Kernel Task is using CPU and slowing down MacBook massivly

I just keep the things I want backed up to dropbox in the dropbox folder on my Mac. Then they are always backed up whenever they are changed. That’s what the dropbox folder is for.

Arthur,

I have provided a report from the app that you have suggested. Can you please read through it and tell me what you think my problem could be. I've read through a bunch of your analytical reports for other people and have followed some of your suggestions but now i would highly appreciate it if you could help me figure out what else the problem could be. I would also highly appreciate if you could give me some software names that would help me clean up the problem. Here is my report below:

EtreCheck version: 1.9.12 (48)

Report generated July 20, 2014 at 11:56:00 PM EDT

Hardware Information:

MacBook Pro (13-inch, Mid 2010) (Verified)

MacBook Pro - model: MacBookPro7,1

1 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo CPU: 2 cores

4 GB RAM

Video Information:

NVIDIA GeForce 320M - VRAM: 256 MB

Color LCD 1280 x 800

System Software:

OS X 10.9.4 (13E28) - Uptime: 4 days 8:10:1

Disk Information:

Hitachi HTS545025B9SA02 disk0 : (250.06 GB)

EFI (disk0s1) <not mounted>: 209.7 MB

Macintosh HD (disk0s2) / [Startup]: 249.2 GB (51.88 GB free)

Recovery HD (disk0s3) <not mounted>: 650 MB

MATSHITADVD-R UJ-898

USB Information:

Apple Inc. Built-in iSight

Apple Internal Memory Card Reader

Apple Inc. BRCM2046 Hub

Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller

Apple Computer, Inc. IR Receiver

Apple Inc. Apple Internal Keyboard / Trackpad

Configuration files:

/etc/hosts - Count: 1

Gatekeeper:

Anywhere

Kernel Extensions:

[not loaded] arcana.PRAM (6.1) Support

[not loaded] com.aliph.driver.jstub (1.1.2 - SDK 10.7) Support

[not loaded] com.hzsystems.driver.CDSDAudioCaptureSupport (1.5) Support

[not loaded] com.roxio.TDIXController (2.0) Support

Startup Items:

ArcanaStartupSound: Path: /Library/StartupItems/ArcanaStartupSound

HP IO: Path: /Library/StartupItems/HP IO

TiVoDesktop: Path: /Library/StartupItems/TiVoDesktop

Launch Daemons:

[loaded] com.adobe.fpsaud.plist Support

[loaded] com.google.keystone.daemon.plist Support

[loaded] com.macpaw.CleanMyMac2.Agent.plist Support

[loaded] com.microsoft.office.licensing.helper.plist Support

[loaded] com.oracle.java.JavaUpdateHelper.plist Support

[loaded] com.spyresoft.dockmodhelper.plist Support

[loaded] com.teamviewer.Helper.plist Support

[not loaded] com.teamviewer.teamviewer_service.plist Support

[loaded] net.freemacsoft.LiteIcon.LIHelperTool.plist Support

[loaded] net.sourceforge.MonolingualHelper.plist Support

Launch Agents:

[loaded] com.google.keystone.agent.plist Support

[loaded] com.hp.help.tocgenerator.plist Support

[not loaded] com.teamviewer.teamviewer.plist Support

[not loaded] com.teamviewer.teamviewer_desktop.plist Support

[running] org.chromium.chromoting.plist Support

User Launch Agents:

[running] com.ecamm.printopia.plist Support

[loaded] com.macpaw.CleanMyMac2Helper.scheduledScan.plist Support

[failed] com.macpaw.CleanMyMac2Helper.trashWatcher.plist Support

[running] com.spotify.webhelper.plist Support

User Login Items:

Dropbox

Alfred

Google Drive

Internet Plug-ins:

o1dbrowserplugin: Version: 5.4.2.18903 Support

Default Browser: Version: 537 - SDK 10.9

OfficeLiveBrowserPlugin: Version: 12.3.1 Support

Silverlight: Version: 5.1.30317.0 - SDK 10.6 Support

FlashPlayer-10.6: Version: 14.0.0.145 - SDK 10.6 Support

DivX Web Player: Version: 3.0.1.5 - SDK 10.5 Support

Flash Player: Version: 14.0.0.145 - SDK 10.6 Support

QuickTime Plugin: Version: 7.7.3

googletalkbrowserplugin: Version: 5.4.2.18903 Support

SharePointBrowserPlugin: Version: 14.3.9 - SDK 10.6 Support

OnLiveGameClientDetector: Version: OnLiveGameClientDetector 1.0.0 Support

iPhotoPhotocast: Version: 7.0

JavaAppletPlugin: Version: Java 7 Update 60 Check version

Safari Extensions:

