Level 1

9 points

OS X Yosemite RAM Issues - kernel_task

Hello All,

I have a Mid 2011 13" MBA with 4GB of RAM and 128GB SSD. As of yesterday my computer has been slow and sluggish. When I open the Activity Monitor, I see that kernel_task is taking up a lot of Memory - At some points 3.15GB. As of now its around 2GB. I upgraded to Yosemite last week sometime, so it was running well for a while. Are others having the same issue? (A google search says yes " high kernel_task usage " ... So does anyone have a fix?)

I appreciate any, and all the suggestions.

Thanks,

I provide a lengthy list of the extensions on kernel from command line:

Last login: Tue Oct 28 10:10:56 on console

Manuels-MacBook-Air-2:~ manueldipres$ kextstat | grep -v com.apple

Index Refs Address Size Wired Name (Version) <Linked Against>

Manuels-MacBook-Air-2:~ manueldipres$ kextstat

Index Refs Address Size Wired Name (Version) <Linked Against>

1 80 0xffffff7f80a3e000 0x8c50 0x8c50 com.apple.kpi.bsd (14.0.0)

2 7 0xffffff7f80da3000 0x28c0 0x28c0 com.apple.kpi.dsep (14.0.0)

3 103 0xffffff7f80a03000 0x20500 0x20500 com.apple.kpi.iokit (14.0.0)

4 110 0xffffff7f80a24000 0xbf50 0xbf50 com.apple.kpi.libkern (14.0.0)

5 97 0xffffff7f80a00000 0x2d50 0x2d50 com.apple.kpi.mach (14.0.0)

6 46 0xffffff7f80a30000 0x8420 0x8420 com.apple.kpi.private (14.0.0)

7 61 0xffffff7f80a39000 0x4900 0x4900 com.apple.kpi.unsupported (14.0.0)

8 0 0xffffff7f80ddc000 0xc000 0xc000 com.apple.kec.pthread (1) <7 6 5 4 1>

9 1 0xffffff7f80df9000 0x9000 0x9000 com.apple.kec.Libm (1) <4>

10 3 0xffffff7f80fd6000 0x9c000 0x9c000 com.apple.kec.corecrypto (1.0) <7 6 5 4 3 1>

11 20 0xffffff7f8135f000 0x9000 0x9000 com.apple.iokit.IOACPIFamily (1.4) <7 6 4 3>

12 27 0xffffff7f80b24000 0x2f000 0x2f000 com.apple.iokit.IOPCIFamily (2.9) <7 6 5 4 3>

13 2 0xffffff7f82924000 0x5f000 0x5f000 com.apple.driver.AppleACPIPlatform (3.1) <12 11 7 6 5 4 3 1>

14 1 0xffffff7f81072000 0xb000 0xb000 com.apple.driver.AppleFDEKeyStore (28.30) <10 7 6 5 4 3 1>

15 1 0xffffff7f81358000 0x7000 0x7000 com.apple.iokit.IOReportFamily (31) <5 4 3>

16 6 0xffffff7f80a47000 0x26000 0x26000 com.apple.iokit.IOStorageFamily (2.0) <7 6 5 4 3 1>

17 0 0xffffff7f81415000 0x19000 0x19000 com.apple.driver.DiskImages (389.1) <16 7 6 5 4 3 1>

18 1 0xffffff7f82440000 0xf000 0xf000 com.apple.driver.AppleCredentialManager (1.0) <7 5 4 3 1>

19 2 0xffffff7f80da9000 0xd000 0xd000 com.apple.driver.AppleMobileFileIntegrity (1.0.5) <7 6 5 4 3 2 1>

20 0 0xffffff7f8244f000 0x23000 0x23000 com.apple.driver.AppleKeyStore (2) <19 18 10 7 6 5 4 3 1>

21 0 0xffffff7f82598000 0x2b000 0x2b000 com.apple.driver.AppleIntelCPUPowerManagement (218.0.0) <7 6 5 4 3 1>

22 0 0xffffff7f80da6000 0x2000 0x2000 com.apple.security.TMSafetyNet (8) <7 6 5 4 2 1>

