Q: Compressed memory for kernel_task too high

Try force quitting all those "red" processes from Google, et.al. Your kernel_task memory isn't too high. That isn't your problem.

Interesting I have the exact same issue on my iMac 27-inch late 2012, but on my newer MacBook Pro there is no kernal_task compression or any other processes compressed. 

My kernel_task is 1.14GB and it is NOT a problem on my system.

Do you have an actual problem?

Or are you just trying to out guess the operating system?

I have this issue too.  Usually when I reboot, it fix itself but its coming back after some times. I'm trying to narrow down what app could be messing with the monitor.  I think its purely a cosmetic issue because the computer is not slow.  Its just annoying to see that in my usage. Did you found anything about this issue?

I have this issue too.  Usually when I reboot, it fix itself but its coming back after some times. I'm trying to narrow down what app could be messing with the monitor.  I think its purely a cosmetic issue because the computer is not slow.  Its just annoying to see that in my usage. Did you found anything about this issue?

Please start a new post so you are thread-jacking Kevin Hanna discussion.

In your new post, please include the EtreCheck output

<https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-6174>

You may also want to look at your Applications -> Utilities -> Console log entries for any frequently repeating entries (like ones that happen ever few seconds), as they may indicate a problem with a filing background daemon.

Put all of this information and a description of your issues in a  new post which you will then be able to control the discussion.

PS.  1.21GB is normal for a 16GB system.  Most of this is virtual page tables the kernel is managing for all your other applications.

Same problem on my 3 month old Mac Mini.  Some comments above seem to ignore the value of the kernel_task compressed memory value in the Activity Monitor display shown below (and above).  Notice 20 digit long Compressed Memory size.  Also see EtreCheck below, which seems to say nothing is wrong, however I do notice a slowdown in performance, like app startup time.  Do I believe Activity Monitor or EtreCheck?

Problem description:

Very large value (20 digits) showing in Activity Monitor for kernel_task Compressed Mem.

EtreCheck version: 2.1.8 (121)

Report generated March 21, 2015 at 10:08:50 AM PDT

Download EtreCheck from http://etresoft.com/etrecheck

Click the [Click for support] links for help with non-Apple products.

Click the [Click for details] links for more information about that line.

Hardware Information: ℹ️

    Mac mini (Late 2014) (Technical Specifications)

    Mac mini - model: Macmini7,1

    1 1.4 GHz Intel Core i5 CPU: 2-core

    4 GB RAM Not upgradeable

        BANK 0/DIMM0

            2 GB DDR3 1600 MHz ok

        BANK 1/DIMM0

            2 GB DDR3 1600 MHz ok

    Bluetooth: Good - Handoff/Airdrop2 supported

    Wireless:  en1: 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac

Video Information: ℹ️

    Intel HD Graphics 5000

        SAMSUNG spdisplays_720p

System Software: ℹ️

    OS X 10.10.2 (14C1514) - Time since boot: 1:21:51

Disk Information: ℹ️

    APPLE HDD HTS545050A7E362 disk0 : (500.11 GB)

        EFI (disk0s1) <not mounted> : 210 MB

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

        Macintosh HD (disk1) / : 498.89 GB (381.45 GB free)

            Core Storage: disk0s2 499.25 GB Online

USB Information: ℹ️

    Apple, Inc. IR Receiver

    Apple Inc. BRCM20702 Hub

        Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller

    Logitech USB Receiver

Thunderbolt Information: ℹ️

    Apple Inc. thunderbolt_bus

Gatekeeper: ℹ️

    Mac App Store and identified developers

Launch Agents: ℹ️

    [loaded]    com.oracle.java.Java-Updater.plist [Click for support]

Launch Daemons: ℹ️

    [loaded]    com.adobe.fpsaud.plist [Click for support]

    [loaded]    com.microsoft.office.licensing.helper.plist [Click for support]

    [loaded]    com.oracle.java.Helper-Tool.plist [Click for support]

    [loaded]    com.oracle.java.JavaUpdateHelper.plist [Click for support]

