Brad12887

Q: Mac very slow, all memory used up....

So, my physical memory is 4GB, memory used is 3.98 GB, virtual memory is 5.21GB.

 

I'm looking at the memory usage, and there isn't any real big program that's using most of it, except the kernel task...it's at 384mb.

 

The apple guy told me that once the RAM is used up, it starts utilizing the HD for RAM, which takes forever, which is probably why my Mac has been running slow for months now. I never understood why. My computer takes a while to start up, and to first open up programs that haven't been opened already.

 

Any ideas? This is a pic of the activity monitor. The computer was just started up, and opened up Safari and Activity Monitor. Nothing else, and when opening Activity monitor, it showed all my RAM was maxed out. I have no idea why, as I just started the computer and opened an internet browser.

 

http://imgur.com/5lAgatb

MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.6.8)

Posted on Jan 19, 2015 2:20 PM

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Q: Mac very slow, all memory used up....

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  • by OGELTHORPE,Helpful

    OGELTHORPE OGELTHORPE Jan 19, 2015 3:28 PM in response to Brad12887
    Level 9 (52,793 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jan 19, 2015 3:28 PM in response to Brad12887

    Based on the image that you posted, you have Mavericks or Yosemite OSX installed.  First read this Apple support Article.

     

    http://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201464

     

    The new OSXs use as much RAM as is available.  The new parameter is not the amount in use but the 'pressure'.  If it is green, it is good.  Your image shows green so RAM is not likely your problem.

     

    As a start, download and post an EtreCheck report:

     

    http://www.etresoft.com/etrecheck

     

    That may provide some clues.

     

    Ciao.

  • by Brad12887,

    Brad12887 Brad12887 Jan 19, 2015 3:44 PM in response to OGELTHORPE
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 19, 2015 3:44 PM in response to OGELTHORPE

    Thanks, I wasn't aware of the memory pressure. So even though it says it's using all of the RAM, it doesn't necessarily mean I'm running enough programs to actually use all of it?

     

    Anyway, here is the EtreCheck.

     

    Problem description:

    Very slow running Mac.

     

    EtreCheck version: 2.1.6 (109)

    Report generated January 19, 2015 at 6:39:01 PM EST

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

     

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

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

    Click the [Adware] links for help removing adware.

     

    Hardware Information: ℹ️

      MacBook Pro (15-inch, Early 2011) (Technical Specifications)

      MacBook Pro - model: MacBookPro8,2

      1 2.2 GHz Intel Core i7 CPU: 4-core

      4 GB RAM Upgradeable

      BANK 0/DIMM0

      2 GB DDR3 1333 MHz ok

      BANK 1/DIMM0

      2 GB DDR3 1333 MHz ok

      Bluetooth: Old - Handoff/Airdrop2 not supported

      Wireless:  en1: 802.11 a/b/g/n

      Battery Health: Normal - Cycle count 326

     

    Video Information: ℹ️

      Intel HD Graphics 3000 - VRAM: 384 MB

      Color LCD 1440 x 900

      AMD Radeon HD 6750M - VRAM: 1024 MB

     

    System Software: ℹ️

      OS X 10.10.1 (14B25) - Time since boot: 1:42:49

     

    Disk Information: ℹ️

      ST9500420ASG disk0 : (500.11 GB)

      EFI (disk0s1) <not mounted> : 210 MB

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

      Macintosh HD (disk1) / : 498.88 GB (373.17 GB free)

      Core Storage: disk0s2 499.25 GB Online

     

      MATSHITADVD-R   UJ-898 

     

    USB Information: ℹ️

      Apple Computer, Inc. IR Receiver

      Apple Inc. FaceTime HD Camera (Built-in)

      Apple Inc. Apple Internal Keyboard / Trackpad

      Apple Inc. BRCM2070 Hub

      Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller

     

    Thunderbolt Information: ℹ️

      Apple Inc. thunderbolt_bus

     

    Gatekeeper: ℹ️

      Mac App Store and identified developers

     

    Kernel Extensions: ℹ️

      /System/Library/Extensions

      [not loaded] com.mice.driver.Wireless360Controller (1.0.0d11) [Support]

      [not loaded] com.mice.driver.WirelessGamingReceiver (1.0.0d11) [Support]

      [not loaded] com.mice.driver.Xbox360Controller (1.0.0d11) [Support]

     

    Startup Items: ℹ️

      360ControlDaemon: Path: /Library/StartupItems/360ControlDaemon

      Startup items are obsolete in OS X Yosemite

     

