Big Sur CPU VERY High

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Level 1

22 points

Big Sur CPU VERY High

The CPU usage on my Mac just went through the roof once I upgraded to Big Sur. I have no apps running and the CPU usage by the kernel task or the VTDecoderXPCService runs at 70%+.

Earlier my fan kicked on FULL SPEED and nothing was responsive, no apps open. I just shut my computer down, which took like 4 minutes for whatever was happening to stop. I restarted my computer and my background and preferences changed. I did not do a PRAM reset either.

I have a 13" MBP Mid-2014, 3Ghz Dual-Core i7 with 8GB RAM.

If I didn't know better, it would seem that Apple intentionally slowed down my older device so I would have to upgrade.... but wait, they wouldn't do this, they have never done this... oh wait.

Guess it's time to completely wipe my Mac and go back to a better release. Thanks Apple, you are the best.

MacBook Pro Retina

Posted on Apr 12, 2021 2:17 PM

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Answer 1

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Old Toad

Level 10

208,021 points

Apr 12, 2021 3:24 PM in response to JeffNeff

Have you installed or run any "cleaning", "optimizing", "speed-up" or anti-virus apps on your Mac?

Boot into Safe Mode according to Start up your Mac in safe mode - Apple Support and see if the problem persists. Reboot normally and check again.

NOTE: Safe Mode boot can take up to 10 minutes as it's doing the following;

• Verifies your startup disk and attempts to repair directory issues, if needed

• Loads only required kernel extensions (prevents 3rd party kernel/extensions from loading)

• Prevents Startup Items and Login Items from opening automatically

• Disables user-installed fonts

• Deletes font caches, kernel cache, and other system cache files

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Answer 2

JeffNeff Author

Level 1

22 points

Apr 19, 2021 3:07 PM in response to Old Toad

Have you installed or run any "cleaning", "optimizing", "speed-up" or anti-virus apps on your Mac?

Nope, definitely not.

I'll try the safe mode and let you know what happens. Thank you for the suggestions and response.

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Answer 3

May 7, 2021 8:28 AM in response to JeffNeff

Hi JeffNeff, I have same problem with similar configuration: MBA, mid-2013, 1.7 Ghz Dual-Core i7 with 8GB RAM. Wondering if you found a solution to this problem. Thank you!

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Big Sur CPU VERY High

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