User Login Items: ℹ️

    iTunesHelper    Application  (/Applications/iTunes.app/Contents/MacOS/iTunesHelper.app)

    Box Sync    Application  (/Applications/Box Sync.app)

    Dropbox    Application  (/Applications/Dropbox.app)

    SpeechSynthesisServer    Application  (/System/Library/Frameworks/ApplicationServices.framework/Versions/A/Frameworks /SpeechSynthesis.framework/Versions/A/SpeechSynthesisServer.app)

Internet Plug-ins: ℹ️

    FlashPlayer-10.6: Version: 17.0.0.134 - SDK 10.6 [Click for support]

    QuickTime Plugin: Version: 7.7.3

    Flash Player: Version: 17.0.0.134 - SDK 10.6 [Click for support]

    Default Browser: Version: 600 - SDK 10.10

    SharePointBrowserPlugin: Version: 14.4.8 - SDK 10.6 [Click for support]

    Silverlight: Version: 5.1.30514.0 - SDK 10.6 [Click for support]

    DirectorShockwave: Version: 12.1.6r156 - SDK 10.6 [Click for support]

    JavaAppletPlugin: Version: Java 8 Update 31 Check version

Safari Extensions: ℹ️

    Awesome Screenshot

    Ghostery

    ClickToFlash

    clea.nr Videos

    DuckDuckGo

    Firebug Lite for Safari

    AdBlock

    Adblock Plus

3rd Party Preference Panes: ℹ️

    Flash Player  [Click for support]

    Java  [Click for support]

Time Machine: ℹ️

    Time Machine not configured!

Top Processes by CPU: ℹ️

        13%    mds

         4%    WindowServer

         1%    Box Sync Monitor

         1%    firefox

         0%    Box Sync

Top Processes by Memory: ℹ️

    614 MB    firefox

    378 MB    softwareupdated

    168 MB    CalendarAgent

    150 MB    Box Sync

    120 MB    spindump

Virtual Memory Information: ℹ️

    164 MB    Free RAM

    1.77 GB    Active RAM

    1.63 GB    Inactive RAM

    715 MB    Wired RAM

    1.84 GB    Page-ins

    42 MB    Page-outs

Diagnostics Information: ℹ️

    Mar 21, 2015, 08:45:51 AM    Self test - passed

Some comments above seem to ignore the value of the kernel_task compressed memory value in the Activity Monitor display shown below (and above).  Notice 20 digit long Compressed Memory size.

That is just a programming bug doing 64-bit math.  The value is 0xFFFFFFFFFFFFE000 hex, which means someone did not check for a 64-bit subtraction going negative, and then displayed it as an unsigned positive value.

Your kernel_task memory usage is normal for a system with 4GB of RAM.

  Also see EtreCheck below, which seems to say nothing is wrong, however I do notice a slowdown in performance, like app startup time.  Do I believe Activity Monitor or EtreCheck?

4GB is not a lot of RAM for Yosemite.  Your Activity Monitor memory presure says you are not compressing anything (not yellow).

Otherwise I do not see anything obvious.

Same problem including very slow performance of the mac.

Kernel_task compressed memory is ways too high so that my iMac late 2012 is sometimes not booting anymore. It also became very slow and apps like photoshop can't use OpenGL anymore. The preview mode doesn't work all the time (Mac seems to be too slow). The Etri report marked the: EFI (disk0s1) <not mounted> : 210 MB Macintosh HD (disk0s2) / : 999.35 GB (561.34 GB free) - 20 errors

What should I do?

Here is the report. Please help.

Problem description:

kernel_task compressed memory is ways too high

EtreCheck version: 2.2 (132)

Report generated 6/13/15, 11:42 AM

Download EtreCheck from http://etresoft.com/etrecheck

Click the [Click for support] links for help with non-Apple products.

Click the [Click for details] links for more information about that line.