23 2 0xffffff7f80db6000 0x5000 0x5000 com.apple.kext.AppleMatch (1.0.0d1) <4 1>

24 1 0xffffff7f80dbb000 0x17000 0x17000 com.apple.security.sandbox (300.0) <23 19 7 6 5 4 3 2 1>

25 0 0xffffff7f80dd2000 0x9000 0x9000 com.apple.security.quarantine (3) <24 23 7 6 5 4 2 1>

26 0 0xffffff7f8299a000 0x8000 0x8000 com.apple.nke.applicationfirewall (161) <7 6 5 4 3 1>

27 0 0xffffff7f82593000 0x3000 0x3000 com.apple.driver.AppleIntelCPUPowerManagementClient (218.0.0) <7 6 5 4 3 1>

28 0 0xffffff7f828f7000 0x3000 0x3000 com.apple.driver.AppleAPIC (1.7) <4 3>

29 3 0xffffff7f812e5000 0x4000 0x4000 com.apple.iokit.IOSMBusFamily (1.1) <5 4 3>

30 0 0xffffff7f82989000 0x7000 0x7000 com.apple.driver.AppleACPIEC (3.1) <29 13 11 5 4 3>

31 0 0xffffff7f8235f000 0x4000 0x4000 com.apple.driver.AppleSMBIOS (2.1) <7 4 3>

32 0 0xffffff7f82609000 0x3000 0x3000 com.apple.driver.AppleHPET (1.8) <11 7 5 4 3>

33 9 0xffffff7f8107d000 0x76000 0x76000 com.apple.iokit.IOHIDFamily (2.0.0) <14 7 6 5 4 3 2 1>

34 0 0xffffff7f82993000 0x4000 0x4000 com.apple.driver.AppleACPIButtons (3.1) <33 13 11 7 6 5 4 3 1>

35 0 0xffffff7f82365000 0x8000 0x8000 com.apple.driver.AppleSmartBatteryManager (161.0.0) <29 11 5 4 3 1>

36 0 0xffffff7f8238d000 0x8000 0x8000 com.apple.driver.AppleRTC (2.0) <11 5 4 3 1>

37 1 0xffffff7f828cd000 0x5000 0x5000 com.apple.driver.AppleEFIRuntime (2.0) <7 6 5 4 3>

38 0 0xffffff7f828d2000 0xb000 0xb000 com.apple.driver.AppleEFINVRAM (2.0) <37 7 6 5 4 3 1>

39 2 0xffffff7f815e9000 0x16000 0x16000 com.apple.iokit.IOAHCIFamily (2.7.0) <5 4 3 1>

40 0 0xffffff7f828fc000 0x1b000 0x1b000 com.apple.driver.AppleAHCIPort (3.0.7) <39 12 5 4 3 1>

41 13 0xffffff7f80f4e000 0x65000 0x65000 com.apple.iokit.IOUSBFamily (705.4.14) <12 7 5 4 3 1>

43 5 0xffffff7f80f0f000 0x2c000 0x2c000 com.apple.iokit.IONetworkingFamily (3.2) <7 6 5 4 3 1>

44 1 0xffffff7f81634000 0x7000 0x7000 com.apple.driver.mDNSOffloadUserClient (1.0.1b8) <43 4 3 1>

45 1 0xffffff7f8163b000 0xab000 0xab000 com.apple.iokit.IO80211Family (700.52) <43 10 7 6 5 4 3 1>

46 0 0xffffff7f816ee000 0x5d7000 0x5d7000 com.apple.driver.AirPort.Brcm4360 (900.19.8) <45 44 43 12 7 6 5 4 3 1>

48 0 0xffffff7f811a6000 0x19000 0x19000 com.apple.driver.AppleUSBEHCI (705.4.14) <41 12 7 5 4 3 1>

49 5 0xffffff7f811d7000 0xdd000 0xdd000 com.apple.iokit.IOThunderboltFamily (4.2.1) <5 4 3 1>

50 0 0xffffff7f8226a000 0x1b000 0x1b000 com.apple.driver.AppleThunderboltNHI (3.1.7) <49 12 11 5 4 3 1>

51 0 0xffffff7f8160f000 0x18000 0x18000 com.apple.iokit.IOAHCIBlockStorage (2.6.5) <39 16 6 5 4 3 1>

