Luis_Mercado
Level 1 (45 points)

Q: Guide: How to solve Yosemite memory leaks and CPU usage

I post this hoping to help those users who, like me, are experiencing high CPU usage and massive memory leaking with OS X core services and apps, leading to slow performance and battery drain.

 

I've tried everything mentioned, but found the right combination of steps to follow. I've tried this with seven different Apple computers, including mine, and has worked well so far. I applied this method yesterday to give these process a 24 hour window to fail again, so far everything good.

 

First step: disconnect any external or secondary monitors, if any is present. The video memory allocation leak can also happen if you have a system with an integrated card, like Intel, with no external monitors attached.

 

Second step: Shut down your machine and enter Safe Mode (press shift once you turn on your computer again, more info below). Once you're there, fix your disk permissions.

 

Guide of how to access Safe Mode: OS X: What is Safe Boot, Safe Mode?

 

Third step: From Safe Mode turn off your machine again and reset your System Management Controller (SMC). There are different methods, depending on machine, to do this. To know what method applies to yours read the following guide.

 

Intel-based Macs: Resetting the System Management Controller (SMC)

 

Fourth step: Once your machine completes a full boot after resetting the SMC turn it off again and reset your PRAM (THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT STEP, BUT THE PREVIOUS ONES ARE ESSENTIAL FOR THIS ONE TO WORK). The PRAM stores small bits of data that indicate our Apple computer how to interact with the devices connected to it, including monitors and video cards. It also affects software.

 

To reset it you should hold the OPTION, COMMAND, P and R keys in your keyboard immediately after turning on your machine again.You'll hear the start up chime, continue pressing the keys until the machine boots and the chime starts A SECOND TIME, then release. IF YOUR YOSEMITE INSTALLATION LOCKS UP AT A BLACK SCREEN AFTER THIS, DONT PANIC! It's normal, just turn off your computer and let it boot again.

 

More info about PRAM: OS X Mavericks: Reset your computer’s PRAM

 

Voila, reconnect your external displays and enjoy your system.

 

Message was edited by: Luis_Mercado

MacBook Air, OS X Yosemite (10.10)

Posted on Oct 23, 2014 10:59 AM

by Eric Root,Solvedanswer
Eric Root Eric Root
Level 9 (74,268 points)
iTunes
A:

If you mark it as solved, more people are apt to look at it. You won't get any points, but it will stand out more.

Posted on Oct 23, 2014 2:17 PM

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Luis_Mercado

Q: Guide: How to solve Yosemite memory leaks and CPU usage

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  • by readytorun,

    readytorun readytorun Nov 17, 2014 1:29 PM in response to MadMacs0
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Nov 17, 2014 1:29 PM in response to MadMacs0

    Mad Macs - I just wanna say thank you for the help you gave me in my problem with mavericks --> yosemite upgrading. nothing ended up helping the problems my computer had and in the end - a couple days ago - I wiped out everything and started brand new. so far everythings been a breeze and my computer has not "felt" more smooth since erasing everything and doing a clean installation from nothing. It gave me Yosemite, which is more or less what I wanted, without bugs, and the system seems smooth - no 300% boosts in cpu usage, Safari is quick and I can open more than 3 tabs, etc. Hope everyone finds a solution to their problems but to be honest I'm content with my computer again and life is not a daily wrestle. I can now work.

    Thanks for your advice

  • by ThomasKilian,

    ThomasKilian ThomasKilian Nov 17, 2014 2:01 PM in response to MadMacs0
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Nov 17, 2014 2:01 PM in response to MadMacs0

    I had no feedback about the bug I reported (except they asked for the code). I'll wait for Christmas.

  • by MadMacs0,

    MadMacs0 MadMacs0 Nov 17, 2014 2:05 PM in response to readytorun
    Level 5 (4,801 points)
    Nov 17, 2014 2:05 PM in response to readytorun

    Glad I could help.

  • by MadMacs0,

    MadMacs0 MadMacs0 Nov 17, 2014 2:08 PM in response to ThomasKilian
    Level 5 (4,801 points)
    Nov 17, 2014 2:08 PM in response to ThomasKilian

    ThomasKilian wrote:

     

    I had no feedback about the bug I reported (except they asked for the code). I'll wait for Christmas.

    The only feedback you will ever get is either a request for additional information when they need it (occasionally they offer special diagnostic routines they ask users to run for specific issues) or to inform you that they believe the issue was fixed with an update and request your confirmation. The latter often comes weeks or months later.

  • by ThomasKilian,

    ThomasKilian ThomasKilian Nov 17, 2014 4:53 PM in response to MadMacs0
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Nov 17, 2014 4:53 PM in response to MadMacs0

    Exactly. I got such kind of information in the past. Since the issue is still open it's likely not fixed. Usually I jump on the train quite early but in my age I better wait for the next to come ;-) I also have different issues (like a bug in the Swift compiler) which currently stops me from doing anything meaningful. Eventually I'll check if some of my former bug reports faded away...

