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.
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 Bob. So how do I solve my problem? How do I figure out which program(s) are reserving (as opposed to using) too much space?
As I stated in my reply, usr Activity Monitor and the ps command to figure out which processes are using all your virtual memory.
if the offending process(es) are not obvious, then you have to dig through the ps output and see if there is a group of processess adding up to a collective worse offender.
once you know what, you can decide if you can change your behaviohr, renove the softeare, get a vew version, etc…
I have a iMac M1 running macOS 11.6.1 with 16GB of memory and a 1TB SSD of storage on the system board. Today is the first time I've seen Your system has run out of application memory while using Big Sur on the M1.
If it occurs again I'll try to see what applications are using VM. Thanks for the tip.
I'm also seeing it repeatedly in the days after upgrading to 11.6.1.
16GB RAM, 1TB SSD with 222GB free, MBP Pro 15-inch.
I have not changed my usage pattern or installed new apps, and Activity Monitor is not showing memory hogs or large numbers of browser processes .
I'm guessing it is related to 11.6.1, and hoping 11.6.2 will bring relief.
I "upgraded" to Monterey and the problem disappeared. (So far)
That's good. At the macrumors forum I see complaints it starting for others after upgrading to Monterey. At any rate, Big Sur is the highest OS my Mac will support.
I ran today in the same problem. Got the notification screen about running out of memory. Firefox was using some 18 Gb RAM out of 16 Gb (?).
But I am unsure is Firefox the real problem.
There seems to be apparently Accessibility related background process ’universalaccessd’. The process in question has tendency to grow its memory usage every time the computer wakes up from sleep (+200-500~Mb) to ridiculous proportions (10-12Gb) until the computer is restarted.
I tested it today couple of times. First time with 30 sleep-wake up cycles and the end result was some 8 Gb memory used. After restarting the computer it again started from around 230 Mb memory usage. After uncountable number of S-WU cycles the memory usage had grown up to 12 Gb.
I did some research and tried to find some solutions (restarting, force quiting the process, unselecting accessibility options, uninstalling previously installed apps and stuff) but every time ’universalaccessd’ appears back and starts growing its memory usage.
You are right. My Monterey just complained about lack of application memory for the first time. Back to square one.
Monterey memory leaks: https://eclecticlight.co/2021/11/15/montereys-memory-leak-and-how-to-avoid-it/
I just received my M1 Max 10/32c with 32GB RAM and am for the first time seeing this issue. I'm a reasonably heavy After Effects user and Monterey appears to be having problems managing the memory here. Whether this is Adobe or Apple remains to be seen but judging as other users are experiencing the same problem without mentioning Adobe I'm inclined to believe the issue is with OS X. This isn't something I've seen in the 15 some years of using this professionally even with 4/8 or 16GB of RAM my previous machines. Hopefully this can be fixed in a. future update.
Bob, your instructions are not a solution. You need to dig deeper and revise it.
This is ridiculous. Brand new mac, running only 5 programs - none of which are large editing apps. They are just browsers and small task apps. I'm returning this pos computer
>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.
>This is ridiculous. Brand new mac, running only 5 programs - none of which are large editing apps. They are just browsers and small task apps. I'm returning this pos computer
If you read my first reply, I explained why this is happening, and how you can find the offending process (or processes).
But if you want to return your Mac, because it is Christmas season, Apple offers refunds until January 6th (or is it the 8th), assuming you purchased this Mac recently.
Your system has run out of application memory
