Frodo Fraggins

Q: 16gb and running out of memory

I have a 2010 imac and upgraded the RAM to 16gb.  More often than not, it gives me what I need.  However, I am shocked as to how much memory is getting used.  I hear others talk about having 4gb of memory and freaking out that they need more.  I have 16gb and find that I am generally running with less than 2gb available ... and I'm not doing much.

 

The typical applications I have open are:

 

Spotify

Chrome

Mail

 

iTunes and Photos open from time to time throughout the day as I plug my phone in to charge it.  Sometimes I close em down, other times not.

 

Sometimes I stream Netflix or Xfinity while I work on another computer...

 

So here is my question (Sorry it took a while to get here) 1.  If thats all I have open why am I running out of RAM? 2.  If Chrome is the culprit because I am streaming throughout the day, how can I cap it, or can I?  Do I just need to close chrome from time to time?

 

There are other apps that I would like to use as much RAM as possible...i.e. Let DJ software use 8gb so that it doesn't glitch..

Posted on Sep 21, 2016 7:44 AM

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Q: 16gb and running out of memory

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  • by rkaufmann87,

    rkaufmann87 rkaufmann87 Sep 21, 2016 8:48 AM in response to Frodo Fraggins
    Level 9 (58,729 points)
    Photos for Mac
    Sep 21, 2016 8:48 AM in response to Frodo Fraggins

    Frodo,

     

    Please learn to use Activity Monitor, this will help you determine what apps you using that are eating so much RAM. Apple explains how to use AM in Use Activity Monitor on your Mac - Apple Support

  • by Frodo Fraggins,

    Frodo Fraggins Frodo Fraggins Sep 22, 2016 7:12 AM in response to rkaufmann87
    Level 2 (338 points)
    Desktops
    Sep 22, 2016 7:12 AM in response to rkaufmann87

    Thanks Rkufmann.  I'm acutely familiar with activity monitor.  But in this situation its like watching water beginning to boil .  I know whats gonna happen, but I guess I didn't frame my question correctly.  I wanna do something about it!  For example, back in the old days you could allocated preferred memory usage of an app, and if I remember correctly, you could put a cap on it.

     

    Today, Im only running Chrome.  When I restarted my computer I had 13gb available ... 30 minutes later Im down to 9 gb  .... If I go to facebook and start clicking on those stories that are really just pages of ads .... I can get down to 1 gb by lunch .

     

    So again my question is " Am I at the mercy of the OS for memory allocation, or is there something I can do to control it?"

  • by rkaufmann87,

    rkaufmann87 rkaufmann87 Sep 22, 2016 7:15 AM in response to Frodo Fraggins
    Level 9 (58,729 points)
    Photos for Mac
    Sep 22, 2016 7:15 AM in response to Frodo Fraggins

    Chrome is a know hog of system resources. You may want to consider another browser. Please run an   EtreCheck report of your system. We can then look for obvious issues. Please click the link, download the app and run the report. Once you have the report, please copy and paste it to your reply to this post.

     

    If you would like more info on what EtreCheck is, simply click the link and you will find a description of the app.

  • by Frodo Fraggins,

    Frodo Fraggins Frodo Fraggins Sep 22, 2016 8:23 AM in response to rkaufmann87
    Level 2 (338 points)
    Desktops
    Sep 22, 2016 8:23 AM in response to rkaufmann87

    Thanks.. thats a great app, I can see some drivers I gotta get rid of

     

    EtreCheck version: 3.0.4 (308)

    Report generated 2016-09-22 10:14:41

    Download EtreCheck from https://etrecheck.com

    Runtime 4:08

    Performance: Good

     

    Click the [Support] links for help with non-Apple products.

    Click the [Details] links for more information about that line.

     

    Problem: No problem - just checking

     

    Hardware Information:

        iMac (27-inch, Late 2009)

        [Technical Specifications] - [User Guide] - [Warranty & Service]

        iMac - model: iMac11,1

        1 2.66 GHz Intel Core i5 CPU: 4-core

        16 GB RAM Upgradeable - [Instructions]

            BANK 0/DIMM0

                8 GB DDR3 1067 MHz ok

            BANK 1/DIMM0

                8 GB DDR3 1067 MHz ok

            BANK 0/DIMM1

                Empty  

            BANK 1/DIMM1

                Empty  

        Bluetooth: Old - Handoff/Airdrop2 not supported

        Wireless:  en1: 802.11 a/b/g/n

     

    Video Information:

        ATI Radeon HD 4850 - VRAM: 512 MB

            iMac 2560 x 1440

     

    System Software:

        macOS Sierra  10.12 (16A323) - Time since boot: about one hour

     

    Disk Information:

