Level 1

9 points

Macbook Pro (early 2011) lagging, fan spinning, kernel_task taking over

Hello,

My daughter just inherited a Macbook Pro from her grandfather who said it started behaving oddly lately and got himself a new computer. His complaints were related to an unusual kernel-task activity that would reach 600-700% and would leave the computer unusable.

Most of the time the fan starts spinning really fast when the start-up bar has just halfway through. Other times, it starts just a couple of minutes after logging in. The cursor behaves slowly and erratically.

The computer isn't particularly hot.

— I reformated the disk and did a clean install. The problem persisted.

— I ran the Apple Hardware Test — no problems found.

— I replaced the old battery, expecting it to the culprit, but the problem persisted.

— I tried SMC reset, and the problem persisted.

I decided to try to reset the PRAM and the computer apparently started running normally. But as soon as I restart it the problem comes back.

Restarting and resetting the PRAM again, and it seems to go away again...

Any ideas? Thank you!

I'm adding an Etrecheck report which I run with the computer running in Safe Mode, which also seemed to prevent the problem.

Etrecheck report

MacBook Pro

Posted on Mar 25, 2021 12:58 PM

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HWTech

Level 9

69,512 points

Posted on Mar 25, 2021 5:17 PM

The end of the report has two mentions of memory so perhaps you have loose or bad memory, or a bad memory slot. Try reseating the memory. When inserting the memory nearest the Bottom Case it can make the other module pop loose. Plus the memory slot nearest the Bottom Case can fail due to cracked solder joints from years of pressure exerted on the base of the memory slot/Logic Board. When you have the cracked solder joints just putting pressure on the black base of the memory slot will cause the laptop to freeze and/or get graphical glitches.

Another possibility is the SSD may need a firmware update or the SSD may be failing or needs to be reset to factory defaults. To check the health of the SSD run DriveDx and post the report here using the "Additional Text" icon which looks like a piece of paper. To reset the SSD to factory reset requires a bootable Linux drive and utility to access the SSD's built-in hardware secure erase feature. I can provide instructions if necessary.

Another possibility is the hard drive SATA Cable is bad. You can test this theory by removing the SSD and booting the SSD externally using a USB to SATA Adapter, drive dock, or enclosure. If you don't have the problem with the SSD booting externally, then the internal cable is likely at fault. You can try reseating the cable to the Logic Board in case it has become loose.

When you performed the clean install of macOS did you first erase the whole physical drive as opposed to just the Macintosh HD volume? Unfortunately Disk Utility hides the physical drive from view beginning with macOS 10.13. Within Disk Utility click "View" and select "Show All Devices" so that the physical drive appears on the left pane of Disk Utility.

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39 replies

HWTech

Level 9

69,512 points

Mar 27, 2021 1:18 PM in response to pedrocm

pedrocm wrote:

Was it? I just restarted from the usb stick holding the Option key.

For the EtreCheck report to be accurate you need to run EtreCheck from the macOS drive that has the issues. Running EtreCheck from an external drive only provides us information about the apps and issues the external drive may have.

Mar 27, 2021 12:44 PM in response to pedrocm

a new Etrecheck report may provide additional insights as well.

HWTech

Level 9

69,512 points

Mar 27, 2021 4:02 PM in response to pedrocm

pedrocm wrote:

Hello, again.

I just came back to check the result of Memtest86 (it took over 8 hours). I wasn't able to download v7.5 (link no longer valid) so I used the default one. In the end it found no errors. I took some screenshots of the report, if you think they might be of some use.

Try this link for the older Memtest86 v7.5 (I forgot the "dot" in the version number for the previous link):

https://www.memtest86.com/downloads/memtest86-7.5-usb.zip

pedrocm Author

Level 1

9 points

Mar 27, 2021 11:22 AM in response to HWTech

Hello, again.

I just came back to check the result of Memtest86 (it took over 8 hours). I wasn't able to download v7.5 (link no longer valid) so I used the default one. In the end it found no errors. I took some screenshots of the report, if you think they might be of some use.

