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 (74,129 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 Csound1,

    Csound1 Csound1 Dec 16, 2014 11:37 AM in response to Tamaralas
    Level 9 (51,427 points)
    Desktops
    Dec 16, 2014 11:37 AM in response to Tamaralas

    Tamaralas wrote:

     

    Resolved the issue.  My computer has returned from being virtually unusable to being quite useful.

    Why don't you share your solution with others.

  • by Tamaralas,

    Tamaralas Tamaralas Dec 16, 2014 1:12 PM in response to Csound1
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 16, 2014 1:12 PM in response to Csound1

    You'll see it in the original post: 

     

    Guide: How to solve Yosemite memory leaks and CPU usage

  • by helderfsl,

    helderfsl helderfsl Dec 21, 2014 10:34 AM in response to Luis_Mercado
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 21, 2014 10:34 AM in response to Luis_Mercado

    I've done everything your article had mentioned, but my memory usage still around 100%.ActivityMonitor_CaptureScreen.png

  • by MadMacs0,

    MadMacs0 MadMacs0 Dec 21, 2014 12:27 PM in response to helderfsl
    Level 5 (4,801 points)
    Dec 21, 2014 12:27 PM in response to helderfsl

    helderfsl wrote:

     

    I've done everything your article had mentioned, but my memory usage still around 100%.

    Then it's operating as designed. The only thing you need to pay attention to is the MEMORY PRESSURE graph at the bottom of the page. As long as it's green you are good to go. See the Memory section of How to use Activity Monitor.

  • by ThomasKilian,

    ThomasKilian ThomasKilian Dec 21, 2014 12:30 PM in response to MadMacs0
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 21, 2014 12:30 PM in response to MadMacs0

    People don't seem to understand that. Apple has underestimated the user's perception of the current display going the wrong way.

  • by JimW67,

    JimW67 JimW67 Dec 22, 2014 2:09 PM in response to MadMacs0
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 22, 2014 2:09 PM in response to MadMacs0

    Problem description:

    I keep getting the spinning wheel and tried the recommendations to repair permissions, resent SMC and PRAM and still get the spinning wheel from Yosemite.  Any other ideas.  I replied to Luis and did not get a response.  Can you help MadMacs0?

     

    EtreCheck version: 2.1.2 (105)

    Report generated December 22, 2014 at 5:02:47 PM EST

     

    Hardware Information: ℹ️

      MacBook Pro with Retina display, Intel Core i7, 15" (Mid 2012)

      MacBook Pro - model: MacBookPro10,1

      1 2.6 GHz Intel Core i7 CPU: 4-core

      8 GB RAM Not upgradeable

      BANK 0/DIMM0

      4 GB DDR3 1600 MHz ok

      BANK 1/DIMM0

      4 GB DDR3 1600 MHz ok

      Bluetooth: Good - Handoff/Airdrop2 supported

      Wireless:  en0: 802.11 a/b/g/n

     

    Video Information: ℹ️

      Intel HD Graphics 4000 -

      NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M - VRAM: 1024 MB

      Color LCD spdisplays_2880x1800Retina

     

    System Software: ℹ️

      OS X 10.10.1 (14B25) - Uptime: 3 days 22:33:15

     

    Disk Information: ℹ️

      APPLE SSD SD512E disk0 : (500.28 GB)

      S.M.A.R.T. Status: Verified

      EFI (disk0s1) <not mounted> : 210 MB

      Recovery HD (disk0s3) <not mounted>  [Recovery]: 650 MB

      Macintosh HD (disk1) / : 499.06 GB (34.33 GB free) - 111 errors

     

      Encrypted AES-XTS Unlocked

      Core Storage: disk0s2 499.42 GB Online

     

    USB Information: ℹ️

      Apple Inc. FaceTime HD Camera (Built-in)

      Apple Inc. BRCM20702 Hub

      Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller

      Apple Inc. Apple Internal Keyboard / Trackpad

     

    Thunderbolt Information: ℹ️

      Apple Inc. thunderbolt_bus

      Apple Inc. Thunderbolt to Gigabit Ethernet Adapter

     

    Gatekeeper: ℹ️

      Mac App Store and identified developers

     

    Kernel Extensions: ℹ️

      /Applications/SyncMate.app

      [not loaded] com.eltima.SyncMate.kext (0.2.5b15) [Support]

     

      /Applications/Wireless Auto Import.app

      [not loaded] com.sony.driver.dsccamFirmwareUpdaterType00 (1 - SDK 10.5) [Support]

     

      /System/Library/Extensions

      [not loaded] com.Belcarra.iokit.USBLAN_netpart (2.0.2) [Support]

      [not loaded] com.Belcarra.iokit.USBLAN_usbpart (2.0.2) [Support]

      [not loaded] com.RemoteControl.USBLAN.usbpart (2.0.6) [Support]

      [not loaded] com.elgato.driver.DontMatchCinergyXS (1.1) [Support]

      [loaded] com.protech.NoSleep (1.3.0 - SDK 10.7) [Support]

     