52 0 0xffffff7f81184000 0x1b000 0x1b000 com.apple.driver.AppleUSBHub (705.4.1) <41 5 4 3 1>

53 0 0xffffff7f8214b000 0x3000 0x3000 com.apple.driver.XsanFilter (404) <16 5 4 3 1>

54 0 0xffffff7f82258000 0x5000 0x5000 com.apple.driver.AppleThunderboltPCIDownAdapter (2.0.2) <49 12 5 4 3 1>

55 1 0xffffff7f822ac000 0xf000 0xf000 com.apple.driver.AppleThunderboltDPAdapterFamily (4.0.6) <49 11 5 4 3 1>

56 0 0xffffff7f822d6000 0x6000 0x6000 com.apple.driver.AppleThunderboltDPInAdapter (4.0.6) <55 49 5 4 3 1>

57 1 0xffffff7f81119000 0xa000 0xa000 com.apple.driver.AppleUSBComposite (705.4.9) <41 4 3 1>

58 0 0xffffff7f8117d000 0x7000 0x7000 com.apple.driver.AppleUSBMergeNub (705.4.0) <57 41 4 3 1>

59 0 0xffffff7f82079000 0xa000 0xa000 com.apple.BootCache (35) <7 6 5 4 3 1>

60 0 0xffffff7f828be000 0x5000 0x5000 com.apple.AppleFSCompression.AppleFSCompressionTypeZlib (1.0.0d1) <6 4 3 2 1>

61 0 0xffffff7f828c5000 0x3000 0x3000 com.apple.AppleFSCompression.AppleFSCompressionTypeDataless (1.0.0d1) <7 6 4 3 2 1>

63 3 0xffffff7f81110000 0x9000 0x9000 com.apple.iokit.IOUSBHIDDriver (705.4.0) <41 33 5 4 3 1>

64 0 0xffffff7f8217f000 0x4000 0x4000 com.apple.driver.AppleUSBTCKeyboard (240.2) <63 41 33 7 6 5 4 3 1>

66 0 0xffffff7f8218a000 0x13000 0x13000 com.apple.driver.AppleUSBMultitouch (245.2) <63 41 33 6 5 4 3 1>

67 3 0xffffff7f80ae2000 0x2b000 0x2b000 com.apple.iokit.IOSCSIArchitectureModelFamily (3.7.0) <5 4 3 1>

68 1 0xffffff7f80fbf000 0x11000 0x11000 com.apple.iokit.IOUSBMassStorageClass (3.7.0) <67 41 16 5 4 3 1>

69 0 0xffffff7f82185000 0x3000 0x3000 com.apple.driver.AppleUSBTCButtons (240.2) <63 41 33 7 6 5 4 3 1>

70 1 0xffffff7f80e32000 0x15000 0x15000 com.apple.iokit.IOSCSIBlockCommandsDevice (3.7.0) <67 16 5 4 3 1>

71 0 0xffffff7f82328000 0x8000 0x8000 com.apple.driver.AppleUSBCardReader (3.5.0) <70 68 67 41 16 5 4 3 1>

73 12 0xffffff7f813be000 0x3b000 0x3b000 com.apple.iokit.IOGraphicsFamily (2.4.1) <12 7 5 4 3 1>

74 0 0xffffff7f82479000 0x2e000 0x2e000 com.apple.driver.AppleIntelSNBGraphicsFB (10.0.0) <73 12 11 7 6 5 4 3 1>

75 4 0xffffff7f81405000 0x10000 0x10000 com.apple.iokit.IONDRVSupport (2.4.1) <73 12 7 5 4 3>

76 0 0xffffff7f825d9000 0xb000 0xb000 com.apple.driver.AppleHV (1) <7 6 5 4 3 1>

77 0 0xffffff7f825d4000 0x3000 0x3000 com.apple.driver.AppleHWAccess (1) <7 5 4 3>

78 3 0xffffff7f8138b000 0x1a000 0x1a000 com.apple.driver.AppleSMC (3.1.9) <11 7 5 4 3 1>

79 0 0xffffff7f81f75000 0x5000 0x5000 com.apple.Dont_Steal_Mac_OS_X (7.0.0) <78 7 4 3 1>