  • by Yuck9,

    Yuck9 Yuck9 Nov 17, 2014 7:29 PM in response to ThomasKilian
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Nov 17, 2014 7:29 PM in response to ThomasKilian

    It's not fixed. Installed the newest build today with the new updates and still have problems. Thanks to Acronis backup it's a piece of cake to restore.

  • by monostone,

    monostone monostone Nov 17, 2014 9:41 PM in response to Yuck9
    Level 1 (4 points)
    iPad
    Nov 17, 2014 9:41 PM in response to Yuck9

    Shame! Still the same!

    My MBP had the memory leak und in addition it crashed while hibernating. The CPU-usage-problem seems to be fixed due to Luis' help.

     

    But the freezing-problem of my MBP after hibernating is still there.

    ALT+CMD+Eject.

    The hibernationfile is written as scheduled.

    Maintenance-wakeup a few hours later - CRASH:

     

    18.11.14 00:24:54,000 kernel[0]: AppleBCM5701Ethernet [en0]: Link down (womp disabled, proxy idle)

    18.11.14 00:24:55,674 discoveryd[52]: Basic Bonjour,Warn Warning: IPv4 listener multicast send failed en0, 50

    18.11.14 00:24:55,674 discoveryd[52]: Basic Bonjour,Warn Warning: IPv6 listener multicast send failed en0, 50

    18.11.14 00:24:57,474 discoveryd[52]: Basic Bonjour,Warn Warning: IPv4 listener multicast send failed en0, 50

    18.11.14 00:24:57,475 discoveryd[52]: Basic Bonjour,Warn Warning: IPv6 listener multicast send failed en0, 50

    18.11.14 00:24:58,778 discoveryd[52]: Basic Bonjour,Warn Warning: IPv4 listener multicast send failed en0, 50

    18.11.14 00:24:58,778 discoveryd[52]: Basic Bonjour,Warn Warning: IPv6 listener multicast send failed en0, 50

    18.11.14 00:25:04,790 loginwindow[68]: CoreAnimation: warning, deleted thread with uncommitted CATransaction; set CA_DEBUG_TRANSACTIONS=1 in environment to log backtraces.

    18.11.14 00:25:33,000 kernel[0]: hibernate_page_list_setall(preflight 0) start 0xffffff80d63d6000, 0xffffff80d6416000

    18.11.14 00:25:33,000 kernel[0]: hibernate_page_list_setall time: 300 ms

    18.11.14 00:25:33,000 kernel[0]: pages 1592019, wire 295365, act 591718, inact 8717, cleaned 0 spec 37, zf 34364, throt 0, compr 0, xpmapped 40000

    18.11.14 00:25:33,000 kernel[0]: could discard act 156777 inact 81392 purgeable 14075 spec 409574 cleaned 0

    18.11.14 00:25:33,000 kernel[0]: WARNING: hibernate_page_list_setall skipped 42123 xpmapped pages

    18.11.14 00:25:33,000 kernel[0]: hibernate_page_list_setall found pageCount 930201

    18.11.14 00:25:33,000 kernel[0]: IOHibernatePollerOpen, ml_get_interrupts_enabled 0

    18.11.14 00:25:33,000 kernel[0]: IOHibernatePollerOpen(0)

    18.11.14 00:25:33,000 kernel[0]: encryptStart 14080

    18.11.14 00:25:33,000 kernel[0]: bitmap_size 0x3f5a0, previewSize 0x3ddeb0, writing 928904 pages @ 0x4314d0

    18.11.14 00:25:33,000 kernel[0]: encryptEnd 8db3400

    18.11.14 00:25:33,000 kernel[0]: image1Size 0x11610000, encryptStart1 0x14080, End1 0x8db3400

    18.11.14 00:25:33,000 kernel[0]: encryptStart 11610000

    18.11.14 00:25:33,000 kernel[0]: encryptEnd 55c50200

    18.11.14 00:25:33,000 kernel[0]: PMStats: Hibernate write took 25799 ms

    18.11.14 00:25:33,000 kernel[0]: all time: 25799 ms, comp bytes: 3805155328 time: 2950 ms 1229 Mb/s, crypt bytes: 1295906176 time: 2081 ms 593 Mb/s,

    18.11.14 00:25:33,000 kernel[0]: image 1438978048 (33%), uncompressed 3805155328 (928993), compressed 1427544880 (37%), sum1 9681197f, sum2 3057b3c2

    18.11.14 00:25:33,000 kernel[0]: zeroPageCount 149508, wiredPagesEncrypted 196385, wiredPagesClear 97772, dirtyPagesEncrypted 634836

