The fan on my new Macbook Pro (bought Fall 2018) running very loudly shortly after turning the laptop on.
When checking the Activity Monitor the sysmond process is using 71.3% CPU continuously. This even happens on a refresh reboot.
I am on macOS Mojave.
How can I troubleshoot this and find the application or service that is causing sysmond to utilize so much CPU?
MacBook Pro 15”, macOS 10.14
Do you have any third-party utilities like anti-virus or so-called "cleaning" apps installed?
When fans are high, always try an SMC reset to be sure SMC is running as well as it can:
How to reset the System Management Controller (SMC) on your Mac - Apple Support
Faithfully observe which side of the keyboard the required keys are on -- the ones with the same labels, but on the other side, are not wired in and do not work to effect SMC reset.
Verify your A.M. setting are set to Normal. View>Update Frequency> 5 sec.
sysmond (System Monitor Daemon) monitors all system activity in background and automated by launchd (launcher daemon)
You are free to force quit the sysmond and restart the Activity Monitor.
Ok, makes sense. My only concern is that I'm not running Activity Monitor in the background, I only run it when trying to check and see what is causing my fans to spin up so much. I am only doing light web browsing and email, no photo or video editing applications or games.
Thank you but force quitting doesn't show sysmond closing and restarting. I'm also mostly concerned that my fans are running so loudly whenever my laptop is on. I thought sysmond was the issue but I think you have disproved that. Do you have any other thoughts on how I can troubleshoot this?
Ok, I'm trying to reset the SMC. While I hold the keys for the initial 7 seconds my laptop turns on and brings me to the login screen. After I start holding the power button my laptop turns off again. Is this supposed to be how it works? Is there anyway I can confirm that the SMC was reset?
The key combination does not get much easier, following the instructions in the Apple kb above for your particular Mac, it is a pretty subtle experience—no bells, whistles or lights.
If in doubt you can reset the SMC without keyboard gymnastics, start up in Single-user Recovery mode holding the (Command S R) then enter the command:
pmset -a restoredefaults
Then reboot as normal.
If it were me I would just test the machine and see if there is a change, then trying to second guess if it worked.
Ok, thank, I will try this. I will say that I'm not hearing the fans spin up and run continuously today. I will update this in a couple days if the issue appears to be fixed.
I do not have any third-party utilities like anti-virus or "cleaning" apps.
Yes, my A.M. settings are set to an Update Frequency of "Normally (5 sec)".
70% CPU usage should not have Fans running at full speed.
400% will !
Thank you but force quitting doesn't show sysmond closing and restarting. I'm also mostly concerned that my fans are running so loudly whenever my laptop is on. I thought sysmond was the issue but I think you have disproved that. Do you have any other thoughts on how I can troubleshoot this?
Yes—
Try resetting the SMC http://support.apple.com/kb/ht3964
sysmond process is what Activity Monitor uses to get it's readings.
If sysmond is using lots of CPU, just quit the Activity Monitor for it to stop.
sysmond using 71.3% CPU consistently