      /System/Library/Extensions/Belcarra.USBLAN_netpart.kext/Contents/PlugIns

      [not loaded] com.belcarra.iokit.netpart.panther (1.6.1) [Support]

     

      /System/Library/Extensions/Belcarra.USBLAN_usbpart.kext/Contents/PlugIns

      [not loaded] com.belcarra.iokit.usbpart.panther (1.6.1) [Support]

     

      /System/Library/Extensions/RemoteControl.USBLAN_usbpart.kext/Contents/PlugIns

      [not loaded] com.RemoteControl.USBLAN.panther (1.6.1) [Support]

     

    Problem System Launch Agents: ℹ️

      [failed] com.apple.CallHistoryPluginHelper.plist

      [failed] com.apple.security.cloudkeychainproxy.plist

     

    Problem System Launch Daemons: ℹ️

      [failed] com.apple.ctkd.plist [Details]

      [failed] com.apple.wdhelper.plist [Details]

     

    Launch Agents: ℹ️

      [loaded] com.google.keystone.agent.plist [Support]

      [running] com.sony.WirelessAutoImportLauncher.agent.plist [Support]

      [running] syncmateStarter.plist [Support]

     

    Launch Daemons: ℹ️

      [loaded] com.adobe.fpsaud.plist [Support]

      [loaded] com.google.keystone.daemon.plist [Support]

      [loaded] com.microsoft.office.licensing.helper.plist [Support]

     

    User Launch Agents: ℹ️

      [loaded] com.adobe.ARM.[...].plist [Support]

      [running] com.akamai.single-user-client.plist [Support]

      [running] com.microsoft.LaunchAgent.SyncServicesAgent.plist [Support]

     

    User Login Items: ℹ️

      Microsoft Database Daemon Application (/Applications/Microsoft Office 2011/Office/Microsoft Database Daemon.app)

      IDriveMonitor UNKNOWN (missing value)

      iTunesHelper UNKNOWN (missing value)

      NoSleepHelper Application (/Applications/Utilities/NoSleepHelper.app)

      Dropbox Application (/Applications/Dropbox.app)

      AdobeResourceSynchronizer ApplicationHidden (/Applications/Adobe Reader.app/Contents/Support/AdobeResourceSynchronizer.app)

     

    Internet Plug-ins: ℹ️

      LogitechHarmony: Version: 1.0.0.1 [Support]

      o1dbrowserplugin: Version: 5.38.6.0 - SDK 10.8 [Support]

      Google Earth Web Plug-in: Version: 6.1 [Support]

      Default Browser: Version: 600 - SDK 10.10

      Flip4Mac WMV Plugin: Version: 2.3.8.1 [Support]

      OfficeLiveBrowserPlugin: Version: 12.2.9 [Support]

      AdobePDFViewerNPAPI: Version: 11.0.10 - SDK 10.6 [Support]

      FlashPlayer-10.6: Version: 16.0.0.235 - SDK 10.6 [Support]

      DivXBrowserPlugin: Version: 1.3 [Support]

      Silverlight: Version: 5.1.20513.0 - SDK 10.6 [Support]

      Flash Player: Version: 16.0.0.235 - SDK 10.6 [Support]

      iPhotoPhotocast: Version: 7.0 - SDK 10.8

      googletalkbrowserplugin: Version: 5.38.6.0 - SDK 10.8 [Support]

      QuickTime Plugin: Version: 7.7.3

      AdobePDFViewer: Version: 11.0.10 - SDK 10.6 [Support]

      SharePointBrowserPlugin: Version: 14.4.6 - SDK 10.6 [Support]

      ContentUploaderPlugin: Version: 1.2 [Support]

      JavaAppletPlugin: Version: 15.0.0 - SDK 10.10 Check version

     

    User internet Plug-ins: ℹ️

      fbplugin_1_0_3: Version: Unknown [Support]

      WebEx64: Version: 1.0 - SDK 10.6 [Support]

      CitrixOnlineWebDeploymentPlugin: Version: 1.0.39 [Support]

      Google Earth Web Plug-in: Version: 6.2 [Support]

     

    Audio Plug-ins: ℹ️

      DVCPROHDAudio: Version: 1.2

     

    3rd Party Preference Panes: ℹ️

      Akamai NetSession Preferences  [Support]

      DivX  [Support]

      Flash Player  [Support]

      Flip4Mac WMV  [Support]

      MacFUSE  [Support]

      NoSleep  [Support]

      Perian  [Support]

     

    Time Machine: ℹ️

      Skip System Files: NO

      Mobile backups: ON

      Auto backup: YES

      Volumes being backed up:

      Macintosh HD: Disk size: 499.06 GB Disk used: 464.72 GB

      Destinations:

      Touro Backup Drive HDD [Network]

      Total size: 999.52 GB

      Total number of backups: 13

      Oldest backup: 2014-08-11 14:32:02 +0000

      Last backup: 2014-12-18 16:32:21 +0000

      Size of backup disk: Too small

      Backup size 999.52 GB < (Disk used 464.72 GB X 3)

     

    Top Processes by CPU: ℹ️

          9% WindowServer

          5% mds

          1% iPhoto

          0% fontd

          0% ps

     

