Guide: How to solve Yosemite memory leaks and CPU usage

this is great thank you.

No i dont have toast in my system anymore. well obviously thats not technically true since you saw a kernel which is weird cause i went through there trying to find the remnants of old programs must have been one i missed. i was also gonna try and uninstall the mail attchtchment tamer thing but theres no instructions to do so and new mail doesn't even have its preference panel to uninstall - tho i dont think thats the problem, but again worth a shot.

epson isa wireless printer i havent ed really used. i update but what you do you suggest?

thanks a lot yes a lot of these types of problems i am aware of so ill do a little more digging and deleting based on your observations . had another dude do the same thing and he said my system was healthy. i feel like if i can make my system as healthy as possible on this side of the upgrade , in the long run it will better than what i had which might have been a working mavericks but perhaps loaded with all this junk. In other words, if i were to do another restoration using time machine, id have all this crap in my system again but with mavericks. I feel like i should just keep on forward and not look back at this point. suggestions? your advice has been very helpful thank you. perhaps should i reinstall roxio only so i can uninstall it? this is how i deleted a few other programs, install them again just so i can perform a proper uninstallation ie not just throwing them in the trash..

same here, nothing is different, you suppose all these problems are fixable or am i just sitting here with a broken 2012 computer from now on?

unacceptable. I've been with apple since apple iic. never have i ever been through something like this. that cook guy can drive off a cliff.

I'm pretty sure Roxio have an uninstaller that they want you to use. My memory is that they have an article on their website on how to do it.

Often, these uninstaller are located on the install dmg or sometimes, in what has to be the most inelegant solution possible, are accessed through a file stored in the application bundle. It is always better to use these uninstallers or to follow the steps outlined on the developer's website. Manually deleting system level stuff is not for the fainthearted. It can be very difficult to identify which files you need to delete and programs like CleanApp can easily lead you up the garden path.

Unless you are using the extra software from Epson or that it is required for your printer to work and you are certain it is up to date and compatible with 10.10, I would ditch it.

Similarly, check that your are using compatible versions of CleanApp, Pacifist and all the other applications and services that are loading things at system level. Etrecheck gives you a good list to start with.

Also, try to find out why your Hosts file is strange (unless you have edited it). It may not have anything to do with your current problems but it shouldn't be flagged unless you have deliberately edited it for some purpose.

As a general rule, if you are no longer using software that installs stuff at the system level, properly uninstall it. These sorts of left-overs can cause a lot of problems when you upgrade your operating system or move your system to a new Mac. It is too easy to forget that they are there and, therefore, not to include them in your due diligence about software compatibility before you upgrade OSX. They can also cause problems within an OSX version as files are updated for security or bug fix purposes or as you load new software onto your machine that interacts with these remnants.

Until you have checked and fixed all of these potential third party problems you risk continuing difficulties that appear to be from the OS.

I'm sorry but I don't buy into the whole 'Apple has gone to pot and this is the worst upgrade of OSX ever' thing. The same things are said with every upgrade, just be different people. The upgrade experience for almost everyone is completely seamless. Unfortunately, some people have problems as I did with the need to flush out my PRAM cache and, hence, my part in this discussion. While it is frustrating and difficult, a solution will be out there. It is also important to remember that the majority of upgrade problems are caused by third party software, something that Apple could simply not test for. That is why preparation for an upgrade is so essential and an explanation of why it is easy to come undone because of some remnant of old software hanging around on your system. Clearly this is not always the case. In my own case this time, the PRAM problem wasn't a third party issue. I was caught by trying to be too clever and not remembering things such as resetting PRAM that we used to have to do all the time when updating the OS. For someone who goes back to System 1, this was a silly oversight but we all make them.

Please understand that I am not being critical in any way of any of the participants in this discussion. Nor am I underestimating the frustration people experience. Remember, I have been through it too. But I do urge people to be methodical and thorough, be careful when fiddling around with system level stuff, and not let your frustration to cause you to miss little things.

