use RAM more efficiently than any previous OS. See a nice explanation at…

    http://arstechnica.com/apple/2013/10/os-x-10-9/17/#compressed-memory

     

    Etrecheck will show us lots of other data to consider if you want an overview.

  • by sea-haze,

    sea-haze sea-haze Aug 9, 2015 5:01 PM in response to Drew Reece
    Level 1 (1 points)
    Aug 9, 2015 5:01 PM in response to Drew Reece

    Hi Drew,

     

    Thank you for this additional information.  I think it makes more sense to me now - I was mistakingly under the impression that a 'Memory Used' showing close to the maximum RAM was necessarily a bad thing, but now understand that this is optimal management, and to focus on the memory pressure as the best indicator of a resource issue.

     

    Often when my mac is slow, I have noticed that the memory pressure was the orange colour, suggesting there is a resource issue.  What concerns me is that it does not seem to take much to get there. (If I am working with bigger MS office files, or if I open more than 7-8 tabs in my internet browser, I seem to max out.  But it wasn't this way when I first purchased this laptop.)  I'm not sure I understand why both the 'Memory Used' and 'App Memory' exceed the total memory consumed by the full list of applications/processes showing in the Activity Monitor (though the App Memory is much closer to that total), but if this seems unlikely to be related to anything, I will focus on following the other tests that you and Kappy have recommended. 

     

    I don't have any third party software or anything unusual installed on my laptop; the exception, perhaps, is adblock installed on my Chrome browser, but even when I have Chrome shut down and use Safari for browsing instead, I still seem to run into the same issues. (Though Safari does appear to be less of a memory hog.)  Swap used is currently hovering around 213 MB. Nor could I find any "runaway processes" representing a large proportion of CPU.  But I will continue to monitor these things over the next few days, particularly when I experience sluggishness, and if there is nothing obvious here I'll run Etrecheck and report back with these results.

     

    Thank you again for responding and for all of your helpful advice.

     

    Chris

  • by Drew Reece,

    Drew Reece Drew Reece Aug 9, 2015 6:33 PM in response to sea-haze
    Level 5 (7,559 points)
    Notebooks
    Aug 9, 2015 6:33 PM in response to sea-haze

    You may find using adblock in Safari helps. Chrome can be a bit resource heavy, it causes shorter battery life on laptops.

     

    Many sites now load javascript from all over the web & have images & resources that are several MB's per page. Stopping ad networks can help on some sites. Obviously Flash is another one to consider removing if you don't need it (that's what I use Chrome for - it's bundled with it).

     

    I forgot Apple have this page too…

    Use Activity Monitor on your Mac - Apple Support

     

    It may not be RAM but there are a few things you can try if you think it is under performing. Post back if you get stuck