How is my RAM already full?

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Level 1

8 points

How is my RAM already full?

A few weeks ago I upgraded the RAM on my Early 2009 Macbook (white) from 2GB to 4GB because shortly after updating to Mavericks the fan just kept running all the time and the Activity Monitor showed my RAM was maxed out. For about 2 weeks or so everything was great and then it started acting like before. Now the fan just stays running and the Activity Monitor shows my 4GB is now maxed out as well. How in the world did this happen? I use a 1TB external hard drive for iPhoto and iTunes libraries already and I'm just confused as to what is going on. My internal 120GB hard drive says I have 63.48GB free. Any ideas why my fan is running all the time and how my RAM is maxed without me adding things? It's acting like a virus from my old PC days.

MacBook, Mac OS X (10.5.8)

Posted on Dec 29, 2013 3:26 PM

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Answer 1

John Galt

Level 10

141,126 points

Dec 29, 2013 4:26 PM in response to jphilly77

These are likely to be two separate problems. First, don't concern yourself with Mavericks' RAM usage. It is completely different than any previous iteration of OS X and it is normal to see nearly all of it used. This is a significant design improvement intended to optimize your Mac's performance and minimize energy usage. For more information read OS X Mavericks: About Activity Monitor

Your fan should not normally be objectionably audible, but a new OS X upgrade will result in a long period of Spotlight indexing which will burden your Mac's resources until it is complete. It may take several hours to finish, depending on the aggregate number and size of files on your hard disk. You can use Activity Monitor's new "Energy" tab to identify the processes that are causing your MacBook to work hard.

If you believe something is amiss more information will be required. Please write back if you would like to pursue additional troubleshooting steps.

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Answer 2

jphilly77 Author

Level 1

8 points

Jan 3, 2014 1:15 PM in response to John Galt

Hi sorry for the delay. Thank you for the response. When I open the laptop the fan starts to run within a minute or 2 and literally never stops. This has been going on for weeks now. When I first upgraded to Mavericks, right when it came out, I didn't notice it until later. Last week a problem started while I was online... the computer just went "black" with no warning (other than the constant fan running). The little white light on the front stays on but it doesn't respond unless I hold down the power button. It's gets pretty hot to the touch underneath even with the little rubber feet I added to try and give it some clearance to breathe on the table. My battery has even warped over time as well. What other information are looking for exactly?

Thanks again

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Answer 3

John Galt

Level 10

141,126 points

Jan 3, 2014 1:25 PM in response to jphilly77

What you describe is not normal and elevating it or otherwise trying to cope with unreasonably high temperatures is a concern. The battery deformation is certainly worrisome.

Please determine if the problems also occur in "Safe Mode":

Safe Mode or "Safe Boot" is a troubleshooting mode that bypasses all third party system extensions and loads only required system components. Read about it: Starting up in Safe Mode
You must disable FileVault before you can start your Mac in Safe Mode.
Starting your Mac in Safe Mode will take longer than usual, graphics will not render smoothly, audio is disabled on some Macs, and some programs (iTunes for example) may not work at all.
Merely starting your Mac in Safe Mode is not intended to resolve the problem, it's to observe its performance without certain additional components.
To end Safe Mode restart your Mac normally. Shutdown will take longer as well.

There will be additional troubleshooting steps to follow.

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