Hi Steven,

I am sorry but I have also been a long time Apple user and in the last 2 years as I wrote previously on this forum, we have experienced more major software updates problems than I have seen in total since 1986. I include OSX, iOS and Apple TV in this. I do not have old third party software interfering as far as I know and yes one can make an error but the point is this should not happen. We use Macs for work day in day out and had given Apple the benefit of the doubt since Maverick debacle and Apple TV firmware meltdown after update and updated to 10.10 but to be safe only one of the Macs in my company. Bang

Mail memory leak like I have never experienced before, bluetooth connection problems wasting my valuable time, slowed down iMac. We pay premium prices and I am a true Apple fan always promoting the quality of their software and most hardware, defending them when ridiculed by ignorant Windows users, but this time they have crossed the line of what is acceptable and what is not. Sorry. Apple please fix this, I can not use my iMac for Mail now and what else can I expect ?

Thanks !

I have a late 2012 iMac and when all these problems first started i thought it was maybe cause i didn't have a modern enough computer. just tonight i read that apple - on one level - did these kind of things to incite such a thought. before for some reason i let apple slide by and thought it different than others.. well I was wrong - and on a deeper level this a sort of human rite of passage when we afix The Other to idealistic whatever and then realize theyre just like the rest. apple wanted to be microsoft, well they got what they wanted - now theyre microsoft. i dont understand where in the contract is says i give you my money and then you give me something that takes more of my money (time). i cant imagine how a person who needs these for work purposes would have gotten by this awful week.

in other news i went through both my system and user library's application support and preferences and deleted any 3rd party names i knew and didn't use anymore. restarted and delting. updated epson and removed attachment tamer from mail. its a notification problem for me. another user said to throw out the old notification folder and restart which i did and still nothing. only solace is other people are suffering too.

thanks steve for your help , any other suggestions? can you go on about host files??

also after i "clean" it all up regarding 3rd party or as many as the rogue elements in the system as possible would reinstalling yosemite be of any help? it wouldn't do any harm at this point would it? in theory would it be a healthier computer than the one i installed yosemite in?

Some of the old files Etrecheck identified aren't in your system and user library's application support and preferences folders. They are buried deeper in your system. Unless you know where they are stored and the developer doesn't supply a proper installer, you will have to search for the actual file names. I apologise if I'm being a bit basic but, just in case, the easiest way is to open a Finder window and put the file name into the search field. Then click the plus icon in the bar that appears under the normal toolbar. Then click on the Kind dropdown menu. If System Files isn't a choice and it won't be unless you have added it previously, select Other, search for System Files, tick the In Menu box next to that choice and then OK. Then in the Kind dropdown, select System Files and in the second dropdown select Are included.

A late 2012 iMac should run 10.10 without problems provided you have enough memory installed. I am using a very, very elderly early 2008 MacPro with a the modest stock video card and, once I cleaned up the PRAM problem, 10.10 runs like a bomb.

On the wider question, I don't want to highjack this thread with a debate about Apple's quality assurance. All I can say is that my wife and I use Macs for business so I am very sensitive to problems. I have upgraded about 20 machines to 10.10 ranging from my own elderly machine to the very latest retina laptops. As fate would have it, the only machine that had any problems was my own. Of course, that is just anecdote based on a tiny sample but it has been my experience that upgrades normally go smoothly. I used to counsel people to hold off from upgrading if they relied on their machine for business critical tasks. As they rarely listened, I've given up on that approach and now try to get them to focus on double checking the compatibility of their applications before they take the plunge.

this is great but again after i "clean" it all up as much as i can would another yosemite installation do any good? i haven't even told you about the 1st one.. it stopped mid way which i then had to restart. on the other side of yosemite i found out i had a small adware file that i needed to delete. apparently it shows up mid sept and i tried to restore using time machine at a date before the file appeared in my system. that process failed. and was left -somehow- with yosemite and my system at the older date, though with yosemite in place not mavericks which it should have been.

i updated cleanapp tho i dont really want to use it except to monitor cache from safari which is another problem altogether.

let me know if i should try to redownload yosemite with a clean installation no breaks or interruptions.