    Launch Agents: ℹ️

      [loaded] com.oracle.java.Java-Updater.plist [Support]

     

    Launch Daemons: ℹ️

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

      [loaded] com.ea.origin.ESHelper.plist [Support]

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

      [loaded] com.oracle.java.Helper-Tool.plist [Support]

     

    User Launch Agents: ℹ️

      [failed] com.facebook.videochat.[redacted].plist [Support]

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

      [loaded] com.logos.LogosIndexer.plist [Support]

      [running] com.nchsoftware.expressaccounts.agent.plist [Support]

     

    User Login Items: ℹ️

      iTunesHelper UNKNOWN Hidden (missing value)

      Dropbox Application  (/Applications/Dropbox.app)

      apple-scc-20150115-142845 UNKNOWN  (missing value)

     

    Internet Plug-ins: ℹ️

      DirectorShockwave: Version: 12.1.3r153 - SDK 10.6 [Support]

      GameFacePlugin: Version: GameFacePlugin 1.5.3.0 - SDK 10.5 [Support]

      Unity Web Player: Version: UnityPlayer version 3.5.3f3 - SDK 10.6 [Support]

      Default Browser: Version: 600 - SDK 10.10

      Flip4Mac WMV Plugin: Version: 2.3.8.1 [Support]

      SlingPlayer: Version: Unknown [Support]

      Silverlight: Version: 5.1.10411.0 - SDK 10.6 [Support]

      FlashPlayer-10.6: Version: 16.0.0.257 - SDK 10.6 [Support]

      Flash Player: Version: 16.0.0.257 - SDK 10.6 [Support]

      QuickTime Plugin: Version: 7.7.3

      iPhotoPhotocast: Version: 7.0 - SDK 10.8

      SharePointBrowserPlugin: Version: 14.4.7 - SDK 10.6 [Support]

      WidevineMediaTransformer: Version: Unknown [Support]

      JavaAppletPlugin: Version: Java 8 Update 25 Check version

     

    User internet Plug-ins: ℹ️

      Picasa: Version: 1.0 - SDK 10.6 [Support]

     

    3rd Party Preference Panes: ℹ️

      Flash Player  [Support]

      Flip4Mac WMV  [Support]

      Growl  [Support]

      Java  [Support]

      Perian  [Support]

     

    Time Machine: ℹ️

      Skip System Files: NO

      Mobile backups: OFF

      Auto backup: YES

      Volumes being backed up:

      Macintosh HD: Disk size: 498.88 GB Disk used: 125.70 GB

      Destinations:

      MacBook Backups [Local]

      Total size: 443.89 GB

      Total number of backups: 0

      Oldest backup: -

      Last backup: -

      Size of backup disk: Adequate

      Backup size 443.89 GB > (Disk used 125.70 GB X 3)

     

    Top Processes by CPU: ℹ️

          9% WindowServer

          3% NotificationCenter

          3% Safari

          1% hidd

          1% Activity Monitor

     

    Top Processes by Memory: ℹ️

      142 MB com.apple.WebKit.WebContent

      99 MB Safari

      99 MB Messages

      47 MB syncdefaultsd

      47 MB System Events

     

    Virtual Memory Information: ℹ️

      41 MB Free RAM

      973 MB Active RAM

      945 MB Inactive RAM

      1.14 GB Wired RAM

      5.06 GB Page-ins

      132 MB Page-outs

     

    Diagnostics Information: ℹ️

      Jan 19, 2015, 04:57:00 PM Self test - passed

  • by OGELTHORPE,

    OGELTHORPE OGELTHORPE Jan 19, 2015 3:53 PM in response to Brad12887
    Level 9 (52,793 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jan 19, 2015 3:53 PM in response to Brad12887

    Start with this:  Reset the SMC and NVRAM:

     

    http://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201295

     

    http://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204063

     

    Then perform a safe boot:

     

    http://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201262

     

    Any change?

     

    Ciao.

  • by Linc Davis,

    Linc Davis Linc Davis Jan 19, 2015 8:18 PM in response to Brad12887
    Level 10 (208,037 points)
    Applications
    Jan 19, 2015 8:18 PM in response to Brad12887

    It's best to describe the problem in as much relevant detail as possible, rather than what you think is causing it or how you think it should be solved.


    For example, if the computer is slow, which specific actions are slow? Is it slow all the time, or only sometimes? What changes did you make, if any, just before it became slow? Have you seen any alerts or error messages? Have you done anything to try to fix it? Most importantly, do you have a current backup of all data? If the answer to the last question is "no," back up now. Ask if you need guidance. Do nothing else until you have a backup.