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Rich1955 Author

Level 1

0 points

Aperture 3.5.1 and Mavericks memory leak

I have used Aperture 3 with Lion and Mountain Lion on a late 2011 MBPro , processing large (45MB) raw files over the last 2 years. When doing multiple edits especialy with multiple masks and brushes Aperture would take moments to process and then move on. This even with an SSD and 16GB memory. Not a problem with little effect on my productivity, processing hundreds of images in a session.

Following Mavericks and Aperture 3.5, Aperture no longer allows more than a handful of images to be processed before it exhibits strange display problems. These comprize of the unzoomed view becoming the zoomed view and this is visible in the preview thumbnail too. It happens most quickly in full screen mode but also less quickly in windowed mode. Simple exiting Aperture and reopening it restores normal functio and edits and previews are correct. A memory meter shows that Aperture decrements memory with every image viewed and doesn't release it, hence i think a memory leak.

I had hoped that the Aperture 3.5.1 update addressing performance issues would solve this. It didn't. I have a crucial SSD self fitted which has worked flawlessly over the last year and have updated Trim enabler after Mavericks which slowed down the leak.

I can't seem to contact Apple support by email as I am not an Applecare subscriber and can't find a way to report a fault without being one.

I have read that there were memory leaks in Aperture 3 years ago and these went away quietly as Apple updated either

OSX or Aperture.

I've not seen others report what I am experiencing, but would welcome feedback from others with knowledge, experience or just bothered by the same problem.

Thanks.

RMWD

Aperture 3, OS X Mavericks (10.9)

Posted on Nov 22, 2013 11:06 AM

46 replies

Reistad

Level 1

11 points

Jan 8, 2014 1:41 AM in response to tn10

I feel a bit unsecure whether or not to upgrade to Mavericks as long as there are reports about memory problems with Aperture on older machines in version 3.5.1 I currently run Aperture 3.4.5 on my MacBook Pro mid 2009 with 8 GB RAM with OS 10.7.5.

From the discussion I have understood that I have to upgrade to Aperture 3.5 when I upgrade to Mavericks.

Is it safe to upgrade, or is it better to wait.

tn10

Level 1

0 points

Jan 8, 2014 12:05 PM in response to Reistad

I would suggest waiting to see if there is an update that addresses the problems we all are experiencing. If your current verison and OS are working well for you wait a bit and see if Apple can respond to all of the disappointment with Aperture 3.5.1 on OS 10.9.1.

I truly like Aperture but very disappointed with the updated version in the current OS.

Jan 10, 2014 5:50 AM in response to Rich1955

Waiting an update, I would suggest FreeMemory, a freeware in Appstore !

Rich1955 Author

Level 1

0 points

Jan 10, 2014 7:37 AM in response to ChrissBelgium

Thanks, the problem with freeing memory apps is that mine (memory clean) takes longer to free memory than closing and opening Aperture and although it clears memory once the Aperture problem arises it doesn't clear that until Aperture is restarted.

Thanks,

Rich

Vampyro

Level 1

0 points

Jan 11, 2014 12:35 AM in response to Rich1955

I have found one of the reasons behind the problem aperture eats memory. I have a Mac Pro with SSD hard drive and 32gb ram. I have photoshop, aperture and safari open and then I have about 7,5 gb left. But much of the used one is inactive.

When I work in Aperture I often open files in photoshop and edit them there for special edits. They are saved as .tiffs and ofcourse automaticly viewable in aperture library. Filesize about 1gb. In aperture 3,4 there was generated previews of these files. So if I clicked on a file it would respond automaticly. But In 3.5, when you click on a file it acsessen the original. So clicking on three photoshop files draws alot of memory. I checked last night. Each time I clicked on a .tff file I lost 1gb of ram. And as soon as I had clicked 7 files memory usage was full with only 14mb left. Then it took some time to free up memory and I could continue to select more files.

But everything works realy slowly. Aperture 3.4 was fast and responsive. 3.5 is slow. And the only thing that for me slows maverics down. Finder is a bit slow to. It seems filehandeling in aperture have changed dramaticly and now is ******. Im thinking of changing to capture one. I cant work like this. It takes to much time to wait for the computer.

Rich1955 Author

Level 1

0 points

Jan 11, 2014 2:26 AM in response to Vampyro

Thanks Vampyro,

I find the same. If PSE is open the memory problem occurrs more quickly and that's with using psd files instead of Tiffs. I leave PSE off now until needed and that also is a PITA.