Hardware Information: ℹ️

    iMac (27-inch, Late 2012) (Technical Specifications)

    iMac - model: iMac13,2

    1 2.9 GHz Intel Core i5 CPU: 4-core

    8 GB RAM Upgradeable

        BANK 0/DIMM0

            4 GB DDR3 1600 MHz ok

        BANK 1/DIMM0

            4 GB DDR3 1600 MHz ok

        BANK 0/DIMM1

            Empty 

        BANK 1/DIMM1

            Empty 

    Bluetooth: Good - Handoff/Airdrop2 supported

    Wireless:  en1: 802.11 a/b/g/n

Video Information: ℹ️

    NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660M - VRAM: 512 MB

        iMac 2560 x 1440

System Software: ℹ️

    OS X 10.10.3 (14D136) - Time since boot: 11:43:55

Disk Information: ℹ️

    APPLE HDD WDC WD10EALX-408EA0 disk0 : (1 TB)

        EFI (disk0s1) <not mounted> : 210 MB

        Macintosh HD (disk0s2) / : 999.35 GB (561.34 GB free) - 20 errors

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

USB Information: ℹ️

    BUFFALO HD-PZU3 1 TB

        disk1s1 (disk1s1) <not mounted> : 32 KB

        Grossmanns (disk1s3) /Volumes/Grossmanns : 1.00 TB (203.16 GB free)

    Apple Inc. BRCM20702 Hub

        Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller

    Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 USB

    Apple Inc. FaceTime HD Camera (Built-in)

Thunderbolt Information: ℹ️

    Apple Inc. thunderbolt_bus

Configuration files: ℹ️

    /etc/hosts - Count: 136

Gatekeeper: ℹ️

    Anywhere

Kernel Extensions: ℹ️

        /Library/Extensions

    [not loaded]    com.Avid.driver.AvidDX (5.9.1 - SDK 10.8) [Click for support]

    [not loaded]    de.rme-audio.driver.RMEFirefaceUSB (1.95 - SDK 10.8) [Click for support]

        /System/Library/Extensions

    [not loaded]    at.obdev.nke.LittleSnitch (3916 - SDK 10.8) [Click for support]

    [loaded]    com.Cycling74.driver.Soundflower (1.5.2) [Click for support]

    [not loaded]    com.caiaq.driver.NIUSBGuitarRigMobileDriver (2.4.23) [Click for support]

    [not loaded]    com.caiaq.driver.NIUSBHardwareDriver (2.4.23) [Click for support]

    [not loaded]    com.paceap.kext.pacesupport.master (5.9.1 - SDK 10.6) [Click for support]

    [not loaded]    com.wacom.kext.wacomtablet (6.1.7) [Click for support]

        /System/Library/Extensions/PACESupportFamily.kext/Contents/PlugIns

    [not loaded]    com.paceap.kext.pacesupport.leopard (5.9.1 - SDK 10.4) [Click for support]

    [not loaded]    com.paceap.kext.pacesupport.panther (5.9.1 - SDK 10.-1) [Click for support]

    [loaded]    com.paceap.kext.pacesupport.snowleopard (5.9.1 - SDK 10.6) [Click for support]

    [not loaded]    com.paceap.kext.pacesupport.tiger (5.9.1 - SDK 10.4) [Click for support]

Problem System Launch Agents: ℹ️

    [failed]    com.apple.ReportCrash.plist [Click for details]

Launch Agents: ℹ️

    [not loaded]    com.adobe.AAM.Updater-1.0.plist [Click for support]

    [running]    com.adobe.AdobeCreativeCloud.plist [Click for support]

    [failed]    com.adobe.ARMDCHelper.cc24aef4a1b90ed56a...plist [Click for support]

    [failed]    com.kodak.BonjourAgent.plist [Click for support]

    [not loaded]    com.teamviewer.teamviewer.plist [Click for support]

    [not loaded]    com.teamviewer.teamviewer_desktop.plist [Click for support]

    [running]    com.wacom.wacomtablet.plist [Click for support]

    [running]    de.rme-audio.RMEfirefaceUSBAgent.plist [Click for support]

Launch Daemons: ℹ️

    [running]    com.adobe.adobeupdatedaemon.plist [Click for support]

    [loaded]    com.adobe.ARMDC.Communicator.plist [Click for support]