    18.11.14 00:25:33,000 kernel[0]: hibernate_write_image done(0)

    =========================================================================

    18.11.14 00:25:33,000 kernel[0]: sleep

    18.11.14 00:25:33,000 kernel[0]: Wake reason: RTC (Alarm)

    18.11.14 00:25:33,000 kernel[0]: RTC: Maintenance 2014/11/18 01:12:49, sleep 2014/11/17 23:25:33

    18.11.14 00:25:33,735 discoveryd[52]: Basic DNSResolver UDNS Send(): UDP Sendto() failed to DNSNameServer 10.0.0.251 Port 53 errno 50, fd 60, ErrLogCount 1 ResolverIntf:4

    18.11.14 02:12:49,000 kernel[0]: AirPort_Brcm43xx::powerChange: System Wake - Full Wake/ Dark Wake / Maintenance wake

    18.11.14 02:12:49,000 kernel[0]: AirPort_Brcm43xx::checkInterfacePowerState: Check _pwrOffThreadCall!

    18.11.14 02:12:49,000 kernel[0]: Previous sleep cause: 5

    18.11.14 02:12:49,000 kernel[0]: AppleThunderboltGenericHAL::earlyWake - complete - took 1 milliseconds

    18.11.14 02:12:49,000 kernel[0]: TBT W (1): 0 [x]

    18.11.14 02:12:49,303 discoveryd[52]: Basic Bonjour,Warn Warning: IPv4 listener multicast send failed en0, 50

    18.11.14 02:12:49,304 discoveryd[52]: Basic Bonjour,Warn Warning: IPv6 listener multicast send failed en0, 50

    18.11.14 02:12:50,008 hidd[72]: MultitouchHID: device bootloaded

    18.11.14 02:12:54,000 kernel[0]: Ethernet [AppleBCM5701Ethernet]: Link up on en0, 1-Gigabit, Full-duplex, No flow-control, Debug [796d,2301,0de1,0300,c1e1,3800]

    18.11.14 02:12:54,077 discoveryd[52]: Basic DNSResolver UDNS Send(): UDP Sendto() failed to DNSNameServer 10.0.0.251 Port 53 errno 49, fd 65, ErrLogCount 2 ResolverIntf:4

    18.11.14 02:12:54,078 discoveryd[52]: Basic DNSResolver UDNS Send(): UDP Sendto() failed to DNSNameServer 10.0.0.251 Port 53 errno 49, fd 65, ErrLogCount 3 ResolverIntf:4

    18.11.14 02:12:54,079 discoveryd[52]: Basic DNSResolver UDNS Send(): UDP Sendto() failed to DNSNameServer 10.0.0.251 Port 53 errno 49, fd 65, ErrLogCount 4 ResolverIntf:4

    18.11.14 02:12:54,079 discoveryd[52]: Basic DNSResolver UDNS Send(): UDP Sendto() failed to DNSNameServer 10.0.0.251 Port 53 errno 49, fd 65, ErrLogCount 5 ResolverIntf:4

    18.11.14 02:12:54,080 discoveryd[52]: Basic DNSResolver UDNS Send(): UDP Sendto() failed to DNSNameServer 10.0.0.251 Port 53 errno 49, fd 66, ErrLogCount 6 ResolverIntf:4

    18.11.14 02:12:54,080 configd[26]: LINKLOCAL en0: parent has no IP

    18.11.14 02:12:54,964 sharingd[240]: 02:12:54.963 : SDStatusMonitor::kStatusWirelessPowerChanged

    18.11.14 02:12:54,988 sharingd[240]: 02:12:54.988 : SDStatusMonitor::kStatusWirelessPowerChanged

    18.11.14 02:12:55,896 ntpd[120]: wake time set +0.558865 s

    18.11.14 02:13:04,036 SystemUIServer[218]: Menu Extra: <DisplaysExtra: 0x7fadaeb07750> is over retained.

    18.11.14 02:13:09,802 Mail[349]: Unable to parse date: "Mon, 20 Oct 2014 19:45"

    Stripped string: "Mon, 20 Oct 2014 19:45"

    18.11.14 02:13:09,804 Mail[349]: Unable to parse date: "Mon, 20 Oct 2014 19:45"

    Stripped string: "Mon, 20 Oct 2014 19:45"

    18.11.14 02:13:09,806 Mail[349]: Unable to parse date: "Mon, 20 Oct 2014 19:45"

    Stripped string: "Mon, 20 Oct 2014 19:45"

    18.11.14 02:13:09,809 Mail[349]: Unable to parse date: "Mon, 20 Oct 2014 19:45"

    Stripped string: "Mon, 20 Oct 2014 19:45"

