Memory Leaks and making space on disc drive

Question

Level 1

1 points

Memory Leaks and making space on disc drive

I have tried to find an existing question already posted to resolve my concerns with memory leaks but haven't found one that solves my issue. I did read one thread that really made since. In response to the op, kappy replied: "If that's truly the case then you are running more concurrent applications than is supportable by your installed RAM. Either add more memory or run fewer concurrent applications." I didn't include the link but Kappy obviously makes the point clear which is why I don't think this is the case with my machine. I currently have activity monitor and safari running but only have 712.5 MB available. Since purchasing this computer I've tried several memory management programs to minimize the leaks that occur. Currently using "Memory keeper" Also have used the other programs nothing seems to work as well as it used to. Lately been having Freeze issues which seldom occurred before.

Any suggestions are appreciated, Thanks in advance for your help and helping others.

MacBook Air, OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.4)

Posted on Mar 1, 2014 6:55 PM

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Answer 1

Linc Davis

Level 10

209,541 points

Mar 1, 2014 11:16 PM in response to aplCla55ic

Please describe the problem, rather than your conclusions as to how it should be solved.

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Answer 2

Mar 2, 2014 5:25 AM in response to aplCla55ic

Welcome to Apple Discussions

Help us help you. The more complete the description of your problem is (what machine your using (there are many versions of the MBA going back to 2008), what OS you're using, what Application you're using, a full description, text or screen shot of any error messages) the more assistance we can provide, and, the sooner we can provide it..

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Answer 3

aplCla55ic Author

Level 1

1 points

Mar 2, 2014 9:54 AM in response to Linc Davis

I am currently using a mid 2011 MBA and running 10.8.5 which becomes unresponsive at times. Whith Activity monitor and Safari running there is just over 700MB avaiable. The spinning color pinwheel appears frequently. I hope this helps and more clearly expains my issue. I have have errors show up from time to time but don't have screen shots of those or remember what they were.

