I am having some problems with the Big Sur Photos screensaver not kicking in and it seems to be using up all my RAM too. Any suggestions on how to fix it? I want to do a clean install on my iMac to fix these and other issues I have had since the update, but wasn't sure how to do it since I have a Fusion drive so for right now I am just going to try to fix the photos screensaver.
iMac Line (2012 and Later)
Boot into Safe Mode according to Start up your Mac in safe mode - Apple Support and test to see if the problem persists. Reboot normally and test 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
Boot into Safe Mode according to Start up your Mac in safe mode - Apple Support and test to see if the problem persists. Reboot normally and test 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
Do you have the iCloud Library and Optimize Mac Storage enabled?
Download and run Etrecheck. Etrecheck is a diagnostic tool that was developed by one of the most respected users here in the ASC and recommended by Apple Support to provide a snapshot of the system and help identify the more obvious culprits that can adversely affect a Mac's performance.
IMPORTANT:
Before running Etrecheck assign Full Disk Access to Etrecheck in the Etrecheck's Privacy preference pane so that it can get additional information from the Console and log files for the report:
Also click and read the About info to further permit full disk access.
Copy the report
and use the Additional Text button to include the report in your reply.
Then we can examine the report and see if we can determine what might be causing the problem.
I don't see any of the usual suspects in the report. I do see, however, a couple of totally unnecessary apps that you've installed, iCleanMemory and MemoryClean. The new systems are extremely efficient in using and allocation memory where needed. Apple like the only hinders the system's efficient management.
You of have some memory hogs in Dropbox. Others have noted high CPU use with it and starting using Box to alleviate the CPU drain.
Post the Etrecheck report so we can see what's running in the background and give us an idea of what the culprit might be.
It's weird because the screensaver settings show "favorites' and 'shuffle slide order' is checked, but it doesn't let me change it from 'favorites' to any other photos whether they are my photos or the ones that come with Big Sur.
i did a clean install of Big Sur and the photos screensaver worked at first and now it is using all the 16gb of RAM then crashing eventually. I will post the Etre report soon...it is a fusion hard drive and i am pretty certain the SSD is on it's last legs.....i always thought the SSD was supposed to last longer than the HDD but evidently that is a myth.
after looking at other posts by other people i removed some things & got it so the Photos Screensaver would work again, but the ability to choose which albums from Apple Photos just shows a blank screen. Also, when i tried to use my Favorites folder as an option, then it started doing the things where it uses ALL of my RAM (and even more Virtual Ram). I am certain a LOT of this has to do with the fact that i have over 200,000 photos in the Apple Photos app and my Favorites number over 35,000 photos. Any help with this would be GREATLY appreciated....thanks!
Thank you your response! i guess the big question is why does the Photos Screensaver use sooooooooo much RAM......is it because it converts each JPG to a lower resolution or it tries to convert every single photo at once instead of a few at a time?I think this started doing this when i upgraded to Mojave awhile back? I am sure it has something to do with the fact that i have over 200,000 photos and over 35,000 favorites (favorites was the folder i would usually use) but once i got back the ability to choose folders i tried folders with smaller amounts of photos and it seemed to work for those somewhat but folders that had over 1000 photos it struggled with ..
I do have both of those enabled..
If the photos that have been selected for the screensaver are the optimized version that would be why they are being included.
I'm thinking there needs to a 'plist' deleted from something in order to get it to work but I don't know for sure..
Thanks! I tried Safe mode just now and it didn’t seem to work let me change anything on it :( it is still suck on “Favorites” then it RAM keeps going lower and lower until urn freezes or crashes
Do I need to post the entire Etrecheck report?
Yes, the entire report. Use the Additional Text button:
Here is the report
Big Sur Photos screensaver not working...