    Top Processes by Memory: ℹ️

      326 MB Mail

      249 MB WindowServer

      232 MB Pages

      206 MB Calendar

      206 MB Messages

     

    Virtual Memory Information: ℹ️

      77 MB Free RAM

      2.59 GB Active RAM

      2.53 GB Inactive RAM

      1.42 GB Wired RAM

      11.14 GB Page-ins

      162 MB Page-outs

     

    Diagnostics Information: ℹ️

  • by MadMacs0,

    MadMacs0 MadMacs0 Dec 23, 2014 1:21 AM in response to JimW67
    Level 5 (4,801 points)
    Dec 23, 2014 1:21 AM in response to JimW67

    JimW67 wrote:

     

    I replied to Luis and did not get a response.  Can you help MadMacs0?

     

    Posting a new problem to a very long discussion like this is usually a waste of time. If you don't see anything that helps it's always best to start a new discussion  which will bring you many more troubleshooters a lot faster.

     

    In glancing over your report I do see a lot of old software and some that are known to cause issues for some users, but first you need to deal with:

    Disk Information: ℹ️

      APPLE SSD SD512E disk0 : (500.28 GB)

      S.M.A.R.T. Status: Verified

      Macintosh HD (disk1) / : 499.06 GB (34.33 GB free) - 111 errors

    I suspect it's red because you don't have enough free space, but I have no idea what 111 errors means. Getting a bigger SSD is probably out-of-the-question, so I think you need to off-load some files to an external drive.

     

    Also note that you aren't using the latest version of EtreCheck which appears to be 2.1.5 which has some bug fixes that might be important.

  • by JimW67,

    JimW67 JimW67 Dec 23, 2014 4:14 AM in response to MadMacs0
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 23, 2014 4:14 AM in response to MadMacs0

    Thanks MacSound0 .  according to the report I have 34GB available and I can make this error go away when I run it in safe mode and rein repair permissions.  However shortly after rebooting and running computer for a while it will start to slow down again after 15-20 minutes.  What old software do you see that could be a problem?

  • by Leopardus,

    Leopardus Leopardus Dec 23, 2014 5:05 AM in response to JimW67
    Level 4 (1,122 points)
    Desktops
    Dec 23, 2014 5:05 AM in response to JimW67

    Hi JimW67,

     

    You should keep about 15% of your harddrive free. Thus MadMacs0 is correct, and you should store some old data / files on an external. The alternative would be a bigger internal HD. The free HD space is used by OS X to run better and faster. If there is less than just more than 10% left on the startup, it becomes problematic for the OS.

     

    Hope this helps

  • by acidking,

    acidking acidking Dec 23, 2014 6:45 AM in response to Luis_Mercado
    Level 1 (85 points)
    Dec 23, 2014 6:45 AM in response to Luis_Mercado

    This worked for a few hours, however it's back to where it was. I have no apps open, yet windowServer consuming around 90% CPU Everything is sluggish and slow, as if I am sitting on a virtual machine. I shouldn't have upgraded to Yosemite, I hated it from it's name the first time I heard it, it sounds like some yeast infection now I hate it even more

  • by michaelfromsag harbor,

    michaelfromsag harbor michaelfromsag harbor Dec 23, 2014 8:21 AM in response to Luis_Mercado
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Mac OS X
    Dec 23, 2014 8:21 AM in response to Luis_Mercado

    Turned off Displays have separate spaces in the Mission Control System Preference. Then Restart or Re-Login

     

    No More Leak, Windowserver went from 50-96% CPU usage to 1-10%

  • by sertão,

    sertão sertão Dec 24, 2014 7:31 AM in response to michaelfromsag harbor
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 24, 2014 7:31 AM in response to michaelfromsag harbor

    I'm on a iMac 27" late 2012 and tried the OPs suggestion twice but it didn't solve the crashes. I'm not using an external monitor. I tried this suggestion to turn off 'have separate spaces' and so far no crashes. I was getting them many times a day. Hopefully this is the solution!

  • by acidking,

    acidking acidking Dec 24, 2014 8:08 AM in response to michaelfromsag harbor
    Level 1 (85 points)
    Dec 24, 2014 8:08 AM in response to michaelfromsag harbor

    Same here, Separate Spaces was causing the CPU for WindowServer to reach 90%, now it's around 10%

  • by sertão,

    sertão sertão Dec 24, 2014 11:34 AM in response to acidking
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 24, 2014 11:34 AM in response to acidking

    Well I thought this solved my problem but I just had my first crash today. I only had one user logged in and when it automatically went to the login screen after idle (because I have my security settings that way) It showed it not logged in. Really hoping Apple has a fix in the works! I haven't had this many crashes since 1984!

  • by JaroslavDJ,

    JaroslavDJ JaroslavDJ Dec 26, 2014 4:27 AM in response to Luis_Mercado
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 26, 2014 4:27 AM in response to Luis_Mercado

    Thank you very much, Luis !

     

    I followed your instructions and my free memory came back from 2,0 GB (average) to 3,7 GB (like used to work before Yosemite). Thank you very much!

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