like i said I've used macs since the the very first one. I had the first laptop, newton, I've been through all of them. this is the worst rollout I've ever seen.

im in a handful of other forums and the response is the same - not only cause the people have problems - but cause the problems are all over the place in areas that even more basic than updated 3rd party software.

also can you talk about the host files you mentioned.

also you say "some of the old files" - which ones?

also i dont understand your references "runs like a bomb" ? "up the garden path"? i dont quite know what you mean

this is the worst upgrade ever.

readytorun wrote:

i found out i had a small adware file that i needed to delete. apparently it shows up mid sept and i tried to restore using time machine at a date before the file appeared in my system.

It was a lot more than a small adware file, it was the iWorm Backdoor/Trojan/BotNet capable of harvesting all manner of privacy information and who knows what else.

yeah but its gone now and i didnt want to confuse him anymore. plus its a moot point anyway since i restored it all - unsucessfully - with your help.

also the problem i had originally was a bluetooth problem which is a huge problem for many users. the iworm thing while I'm grateful its off my system , thank you, clearly was not the problem. I'm still having audio video delays, cant use bluetooth, mail is nonworking and i receive no notifications for any process, and my graphics are still messed up. and this is after madmac's "fixes"

readytorun wrote:

also can you talk about the host files you mentioned.

I believe I covered that earlier, but let me repeat:

readytorun wrote:

Configuration files: ℹ️

/etc/hosts - Count: 20

This is red because it indicates the file has been modified by adding some entries for some reason. If you are already aware of the reason then you can probably ignore it. At least one variant of the iWorm Trojan does make such changes, but since you have apparently restored everything back to before that happened, it's probably not related to that. In any case you can see what it says by opening Terminal (found in /Applications/Utilities/) then copy and paste the following line into the window after the "$ " prompt:

cat /etc/hosts | open -fe

and hitting return. This will open a TextEdit window with the information. A normal hosts file looks like this:

##

# Host Database

#

# localhost is used to configure the loopback interface

# when the system is booting. Do not change this entry.

##

127.0.0.1 localhost

255.255.255.255 broadcasthost

::1 localhost

fe80::1%lo0 localhost

Any additional lines were added by you or iWorm or some sort of hack

If any of the URL's contain "apple" address then that was iWorm

If they are adobe addresses then this is indicates the installation of pirated adobe software of some sort.

In any case, you should almost certainly remove anything other than what I show above.

yes i did this and nothing seemed out of the ordinary in the lines - i think - heres a picture.

after all this cleaning and removing - do you suppose my system is in a way healthier than it was when it was running mavericks?

one change i can remember was turning off the chime at restart. in which i had to copy and paste a line of code. since then tho that chimeless feature is turned off - gets "turned off" during a pram reset. in other words i hear the sound when it restarts. thats the only change i can distinctly remember being aware of making.

thanks for your help.

stevenhaines wrote:

the easiest way is to open a Finder window and put the file name into the search field. Then click the plus icon in the bar that appears under the normal toolbar. Then click on the Kind dropdown menu. If System Files isn't a choice and it won't be unless you have added it previously, select Other, search for System Files, tick the In Menu box next to that choice and then OK. Then in the Kind dropdown, select System Files and in the second dropdown select Are included.

I think you will find the Finder still won't look everywhere, even though you have activated those extra criteria. I have never found it or it's cousin Spotlight (which use the same database) to be of much use for deep looks into the hard drive. I much prefer either EasyFind or Find Any File for doing that. The developer of the latter even has information at the bottom of this page to help decide the best choice.

readytorun wrote:

yes i did this and nothing seemed out of the ordinary in the lines - i think - heres a picture.

It's not showing up at the moment. Copy and paste would probably work better at the moment.

after all this cleaning and removing - do you suppose my system is in a way healthier than it was when it was running mavericks?

Most of the changes we made would have impacted Mavericks, as well. I seem to recall a lot of what we pulled out had not been maintained since Snow Leopard.

I used to use the Arcana Startup Sound Preference Pane software on an older iMac, but it stopped working at some point.