80 4 0xffffff7f814a1000 0xaa000 0xaa000 com.apple.iokit.IOBluetoothFamily (4.3.0f10) <15 7 5 4 3 1>

81 0 0xffffff7f812d0000 0x13000 0x13000 com.apple.iokit.IOSurface (97) <7 5 4 3 1>

82 0 0xffffff7f80f42000 0x6000 0x6000 com.apple.iokit.IOUserEthernet (1.0.1) <43 6 5 4 3 1>

83 2 0xffffff7f8234e000 0xe000 0xe000 com.apple.driver.AppleSMBusController (1.0.13d1) <29 12 11 5 4 3>

84 0 0xffffff7f823fe000 0xe000 0xe000 com.apple.driver.AppleMCCSControl (1.2.10) <83 73 12 11 7 5 4 3 1>

85 1 0xffffff7f8289d000 0x5000 0x5000 com.apple.driver.AppleBacklightExpert (1.1.0) <75 73 12 5 4 3>

86 0 0xffffff7f828ef000 0x5000 0x5000 com.apple.driver.AppleBacklight (170.4.12) <85 75 73 12 5 4 3>

89 2 0xffffff7f82628000 0xc000 0xc000 com.apple.iokit.IOHDAFamily (266.5) <5 4 3 1>

90 1 0xffffff7f8265f000 0x1a000 0x1a000 com.apple.driver.AppleHDAController (266.5) <89 73 12 7 6 5 4 3 1>

93 5 0xffffff7f81368000 0xa000 0xa000 com.apple.driver.IOPlatformPluginFamily (5.8.0d49) <11 7 6 5 4 3>

94 0 0xffffff7f82438000 0x3000 0x3000 com.apple.driver.AppleLPC (1.7.3) <93 12 5 4 3>

95 0 0xffffff7f8234b000 0x3000 0x3000 com.apple.driver.AppleSMBusPCI (1.0.12d1) <12 5 4 3>

96 1 0xffffff7f81377000 0x12000 0x12000 com.apple.driver.IOPlatformPluginLegacy (1.0.0) <93 11 7 6 5 4 3>

97 0 0xffffff7f813a7000 0x10000 0x10000 com.apple.driver.ACPI_SMC_PlatformPlugin (1.0.0) <96 93 78 12 11 7 6 5 4 3>

98 0 0xffffff7f82506000 0x67000 0x67000 com.apple.driver.AppleIntelHD3000Graphics (10.0.0) <73 12 7 5 4 3 1>

99 0 0xffffff7f82343000 0x5000 0x5000 com.apple.driver.AppleSMCLMU (2.0.4d1) <78 73 5 4 3>

100 0 0xffffff7f81372000 0x3000 0x3000 com.apple.driver.AppleSMCPDRC (1.0.0) <93 12 6 4 3>

101 0 0xffffff7f80fd3000 0x3000 0x3000 com.apple.iokit.IOUSBUserClient (705.4.0) <41 7 5 4 3 1>

102 1 0xffffff7f81586000 0x23000 0x23000 com.apple.iokit.IOBluetoothHostControllerUSBTransport (4.3.0f10) <80 41 12 11 7 5 4 3 1>

103 0 0xffffff7f815a9000 0x9000 0x9000 com.apple.iokit.BroadcomBluetoothHostControllerUSBTransport (4.3.0f10) <102 80 41 12 11 7 5 4 3>

104 0 0xffffff7f8228a000 0x17000 0x17000 com.apple.driver.AppleThunderboltIP (2.0.2) <49 43 12 5 4 3 1>

106 0 0xffffff7f82637000 0x16000 0x16000 com.apple.driver.AppleMikeyDriver (266.5) <83 11 5 4 3 1>

107 0 0xffffff7f821f8000 0x5000 0x5000 com.apple.driver.AppleUpstreamUserClient (3.6.1) <73 12 11 7 5 4 3 1>

109 2 0xffffff7f82095000 0x77000 0x77000 com.apple.vecLib.kext (1.2.0) <9 6 5 4 3>

110 3 0xffffff7f8210c000 0x2f000 0x2f000 com.apple.iokit.IOAudioFamily (200.6) <109 5 4 3 1>

