Kernel_task on a new MacBook Air

I think that the later versions, especially the rev c, which I have, don't exhibit the problems as much. I imagine Apple made design changes to try to alleviate the problems in later revs.

Glor

I am having this problem as well. It happen both when my Air is not hooked up to anything and when it's connected to a 24" external display, external mouse, external keyboard, 10-BaseT adapter.

Chrome and Firefox seem to the problem more likely to happen then when I use Safari. Reboots sometime solve the problem.

I have had the same problem off and on through various OS upgrades. Now running 10.6.1. kernel_task will comsume 140% CPU for a while, then will drop down to say 6%. Have not been able to definitively correlate it to anything, and have found no fix. Help!! Aaaaaarrrggh!!!

I along with the hundreds of others that have replied to this post have the problem with kernel task and its ridiculous CPU usage. I have seen the application "Coolbook" mentioned and am wondering if this will solve the problem.

thanks.

Apple needs to respond to this. Are you listening? It is serious.

-- long time apple fan

My MBA has become progressively worse. Right now, the only thing going on is running time machine while watching NY Times home page, and this has made kernel_task go crazy. So, you cannot even browse the web while TM is running? This is, to note, in my A/Ced office, with the MBA elevated to allow for airflow. Anyway, these days the fan runs constantly even when nothing is going on on the computer. Sometimes the noise drives me so crazy that I shut down the computer and go for a walk until it has cooled down.

Question: any suggestions for a very compact, quite desktop fan? At home, I have a fan running behind the computer, and that seems to be the only way to avoid the kernel_task problem. But that fan is slightly noisy.

I have done two things recently that have helped. (1) Installed coolbook and slightly undervolted:
798 Mhz, 0.925 v
1586 Mhz, 1.000 v
1862 Mhz, 1.050 v
After three days of normal use, unlike before, I had no runaway kernel task gobbling 140% of resources. (2) I noticed that the fan was still coming on under light loads (6000+ rpm: noisy). Today I took it along to the Apple Store when taking care of something else. They cleaned out the inside of the machine, extract a large dustball nestled up against the CPU heatsink. Now the fan is running at 2500 rpm, which with my ears and environment is silent. My guess is that either one of these measures would be sufficient. In any case, I am now a happy camper.

Can't even watch a show on Hulu with my macbook air because of the kernel task problem. Apple needs to fix this.

15 pages, and no solution?

I'm covered by AppleCare until 2011, maybe I should start taking it in every couple weeks.

I've tried Coolbook, but if Coolbook is active, my temps stay at 66 degrees celsius, and the fans run full blast. If I disable Coolbook, I get temps around 55 degrees, and the fans come back down, but I also get the occasional kernal_task flaws that make the computer unusable. Closing the lid, letting it sleep, and coming back a few minutes later seems to fix it. That is NOT a solution, though.

You are a genius. Renaming that flash file just made by macbook air like new again!

What? What and where is the flash file, and what do I name it?

I just went to Genius Bar this week, they took the MacBook Air,
is a refurbished 1.6GHz DDR2, 80GB from Jan 09!
When freshly installed and updated with 10.6.2 the kernel_task issue
was autonatically on, whatever the temperature of the CPU.

Coolbook would apparently solve the issue, but 1 month from the end of the warranty I cannot rely only on a software from a third party that may not
work well with the next update of the OSX.

I will let you know what do they do, I suggested the change of Logic Board,
as in forum was one of the most successful way to solve the problem, even if
was not always solving it.

I have a MacBook Pro (10.6.2), and ever since connecting it to a Samsung HDTV, kernal_task spikes every few seconds and actually causes the mouse to pause briefly and then skip across the screen.

Rebooting fixes it for awhile. This is getting really annoying.

Coolbook fixed it for me.

I was having major issues - it was almost unusable. My machine is out of warranty. $10 to solve it - cheap.

http://www.coolbook.se/CoolBook.html

Settings?

On adaptor:
1200MHz: 0.9750V
1400MHz: 0.9875V
1600MHz: 0.9875V

On battery:
800MHz: 0.9000V
1200MHz: 0.9750V
1400MHz: 0.9875V
1600MHz: 0.9875V

Thermal limit: 85C (the max)
Throttling level: high

For what it's worth ...

Same experience with my MacBook Air (either under heavy load or when the ambient room temperature has been above 30c) of kernel_task up at 160%.

Originally I thought it may have something to do with the (Telstra 21) 3g USB modem (which has the most AWFUL set of drivers & support app) but, like others, I've discovered that the root cause is simply the temperature of the CPUs.

So, after disabling all services, bluetooth, removing the USB stick, resetting the PRAM, and stopping just about everything other than the OS, the problem was still there.

2 things that "appear" to have worked :

1. Turning on the A/C

Like others, I installed Coolbook, but unlike others I didn't pay the $10 (i'm too cheap & in any case I don't WANT to underclock my Mac!) ... instead I used it to monitor the CPU temperature ... which was running at around 55c (ambient air temp = 34c).

Closing the windows, turning on the A/C and holding the Macbook under the vent of the A/C ... whilst monitoring CPU usage and Coolbook ... show'd that when the CPU temp dropped below approx 48c ... the kernel_task overload stopped.

Starting up all the things that I'd stopped, and moving back to the desk (at the other end of the house) and the temp gradually rose up to 52c, but the kernel_task didn't go nuts & stayed stable.

2. Removing the case protector

I also removed the Speck plastic case protector that I had on the Macbook (it's hard plastic, rhobust, and has vents where the Air does) and that dropped the CPU temp (over a short period of time) by approx 2c.


So in summary ...

- The problem IS thermal
- The problem has a temperature trigger
- The temperature trigger is more than JUST the CPU temperature at a point in time
- A case protector reduces/changes the ability of the Air to radiate heat appropriately

I have now installed the smcFanControl app, which provides me with a temp readout (it's using the fan sensor ... which is showing between 60c & 64c as the CPU temp reads between 50c & 52c) ... and I'm keeping the case OFF the machine.

I know this doesn't "fix" the problem ... and being a "realist" I KNOW that the only thing that will is buying the next version of the Macbook Air .... BUT ... I hope this adds to the knowledge base.