asdllkjasdf

Q: Kernel_task is using over 600% of my CPU and slowing things down to a crawl!!!

This is getting ridiculous.  My late 2011 Macbook Pro 8,2 Intel Core i7 2.2 with 256GB SSD and 16GB RAM used to be so fast and snappy.  But ever since a few months ago, it's been so slow.  Kernel_task is using upwards of 600% of my CPU, my macbook pro heats up like crazy, and my fan becomes super loud.  This is especially embarrassing in class or in the library, when it's completely silent (except for the lecturer in class), and my computer sounds like it's going to blast off into space.  People actually turn their heads and stare.  More seriously, it's almost impossible to use my computer because it is so slow.  My intel core duo 2.0GHz mac mini with 2GB ram is actually faster than my macbook when this happens.  I use very graphic heavy programs (this is why I have my computer), and I'm unable to use them smoothly anymore.  Just previewing an image file takes like 3 mins to load up sometimes.

 

I've tried resetting the SMC, PRAM.  I've ran the Apple Hardware Test.  I've ran the Disk Utility to repair disk permissions and to verify the disk.  Everything is fine.  Running Console shows that there is no problem with the SMC.  I've even downloaded Onyx and ran every maintenance thing on there.  I've installed another user account, and installed another OSX on a different partition, and this Kernel_task craziness is ALWAYS there.  It starts up randomly it seems, and it goes away after an hour or two.  Then it starts up again after a few hours.  It is maddening.  It doesn't seem to be associated with any program.  It happens when there are no programs running. 

 

My mac's HD isn't encrypted.  I do use Time Machine (but it's unencrypted) on a network drive.  I'm at a loss as to what this can be.  Please help me... This issue is driving me crazy.  From my searches, it seems there are many others with the same exact problem.  Yet no one seems to know of a solution. 

MacBook Pro, OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.2)

Posted on Feb 17, 2013 6:02 PM

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Q: Kernel_task is using over 600% of my CPU and slowing things down to a crawl!!!

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  • by asdllkjasdf,

    asdllkjasdf asdllkjasdf Jun 23, 2013 7:59 PM in response to seabas917
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jun 23, 2013 7:59 PM in response to seabas917

    seabas917's suggestion really worked!!!  this is the first day that i haven't had kernel_task hog up the cpu for a full 24 hours since earlier this year!

     

    I have a question though, what did the fix actually do, and what are the long term consequences for this?  Thanks.

  • by Linc Davis,

    Linc Davis Linc Davis Jun 23, 2013 8:06 PM in response to asdllkjasdf
    Level 10 (208,000 points)
    Applications
    Jun 23, 2013 8:06 PM in response to asdllkjasdf

    I have a question though, what did the fix actually do, and what are the long term consequences for this?

     

    The answer to that question is in the post with the irresponsible advice that you took:

     

    "I take absolutely no responsibility for any damage or loss caused to you or your property, you do this of your own free will. You’re over-ruling functionality that was designed to prolong the life of your equipment..."

  • by SeeHole,

    SeeHole SeeHole Aug 30, 2013 5:02 PM in response to Linc Davis
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Aug 30, 2013 5:02 PM in response to Linc Davis

    600% + :/ MacBook Pro Late 2011 16GB RAM 750GB HD

     

    I have done DiskWarrior, PRAM, Hardware Test and all have come out clean. But my computer is moving like molasses

     

    Linc, this is what I get after putting the line into Terminal:

    com.metakine.handsoff.driver (2.0.4)

    at.obdev.nke.LittleSnitch (3932)

    com.AmbrosiaSW.AudioSupport (4.1.2)

    com.displaylink.driver.DisplayLinkDriver (1.8)

    com.Cycling74.driver.Soundflower (1.5.2)

    com.usboverdrive.driver.hid (3.0)

    com.bresink.driver.BRESINKx86Monitoring (8.0)

    org.virtualbox.kext.VBoxDrv (3.0.10)

    org.virtualbox.kext.VBoxUSB (3.0.10)

    org.virtualbox.kext.VBoxNetFlt (3.0.10)

    org.virtualbox.kext.VBoxNetAdp (3.0.10)

     

    Any ideas? Little Snitch has never given me a problem and I am not sure how to find Handsoff, or some of the other things...

  • by John Galt,

    John Galt John Galt Aug 30, 2013 5:06 PM in response to SeeHole
    Level 8 (49,683 points)
    Mac OS X
    Aug 30, 2013 5:06 PM in response to SeeHole

    SeeHole, please start a new discussion with the details you posted. There is no guarantee that Linc Davis or anyone else remains subscribed to this topic, and tacking on to this post will only draw attention to the ridiculous advice referenced in the "tech blog" below. It won't help and is likely to cause additional problems.