Save to Pocket: Version: 1.9.1

AdBlock: Version: 2.7.7

Open in Internet Explorer: Version: 1.0

Stylish: Version: 1.6

Audio Plug-ins:

BluetoothAudioPlugIn: Version: 1.0 - SDK 10.9

AirPlay: Version: 2.0 - SDK 10.9

AppleAVBAudio: Version: 203.2 - SDK 10.9

iSightAudio: Version: 7.7.3 - SDK 10.9

iTunes Plug-ins:

Quartz Composer Visualizer: Version: 1.4 - SDK 10.9

User Internet Plug-ins:

KickStartPlugIn64: Version: 1.1 - SDK 10.7 Support

3rd Party Preference Panes:

Akamai NetSession Preferences Support

remoting_host_prefpane Support

Flash Player Support

Printopia Support

TiVo Desktop Support

Time Machine:

Skip System Files: NO

Mobile backups: OFF

Auto backup: NO - Auto backup turned off

Volumes being backed up:

Macintosh HD: Disk size: 232.09 GB Disk used: 183.77 GB

Destinations:

Marc's Time Machine [Local] (Last used)

Total size: 232.57 GB

Total number of backups: 2

Oldest backup: 2014-07-04 08:04:10 +0000

Last backup: 2014-07-04 08:05:08 +0000

Size of backup disk: Too small

Backup size 232.57 GB < (Disk used 183.77 GB X 3)

Time Machine details may not be accurate.

All volumes being backed up may not be listed.

Top Processes by CPU:

3% WindowServer

3% Google Chrome

1% ocspd

1% sysmond

0% fontd

Top Processes by Memory:

106 MB Google Chrome

86 MB systemstats

57 MB WindowServer

45 MB Finder

45 MB Google Chrome Helper

Virtual Memory Information:

900 MB Free RAM

1.22 GB Active RAM

366 MB Inactive RAM

664 MB Wired RAM

7.91 GB Page-ins

422 MB Page-outs

Pleas get back to me. I may forget to check this in the future so if you wouldn't mind could you please post this here and send it to me in an email? thank you so much. Sincerely, Marc.

<Edited by Host, Removed personal information>

Suggestions:

1. Best not to hijack the thread, but to start a new thread of your own. But I’ll try to answer anyway.
2. Don’t post your private e-mail here unless you want to get inundated with spam.
3. Uninstall cleanmymac
   1. http://macpaw.com/support/cleanmymac/knowledgebase/how-to-uninstall-cleanmymac-2
   2. You don’t need “cleaning” software in the first place. Any software that purports to “clean”, “optimize”, “accelerate”, etc., your mac, is not a good idea, and will screw up your mac.
   3. However, just uninstalling CMM may not fix the problem due to the damage that may have been caused to your OS; you may need to start over:
      1. back up your documents (don’t back up your apps, and don’t back up system software)
      2. make sure you have up to date installers for your apps and the capability to reinstall Mavericks
      3. reformat (erase) your HD
      4. reinstall mavericks from scratch (not from a backup)
      5. reinstall your apps from scratch (not from a backup)
      6. copy your documents from the backup to your new installation.
      7. don’t install “cleaning” software.
4. Uninstall the google keystone agent. See HOWTO: Remove Google Software Update on Mac OS X - Raam Dev
5. Uninstall the startup items (Apple deprecated startup items back in 10.7, which means they told developers to stop using them).

＠Vlabarca.

You have (or had) hacked software on your system, and even if you do not have real issues, i suggest to uninstall it.

The Adblock plugin is not Mavericks compatible afaik, try AdblockPlus.

Akamai software is crapware.

hp.tocgenerator is crippling software. Also google update should be gone.

I advise not to use Alfred in Mavericks, counterproductive, a thing from the past.

I don't trust all 4 kexts.

And I strongly support Arthur's point 3 !!