    [loaded]    com.adobe.ARMDC.SMJobBlessHelper.plist [Click for support]

    [loaded]    com.adobe.fpsaud.plist [Click for support]

    [loaded]    com.avid.AMCUninstaller.plist [Click for support]

    [loaded]    com.avid.AvidUninstaller.plist [Click for support]

    [loaded]    com.microsoft.office.licensing.helper.plist [Click for support]

    [loaded]    com.novation.automap.pluginhelper.plist [Click for support]

    [running]    com.paceap.eden.licensed.plist [Click for support]

    [loaded]    com.teamviewer.Helper.plist [Click for support]

    [not loaded]    com.teamviewer.teamviewer_service.plist [Click for support]

    [loaded]    PACESupport.plist [Click for support]

User Launch Agents: ℹ️

    [loaded]    com.adobe.AAM.Updater-1.0.plist [Click for support]

    [loaded]    com.kodak.KODAK AiO Annual Opt.plist [Click for support]

    [loaded]    com.kodak.KODAK AiO Firmware Updater.plist [Click for support]

    [loaded]    com.kodak.KODAK AiO Software Updater.plist [Click for support]

    [failed]    com.kodak.StatisticCollection.plist [Click for support]

    [loaded]    com.redgiantsoftware.updater.plist [Click for support]

User Login Items: ℹ️

    iTunesHelper    Programm  (/Applications/iTunes.app/Contents/MacOS/iTunesHelper.app)

    Cursorcerer    UNKNOWN  (missing value)

    NIHardwareAgent    Programm Hidden (/Library/Application Support/Native Instruments/Hardware/NIHardwareAgent.app)

    AdobeResourceSynchronizer    Programm Hidden (/Applications/Adobe Acrobat DC/Adobe Acrobat.app/Contents/Helpers/AdobeResourceSynchronizer.app)

    Dropbox    Programm  (/Applications/Dropbox.app)

Internet Plug-ins: ℹ️

    AdobeAAMDetect: Version: 3.0.0.0 - SDK 10.9 [Click for support]

    FlashPlayer-10.6: Version: 17.0.0.188 - SDK 10.6 [Click for support]

    Default Browser: Version: 600 - SDK 10.10

    AdobePDFViewerNPAPI: Version: 15.007.20033 - SDK 10.8 [Click for support]

    AdobePDFViewer: Version: 15.007.20033 - SDK 10.8 [Click for support]

    Flash Player: Version: 17.0.0.188 - SDK 10.6 Outdated! Update

    QuickTime Plugin: Version: 7.7.3

    SharePointBrowserPlugin: Version: 14.0.0 [Click for support]

    WacomNetscape: Version: 1.1.1-1 [Click for support]

    Silverlight: Version: 5.1.40416.0 - SDK 10.6 [Click for support]

    JavaAppletPlugin: Version: 15.0.0 - SDK 10.10 Check version

Safari Extensions: ℹ️

    Adblock Plus

    AdBlock

3rd Party Preference Panes: ℹ️

    Flash Player  [Click for support]

    Native Instruments USB Audio  [Click for support]

    WacomTablet  [Click for support]

Time Machine: ℹ️

    Time Machine not configured!

Top Processes by CPU: ℹ️

         5%    opendirectoryd

         4%    launchd

         4%    WindowServer

         2%    automountd

         1%    Adobe InDesign CC 2014

Top Processes by Memory: ℹ️

    836 MB    Adobe Photoshop CC 2014

    835 MB    kernel_task

    557 MB    Adobe InDesign CC 2014

    500 MB    com.apple.WebKit.WebContent(5)

    360 MB    Safari

Virtual Memory Information: ℹ️

    279 MB    Free RAM

    7.72 GB    Used RAM

    2 MB    Swap Used

Diagnostics Information: ℹ️

    Jun 13, 2015, 12:09:17 AM    /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/Adobe Desktop Service_2015-06-13-000917_[redacted].crash

    Jun 13, 2015, 12:09:09 AM    /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/Core Sync_2015-06-13-000909_[redacted].crash

