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Macbook Air suddenly very slow following Big Sur 11.2.3 update, 250% kernel_task

Macbook Model: Macbook Air 11" Early 2014 A1465

TL;DR Issues:

1) Mac too slow, extremely annoying to do anything

2) Fan always noisy, running at high speed

3) Kernel_task on 250% CPU

4) When I plug the charger to Mac's port, it gets extremely hot and I mean searing hot but the charger is pretty new and I make sure to not bend the cable

5) Had trouble during a recent Big Sur update

*When writing this, Activity Manager was on 70% CPU, 15% User and 15% Idle approx.

*This is the first major issue I've had with this mac since its purchase

Read EtreCheck report in additional text section

EtreCheckPro version: 6.4.3 (6E010) Report generated: 2021-04-01 15:16:44 Download EtreCheckPro from https://etrecheck.com Runtime: 17:47 Performance: Poor Problem: Computer is too slow Description:  Never had any sort of issues with this mac since its purchase. It was  all fine about a week ago but then suddenly it just started to act up  and thatâ s when I noticed the Big Sur 11.2.3 software update notificat ion and thought updating will make it better. But during the update it was stuck after about 80% completion so I googled the issue and reset SMC, NVRAM PRAM etc and eventually got stuck in an endless restart lo op. Had to go into recovery mode and reinstall OS. Took a couple of tr ies but eventually got out of the loop and now my computer is super sl ow. Opening a folder or application takes a few minutes and so does op ening a new tab on Safari. Deleted Chrome as I read chrome slows down  mac and also went into Application support and removed google files including Keysonte. Mac fan also runs at high speed even on Sleep. And kernel_task is on 250% CPU. Also note that my battery is on â Serviceâ status but its been on service status for almost a year and never had any issues. Also canâ t replace the battery where I live as Apple doesnâ t officially ship the batteries of these older models to my country anymore. Major Issues:     Anything that appears on this list needs immediate attention.      No Time Machine backup - Time Machine backup not found.     Battery failure - Your battery is reporting that it needs to be serviced. Minor Issues:     These issues do not need immediate attention but they may indicate future problems or opportunities for improvement.      SSD too slow - SSD is showing poor performance.     High battery cycle count - Your battery may be losing capacity.     Unsigned files - There are unsigned software files installed. Apple has said that unsigned software will not run by default in a future version of the operating system.     Vintage hardware - This computer may be considered vintage.     Kernel extensions present - This computer has kernel extensions that may not work in the future. Hardware Information:     MacBook Air (11-inch, 2013 - 2014) - Vintage!     MacBook Air Model: MacBookAir6,1     1.4 GHz Dual-Core Intel Core i5 (i5-4260U) CPU: 2-core     4 GB RAM - Not upgradeable         BANK 0/DIMM0 - 2 GB DDR3 1600          BANK 1/DIMM0 - 2 GB DDR3 1600      Battery: Health = Service Battery - Cycle count = 1137 Video Information:     Intel HD Graphics 5000 - VRAM: 1536 MB         Color LCD 1366 x 768 Drives:     disk0 - APPLE SSD SD0128F 121.33 GB (Solid State - TRIM: Yes)     Internal PCI 5.0 GT/s x2 Serial ATA         disk0s1 - EFI (MS-DOS FAT32) [EFI] 210 MB         disk0s2 [APFS Container] 121.12 GB             disk1 [APFS Virtual drive] 121.12 GB (Shared by 6 volumes)                 disk1s1 - Macintosh HD - Data (APFS) [APFS Virtual drive] (Shared - 48.01 