        ST31000528AS disk0 : (1 TB) (Rotational)

            EFI (disk0s1) <not mounted> : 210 MB

            Alpha (disk0s2) / : 999.35 GB (127.98 GB free)

            Recovery HD (disk0s3) <not mounted>  [Recovery]: 650 MB

     

        OPTIARC DVD RW AD-5680H   ()

     

    USB Information:

        Apple Card Reader

        Apple Inc. BRCM2046 Hub

            Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller

        Apple Computer, Inc. IR Receiver

        Apple Inc. Built-in iSight

     

    Configuration files:

        /etc/sudoers, File size 2299 but expected 1563

     

    Gatekeeper:

        Mac App Store and identified developers

     

    Kernel Extensions:

            /Applications/Ondesoft Audio Recorder.app

        [not loaded]    com.Ondesoft.driver.OndeAudioRecorderDevice (1.0.0 - OS X 10.7 - 2013-05-09) [Support]

     

            /Applications/iSkysoft Audio Recorder.app

        [loaded]    com.Perfect.Driver.SystemAudioRecorder (1.1.0 - SDK 10.6 - 2016-01-21) [Support]

     

            /Library/Extensions

        [not loaded]    at.obdev.nke.LittleSnitch (3.6.1 - SDK 10.8 - 2016-09-21) [Support]

     

            /System/Library/Extensions

        [not loaded]    com.citrix.driver.net6im (1.1.9 - SDK 10.8 - 2016-09-21) [Support]

        [not loaded]    com.deterministicnetworks.driver.dne (1.0.18 - SDK 10.8 - 2016-09-21) [Support]

        [not loaded]    com.deterministicnetworks.driver.dniregistry (1.0.7 - SDK 10.8 - 2016-09-21) [Support]

        [not loaded]    com.maudio.usb.xponent.driver (M-Audio Xponent 1.8 - 2016-09-21) [Support]

        [not loaded]    com.nike.sportwatch (1.0.0 - 2016-09-21) [Support]

        [not loaded]    com.paceap.kext.pacesupport.master (5.7.2 - 2016-09-21) [Support]

        [not loaded]    com.screenrecycler.driver.ScreenRecyclerDriver (1.4.13 - SDK 10.4 - 2016-09-21) [Support]

     

            /System/Library/Extensions/PACESupportFamily.kext/Contents/PlugIns

        [not loaded]    com.paceap.kext.pacesupport.leopard (5.7.2 - 2009-07-24) [Support]

        [not loaded]    com.paceap.kext.pacesupport.panther (5.7.2 - 2009-07-24) [Support]

        [loaded]    com.paceap.kext.pacesupport.snowleopard (5.7.2 - 2009-07-24) [Support]

        [not loaded]    com.paceap.kext.pacesupport.tiger (5.7.2 - 2009-07-24) [Support]

     

    Startup Items:

        M-AudioXponent: Path: /Library/StartupItems/M-AudioXponent

        PACESupport: Path: /Library/StartupItems/PACESupport

        Startup items are obsolete in OS X Yosemite

     

    System Launch Agents:

        [not loaded]    7 Apple tasks

        [loaded]    174 Apple tasks

        [running]    90 Apple tasks

     

    System Launch Daemons:

        [not loaded]    com.apple.jetsamproperties.Mac.plist (2016-08-25) [Support]

        [not loaded]    42 Apple tasks

        [loaded]    167 Apple tasks

        [running]    95 Apple tasks

     

    Launch Agents:

        [running]    at.obdev.LittleSnitchUIAgent.plist (2015-12-11) [Support]

        [failed]    com.adobe.ARMDCHelper.cc24aef4a1b90ed56a725c38014c95072f92651fb65e1bf9c8e43c37a2 3d420d.plist (2016-05-11) [Support]

        [loaded]    com.citrix.AuthManager_Mac.plist (2012-07-25) [Support]

        [running]    com.citrix.ServiceRecords.plist (2012-07-25) [Support]

        [loaded]    com.google.keystone.agent.plist (2016-07-27) [Support]

        [running]    com.nike.nikeplusconnect.plist (2015-10-09) [Support]

        [loaded]    com.oracle.java.Java-Updater.plist (2013-02-16) [Support]

     

    Launch Daemons:

        [loaded]    PACESupport.plist (2009-07-24) [Support]

        [failed]    at.obdev.littlesnitchd.plist (2015-12-11) [Support]

        [loaded]    com.adobe.ARMDC.Communicator.plist (2016-07-11) [Support]

        [loaded]    com.adobe.ARMDC.SMJobBlessHelper.plist (2016-07-11) [Support]

        [failed]    com.adobe.fpsaud.plist (2016-04-15) [Support]

