Safari Web Content abusing my resources ( 10.8.2 )

Question

Level 1

0 points

Safari Web Content abusing my resources ( 10.8.2 )

Hello,

Safari Web Content process is abusing my resources, it's taking more than 13GB out of 16GB after 2 days of active session. I have no Extension loaded and my system is fairly new. This doesn't happen with other browsers ( Opera / Chrome ).

I have a core i7 16GB iMac with 1.8TB free space and all updates installed.

I have no system error or anything exceptino showing in the kernel.log file.

The only error safari displays when I close a tab is :

Safari[247]: CGContextClipToRect: invalid context 0x0

Safari itself is not using more than 1GB but it's the Safari Web Contect that is using a constant 9-12% of the CPU and more than 5GB or RAM on a long browsing session.

I am about to lose my temper on this machine as I can't tolerate a swap usage on a fairly powerful machine with basic applications running in background ( mail, cyberduck, itunes and Adobe flash pro )

I have a solid technical level if that helps ( more like a computer guru )

Any advice is appreciated.

Posted on Mar 3, 2013 8:08 AM

Reply

Answer 1

Linc Davis

Level 10

209,547 points

Mar 3, 2013 11:46 AM in response to IA64

Test in safe mode.

Reply

Answer 2

Mar 3, 2013 11:54 AM in response to IA64

You can try resetting safari to clear caches and other items that might be contributing to a mishandling of data that leads to the high resource usage. This can be done in the Safari menu, and by enabling the develop menu in its Advanced preferneces followed by choosing the option in here to empty the browser's cache.

Reply

Answer 3

IA64 Author

Level 1

0 points

Mar 3, 2013 1:28 PM in response to Topher Kessler

Hello,

I already cleared the cache by deleting the cache.db file and tried the PRAM ( P+R+CMD+OPT ). Tried also turning off the iMac and holding the power button for 10 seconds. Nothing helped.

I am afraid that the test in safe mode is not practical since I need a to have a long session ( 1 day or so ) of browsing which is not very friendly under safe mode.

What's the difference between Safai and Safari web content ? And that error when closing tabs, is it related to anything ?

I am looking at the update history and looks like the issue started after updating Java to 1.7.0_15. Needs to be confirmed by someone.

Reply

Answer 4

Linc Davis

Level 10

209,547 points

Mar 3, 2013 3:28 PM in response to IA64

The error when closing tabs means nothing. If the Java update is temporally related to the problem, disable Java and test. You should do that anyway, as it's unsafe to leave Java enabled all the time.

Reply

Answer 5

IA64 Author

Level 1

0 points

Mar 3, 2013 4:39 PM in response to Linc Davis

Unsafe to leave Java enabled all the time ? pardon me but Java doesn't run unless you give it the permission. That's the case after the latest update.

Reply

Answer 6

Linc Davis

Level 10

209,547 points

Mar 3, 2013 4:44 PM in response to IA64

That's right, but if you haven't enabled Java, then it has nothing to do with your problem.

Reply

Answer 7

dePaula

Level 1

15 points

Mar 5, 2013 11:24 AM in response to IA64

I was also experiencing this (eating up 8-12 GB of RAM, fans kick on, everything hangs - even Force Quit, and spinning beachball) and switched to Chrome as my primary browser as a result. I hadn't experienced it for a couple months until just now. I had Facebook open all times this has happened, so I wonder if there is something at Facebook.com that Safari gets hung on.

Originally I uninstalled Flash and that did the trick. But now obviously it seems there was something else contributing to the problem.

Java has been disabled for quite awhile in preferences, but I did have some old extensions still active (like Omnibar) which I have deleted. I even deactivated extensions all together. So far so good.

I'm running 10.8.2 with Safari 6.0.2 on a 2010 17" MacBook Pro.

I think I'm sticking with Chrome.

Reply

Answer 8

IA64 Author

Level 1

0 points

Apr 4, 2013 7:39 AM in response to IA64

Best solution so far :

Remove Safari from my dock.. Installed Chrome and never had any single issue.

I have more than 30 tabs opened ( facebook , 4 forums, youtube, twitter etc.. ) and not a single lag. Memory is still 80% free.

I wish I could use the default browser in Mac but it's a hopelss case.

Reply

Answer 9

Zomp

Level 1

35 points

Oct 23, 2013 8:37 PM in response to IA64

Try this:

You may have already solved the mystery of Safari Web Content using up so much memory or Ram. All you will need to do is go to the Safari Menu and select Reset Safari and check all the boxes. allow about a minute or two during the reset and your safari will be back to normal. I reclaimed about 2GB of memory.

Also web content can be limited

Reply