    18.11.14 02:13:09,811 Mail[349]: Unable to parse date: "Mon, 20 Oct 2014 19:45"

    Stripped string: "Mon, 20 Oct 2014 19:45"

    18.11.14 02:13:09,813 Mail[349]: Unable to parse date: "Mon, 20 Oct 2014 19:45"

    Stripped string: "Mon, 20 Oct 2014 19:45"

    18.11.14 02:13:09,816 Mail[349]: Unable to parse date: "Mon, 20 Oct 2014 19:45"

    Stripped string: "Mon, 20 Oct 2014 19:45"

    =====================================================================

    18.11.14 02:13:33,648 configd[26]: [0x7fb028f21e80] [m]DNS query timeout (query time = 34.999347), [46TE]

    18.11.14 02:13:42,000 kernel[0]: PM response took 2000 ms (27, powerd)

     

    FAMOUS LAST WORDS:

     

    18.11.14 02:13:42,000 kernel[0]: AirPort_Brcm43xx::powerChange: System Sleep

     

    18.11.14 06:21:50,000 bootlog[0]: BOOT_TIME 1416288110 0

  • by Monty Cobano,

    Monty Cobano Monty Cobano Nov 18, 2014 1:59 PM in response to Luis_Mercado
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Nov 18, 2014 1:59 PM in response to Luis_Mercado

    Had the same problems, followed your advice step-by-step ... and everything works perfectly. Thanks a lot, clever man ;-D

  • by nebojsa,

    nebojsa nebojsa Nov 19, 2014 6:59 AM in response to Luis_Mercado
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Nov 19, 2014 6:59 AM in response to Luis_Mercado

    10.10.1 installed and still no luck, WindowServer is eating 80-90% of CPU when external monitor is attached, fix do not work and lowering transparency is not helping either.

     

    BTW who will pay fix if GPU RAM start to acting up and need reseating because my MBP15 is constantly running hot even with fans speed cranked up (and cooling pad) due to constant CPU load?

     

    Last traces of hope in Apple lost, downgrading ASAP and never buying another Apple product again   (my company too) -- I was willing to pay premium for HW to get OSX on it (same goes for iOS) but now its not worth it anymore.

  • by reddington,

    reddington reddington Nov 20, 2014 1:20 AM in response to nebojsa
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Nov 20, 2014 1:20 AM in response to nebojsa

    Try turning off System Preferences > Mission Control > Displays have separate Spaces

     

    Also, third-party menubar stuff. Turn off all and try turning one-by-one on to see who's the culprit.

  • by ThomasKilian,

    ThomasKilian ThomasKilian Nov 20, 2014 3:00 AM in response to MadMacs0
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Nov 20, 2014 3:00 AM in response to MadMacs0

    Surprisingly the latest update seemed to solve the issue with the animated icon keeping WindowServer busy.

  • by JeffinOC,

    JeffinOC JeffinOC Nov 20, 2014 3:28 AM in response to Luis_Mercado
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Nov 20, 2014 3:28 AM in response to Luis_Mercado

    Between Luis' solution and the latest update,  my problems have generally disappeared.

  • by ZoontF,

    ZoontF ZoontF Nov 20, 2014 5:11 AM in response to stevenhaines
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Nov 20, 2014 5:11 AM in response to stevenhaines

    I too run Yosemite on a Mac Pro 3,1, and use Little Snitch. I would not have thought to even look at Little Snitch as a culprit, so I found this particular post very relevant to my setup and appreciate that you posted it! I cannot state yet how much of a difference making the change to Little Snitch helps, but at least I know it is part of the problem.

     

    I too was also assuming my issue was my older Geforce 8800gt and Yosemite needing more power. But the system feels just fine when it reboots... it is after using it a bit that it gets choppy feeling. Interestingly the choppiness is only in the UI/WindowServer experience. If I launch a game, such as MineCraft, and measure the FPS, the game is not affected by the choppiness of the UI.

     

    Nick

  • by Nikoman,

    Nikoman Nikoman Nov 20, 2014 9:28 AM in response to reddington
    Level 4 (1,075 points)
    Nov 20, 2014 9:28 AM in response to reddington

    reddington,

    the only thing that worked for me was to turn off the "Displays have separate Spaces" (as I previously mentioned). I never liked that feature anyway so it's a win for me. I'd definitely start here for people with multiple displays, the problem should go away until they fix this bug. 10.10.1 did nothing to fix this high WindowServer usage, huge mistake IMO.

  • by Kevin Neal,

    Kevin Neal Kevin Neal Nov 20, 2014 2:52 PM in response to Nikoman
    Level 3 (513 points)
    Servers Enterprise
    Nov 20, 2014 2:52 PM in response to Nikoman

    10.10.2 beta is out now, fingers crossed

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