High memory usage MacBook M1 2020

Question

Level 1

4 points

High memory usage MacBook M1 2020

Hello,

Since two weeks I'm facing problems with my MacBook Pro M1 2020 8GB 256GB. For 4 years I had zero problems, 100's of tabs open in Chrome, heavy leading website, no problem for my Mac. Two weeks ago I installed ExoCharts (application with a lot of data), then it the program crashed a couple of times. I minimized the data and the app worked just fine and quick. This was the first time an app froze.

Now im at the point whereby I can't use chrome because it will crash, even with 1 tab open. I deleted most of the 3th party apps, went into save mode (works better but difficult to test), cleaned cache and so on. I've noticed in activitymonitor that Windowserver is taking a lot of memory. CPU always stays relatively low but the memory is the problem. Creative cloud from adobe is also a problem but cant remove it for some reason. All my apps and macOS is updated.

What can I do? Is it helpful to reinstall macOS and start fresh? Or any other options? If you need any more info, let me know!

Windowserver #2

Log loginwindow

This is my activitymonitor. As you can see I have two open tabs in safari, discord and that's it. If I open another app, or couple of tabs the green goes half way, becomes yellow and that's the moment it crashes.

MacBook Pro 13″

Posted on Apr 9, 2024 10:18 AM

Reply

Answer 1

etresoft

Level 9

56,494 points

Apr 9, 2024 1:47 PM in response to Jeremyy101

Check your disk space. Often these "low memory" problems are low "virtual" memory, which is disk space. But be careful, Apple usually refers to "available" storage, which is meaningless. You want "free" storage as specified in Disk Utility.

Reply

Answer 2

Owl-53

Level 10

102,955 points

Apr 10, 2024 1:18 AM in response to Jeremyy101

Generally, System Crashes can be a system of a Hardware Issue OR Third Party Kernel Extension that was installed and used on this machine

To try and rule out Kernel Extension as a possible source of this issue.

Restart in Safe Mode. This will perform a Disk Repair, clear cache files and only load Apple Software, extensions and fonts. The boot up will be slow and can take some time - Normal.

Safe Mode will also eliminate Third Party Software, extensions and drivers from loading.

It will only load the Minimum amount of Core Apple Processes to allow the the computer to function at a reduced Level of Performance

Does the issue present in this mode ?

Reply