GB used)                 disk1s2 - Preboot (APFS) [APFS Preboot] (Shared - 431 MB used)                 disk1s3 - Recovery (APFS) [Recovery] (Shared - 614 MB used)                 disk1s4 - VM (APFS) [APFS VM] (Shared - 2.15 GB used)                 disk1s5 (APFS) [APFS Container] (Shared - 15.05 GB used)                     disk1s5s1 - Macintosh HD (APFS) [APFS Snapshot] (Shared - 15.05 GB used)                 disk1s6 - Update (APFS) (Shared - 4 MB used) Mounted Volumes:     disk1s1 - Macintosh HD - Data [APFS Virtual drive]         121.12 GB (Shared - 48.01 GB used, 57.03 GB available, 54.74 GB free)         APFS         Mount point: /System/Volumes/Data         Encrypted     disk1s2 - Preboot [APFS Preboot]         121.12 GB (Shared - 431 MB used, 54.74 GB free)         APFS         Mount point: /System/Volumes/Preboot     disk1s4 - VM [APFS VM]         121.12 GB (Shared - 2.15 GB used, 54.74 GB free)         APFS         Mount point: /System/Volumes/VM     disk1s5s1 - Macintosh HD [APFS Snapshot]         121.12 GB (Shared - 15.05 GB used, 57.03 GB available, 54.74 GB free)         APFS         Mount point: /         Read-only: Yes     disk1s6 - Update         121.12 GB (Shared - 4 MB used, 54.74 GB free)         APFS         Mount point: /System/Volumes/Update Network:     Interface en0: Wi-Fi         802.11 a/b/g/n/ac     Interface en2: Bluetooth PAN     Interface bridge0: Thunderbolt Bridge     iCloud Quota: 1.66 GB available System Software:     macOS Big Sur 11.2.3 (20D91)      Time since boot: About 3 days Configuration Files:     /etc/hosts - Count: 2 Notifications:     Messenger.app         one notification Security:     Gatekeeper: App Store and identified developers     System Integrity Protection: Enabled     Antivirus software: Apple Unsigned Files:     Launchd: /Library/LaunchAgents/org.macosforge.xquartz.startx.plist         Executable: /opt/X11/lib/X11/xinit/launchd_startx /opt/X11/bin/startx -- /opt/X11/bin/Xquartz         Details: Exact match found in the legitimate list - probably OK     Launchd: /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.seagate.TBDecorator.plist         Executable: /Library/Application Support/Seagate/TBLoopDriveParams         Details: Exact match found in the legitimate list - probably OK     Launchd: /Library/LaunchDaemons/org.macosforge.xquartz.privileged_startx.plist         Executable: /opt/X11/lib/X11/xinit/privileged_startx -d /opt/X11/lib/X11/xinit/privileged_startx.d         Details: Exact match found in the legitimate list - probably OK     Launchd: /Library/LaunchAgents/com.paragon-software.facebook.agent.plist         Executable: /Library/Application Support/Paragon Software/Paragon Software Facebook Agent.app/Contents/MacOS/Paragon Software Facebook Agent         Details: Exact match found in the legitimate list - probably OK     Launchd: /Library/LaunchDaemons/PT.updd.plist         Executable: /Library/PrivilegedHelperTools/PT.updd         Details: Exact match found in the legitimate list - probably OK     Login Item: /etc/mach_init_per_user.d/com.adobe.SwitchBoard.monitor.plist     Plugin: /Library/Internet Plug-Ins/npSecEditCtl.MAC.BOC.plugin     Plugin: /Library/Internet Plug-Ins/Google Earth Web Plug-in.plugin     Plugin: /Library/Internet Plug-Ins/Unity Web Player.plugin     Plugin: /Library/Internet Plug-Ins/SP7WebVideoPlugin.plugin     Plugin: /Library/Internet Plug-Ins/JavaAppletPlugin.plugin     Plugin: ~/Library/Internet Plug-Ins/UPEditorSafari.plugin     Plugin: ~/Library/Internet Plug-Ins/NPRoblox.plugin     Preference Pane: /Library/Internet Plug-Ins/JavaAppletPlugin.plugin/Contents/Home/lib/deploy/JavaControlPanel.prefPane     