Hi-
"Your system has run out of application memory"
I have started receiving this error(?) message frequently of late. Can't understand why - I have 16GB of RAM and activity monitor typically shows plenty of RAM available. How do I fix this annoyance?
Thanks.
iMac Line (2012 and Later)
If you are getting "Your system has run out of application memory" dialog boxes, and a list of most likely innocent apps listed, then here is the explanation.
For the record, there are 2 reasons for the "Your system has run out of application memory" dialog box.
A) Your boot disk has very low free storage, and macOS cannot create page/swap files to offload virtual memory contents to disk. This is generally not the case, but I mention because if you do have very low free storage, it might apply.
B) A process (or set of processes) have asked macOS for excessive amounts of virtual memory address space. Virtual memory address space requires macOS to create Virtual Memory Page Tables in the kernel address space to keep track of the application virtual addresses given out. Generally, if there is a memory leak (process asks for a virtual address range, uses the addresses, forgets to give them back, asks for another virtual address range, uses the addresses, wash, rinse, repeat), eventually there are so many virtual memory page table entries trying to keep track of the virtual addresses, that macOS no longer has memory available for applications, and you get the "Your system has run out of application memory".
If you look at Applications -> Utilties -> Activity Monitor -> View (menu) -> All Processes -> Memory (tab), you can see what processes are using lots of memory.
You can also issue the following command from Applications -> Utilities -> Terminal:
ps ax -o vsz,pid,comm | sort -n
which will display the virtual memory used sorted so the largest virtual memory consuming users are at the end. The virtual memory sizes are in 1024 byte units.
NOTE: I have seen situations where no single process is using all the memory, but rather a host of smaller processes are using up all the virtual memory. That is to say, a 100 instances of the same program all running with a moderate amount of memory eventually adds up to a lot of page table entries being used.
I have also seen users with 100's of web browser tabs open, where each tab is being managed by its own separate process. And just because you are not looking at any give tab, does not mean the Javascript running on that web page, is not taking up memory and virtual addresses.
Thanks Man. We appreciate your contribution. My brand new Macbook Pro is worse than a windows machine now. I have to reboot constantly. Common Apple - communicate!
>Bob, your instructions are not a solution. You need to dig deeper and revise it.
Since I cannot access anyone’s system, I can only explain why the message occurs. The owner of the system is the one that has to dig.
Remember, I do not work for Apple, and I’m just an unpaid volunteer in these forums. And I do not make house calls.
revoltforhealthcare wrote:
You did not. Why would this be happening with ANY app on a brand new M1 Mac with 16GB? It is ridiculous and a major Apple flaw!
A) I'm still not an Apple employee. B) I did not write any of this software. C) I volunteer my time here. D) I may consider requests, but I do not take "Demands" for my time.
Why would you getting "Your system has run out of applications memory" dialog boxes could be because you installed some 3rd party software that is misbehaving. I know from the company where I do work, that McAfee anti-virus package frequently goes bananas and consumes 10's of gigabytes of memory, and none of the McAfee background processes will be listed in the error dialog box, which is why you have to use Activity Monitor or the ps command from a Terminal session.
I've also run into applications that spawn lots of processes and while each process does not take a lot of memory, when you have a few hundred of them, they start to add up.
Many users have lots of web browser tabs open, and each of those browser tabs runs a Javascript program. It is not uncommon for a Javascript program to have a memory leak. Not a problem is you visit a page, and then close the window or tab, but if the tab remains open for days or weeks, and it leaks a little be everyday, that adds up.
I do not know how much free storage you have on your system. While most users, especially users that have new systems, tend to have a few hundred gigabytes of free (unused) storage, there are some Macs that do not come with a lot of storage, and users have been known fill up that storage with lots of pictures and movies, and other stuff so that there is very little free storage space left. Low free storage space is the other way this error can be triggered.
And sometimes there are bugs in the operating system. Monterey macOS 12 has a current leak as reported in several web blogs and magazines. Google: "monterey memory leak" and you will find multiple stories. I’m sure that this will be corrected in the future, but as I do not work for Apple, I do not know when that will happen.
Now why it is happening on your system, I do not know, because no one in these forums has access to your system, especially when it is happening (that is a good thing). Which means it is up to you to investigate.
If you still want to return your Mac, here is the Apple Return Policy
https://www.apple.com/shop/help/returns_refund
Assuming you got your Mac after November 1st, you have until January 8th, 2022 to return it to Apple for a full refund (these are the Apple Christmas gift buying and returning rules; then change to 14-days after Christmas Day).
WhitegoldEmpire wrote:
I have the same issue too. running new M1 chip mac13 air, even after upgrading to Monterey,same problem. I get it even with only 4 apps open: pages, notes, safari, music,
at some point it will force quit the apps for me, without consent.
everything was running smooth until this!
Have you used Activity Monitor to identify the offending processes? See the my first reply to this thread on page 1.
fenskelynch wrote:
Hi Bob! Thanks for helping dig into this problem. I have a BRAND NEW M1 that I purchased one week ago. It's got 16MB RAM and I'm getting this error too. When I check the Activity Monitor, it tells me that I have plenty of RAM available and no processes are using an excess. But I still get the error. I am running Monterey 12.0.1. Any further thoughts?
A) There is a known memory leak bug in Monterey 12.0.1. You should upgrade to 12.1 (this version has been out for about a week). System Preferences -> Software Update
B) There should be a process (or several processes) that have excessive memory usage. If the apps listed in the "Your system is out of applications memory" dialog box do not show excessive memory usage, then make sure when using Activity Monitor, you set the Activity Monitor -> "View" menu to "All Processes", otherwise, it will not show you the daemons, agents, and other background processes.