111 1 0xffffff7f82679000 0x13000 0x13000 com.apple.kext.OSvKernDSPLib (1.15) <5 4>

112 1 0xffffff7f8268c000 0xdb000 0xdb000 com.apple.driver.DspFuncLib (266.5) <111 110 109 6 5 4 3 1>

113 0 0xffffff7f82771000 0xa7000 0xa7000 com.apple.driver.AppleHDA (266.5) <112 110 90 89 75 73 6 5 4 3 1>

115 0 0xffffff7f823f3000 0x3000 0x3000 com.apple.driver.AppleMikeyHIDDriver (124) <33 7 4 3 1>

116 0 0xffffff7f823ec000 0x4000 0x4000 com.apple.driver.AppleOSXWatchdog (1) <12 7 6 5 4 3 1>

117 1 0xffffff7f812f3000 0xe000 0xe000 com.apple.iokit.IOSerialFamily (11) <7 6 5 4 3 1>

118 0 0xffffff7f81572000 0xa000 0xa000 com.apple.iokit.IOBluetoothSerialManager (4.3.0f10) <117 7 5 4 3 1>

119 1 0xffffff7f82085000 0x5000 0x5000 com.apple.kext.triggers (1.0) <7 6 5 4 3 1>

120 0 0xffffff7f8208a000 0x9000 0x9000 com.apple.filesystems.autofs (3.0) <119 7 6 5 4 3 1>

121 1 0xffffff7f82867000 0x6000 0x6000 com.apple.AppleGraphicsDeviceControl (3.7.21) <7 6 5 4 3 1>

122 0 0xffffff7f8286d000 0x13000 0x13000 com.apple.driver.AGPM (100.14.37) <121 93 75 73 12 5 4 3>

124 0 0xffffff7f823e5000 0x4000 0x4000 com.apple.driver.ApplePlatformEnabler (2.1.0d1) <7 5 4 3>

125 0 0xffffff7f825cb000 0x5000 0x5000 com.apple.driver.AppleHWSensor (1.9.5d0) <5 4 3>

126 1 0xffffff7f8220d000 0x17000 0x17000 com.apple.driver.AppleMultitouchDriver (260.30) <33 5 4 3 1>

127 1 0xffffff7f8155b000 0x12000 0x12000 com.apple.driver.IOBluetoothHIDDriver (4.3.0f10) <80 33 5 4 3>

128 0 0xffffff7f828dd000 0xb000 0xb000 com.apple.driver.AppleBluetoothMultitouch (85.3) <127 126 80 33 5 4 3>

129 0 0xffffff7f82143000 0x5000 0x5000 com.apple.driver.AudioAUUC (1.70) <110 73 12 11 7 5 4 3 1>

130 1 0xffffff7f81f65000 0xe000 0xe000 com.apple.filesystems.exfat (1.4) <7 5 4 1>

Manuels-MacBook-Air-2:~ manueldipres$

MacBook Air (13-inch Mid 2011), OS X Mavericks (10.9.4)

Posted on Oct 28, 2014 8:04 AM

18 replies

BobHarris

Level 9

58,249 points

Jul 20, 2015 5:58 PM in response to JeffsonFS

Piggy backing on someone else's thread is not really a good way to be seen. You should be starting your own thread that you can control the discussion.

But you kernel_task is not really too bad for an 8GB system. It is less than what a 16GB system would be using, but slightly more than a rock bottom 8GB system.

You are running anti-virus and that is unnecessary and could be contributing to your slightly high kernel_task memory usage. All kernel extensions get lumped into kernel_task and your anti-virus is a kernel extension.

How does Mac OS X protect me?

<http://www.thesafemac.com/mmg-builtin/>

Jul 20, 2015 9:14 PM in response to BobHarris

I'm sorry about reply on this old thread, and thank you for your help. I will delete the anti-virus and see how it goes. Thanks.

Eric Root

Level 10

686,801 points

Jul 21, 2015 2:19 PM in response to JeffsonFS

Kapersky Uninstall

This thread has been closed by the system or the community team. You may vote for any posts you find helpful, or search the Community for additional answers.

OS X Yosemite RAM Issues - kernel_task