Apps: 9 Kernel Extensions:     /Library/Extensions         [Not Loaded] hp_fax_io.kext - com.hp.kext.hp-fax-io (Hewlett Packard, 5.20.0 - SDK 10.9)         [Not Loaded] hp_Inkjet9_io_enabler.kext - com.hp.print.hpio.Inkjet9.kext (Hewlett Packard, 2.5.0 - SDK 10.9)         [Not Loaded] JMicronATA.kext - com.jmicron.JMicronATA (1.1.6)         [Loaded] ufsd_NTFS.kext - com.paragon-software.filesystems.ntfs (Paragon Software GmbH, 15.5.90 - SDK 10.10)         [Not Loaded] Seagate Storage Driver.kext - com.seagate.driver.PowSecDriverCore (Seagate Technologies LLC, 5.2.7 (26995) - SDK 10.4) System Launch Agents:     [Not Loaded] 17 Apple tasks     [Loaded] 176 Apple tasks     [Running] 138 Apple tasks System Launch Daemons:     [Not Loaded] 35 Apple tasks     [Loaded] 194 Apple tasks     [Running] 130 Apple tasks     [Other] One Apple task Launch Agents:     [Running] com.adobe.GC.AGM.plist (Adobe Systems, Inc. - installed 2021-03-27)     [Not Loaded] com.adobe.GC.Invoker-1.0.plist (Adobe Systems, Inc. - installed 2021-03-27)     [Not Loaded] com.paragon-software.facebook.agent.plist (? 95fb0bd4 - installed 2016-08-29)     [Not Loaded] com.paragon-software.ntfs.notification-agent.plist (Paragon Software GmbH - installed 2020-01-17)     [Not Loaded] org.macosforge.xquartz.startx.plist (? d225a7da - installed 2014-08-12) Launch Daemons:     [Running] PT.updd.plist (? 0 - installed 2020-04-15)     [Loaded] com.adobe.agsservice.plist (Adobe Systems, Inc. - installed 2021-03-27)     [Loaded] com.paragon-software.installer.plist (Paragon Software GmbH - installed 2019-10-13)     [Loaded] com.paragon-software.ntfs.loader.plist (Apple - installed 2020-01-17)     [Running] com.paragon-software.ntfsd.plist (Paragon Software GmbH - installed 2020-01-17)     [Running] com.seagate.TBDecorator.plist (? 595582c - installed 2015-11-03)     [Loaded] org.macosforge.xquartz.privileged_startx.plist (? 65395f14 - installed 2014-08-12) User Launch Agents:     [Not Loaded] com.adobe.GC.Invoker-1.0.plist (Adobe Systems, Inc. - installed 2021-03-27)     [Loaded] com.dropbox.DropboxMacUpdate.agent.plist (Dropbox, Inc. - installed 2020-11-14) User Login Items:     [Not Loaded] AdGuard Login Helper (App Store - installed 2020-12-29)         Modern Login Item         /Applications/AdGuard for Safari.app/Contents/Library/LoginItems/AdGuard Login Helper.app     [Not Loaded] HotspotShieldHelper (App Store - installed 2021-02-07)         Modern Login Item         /Applications/Hotspot Shield.app/Contents/Library/LoginItems/HotspotShieldHelper.app     [Not Loaded] StartAtLoginHelper (App Store - installed 2021-02-07)         Modern Login Item         /Applications/Hotspot Shield.app/Contents/Library/LoginItems/StartAtLoginHelper.app     [Not Loaded] FSMenuAppLoginItemHelper (Paragon Software GmbH - installed 2020-04-26)         Modern Login Item         /Applications/NTFS for Mac.app/Contents/Library/LoginItems/FSMenuAppLoginItemHelper.app     [Not Loaded] 5A4RE8SF68.com.tencent.xinWeChat.IPCHelper (Tencent Mobile International Limited - installed 2020-10-14)         Modern Login Item         /Applications/WeChat.app/Contents/Library/LoginItems/5A4RE8SF68.com.tencent.xinWeChat.IPCHelper.app     [Not Loaded] HP Device Monitor (Hewlett Packard - installed 2015-11-13)         Modern Login Item         /Library/Printers/hp/Frameworks/HPDeviceMonitoring.framework/Versions/1.0/Library/LoginItems/HP Device Monitor.app     [Running] Flux (Michael Herf - installed 2021-03-22)         Application         ~/Applications/Flux.app     [Loaded] com.adobe.SwitchBoard.monitor.plist (?)         