Lex

Arthur,

Your responses look so helpful for the same issue I'm having. I hope you don't mind taking a look at my report. I am not sure how to reach you otherwise; I hope it's OK to post my question on this thread. My desktop is also warm to the touch, not sure if this is related. Thank you so very much, Diane

EtreCheck version: 1.9.12 (48)

Report generated July 31, 2014 at 8:48:10 AM MDT

Hardware Information:

iMac (27-inch, Mid 2011) (Verified)

iMac - model: iMac12,2

1 2.7 GHz Intel Core i5 CPU: 4 cores

4 GB RAM

Video Information:

AMD Radeon HD 6770M - VRAM: 512 MB

iMac 2560 x 1440

System Software:

OS X 10.9.4 (13E28) - Uptime: 0 days 0:30:24

Disk Information:

WDC WD1001FALS-403AA0 disk0 : (1 TB)

EFI (disk0s1) <not mounted>: 209.7 MB

Macintosh HD (disk0s2) / [Startup]: 999.35 GB (293.11 GB free)

Recovery HD (disk0s3) <not mounted>: 650 MB

OPTIARC DVD RW AD-5680H

USB Information:

Seagate Desktop 1 TB

EFI (disk1s1) <not mounted>: 209.7 MB

Expansion Drive (disk1s2) /Volumes/Expansion Drive: 999.86 GB (457.96 GB free)

Apple Inc. BRCM2046 Hub

Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller

Apple Inc. FaceTime HD Camera (Built-in)

Apple Computer, Inc. IR Receiver

Apple Internal Memory Card Reader

Thunderbolt Information:

Apple Inc. thunderbolt_bus

Gatekeeper:

Mac App Store and identified developers

Launch Daemons:

[loaded] com.adobe.fpsaud.plist Support

[loaded] com.adobe.SwitchBoard.plist Support

[running] com.backblaze.bzserv.plist Support

[loaded] com.microsoft.office.licensing.helper.plist Support

Launch Agents:

[not loaded] com.adobe.AAM.Updater-1.0.plist Support

[running] com.Affinegy.InstaLANa.plist Support

User Launch Agents:

[loaded] com.adobe.AAM.Updater-1.0.plist Support

[failed] com.apple.CSConfigDotMacCert-[...]@me.com-SharedServices.Agent.plist

[running] com.backblaze.bzbmenu.plist Support

[loaded] com.citrixonline.GoToMeeting.G2MUpdate.plist Support

[loaded] com.google.keystone.agent.plist Support

[loaded] uk.co.markallan.clamxav.clamscan.plist Support

[loaded] uk.co.markallan.clamxav.freshclam.plist Support

User Login Items:

iTunesHelper

Belkin Router Monitor

Dropbox

WDDriveUtilityHelper

WDSecurityHelper

ElementsAutoAnalyzer

Internet Plug-ins:

FlashPlayer-10.6: Version: 14.0.0.145 - SDK 10.6 Support

QuickTime Plugin: Version: 7.7.3

Flash Player: Version: 14.0.0.145 - SDK 10.6 Support

Default Browser: Version: 537 - SDK 10.9

SharePointBrowserPlugin: Version: 14.3.8 - SDK 10.6 Support

Scorch: Version: 6.2.0 Support

Silverlight: Version: 5.1.10411.0 - SDK 10.6 Support

DirectorShockwave: Version: 11.6.1r629 Support

iPhotoPhotocast: Version: 7.0 - SDK 10.8

Audio Plug-ins:

BluetoothAudioPlugIn: Version: 1.0 - SDK 10.9

AirPlay: Version: 2.0 - SDK 10.9

AppleAVBAudio: Version: 203.2 - SDK 10.9

iSightAudio: Version: 7.7.3 - SDK 10.9

iTunes Plug-ins:

Quartz Composer Visualizer: Version: 1.4 - SDK 10.9

User Internet Plug-ins:

CitrixOnlineWebDeploymentPlugin: Version: 1.0.105 Support

WebEx64: Version: 1.0 - SDK 10.6 Support

3rd Party Preference Panes:

Backblaze Backup Support

Flash Player Support

Growl Support

Time Machine:

Skip System Files: NO

Mobile backups: OFF

Auto backup: NO - Auto backup turned off

Volumes being backed up:

Macintosh HD: Disk size: 930.71 GB Disk used: 657.73 GB

Destinations:

Expansion Drive [Local] (Last used)

Total size: 931.19 GB

Total number of backups: 1

Oldest backup: 2013-02-21 18:40:43 +0000

Last backup: 2013-02-21 18:40:43 +0000

Size of backup disk: Too small

Backup size 931.19 GB < (Disk used 657.73 GB X 3)

Time Machine details may not be accurate.

All volumes being backed up may not be listed.