        [failed]    com.citrix.agadminservice.plist (2012-12-17) [Support]

        [failed]    com.deterministicnetworks.daemon.dniregsvr.plist (2012-12-17) [Support]

        [loaded]    com.ea.origin.ESHelper.plist (2016-04-08) [Support]

        [loaded]    com.google.keystone.daemon.plist (2016-08-31) [Support]

        [loaded]    com.microsoft.office.licensing.helper.plist (2011-03-10) [Support]

        [loaded]    com.oracle.java.Helper-Tool.plist (2013-02-16) [Support]

        [running]    com.paceap.eden.licensed.plist (2010-11-08) [Support]

     

    User Launch Agents:

        [failed]    com.apple.CSConfigDotMacCert-[...]@me.com-SharedServices.Agent.plist (2012-05-25)

        [failed]    com.citrixonline.GoToMeeting.G2MUpdate.plist (2014-06-20) [Support]

        [running]    com.spotify.webhelper.plist (2016-09-21) [Support]

        [running]    ws.agile.1PasswordAgent.plist (2014-09-28) [Support]

     

    User Login Items:

        iCleanMemory    Application  (/Applications/iCleanMemory.app)

        iTunesHelper    Application Hidden (/Applications/iTunes.app/Contents/MacOS/iTunesHelper.app)

        Dropbox    Application  (/Applications/Dropbox.app)

        Google Drive    Application  (/Applications/Google Drive.app)

     

    Internet Plug-ins:

        o1dbrowserplugin: 5.41.3.0 - SDK 10.8 (2015-12-16) [Support]

        Flip4Mac WMV Plugin: 3.0.0.126   - SDK 10.8 (2013-02-15) [Support]

        SlingPlayer: Unknown - SDK 10.8 (2013-11-20) [Support]

        F5 SSL VPN Plugin: 7080.2013.0117.1 (2013-07-09) [Support]

        AdobePDFViewerNPAPI: 15.017.20053 - SDK 10.11 (2016-08-02) [Support]

        FlashPlayer-10.6: 21.0.0.226 - SDK 10.6 (2016-04-21) [Support]

        Silverlight: 5.1.41212.0 - SDK 10.6 (2016-02-22) [Support]

        QuickTime Plugin: 7.7.3 (2016-09-13)

        Flash Player: 21.0.0.226 - SDK 10.6 (2016-04-21) Outdated! Update

        AGNetscapePlugin: 1.0 - SDK 10.8 (2012-12-17) [Support]

        CitrixICAClientPlugIn: 1.0 - SDK 10.6 (2012-07-25) [Support]

        AdobePDFViewer: 15.017.20053 - SDK 10.11 (2016-08-02) [Support]

        googletalkbrowserplugin: 5.41.3.0 - SDK 10.8 (2015-12-11) [Support]

        iPhotoPhotocast: 7.0 - SDK 10.8 (2013-04-23)

        SharePointBrowserPlugin: 14.4.1 - SDK 10.6 (2014-04-28) [Support]

        JavaAppletPlugin: Java 8 Update 91 build 14 (2016-04-20) Check version

     

    User internet Plug-ins:

        CitrixOnlineWebDeploymentPlugin: 1.0.105 (2013-11-22) [Support]

        WebEx64: 1.0 - SDK 10.6 (2014-10-10) [Support]

     

    Safari Extensions:

        1Password - AgileBits - http://agilebits.com/onepassword (2014-01-10)

        Okta Secure Web Authentication Plug-in - Okta - http://www.okta.com (2014-08-25)

        Disconnect - Disconnect - https://disconnect.me/ (2014-03-09)

     

    3rd Party Preference Panes:

        Citrix ShareFile Sync (2012-07-25) [Support]

        Flash Player (2016-04-15) [Support]

        Flip4Mac WMV (2012-09-14) [Support]

        Java (2016-04-20) [Support]

        M-AudioXponent (2009-09-14) [Support]

        Xmarks for Safari (2012-08-24) [Support]

     

    Time Machine:

        Time Machine not configured!

     

    Top Processes by CPU:

           115%    photoanalysisd

            64%    Finder

            55%    Google Chrome Helper(6)

            12%    Google Chrome

             9%    WindowServer

     

    Top Processes by Memory:

        1.06 GB    Google Chrome Helper(6)

        1006 MB    kernel_task

        410 MB    photoanalysisd

        410 MB    photolibraryd

        279 MB    mdworker(19)

     

    Virtual Memory Information:

        8.83 GB    Free RAM

        7.17 GB    Used RAM (4.44 GB Cached)

        0 B    Swap Used

     

    Diagnostics Information:

        Sep 22, 2016, 08:46:07 AM    Self test - passed