MachInit         /etc/mach_init_per_user.d/com.adobe.SwitchBoard.monitor.plist Internet Plug-ins:     AdobeAAMDetect: 3.0.0.0 (Adobe Inc. - installed 2021-02-03)     AdobePDFViewerNPAPI: 17.012.20098 (Adobe Systems, Inc. - installed 2020-12-10)     AdobePDFViewer: 20.013.20074 (Adobe Systems, Inc. - installed 2020-12-10)     npSecEditCtl.MAC.BOC: 1.1.1.4 (? - installed 2015-04-03)     Google Earth Web Plug-in: 7.1 (? - installed 2016-11-15)     Unity Web Player: UnityPlayer version 5.3.7f1 (? - installed 2017-01-20)     SP7WebVideoPlugin: 1.0.0.0 (? - installed 2019-06-02)     JavaAppletPlugin: Java 8 Update 221 build 11 (? - installed 2019-08-18) User Internet Plug-ins:     UPEditorSafari: 1.0.0.3 (? - installed 2014-12-04)     NPRoblox: 1, 2, 8, 25 (? - installed 2016-08-24) Audio Plug-ins:     ZoomAudioDevice: 1.0 (Zoom Video Communications, Inc. - installed 2020-06-22) Safari Extensions:     AdGuard (App Store - installed 2020-12-29)     AdGuard Custom (App Store - installed 2020-12-29)     AdGuard Other (App Store - installed 2020-12-29)     AdGuard Privacy (App Store - installed 2020-12-29)     AdGuard Safari Icon (App Store - installed 2020-12-29)     AdGuard Security (App Store - installed 2020-12-29)     AdGuard Social (App Store - installed 2020-12-29)     AdvancedBlocking (App Store - installed 2020-12-29)     Grammarly for Safari (App Store - installed 2021-03-12)     Honey (App Store - installed 2020-12-29) 3rd Party Preference Panes:     Java (? - installed 2019-07-04)     ParagonNTFS (Paragon Software GmbH - installed 2020-01-17)     Seagate Dashboard for Mac OSX (Seagate Technologies LLC - installed 2019-10-13) Backup:     Time Machine Not Configured! Performance:     System Load: 6.17 (1 min ago) 7.47 (5 min ago) 15.96 (15 min ago)     Nominal I/O speed: 0.01 MB/s     File system: 120.63 seconds (timed out)     Write speed: 148 MB/s     Read speed: 166 MB/s CPU Usage Snapshot:     Type Overall     System: 71 %     User: 11 %     Idle: 18 % Top Processes Snapshot by CPU:     Process (count) CPU (Source - Location)     system_profiler (3) 64.62 % (Apple)     WindowServer 29.36 % (Apple)     EtreCheckPro 10.02 % (Etresoft, Inc.)     kernel_task 6.37 % (Apple)     ControlCenter 4.82 % (Apple) Top Processes Snapshot by Memory:     Process (count) RAM usage (Source - Location)     system_profiler (3) 1.27 GB (Apple)     EtreCheckPro 215 MB (Etresoft, Inc.)     com.apple.WebKit.WebContent (5) 165 MB (Apple)     kernel_task 75 MB (Apple)     Activity Monitor 65 MB (Apple) Top Processes Snapshot by Network Use:     Process Input / Output (Source - Location)     mDNSResponder 7 MB / 2 MB (Apple)     netbiosd 121 KB / 108 KB (Apple)     apsd 18 KB / 50 KB (Apple)     usbmuxd 13 KB / 10 KB (Apple)     rapportd 4 KB / 6 KB (Apple) Top Processes Snapshot by Energy Use:     Process (count) Energy (0-100) (Source - Location)     system_profiler (3) 7 (Apple)     WindowServer 7 (Apple)     trustd (5) 2 (Apple)     ControlCenter 1 (Apple)     sysmond 0 (Apple) Virtual Memory Information:     Physical RAM: 4 GB     Free RAM: 33 MB     Used RAM: 2.71 GB     Cached files: 1.26 GB     Available RAM: 1.29 GB     Swap Used: 146 MB Software Installs (past 60 days):     Install Date Name (Version)     2021-02-03 macOS 11.2 (11.2)     2021-02-07 Hotspot Shield (4.4.0)     2021-02-15 macOS 11.2.1 (11.2.1)     2021-03-05 Pro Video Formats (2.2.1)     2021-03-10 iMovie (10.2.3)     2021-03-12 Grammarly for Safari (9.29)     2021-03-16 macOS 11.2.2 (11.2.2)     2021-03-20 XProtectPlistConfigData (2142)     2021-03-23 AvastHUB     2021-03-25 macOS 11.2.3 (11.2.3)     2021-03-25 MRTConfigData (1.76)     2021-03-26 ARMDC Agent Installer (1.0.0) Diagnostics Information (past 7-30 days): End of report