  • by SeeHole,

    SeeHole SeeHole Aug 30, 2013 5:20 PM in response to John Galt
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Aug 30, 2013 5:20 PM in response to John Galt

    Listening to the man with over 25,000 points.

     

    Done ---> https://discussions.apple.com/thread/5274251

     

    Thanks and understood.

  • by seabas917,

    seabas917 seabas917 Aug 30, 2013 6:12 PM in response to Linc Davis
    Level 1 (5 points)
    Aug 30, 2013 6:12 PM in response to Linc Davis

    The answer is no, this is only a short-term fix to a larger hardware failure..  In the end you need to replace the hardware giving the bad sensor data.. YES  the fix is Replace the Hardware thats broken (In my case a battery sensor) 

     

    This fix is "safe" because all the kernaltask0 overheat safeguards (Ironically putting the CPU at 600%) are really a redundant piece of software to the OverHeat kill switch in the hardware of the motherboard… Trust me, Windows 7 Bootcamp does Not use kernaltask0, as a heat reduction solution!!! When you macbook pro overheats on windows, the mother board crashes the system to protect the parts from heat damage with a significant margin for error too.. 99.9% of all computers have this safeguard, even your iPhone or smartphone.. 

     

    So why add this software at all??

     

     

     

    If ever I have problems with kerneltask0 again I will not hesitate to move my Macs identifier file (MacBookPro8_2.plist) again..

     

    Its just more Annoying then its worth.

     

    I hope other’s find this helpfull

     

    <Edited by Host>

  • by Zenmacbe,

    Zenmacbe Zenmacbe Sep 20, 2013 1:46 AM in response to asdllkjasdf
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 20, 2013 1:46 AM in response to asdllkjasdf

    Thanks for your help

     

    I'd the same proble : Kernel_task using +600%

    my MacbookPro (C2i7-2GHZ, 8GB RAM,10.8.3) was a nightmare, imossible to use textedit for example,...

     

    i follow the instructions : identify my machine type  and after remove file MacBookPro8_2.plist

    and after the reboot : my machine is like a super car

     

    So thanks , and i hope that it will be the same for  users with the same problem : Too slow machine

     

     

    share this fix !

     

     

    Christophe

  • by dissidently,

    dissidently dissidently Oct 1, 2013 2:45 PM in response to Linc Davis
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apple TV
    Oct 1, 2013 2:45 PM in response to Linc Davis

    @Linc

     

    Everywhere this problem pops up you're being deliberately obtuse and disingenuous. In multiple ways.

     

    You know exactly what causes this problem.

     

    You know many of the different fixes, and at least a couple of the "fixes".

     

    Why do you act like people are sufficiently stupid to deserve your misleading ways about this?

     

    ++++++ For everyone else ++++++

     

    The most likely cause of this problem is a build up of dust in your fans/vents or other disablments, inefficiencies, misreports or fails in your cooling system leading the operating system to believe (rightly or wrongly) that your system is overly hot.

     

    There are two approaches to solving this:

     

    1. Find the source of excess heat build up (or misrepresenation of that heat build up) and fix it.

     

    2. Over-ride the method the software (Operating System) is using to clamp CPU use (kernal_task) activation.

     

    If I knew how to achieve 2, within a Retina Macbook Pro, I'd be very happy right now.  But I don't.  Anyone know?

     

    **** Generally speaking you shouldn't over-ride something "protecting" your system unless it's doing so unncessarily, or you're knowingly doing something that requires FULL CPU use for extended periods... like rendering or compiling. 

  • by seabas917,

    seabas917 seabas917 Oct 1, 2013 7:15 PM in response to dissidently
    Level 1 (5 points)
    Oct 1, 2013 7:15 PM in response to dissidently


    @dissidentlFirstly I'm really sorry to hear your having this problem too. A part of me, was hoping the Retina Macbook Pro would run more reliabley.  I guesa its not just one bad apple.. haha.. sad..

    If I knew how to achieve 2, within a Retina Macbook Pro, I'd be very happy right now.  But I don't.  Anyone know?

     

     

    I did some digging because I thought there would be a Macbook Pro Retina, entry in this universal Plist folder.
    I was suprised to see there was not.

     

     

    Mavericks Universal Plist folder, No sing of Retina.. Strange..