C) And do not forget that if your internal SSD (NVMe) storage has too little free space, you can also get this dialog box. Since you say you have only had your M1 for a week, I'm suspecting maybe you have not run out of storage, unless you migrated a lot of data over from a previous Mac, and have basically filled up your internal SSD (NVMe) storage.
If you are getting "Your system has run out of application memory" dialog boxes, and a list of most likely innocent apps listed, then here is the explanation.
For the record, there are 2 reasons for the "Your system has run out of application memory" dialog box.
A) Your boot disk has very low free storage, and macOS cannot create page/swap files to offload virtual memory contents to disk. This is generally not the case, but I mention because if you do have very low free storage, it might apply.
B) A process (or set of processes) have asked macOS for excessive amounts of virtual memory address space. Virtual memory address space requires macOS to create Virtual Memory Page Tables in the kernel address space to keep track of the application virtual addresses given out. Generally, if there is a memory leak (process asks for a virtual address range, uses the addresses, forgets to give them back, asks for another virtual address range, uses the addresses, wash, rinse, repeat), eventually there are so many virtual memory page table entries trying to keep track of the virtual addresses, that macOS no longer has memory available for applications, and you get the "Your system has run out of application memory".
If you look at Applications -> Utilties -> Activity Monitor -> View (menu) -> All Processes -> Memory (tab), you can see what processes are using lots of memory.
You can also issue the following command from Applications -> Utilities -> Terminal:
ps ax -o vsz,pid,comm | sort -n
which will display the virtual memory used sorted so the largest virtual memory consuming users are at the end. The virtual memory sizes are in 1024 byte units.
NOTE: I have seen situations where no single process is using all the memory, but rather a host of smaller processes are using up all the virtual memory. That is to say, a 100 instances of the same program all running with a moderate amount of memory eventually adds up to a lot of page table entries being used.
I have also seen users with 100's of web browser tabs open, where each tab is being managed by its own separate process. And just because you are not looking at any give tab, does not mean the Javascript running on that web page, is not taking up memory and virtual addresses.
Sounds useful, thank you, Alexandra, I'll give that a try. Meanwhile just to double-check: is it normal for Safari Version 15.2 (17612.3.6.1.6) with 5 open tabs that contain mostly plain-text and basic HTML content to be showing this in the Activity Monitor? There are of course other processes named after each of the websites open, then there's a separate process for Safari, Safari Graphics and Media, Safari Networking...
Running macOS Monterey 12.1 on a MacBook Air (13-inch, Early 2015) with 8 GB 1600 MHz DDR3, around 30GB of the 120GB SSD disk space free. This is how it usually starts to look a couple of hours before another "Your system has run out of application memory" comes on...
janana01 wrote:
I have the same issue on MacBook Air m1 2020 16GB RAM. Mac OS Monterey 12.1
honestly, I buy apple so I don't have to worry about this stuff so this is so disappointing. is there a recall or a fix for this? unable to use the computer for work.
You have something in the background that is consuming memory, or you have run out of free storage on your boot device.
Go back to the first page of this thread, and read my reply. Then follow the instructions to diagnose what is causing your issue. Is it no storage left on your boot disk or is it a background task consuming all your memory.
janana01 wrote:
I would love to do it but i don’t work for apple. Tens of people are complaining it’s obviously a systemic bug. What are YOU doing to resolve this issue? Thank you
By the way. This is a user-to-user technical support forum, with unpaid volunteers providing help.
You are not talking to Apple.
If you wish to talk with Apple you can use this link Get Support
Or you can send Feedback to
https://www.apple.com/feedback/macos.html
Or you can get a free https://developer.apple.com account and file a bug report.
But the volunteers here can only provide help in the way of suggestions and education. We do not have access to any internal Apple information, nor systems, and we definitely do not have access to your system.
Which is why you have to do the investigation, as we have no way to do that for you.
Pookina wrote:
I'm having the same problem. It's been going on for the last week. I'm running an M1 Max MacBook Pro 16" with 32GB memory. Storage is half full. The message occurs even when the only things I have open are Safari and Finder.
Read and follow the information here
Your system has run out of application me… - Apple Community
This will help you to identify the app, or more likely the background daemon or agent that is causing your problems. While it could be an Apple bug, it could also be a bug in an 3rd party program that has not been updated for your new macOS release, but is tripping over something that changed. It is difficult to tell unless the cause is identified.
Frustrating that this issue has been around well over 6months now with no fix. Fingers xed for next os update.
Our current workaround is using cleanmymacx app ( recommend for all apple users!) and clicking on " Free up memory" in the dashboard. Saves having to quit and restart apps to clear cached app memory usage.
Re: CleanMyMac... most veteran users in the Communities will tell you that app is akin to garbage. I agree. CMM has the potential to do real damage to user files and cause more trouble than it claims to fix.
On 4/26/22 Emacartist37 posted that a restart improved things for them. That's no surprise because caches get cleared on reboot. While CMM can clear some of those same caches, if you stick to the recommendation to restart at least once a week, a lot of this can be avoided, I believe.
I "upgraded" to Monterey and the problem disappeared. (So far)
This worked for me, thank you
You did not. Why would this be happening with ANY app on a brand new M1 Mac with 16GB? It is ridiculous and a major Apple flaw!
Your system has run out of application memory
