Random periods of lag

Question

Random periods of lag

I bought a new 15" MBP in October (installed Lion after purchase), and it's been running perfectly up until the past week or so. Recently, it seems to be lagging randomly in different programs. Mostly I use Safari, so that's where I notice it most, but it's done it in iTunes, Microsoft Word, browsing webpages, etc. In websites, I'll get the busy mouse icon when I try to scroll or enter text into some boxes, even after the page is fully loaded. It's happened with several different wifi connections, at least two of which are consistently reliable (one, being my home network). In word, I'll get the busy mouse randomly while typing. Sometimes it'll happen when I try to switch between open tabs or open programs. There doesn't seem to be any real consistency other than that it started happening recently and it happens basically every time I use my computer. It's happened plugged in and not, and after a recent restart and not.

I haven't downloaded anything new, my software is up-to-date (I check fairly regularly), my browsing/usage patterns haven't changed much, and there is plenty of storage space still on my computer.

It's maddeningly frustrating since this is a brand new computer and the problem seems to have come out of nowhere! Any help would be greatly appreciated.... there's no Apple store near where I live, and I'd prefer not to have to pay the Geek Squad until I'm out of other options.

MacBook Pro, iOS 5.0.1

Posted on Jan 6, 2012 2:57 PM

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Answer 1

Jan 6, 2012 3:23 PM in response to sarafromtallahassee

Let's not get you to the Geek Squad, just in case you really have a serious hardware issue, because they'll charge you whereas Apple will cover you under warranty. Just a few questions:

Have you downloaded MacKeeper or MacDefender? Or any other "anti-virus" software?
How much memory do you have? Open up Utilities>Activity Monitor, and watch it when things start lagging. Tell us how many Page Outs you have, and how much memory is being used.
How much memory is Safari is using?
How many and what kinds of extensions are you using with Safari?
Do you use Flash a lot?

Once we know this, we can drill down to your situation. I doubt anything serious is going on (unless you download MacKeeper), and maybe you should consider a few things to speed up your computer like more memory.

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Answer 2

Jan 6, 2012 4:10 PM in response to OrangeMarlin

Hi, thanks for the rapid response!

I do not have any sort of anti-virus.

I've got 2 2GB slots, and 675GB free storage space. When it lags, the CPU% drops to only like 3% or less for everything (safari was at about 50% when it was running fine). The page outs stays consistently at 0 bytes, lag or no. The active memory reads 1.36GB, and 1.57GB free.

Safari itself is using about 91MB, the safari content right now is at about 320MB, and flash player is at about 245MB, all consistently.

I'm not using any extensions right now (haven't ever used them).

I use flash a moderate amount. I don't have cable, so I use it at least a few times per week for shows and whatnot.

Again, it's a brand new MBP, and I don't have tons of pictures or videos or anything like that stored.

Not sure if it's relavent, but I did get it open box from Best Buy; I was told they restore everything to factory upon a return and it's been running perfectly for months now.

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