    Where is the retena Plist copy.jpg

    I'll keep my eyes open on the net, for the Macbook Pro Retina's identifiers...

     

     

    If you find it, I would apitiate the infomation, keep me in the loop,

    Thanks,

  • by brickellcomp,

    brickellcomp brickellcomp Oct 2, 2013 9:54 AM in response to seabas917
    Level 1 (5 points)
    Oct 2, 2013 9:54 AM in response to seabas917

    Hi,

     

    My identifier is MacBookPro10,1 but I cant find it anywhere.

     

    Have you had any luck locating the retina identifiers?

     

    Thanks,

  • by dissidently,

    dissidently dissidently Oct 3, 2013 2:42 AM in response to seabas917
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apple TV
    Oct 3, 2013 2:42 AM in response to seabas917

    My id is the same as brickellcomp - MacBookPro10,1

     

    I've deleted ALL entries in that folder, thinking that it might be hiding in there, but still the same problem.

     

    Watching temps there's no correlation between absolute heat and the Kernal_Task doing its thing.

     

    But I do think it's kicking in if the rate of climb in temperature is rapid... like when I start rendering, compresssing or otherwise spanking all 8 cores.

     

    It's extremely annoying because something that should take a couple of minutes to render blows out to 20+ or more minutes.  And the entire machine goes SLUGGISH.

  • by Warren Allgyer,

    Warren Allgyer Warren Allgyer Oct 3, 2013 5:06 PM in response to asdllkjasdf
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Oct 3, 2013 5:06 PM in response to asdllkjasdf

    I took the back off of my 11" mid-2011 Macbook Air and carefully blew out the filters and the fan (I held the fan with a finger to keep it from rotating). It did not look initially like there was much dust but some significant dust bunnies came running out. Put the back on and started it up and kernel_task is behaving beautifully. I went from 200-500% CPU to 7-8%.

     

    Clearly, in my case, it was a simple case of reduced air flow because of dirt that was leading to overheating. I didn't do anything fancy. Just an aerosol can of compressed air from Radio Shack.

  • by seabas917,

    seabas917 seabas917 Oct 4, 2013 4:16 AM in response to Warren Allgyer
    Level 1 (5 points)
    Oct 4, 2013 4:16 AM in response to Warren Allgyer

    As annoying as it sounds, your use case, is actually the way Kernel task is meant to work... For everyone else on this form who had the Macbook8,2 or older this would happen regardless of rendering or processing at all.

     

    It really sounds like the Newer thiner Retina MacBooks, may have a really hard time dispersing heat..  If this is the case, I would NOT modify the plist because there are other parts of the computer that can break or even explode if heat is not dispersed properly. Its thinner too, making that all the more difficult..

     

     

    Clean out out your fans..           •          Difficulty: Difficult

     

    http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Replacing+MacBook+Pro+15-Inch+Retina+Display+Mid+201 2+Left+Fan/9719/1

     

    Let me suggest, compressed air is really ineffective on the squirrel fans, in the Mac line up.

    I messier about 1cm Of dust buildup per year in the Macbook8,2.. Your going to need a person who good at opening electronics, to remove the fans clean them and reinstall them.
    This also makes the computer completely silent.. Like it was out of the box.

  • by Warren Allgyer,

    Warren Allgyer Warren Allgyer Oct 4, 2013 6:11 PM in response to seabas917
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Oct 4, 2013 6:11 PM in response to seabas917

    You could be right. On the other hand:

     

    1) It worked. kernel_task utilization went from 200+ to <10% and has stayed there for two days under all operating conditions. And the Macbook is completely silent.

     

    2) Fan noise is determined by fan speed and air flow, not by fan cleanliness. If the operating temperature is kept lower by more effective air flow, then the fan does not have to work as hard. The fan speed will be lower and the intake air velocity lower, both leading to much less noise. The noise is a key indicator; if the noise is high then the temperature is high and the airflow is less than what the system desires.

  • by davidnajeradj,

    davidnajeradj davidnajeradj Nov 24, 2013 7:44 PM in response to asdllkjasdf
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Nov 24, 2013 7:44 PM in response to asdllkjasdf

    This solve the problem for me.

     

    1. Go to About this mac under the apple in the upper left and click on More info

    2. Click on system report

    3. make a note of what it says after Model Identifier

    4. go to your master drive – System -Library – Extensions – IOPlatformPluginFamily.kext -Contents – Plugins – ACPI_SMC_PlatformPlugin.kext – Contents – Resources – find the name from step 3 and move it to a folder that you can find again if needed.

    3. Restart and you’re done

    I hope this helps.

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