No I'm going to do another clean install — now making sure I wipe it all — and if that doesn't work I'll try check the disk, following your instructions.

pedrocm Author

Level 1

9 points

Mar 27, 2021 12:14 PM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

I did just that. After starting in Safe Mode, I restarted it and for a moment it was quiet and behaving normally. I was hopeful for a couple of minutes, but then the fan started spinning again and the kernel task is again at 300-400%...

pedrocm Author

Level 1

9 points

Mar 28, 2021 8:44 AM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

Hello again.

Here it is a new Etrecheck report. It was done with the computer working normally, in the first couple of after logging in,

As soon as it finished the kernel went crazy as usual. So I decided to start a new report to check if there are any significant differences. As soon as ir finishes (it's taking very loooong), I'll post here as well.

Etrecheck report (running in Normal)

pedrocm Author

Level 1

9 points

Mar 29, 2021 6:51 AM in response to HWTech

Hello again.

Do you think it is safe to try and do the SSD firmware update?

I don't know what this might mean but the fact is the computer works fine whenever I start it in Safe Mode or when I reset the PRAM.

pedrocm Author

Level 1

9 points

Mar 30, 2021 1:56 AM in response to HWTech

Thank you.

Is there any advantage of erasing the disk before doing the firmware update? (I was considering erasing the disk, since I'm not sure it was properly done last time (considering what you said before about that).

I don't think the Huion software has anything to do with the problem, since this was occurring before the installation.

pedrocm Author

Level 1

9 points

Mar 30, 2021 8:04 AM in response to HWTech

Well, I've came back after lunch to find the macbook is still running with no problem at all! This is such great news!

Thanks a lot for all your helpful and very detailed instructions!

If you don't mind a last demand for advice, do you think it's useful / recommended to partition the 1TB SSD (system+apps / documents)? Or it makes no difference on keeping the disk as it is?

Thanks again!

Mar 30, 2021 8:32 AM in response to pedrocm

Apple File System APFS allows Volumes in the same container to freely share the total space in the container.

This means that for regular purposes, manually partitioning the Boot drive is no longer needed/helpful.

pedrocm Author

Level 1

9 points

Apr 10, 2021 1:38 PM in response to HWTech

Hello.

I'm back, to tell you the problem is back...

My daughter started using the computer, and tonight she complained the computer was running very slow. Already fearing the worst, I checked the terminal and there it was again the kernel task running at over 700%... Again, I started it in Safe Mode, and the kernel task went away. Then I reset the PRAM and it is still working with no problem.

I really was hoping the firmware update would solve the issue. Now I'm considering if I should try and replace the disk or the the disk cable, or both...

pedrocm Author

Level 1

9 points

Apr 11, 2021 1:35 AM in response to HWTech

I might try the SSD hardware reset, if you don't mind giving me the instructions.

On the other hand, I keep thinking: if the Safe Boot seems to prevent the problem, doesn't that indicate that it must be software related?

pedrocm Author

Level 1

9 points

Apr 12, 2021 7:27 AM in response to HWTech

Thanks, again.

I think for now I'm going to try something you suggested in your first reply, and which I haven't been able to try yet:

"removing the SSD and booting the SSD externally using a USB to SATA Adapter, drive dock, or enclosure." I will try both that and replacing the SSD with an old HDD I have here. I think that will be enough to conclude on either a faulty cable ou faulty disk (or both... or none...)

pedrocm Author

Level 1

9 points

Apr 14, 2021 7:32 AM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

Yes, you're right.

Originally, was I then wrote here, the AHT reported no problems. Now, it's consistently reporting that same error (I ran the long test, also).

The thing about taking it to service is that, apparently — according to the certified Apple service (there are no Apple Bars here) I contacted — they no longer have motherboards for replacement, and, even if they did, it might be too expensive for such an old machine.

So, either I find a motherboard at a reasonable price, or I'll end up selling this one for parts...

pedrocm Author

Level 1

9 points

Mar 25, 2021 5:33 PM in response to HWTech

Thank you very much for your answer. I'll try to go through your suggestions tomorrow or during the weekend. I may need some help with the bootable Linux drive, if it comes to that.

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Macbook Pro (early 2011) lagging, fan spinning, kernel_task taking over