Guide: How to solve Yosemite memory leaks and CPU usage

Thanks very much-my bars in the activity monitor are green so I won't worry unless I get the spinning wheel again THANKS

GREAT!!!

After trying all kinds of suggestions from other places that did nothing, or close to nothing, this seems to solve the issue completely.

True, I am only running a few hours after the fix, but I am getting CPU% of 0.5-8 on the WindowsServer process, without external monitor connected.

With external monitor connected via thunderbolt it is about the same.

Connecting to my docking station (Ultra Station j5) it jumps to 31%, and there is another process called USGVGASync that is at around 31% and kernel_task at 25%.

These values are still way too high but it is much better than the what I got previously and doesn't seem to slow down the OS or cause fan to run at full speed.

Dear Luis,

thank for the guide and it helped BUT only for a few minutes streaming hd content. Usually HD fails for all the lagging that does not occur as long as my old external Cinema Display 23" is not connected - but on my desk at home I use it all the time. With your guide I get a razorsharp system for a few minutes but then video will start lagging and the whole system is affected even when typing. I have a MBA 11" from 2012 and run osx 10.10.

It feels like hitting a wall after these few minutes. When I do not stream or only a small video, it doesnt happen and I can work nicely otherwise. A restart always helps a little but your guide worked best for me so far, only just until the problem returns...

Amazing results. Somehow my WindowServer process was eating almost 10GB of memory and UI seemed sluggish. By doing these steps it dropped to 239MB. Whole UI seems lot more snappier now.

This fixed my 2012 MBA Issue. Safari was running 135% CPU and driving a lot of heat.

I tried may things but the PRAM reset seems to stop it.

Thanks!

Hi Luis

Before doing this can I check to see if my problem is the same. I have a late 2012 MacBook Pro with Yosemite 10.10.5 and I running Office for Mac 2011. Periodically Outlook gives me the beach ball for 5+secs and the CPU usage hits 99.x %, then outlook shows as not responding and then it all goes back to normal. It appears to do this every 5 -7 minutes even if Outlook is inactive. Everything else is fine. However I have a Matrox Dual to Go screen device running 2 x 23 inch monitors and your post refers to other displays?

Does it sound like it is worth trying your fix?

Thanks

Greetings!

Thank you Luis! Your guide helped very much.

These are updates to Luis' directions if you use FileVault (2 Full Disk Encryption) and still want to follow Luis' directions on how to tame the rogue WindowServer process.

Second step update: Even though, Apple's own support page says it will work for FileVault users, I couldn't get it to work. So I had to use a Terminal approach.

I found a helpful guide on OSXDaily that will help if you need to do as I did: How to Enable Safe Mode from the Command Line on a Mac

Fourth step update: Since I have a Firmware password enabled, I had to turn it off to get the key combination for resetting the PRAM to work. All I had to do was disable it, follow Luis' directions to reset the PRAM and then re-enable it.

10 hours in and WindowServer is behaving...

I can't speak for Luis, Richard but they are simple and well written instructions. I'd say it wouldn't hurt to try them. Cheers!

Many thanks. I just recently upgraded my mid-2009 15" MBP from 10.8.5 to 10.10.4 and had this problem. Your guide seems to have killed it. Hopefully, it won't come back. Again, thank you very much.

Michael

I would add that in resetting SMC, don't unplug, count to 15 and plug it back in. Unplug it, go make a sandwich, have a beer (or two), catch some Sports Center and come back to your trusty Mac 30 minutes or more later and plug it back in. I followed the 15 second rule and the problem seemed worse, then the next day I unplugged my iMac, worked on my MacBook for 30-60 minutes and plugged my iMac back in to find it back to normal. Reminds me of the time I learned of the SMC reset and dragged my previous iMac to the Apple Store only to have it work perfectly for the genius after being unplugged for at least an hour. Don't ask me to explain...that's just been my experience.

Cheers!!

For what it's worth, this problem is fixed in El Capitan, which could arrive as soon as September 30th if you are to believe the rumor sites. Scrolling and animations on a 2015 MacBook Pro is once again buttery smooth.

Well it's not just the rumors. Apple themselves basically announced the El Capitan release date on the last event since Craig Federighi showed an "email" confirming it. http://www.macworld.com/article/2981892/operating-systems/mark-your-calendar-app le-announces-os-x-el-capitan-and-ios-9-release-dates.html

Regrettably I followed this procedure 3 consecutive times today and got absolutely no benefit. In fact my problem is now worse.

I am very happy other people received a positive outcome. But obviously there are circumstances this procedure does not work for.

My issue is centered on iMail consuming 150% - 200% CPU continuously. I have tried many other suggestions on the support forum and then stumbled on this one. Supposedly this solution is applicable to my circumstance. But unfortunately after investing substantial time my situation has deteriorated.

I am running OS X 10.10.5, just for reference.

Users should know that it takes a lot of time to complete this procedure. And they will simply be lucky if it works for them. It would be better to know what the real problem is before treading down a mysterious path.

Your guide helped me solve the WindowServer huge RAM consuming. Thank you.

Thank you. Solved my problem with powerd using 100% of one core on a late 2012 iMac 27" running el capitain. Did not run fix disk permissions as in the procedure, no longer available except at command line in El Capitain.