Do hope Apple fix this soon.

Cheers,

Rich

Vampyro

Level 1

0 points

Jan 12, 2014 12:23 AM in response to Rich1955

Acsessing tiff files with aperture have become so slow. If I click a tiff thumbnail in aperture I usualy have to wait 15seconds before it starts responding again and I can select the next one.

Acetone.

Level 1

81 points

Jan 12, 2014 5:30 PM in response to Vampyro

Since going to Mavericks and Aperture 3.5, I keep getting the alert that I've run out of memory.

I never had this issue at all before, and was wondering does 3.5 use a lot more memory, sad/glad it's a common issue and not a fault on my system.

INSid

Level 1

9 points

Jan 14, 2014 2:13 AM in response to Rich1955

Same problems here. 2011 MBP 13". When working with large files, graphical glitches begin appearing while the image is actual sized. You can see the brush masks as solid colored lines, and other distortions are apparent. The only real fix is to restart Aperture. The trigger is often just adding another Adjustment or brush stroke.

I don't see the program slowing down as much as I did before Mavericks thanks to memory compression. But these errors are aggravating to say the least.

Jan 14, 2014 1:46 PM in response to Rich1955

MacbookAir mid 2011.

Same problem: since Maverick update, Aperture 3.5 does'nt work correctly: same black screen or strange display problems, certainly link to memory issues. I need to restart Aperture, several times, to be able to work.

Please, Apple, fix this very very frustrating Aperture memory leaks...

Rich1955 Author

Level 1

0 points

Jan 22, 2014 5:16 AM in response to Rich1955

Weird solution to problem.

Some people have had significant display problems with Aperture only since Mavericks was launched. This occurs when working with large raw files and usually when memory drops below a certain level.

Apple have said that this may be due to On screen profiling and have advised that that should be turned off. This has helped some and made no difference to others. It occurs more quickly if photoshop elements is running but also occurs when it is not. Withe PSE running I can only process a handful of file before display problems (black screens, visible masks, stuck zoomed previews) occur. Turning Aperture off and restarting it restores the correct previews and shows no lost work.

Apple support asked me to make notes of the problem, crate a diagnostic file when it occurs and to record a screen display of my using Aperture until the problem occurs.

Here's the odd thing and maybe some of the forum experts can explain this, when running Quicktime FULL screen recording and using Aperture, the problem disappears!! Completely. Whether PSE is on or not, Aperture runs normally again. If Quicktime screen recording is run in screen crop mode the problem occurs.

So I can't send them a screen recording. Currently I am using this method whenever I use Aperture and just dumping the recording after. Bizarre.

Any thoughts and I would love to know if this works for you if you have the problem.

Jan 22, 2014 5:22 AM in response to Rich1955

Strange. So it's somehow link to graphical card driver or something like that...

Hope this will help Apple to fix the bug. I'm thinking to move to LightRoom even if Aperture is a great product (before maverick...)

Mar 7, 2014 9:05 AM in response to increatyv

Going with the graphics card idea, it may be transferring and processing memory and dumping through the graphics card VRAM. I am not an expert but this may be why you are not experiencing the problem when you are using Quicktime FULL screen recording.

I am having the same type of problems when editing pictures. I am going to start testing some of the fixes I have read here.

Mar 17, 2014 9:37 PM in response to Rich1955

I am having similar issues as many here. When I was running Aperture on Mountain Lion I had no issues. With Mavericks I can work on pictures for awhile and then get a message that the system is out of memory. The Kernel will be using 10GB of memory. I can sometimes close Aperture and other times just get the spinning beach ball when trying to close. Once I completey quit or Force quit Aperture memory goes down dramatically. I can start Aperture and use it for awhile until the same thing happens again. I have a mid-2012 MBP with 16GB memory. Hopefully Apple comes out with a fix soon as it is extremely frustrating.

Rich1955 Author

Level 1

0 points

Mar 18, 2014 2:21 AM in response to OC Lan Man

Thanks for replying.

Apple never came back to me after I submitted the log files and provided video evidence.

I do have a solution though much as it pains me to do so I switched my future wokflow to Lightroom. This doesn't stall at all. Ever! Just not as nice an user experience imo.

I have devised a workflow that will allow me to pick up with Aperture in the future should Apple deign to fix this.

Aperture 3.5.1 and Mavericks memory leak