    Jun 13, 2015, 12:08:22 AM    /Users/[redacted]/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/ReportCrash_2015-06-13-000822_ [redacted].crash

    Jun 12, 2015, 11:02:29 PM    /Users/[redacted]/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/com.apple.WebKit.Plugin.64_201 5-06-12-230229_[redacted].crash

    Jun 12, 2015, 11:00:19 PM    /Users/[redacted]/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/Live_2015-06-12-230019_[redact ed].crash

    Jun 12, 2015, 04:34:49 PM    /Users/[redacted]/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/dynamiclinkmanager_2015-06-12- 163449_[redacted].crash

    Jun 12, 2015, 01:42:33 PM    /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/Adobe Illustrator_2015-06-12-134233_[redacted].hang

    Jun 11, 2015, 12:44:30 PM    /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/Adobe InDesign CC 2014_2015-06-11-124430_[redacted].cpu_resource.diag [Click for details]

    Jun 11, 2015, 10:04:26 AM    /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/Disk Utility_2015-06-11-100426_[redacted].hang

    Jun 10, 2015, 05:21:14 PM    /Users/[redacted]/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/garcon_2015-06-10-172114_[reda cted].crash

    Jun 12, 2015, 11:55:45 PM    Self test - passed

    Jun 12, 2015, 10:59:29 PM    /Users/[redacted]/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/Ableton Index_2015-06-12-225929_[redacted].crash

    Jun 12, 2015, 10:58:49 PM    /Users/[redacted]/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/Live_2015-06-12-225849_[redact ed].crash

    Jun 12, 2015, 01:42:33 PM    /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/Adobe Photoshop CC 2014_2015-06-12-134233_[redacted].hang

Do a backup, preferable 2 separate ones on 2 drives. Boot to the Recovery Volume (command - R on a restart or hold down the option/alt key during a restart and select Recovery Volume). Run Disk Utility Verify/Repair and Repair Permissions until you get no errors.

/etc/hosts file - Fixing a hacked

        Macintosh HD (disk0s2) / : 999.35 GB (561.34 GB free) - 20 errors

A) Chances are your disk drive is failing and that is the root cause of your performance issues (unreported retries are most likely happening which cause the disk to wait one revolution for each retry, and chances are it is doing lots and lots of retries before it gets around to being bad enough to report any errors into the logs).

B) You have a 3rd party security program (PACE) which is not needed by Mac OS X.  See:

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

C) Your Activity Monitor does not show any memory compression, as the graph is Green.  It would be yellow or red if there was memory compression.

D) your kernel_task memory usage is within normal range for the 8GB of RAM in your Mac.  And ignore the impossibly large number, as that is just a math subtraction error involving 64-bit variables (subtracting a larger unsigned 64-bit value from a smaller unsigned 64-bit value results in an a very large unsigned 64-bit value instead of a negative number).

F) your problems do not really have any relation to the original post, and to get the best attention from forum members, it would be better to have your own new post, and not thread-jack Kevin Hanna's post.

Ok, thanks a lot! I will try to do my best.

Sorry for: F) your problems do not really have any relation to the original post, and to get the best attention from forum members, it would be better to have your own new post, and not thread-jack Kevin Hanna's post.

It's my first post ever.

Thanks guys!

/etc/hosts file - Fixing a hacked

B) You have a 3rd party security program (PACE) which is not needed by Mac OS X

Please refrain from giving "advice" about things you can't even be bothered to google. PACE is copy protection software, just nuking it from your computer is guaranteed to make very expensive plugins stop working and cause major headaches. Your "help" could lead to someone losing clients, please edit your post. Your other point about memory compression is also incorrect. You can have major compression and still a green graph, depends on the contents of your virtual memory  and how it's being accessed - lots of compressed memory barely in use will cause lower memory pressure than a lower amount constantly cycling in and out of compression and swap. The graph generally turns yellow when RAM is getting close to full _despite_ compression. Case in point, my daw is using 10GB, compressed 6GB, graph is green. Get off your high horse.

i have a 8gb mac and my compressed memory is at 5 or 6gb