Top Processes by CPU:

3% QuickLookUIHelper

2% WindowServer

2% com.apple.quicklook.satellite

1% bztransmit

1% PluginProcess

Top Processes by Memory:

291 MB bztransmit

229 MB Finder

156 MB com.apple.IconServicesAgent

147 MB Safari

143 MB mds_stores

Virtual Memory Information:

95 MB Free RAM

1.58 GB Active RAM

1.48 GB Inactive RAM

853 MB Wired RAM

800 MB Page-ins

72 KB Page-outs

Does not look too bad.

--Uninstall Clamxav completely (this is the wrong app), restart, download the Clamxav from the Appstore.

--Uninstall Adobe Switchboard.

--I have no experience with Blackblaze, but surely this app puts a lot of entries in the system.

--Uninstall every WesternDigital Software !!! Does not do anything for you, but confusing the system.

--In Finder hit the GO menu, then hold the Alt(option) key and choose Library, in there open the LaunchAgents folder, and in there delete the following entry

com.apple.CSConfigDotMacCert-[...]@me.com-SharedServices.Agent.plist

--in SystemPreferences->Users&Groups->LoginItems tab: remove all entries (except Dropbox) with the minus sign underneath.

--In MacintoshHD->Library->InternetPlugins delete the DirectorShockwave plugin: counterproductive (see also thesafemac.com)

I am not sure about the Scorch plugin.

--Uninstall Growl (and use Notifications)

--if you do not need Citrix (anymore), uninstall it.

--It does not hurt to add some ram (not urgent): is cheap and effective. Use the exact specs from a good brand, normally we recommend Crucial or OWC.

Lex

LexSchellings wrote:

--Uninstall Clamxav completely (this is the wrong app), restart, download the Clamxav from the Appstore.

As the ClamXav Tech support guy, I must call you on this.

There is no way you can tell from the OP's EtreCheck whether they have the AppStore or the Web versions. Those two User Launch Agents are for scheduled definition updates and scans which are identical for both apps.

Second, I see no reason why the web version can be considered "wrong". I suspect you are referring to the Sentry capability, but that must be activated in order for it to have any impact on CPU use and since the OP does not have it in his Login Items, it is not being used. In all other ways the two apps are functionally identical.

Hi Mad, Yes, the Launch Daemons worry me, the markallan thing is not the same with me. And of course the Sentry item I don't like but that is not different for both. Do you know what is different in Yosemite where all kexts (not for ClamXav) have to have a signature also: we will have a lot of issues when it will be downloaded in masses....

Happy to see you around, keeps me sharp.

Lex

LexSchellings wrote:

Do you know what is different in Yosemite where all kexts (not for ClamXav) have to have a signature also: we will have a lot of issues when it will be downloaded in masses....

If I knew I wouldn't be able to discuss it, but since I don't I'll speculate.

I believe the current restrictions are simply a way to eliminate third party .kext files as the cause of any kernel panics or similar issues so that the engineers can focus on problems with the OS itself. I expect such restrictions to be eliminated or at least relaxed to some extent by the time Yosemite is released.

Hi, Just want to share my problem and solution

My MBP is from mid 2010 2.66Ghz, intel Core i7, 4Gb of RAM was running very slow, fan was spinning like crazy and the kernel task was eating memory. I did all the different trix provided in all the different forums. I also did a reinstall of mavericks but nothing help. the only apps I am running is Chrome and spotify.

My solution was to create a new user account and use that instead. Now the kernel task is no longer visible in activitymonitor and the computer sem to work very well.

the kernel task seem to have been the problem. I still have 4Gb of memory and have 3.97Gb used memory but the computer works fine and the fan is not spinning like it was before.

Hope this helps someone

Thomas

Hi Thomas, so you did not solve it, but evaded it. Not a bad idea.

What apps are not in your new user account? Chrome perhaps or another Google app, or the Google auto updater?

Ram: Mavericks handles ram very differently and uses it in a sort of pool to allocate, thus even if it looks there is no free ram, there will be no ram blocked even if it says no free ram. As soon as you see a serious amount of free ram, it means that you have more ram than necessary. You can see how it works by opening Activity Monitor and clicking the memory field (top) and then look at "memory pressure" (bottom.

Lex, I just wanted to thank you for your help. I was confused by the Clamxav recommendation as I did download the program from the App store. I see you had a conversation with Clamxav and was waiting to respond. Now that you've talked over some technical issues would you still suggest re-downloading it?

Thank you, Diane

Diane, nothing wrong with ClamXav, but when possible download a software from the Appstore.

This ClamXav is OK, You run it manually. It updates the malware list automatically when starting.