Active Memory: 603.7 MB

Free Memory: 647.2 MB

Wired Memory: 690.8 MB

Used Memory: 1.37 GB

Inactive Memory: 104.7 MB

Total VM: 207.16 GB

Number of processes: 82

PID Process Name User CPU Real Mem Virtual Mem

0 kernel_task root 1.7 258.2 MB 4.38 GB

1 launchd root 0.0 1.5 MB 2.36 GB

11 UserEventAgent root 0.0 3.7 MB 2.45 GB

12 kextd root 0.0 4.3 MB 2.39 GB

14 notifyd root 0.0 1.2 MB 2.37 GB

15 diskarbitrationd root 0.0 1.2 MB 2.37 GB

16 configd root 0.0 4.5 MB 2.39 GB

17 securityd root 0.0 3.3 MB 2.39 GB

18 syslogd root 0.0 1.3 MB 2.37 GB

20 distnoted root 0.0 1.6 MB 2.38 GB

21 opendirectoryd root 0.0 7.1 MB 2.54 GB

22 powerd root 0.0 2.6 MB 2.39 GB

30 coreservicesd root 0.0 5.0 MB 2.43 GB

33 fseventsd root 0.0 1.9 MB 2.40 GB

36 ntpd root 0.0 1.2 MB 2.37 GB

37 cupsd root 0.0 988 KB 2.43 GB

41 warmd nobody 0.0 1.4 MB 2.48 GB

42 usbmuxd _usbmuxd 0.0 776 KB 2.42 GB

45 stackshot root 0.0 460 KB 2.36 GB

46 SleepServicesD root 0.0 1.7 MB 2.39 GB

48 revisiond root 0.0 4 KB 2.42 GB

53 netbiosd _netbios 0.0 1.7 MB 2.40 GB

54 mtmfs root 0.0 3.3 MB 2.44 GB

55 mtmd root 0.0 3.9 MB 2.43 GB

56 mds root 0.0 11.6 MB 2.90 GB

57 mDNSResponder _mdnsrespo 0.0 3.2 MB 2.40 GB

60 loginwindow Lightofthe 0.0 30.9 MB 2.64 GB

61 locationd _locationd 0.0 2.1 MB 2.50 GB

62 KernelEventAgent root 0.0 420 KB 2.35 GB

64 hidd root 0.0 3.2 MB 2.42 GB

66 dynamic_pager root 0.0 20 KB 2.33 GB

69 appleeventsd _eppc 0.0 1.7 MB 2.41 GB

73 autofsd root 0.0 436 KB 2.39 GB

75 aosnotifyd root 0.0 1.6 MB 2.50 GB

76 socketfilterfw root 0.0 3.8 MB 2.44 GB

81 networkd _networkd 0.0 1.2 MB 2.36 GB

98 WindowServer _windowser 6.3 55.0 MB 2.92 GB

101 CVMServer root 0.0 1.1 MB 2.43 GB

116 logind root 0.0 1.2 MB 2.39 GB

131 launchd Lightofthe 0.0 1.3 MB 2.36 GB

134 UserEventAgent Lightofthe 0.0 8.2 MB 2.51 GB

135 distnoted Lightofthe 0.0 2.7 MB 2.38 GB

137 cfprefsd Lightofthe 0.0 1.9 MB 2.38 GB

145 talagent Lightofthe 0.0 2.9 MB 2.57 GB

146 Dock Lightofthe 0.0 23.0 MB 2.57 GB

147 SystemUIServer Lightofthe 0.3 18.7 MB 2.68 GB

148 Finder Lightofthe 0.0 35.7 MB 2.77 GB

149 coreaudiod _coreaudio 0.0 3.1 MB 2.52 GB

152 pboard Lightofthe 0.0 36 KB 2.33 GB

154 fontd Lightofthe 0.0 3.7 MB 2.44 GB

158 NetworkBrowserAgent Lightofthe 0.0 2.2 MB 2.39 GB

159 filecoordinationd root 0.0 2.9 MB 2.40 GB

164 usernoted Lightofthe 0.0 1.2 MB 2.44 GB

166 apsd root 0.0 8.1 MB 2.49 GB

169 activitymonitord root 0.7 1.6 MB 2.35 GB

170 imagent Lightofthe 0.0 2.9 MB 2.45 GB

171 Notification Center Lightofthe 0.0 10.2 MB 2.55 GB

174 com.apple.dock.extra Lightofthe 0.0 4.2 MB 2.62 GB

187 CalendarAgent Lightofthe 0.0 16.9 MB 2.60 GB

194 iTunes Helper Lightofthe 0.0 1.1 MB 2.46 GB

198 Speech Synthesis Server Lightofthe 0.0 2.3 MB 2.52 GB

202 CNSSelectorAgent Lightofthe 0.1 3.3 MB 2.51 GB

206 lsboxd Lightofthe 0.0 468 KB 2.42 GB

207 MemoryKeeper Lightofthe 0.3 7.8 MB 2.68 GB

222 AppleSpell.service Lightofthe 0.0 3.2 MB 2.44 GB

278 syspolicyd root 0.0 4 KB 2.37 GB

515 cfprefsd root 0.0 2.4 MB 2.37 GB

678 launchd _spotlight 0.0 604 KB 2.36 GB

682 distnoted _spotlight 0.0 996 KB 2.38 GB

683 cfprefsd _spotlight 0.0 740 KB 2.36 GB

692 tccd Lightofthe 0.0 1.1 MB 2.42 GB

697 xpcd Lightofthe 0.0 152 KB 2.48 GB

706 pbs Lightofthe 0.0 1.0 MB 2.39 GB

725 Safari Lightofthe 1.1 87.9 MB 3.80 GB

728 Safari Web Content Lightofthe 1.9 180.8 MB 3.92 GB

750 cookied Lightofthe 0.0 1.4 MB 2.37 GB

765 helpd Lightofthe 0.0 10.0 MB 2.44 GB

833 ocspd root 0.0 8.8 MB 2.38 GB

864 Activity Monitor Lightofthe 8.3 56.8 MB 2.63 GB

871 mdworker Lightofthe 0.0 23.6 MB 2.48 GB

872 Flash Player (Safari Inte Lightofthe 0.0 46.4 MB 3.65 GB

873 taskgated root 0.0 9.6 MB 2.39 GB

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Answer 4

Mar 2, 2014 10:21 AM in response to themachead

It's not related to memory leaks (it's related to many other issues, some extensions, some plug-ins, perhaps disk directory needing repair) but recent versions of Safari are notorious for hanging and freezing the entire system.

I'm not saying this is your problem but it might be worth checking it out:

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Answer 5

aplCla55ic Author

Level 1

1 points

Mar 2, 2014 11:13 AM in response to themachead

When you mentioned many other issues, some extensions , some plug-ins and directory repair are you referring to something specific you saw in my Activity log? When you mentioned directory repair are you referring to Disk Utility?

I was asking if you saw something specific because I've removed programs from time to time and always felt the steps I was provided to remove programs to be incomplete such as simply moving the app to the trash; what about the others folders that may contain some of it's data? When mentioned many other issues I felt I should ask for suggestions for better system health as I have been trying to clean up unnecessary files including extensions. Is there suggestions you can make to do this such as utility app? I don't know if you can name one specifically here or if that violates protocol but any advice would help me a lot.

As for Safari freezing, I don't recall having an issue like this. When I mentioned the system freezing I was referring to a more random occurrence. When the screen freezes would happen Safari wasn't running. I did some reading on the memory management software I was using at the time and found system/screen freeze was occurring with some users.

I apologize for being vague about things. I'll try include as much information from now on.

Thank you for your help and patience.

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Answer 6

Mar 2, 2014 11:13 AM in response to aplCla55ic

I saw Safari running in your Activity log... you do realize that with an App. like Safari simply pushing the red button does not quit the app? (The throbber on the Dock should let you know that it's still running even if you're not actively viewing a web page).