MacBook Air 11″, macOS 11.2

Posted on Apr 1, 2021 2:30 AM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Apr 1, 2021 7:56 PM

Run the Apple Diagnostics to see if any hardware issues are detected.


Try booting into Safe Mode to see if things are any better since Safe Mode disables third party drivers, Startup Items, Login items and even some Apple drivers like the built-in camera. If Safe Mode works, then you have a software issue so make sure all your third party apps and drivers are completely up to date.


You should also run Disk Utility First Aid on the hidden Container. Unfortunately Disk Utility now hides the physical drive and Container from view by default since macOS 10.13 so you need to click "View" within Disk Utility and select "Show All Devices" so that the hidden Container appears on the left pane of Disk Utility. Even if First Aid shows everything as "Ok" click "Show Details" and scroll through the report looking for any unfixed errors. If you find any unfixed errors listed, then you need to erase the whole physical drive before restoring from a backup or clone.


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Apr 1, 2021 7:56 PM in response to zneyaz

Run the Apple Diagnostics to see if any hardware issues are detected.


Try booting into Safe Mode to see if things are any better since Safe Mode disables third party drivers, Startup Items, Login items and even some Apple drivers like the built-in camera. If Safe Mode works, then you have a software issue so make sure all your third party apps and drivers are completely up to date.


You should also run Disk Utility First Aid on the hidden Container. Unfortunately Disk Utility now hides the physical drive and Container from view by default since macOS 10.13 so you need to click "View" within Disk Utility and select "Show All Devices" so that the hidden Container appears on the left pane of Disk Utility. Even if First Aid shows everything as "Ok" click "Show Details" and scroll through the report looking for any unfixed errors. If you find any unfixed errors listed, then you need to erase the whole physical drive before restoring from a backup or clone.


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Apr 3, 2021 2:08 PM in response to zneyaz

An SMC error is unlikely to be caused by the battery although I cannot rule it out completely. More than likely the SMC error is due to an issue with the SMC chip on the Logic Board or the Logic Board itself (or possibly a bad or loose I/O Flex Cable or a bad I/O Board if the SMC isn't receiving the proper power from those components). Of course Apple doesn't replace a bad SMC chip, but instead will replace the whole Logic Board. You should have Apple or an Apple Authorized Service Provider examine the laptop to provide you with an estimate for repair.


According to this Apple article your laptop is still considered "Vintage" by Apple so it can still be repaired as long as the necessary part(s) are still available. The only part which may not still be available is the Logic Board since all the other parts of this laptop are shared by later models which are still fully supported by Apple so those parts will still be available.

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201624

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Apr 3, 2021 3:37 AM in response to HWTech

Ran diagnostics and it showed errors PFM007 There may be an issue with SMC and PPP003 (can’t remember the exact code) There may be an issue with the power adapter.


Went into safe mode and the problem still exists, kernel still at 250% and everything is still slow so idk if it’s a third party kernel extension issue. I tried resetting the SMC again but problem still exists


Ran first aid on the container disk and everything went ok. Checked the details and there’s no mention of any u fixed errors or any errors whatsoever. Just a bunch of “Checking fsroot, etc etc” and a few “The drive was formatted by ........” Nothing seemed out of the ordinary.


Btw, I’ve noticed sometimes when I start the mac up either from sleep or from Shut down it acts normal i.e smooth and regular speed for like 5 seconds before it all goes to **** again.

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Apr 3, 2021 12:54 PM in response to zneyaz

zneyaz wrote:

Ran diagnostics and it showed errors PFM007 There may be an issue with SMC and PPP003 (can’t remember the exact code) There may be an issue with the power adapter.

Then your Mac has some sort of hardware issue. Any type of power issue can cause a Mac to run extremely slow and the SMC deals with power management. You will need to have your laptop repaired.


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Apr 3, 2021 1:07 PM in response to HWTech

Okay thanks. Do I need to replace the battery or repair will do? Can’t replace with an official battery since Apple doesn’t officially ship the battery of this model to my country. Would have to go to unauthorized repair shop for the replacement but then again, there’s the chance of a fake battery. So should I just ask them to repair the batter?

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Macbook Air suddenly very slow following Big Sur 11.2.3 update, 250% kernel_task

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