Use it to scan files when you send files to a Windows user and you would be absolutely sure that it is not infected. In a mac such a file could do no wrong normally.

Is your mac running ok now?

Lex

Hello, my mac is working very slowly and i ran the EtreCheck so i hope you can read it and help me to solve the issue, thank you very much.

EtreCheck version: 1.9.12 (48)

Report generated August 4, 2014 at 9:03:58 PM GMT+2

Hardware Information:

MacBook Pro (13-inch, Early 2011) (Verified)

MacBook Pro - model: MacBookPro8,1

1 2.3 GHz Intel Core i5 CPU: 2 cores

4 GB RAM

Video Information:

Intel HD Graphics 3000 - VRAM: 384 MB

Color LCD 1280 x 800

System Software:

OS X 10.9.4 (13E28) - Uptime: 0 days 21:1:43

Disk Information:

Hitachi HTS545032B9A302 disk0 : (320.07 GB)

EFI (disk0s1) <not mounted>: 209.7 MB

Macintosh HD (disk0s2) / [Startup]: 319.21 GB (127.03 GB free)

Recovery HD (disk0s3) <not mounted>: 650 MB

MATSHITADVD-R UJ-8A8

USB Information:

Apple Inc. FaceTime HD Camera (Built-in)

Apple Inc. Apple Internal Keyboard / Trackpad

Apple Inc. BRCM2070 Hub

Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller

Apple Computer, Inc. IR Receiver

Thunderbolt Information:

Apple Inc. thunderbolt_bus

Gatekeeper:

Mac App Store and identified developers

Launch Daemons:

[loaded] com.adobe.fpsaud.plist Support

[loaded] com.cloudpath.maccmd.plist Support

[loaded] com.microsoft.office.licensing.helper.plist Support

[loaded] org.macosforge.xquartz.privileged_startx.plist Support

[failed] Safe.Connect.plist Support

Launch Agents:

[loaded] org.macosforge.xquartz.startx.plist Support

User Launch Agents:

[loaded] com.adobe.ARM.[...].plist Support

[loaded] com.google.keystone.agent.plist Support

[running] com.spotify.webhelper.plist Support

User Login Items:

Garmin Express Service

iTunesHelper

Dropbox

AdobeResourceSynchronizer

Sony Ericsson Bridge Helper

Internet Plug-ins:

JavaAppletPlugin: Version: 14.9.0 - SDK 10.7 Check version

FlashPlayer-10.6: Version: 14.0.0.145 - SDK 10.6 Support

Default Browser: Version: 537 - SDK 10.9

AdobePDFViewerNPAPI: Version: 11.0.07 - SDK 10.6 Support

AdobePDFViewer: Version: 11.0.07 - SDK 10.6 Support

Flash Player: Version: 14.0.0.145 - SDK 10.6 Support

QuickTime Plugin: Version: 7.7.3

SharePointBrowserPlugin: Version: 14.4.3 - SDK 10.6 Support

GarminGpsControl: Version: 4.1.0.0 Release - SDK 10.7 Support

iPhotoPhotocast: Version: 7.0 - SDK 10.7

Safari Extensions:

Open in Internet Explorer: Version: 1.0

Moviezet - Reproductor Online: Version: 3.0

Audio Plug-ins:

BluetoothAudioPlugIn: Version: 1.0 - SDK 10.9

AirPlay: Version: 2.0 - SDK 10.9

AppleAVBAudio: Version: 203.2 - SDK 10.9

iSightAudio: Version: 7.7.3 - SDK 10.9

iTunes Plug-ins:

Quartz Composer Visualizer: Version: 1.4 - SDK 10.9

3rd Party Preference Panes:

Flash Player Support

Time Machine:

Time Machine not configured!

Top Processes by CPU:

7% Safari

5% WindowServer

2% GoogleSoftwareUpdateAgent

1% hidd

1% gkbisd

Top Processes by Memory:

16 MB Safari

14 MB WindowServer

12 MB Activity Monitor

8 MB Finder

8 MB EscrowSecurityAlert

Virtual Memory Information:

13 MB Free RAM

1.31 GB Active RAM

1.31 GB Inactive RAM

1016 MB Wired RAM

811 MB Page-ins

89 MB Page-outs

LexSchellings wrote:

Diane, nothing wrong with ClamXav, but when possible download a software from the Appstore.

This ClamXav is OK, You run it manually. It updates the malware list automatically when starting.

Just one small correction. Automatic updates at startup is an option:

You can also Schedule an update as often as once a day, which is what dianesm00 appears to have been doing.