Some single window App's like Calculator, Disk Utility and System Preferences will quit when you use the red button, but any App that can have more than one active window will not. (Safari, Pages, etc)

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Answer 7

Mar 2, 2014 11:30 AM in response to aplCla55ic

With the app gone the orphan files just take up space... they're of no use/won't run.

Other "support files" might include extensions, help directions or Application Support files, again they just take up (usually a rather small) amount of space.

You can find or go hunting for these files and delete them... most associate as part of their name the name of the app or the software author, e.g. install receipts (pkg files like DVDStudioPro.pkg), Extensions like AmbrosiaAudioSupport.kext, Preferences Panes like Flip4Mac WMV.prefPane

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Answer 8

Mar 2, 2014 11:53 AM in response to themachead

I'm not saying any of my examples shoule be removed... I merely chose them as represtnation of how to identify folders and files that associated (were installed) by apps you may have removed.

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Answer 9

Linc Davis

Level 10

209,541 points

Mar 2, 2014 12:00 PM in response to aplCla55ic

When you have the problem, note the exact time: hour, minute, second.

If you have more than one user account, these instructions must be carried out as an administrator.

Launch the Console application in any of the following ways:

☞ Enter the first few letters of its name into a Spotlight search. Select it in the results (it should be at the top.)

☞ In the Finder, select Go ▹ Utilities from the menu bar, or press the key combination shift-command-U. The application is in the folder that opens.

☞ Open LaunchPad. Click Utilities, then Console in the icon grid.

Make sure the title of the Console window is All Messages. If it isn't, select All Messages from the SYSTEM LOG QUERIES menu on the left. If you don't see that menu, select

View ▹ Show Log List

from the menu bar.

Each message in the log begins with the date and time when it was entered. Scroll back to the time you noted above. Select the messages entered from then until the end of the episode, or until they start to repeat, whichever comes first. Copy the messages to the Clipboard by pressing the key combination command-C. Paste into a reply to this message (command-V).

The log contains a vast amount of information, almost all of it useless for solving any particular problem. When posting a log extract, be selective. In most cases, a few dozen lines are more than enough. It is never necessary or helpful to post more than about 100 lines. "The more, the better" is not the rule here.

Please do not indiscriminately dump thousands of lines from the log into this discussion.

Important: Some private information, such as your name, may appear in the log. Anonymize before posting.

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Answer 10

aplCla55ic Author

Level 1

1 points

Mar 2, 2014 1:48 PM in response to themachead

Especially since I have been having performance issues I try to keep as few programs running as possible. Do you have suggestions on how to check the directory? I ran Disk Utility and performed the repair of permissions. This may be what you were referring to. Help is always appreciated. Thanks again.

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Answer 11

Mar 2, 2014 2:07 PM in response to aplCla55ic

Strange application behavior can often be traced back to improper permissions, or, a corrupt .plist file for that particular App.

To repair your boot volume you have to boot from some other volume. Restart your Mac and hold down the Command key and the R key (Command-R). Press and hold these keys until the Apple logo appears. After the Recovery System finishes starting up, you should see a dialog window with an OS X install and a "Mac OS X Utilities" window.

You want to enter Utilities launch Disk Utility,select the startup volume on the left ("Macintosh HD," unless you uset a different name), and run Repair Disk-you can skip the verify step (not Repair Permissions.) If any problems are found, repeat until it says "no problems found'. Then reboot as usual.

If it says "disk can not be repaired, or disk repair failed" you have a damaged SSD and it may be contributing to your freezing. It would have to be reformatted if possible (with an extremely damaged SSD's this isn't posible either) if reformat and repartition fails you need a new SSD.

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Answer 12

aplCla55ic Author

Level 1

1 points

Mar 2, 2014 2:10 PM in response to Linc Davis

I apologize, I thought I was providing the information needed to assist in resolving the issue. One thing about me is I do make mistakes but I don't repeat them. So it won't happen again. It was my understanding I was providing the requested details about running apps or using memory. I will make note of how to track errors.

Again I am very sorry.

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Answer 13

Linc Davis

Level 10

209,541 points

Mar 2, 2014 2:15 PM in response to aplCla55ic

There's nothing to apologize for. I'm just asking for some more information.

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Answer 14

aplCla55ic Author

Level 1

1 points

Mar 2, 2014 2:22 PM in response to themachead

When I run Verify Disk Permissions one shows up from the Library core and says it can't be repaired. My hope is that it can if I follow your suggestion of repairing the boot volume. Until recently I didn't have a bootable disk but I can perform a repair now. I'll post results as they come. Thanks again

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Answer 15

Mar 2, 2014 2:32 PM in response to aplCla55ic

It is not unusual to have some permissions that never repair. Normally if you do a Google search about them you will find Apple says "its ok to ignore them".

Repairing the disk has nothing to do with repairing permissions. They are two separate and distinct problems and repairs.

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