Below is the " Detailed Dissection" of the supplied Etrecheck Report dated July 19, 2022
There are a number of issues that appear and have offered some possible solutions or suggestions
Problem: Computer is too slow Description: Kernel_task taking unto 300% of CPU
Q - No Time Machine backup - Time Machine backup not found.
A - Under this present setup, this indicates any Persona Data is expendable and can be replaced. A Time Machine Backup is very useful
Q - System Integrity Protection disabled - System Integrity Protection is disabled.
A - This has already been mentioned in a separate reply earlier and should be Enabled
Q - Automatic updates disabled - Automatic updates are disabled. This computer is at risk of malware infection.
A - Personal preferences but not suggested
Q - Security updates disabled - Security updates are disabled. This computer is at risk of malware infection.
A - Personal preferences but not suggested
Q - Apple security disabled - Apple security software is disabled. This computer is at risk of malware infection.
A - Personal preferences but not suggested
Q - High battery cycle count - Your battery may be losing capacity.
Q - Battery: Health = Normal - Cycle count = 1094
A - Batteries are considered Consumable Products. Over time it will degrade to a point where it needs to be replaced. The usage is normal as the capacity will go up and down all the time and never stay always at 100%. Apple Batteries are rated for 1000 Full Battery Cycles and / or 80% Capacity before needing Evaluation or replacement.
Q - Kernel extensions present - This computer has kernel extensions that may not work in the future.
Q - EnergyDriver.kext - com.intel.driver.EnergyDriver (3.7.0 - SDK 10.14)
A - This one I am not sure of as it appears to some Third Party extension that was installed. The Operating System is developed by Apple for Apple Computers and should be left to the Operating System to manage such functions.
MacBook Air Model: MacBookAir6,2 1.4 GHz Intel Core i5 (i5-4260U) CPU: 2-core
4 GB RAM - Not upgradeable
A - Running this computer with 4 GB RAM is doable. Though the machine will struggle to swap into and out of the RAM for most functions. This will further, be an issue, if the machine is running more than a couple of Native Apple applications at the sometime. It will lead to extra stress on the OS and will be a contributing factor with the Kernel_ Task Issue
System Software: macOS Mojave 10.14.6 (18G9323)
Q - System Integrity Protection: Disabled
Q - Automatic Updates: Disabled
Q - Security Updates: Disabled
A - All the three above has been covered earlier in this Analysis
Q - Kernel Extensions: /Library/Extensions
[Loaded] EnergyDriver.kext - com.intel.driver.EnergyDriver (3.7.0 - SDK 10.14)
A - Also covered earlier in the above Analysis
User Launch Agents:
[Loaded] com.microsoft.EdgeUpdater.update-internal.102.0.1247.0.plist (Microsoft Corporation - installed 2022-07-12)
[Loaded] com.microsoft.EdgeUpdater.update.plist (Microsoft Corporation - installed 2022-07-12)
[Loaded] com.microsoft.EdgeUpdater.wake.102.0.1247.0.plist (Microsoft Corporation - installed 2022-07-12)
Top Processes Snapshot by CPU: Process (count) CPU (Source - Location)
Q - Microsoft Edge 9.72 % (Microsoft Corporation)
Q - Microsoft Edge Helper (Renderer) (8) 6.56 % (Microsoft Corporation)
A - Personal Preference for web Browser but judging from the amount of CPU Usages MS Edge is a really Resource and Memory Hog and again a contributor Factor in the Main Issue this computer is experiencing
Top Processes Snapshot by Memory:
Q - Microsoft Edge Helper (Renderer) (8) 915 MB (Microsoft Corporation)
Q - Microsoft Edge 209 MB (Microsoft Corporation)
Q - Microsoft Edge Helper (GPU) 149 MB (Microsoft Corporation)
A - Personal Preference for web Browser but judging from the amount of CPU Usages MS Edge is a really Resource and Memory Hog and again a contributor Factor in the Main Issue this computer is experiencing
A - Alternative browsers are Available and my not be as CPU / Memory Hogs.
I have seen suggested by More Senior Contributors www.brave.com which is like Google Chrome but without the Overhead of Google
Top Processes Snapshot by Energy Use:
Q - Microsoft Edge 0 (Microsoft Corporation)
Q - Microsoft Edge Helper (3) 0 (Microsoft Corporation)
Q - Microsoft Edge Helper (Renderer) (8) 0 (Microsoft Corporation)
Software Installs (past 60 days):
Q - 2022-07-14 macOS Mojave Security Update 2021-005 (10.14.6)
Q - 2022-07-18 macOS Catalina (10.15.7)
A - Now this is interesting as it is showing macOS 10.15 Catalina has been downloaded and Installed on July 18, 2022. Is that correct as the report is showing the present OS is Mojave macOS 10.14
