JoonaV
Level 1 (0 points)

Q: iMac running out of memory

Hi all,

 

I have late 2012 iMac with 8Gb of RAM and for a few weeks now I've had this problem with RAM usage. Just light web surfing and the RAM usage is through the roof with +7.8gb/8gb. There is not any particular program running that would eat that memory. If I reboot the system, and just idle, it stays around 5 gigs.

 

I'm running latest Yosemite but I had this problem with Mavericks too since I updated the OS just recently to see if it would help. I have also reset SMC and NVRAM, deleted cache, ran anti-virus programs and repaired the disk permissions from Disk Utility. No help.

iMac (21.5-inch, Late 2012), OS X Yosemite (10.10.2)

Posted on Feb 23, 2015 2:50 PM

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JoonaV

Q: iMac running out of memory

  • All replies
  • Helpful answers

  • by rkaufmann87,

    rkaufmann87 rkaufmann87 Feb 23, 2015 3:15 PM in response to JoonaV
    Level 9 (58,956 points)
    Photos for Mac
    Feb 23, 2015 3:15 PM in response to JoonaV

    Post an EtreCheck report of your computer, from that report we can look for any obvious issues. Under normal circumstances 8GB should be adequate the report may uncover some issues. You can get EtreCheck by clicking http://www.etresoft.com/etrecheck

  • by Mike Sombrio,

    Mike Sombrio Mike Sombrio Feb 23, 2015 3:25 PM in response to JoonaV
    Level 6 (17,283 points)
    Apple Watch
    Feb 23, 2015 3:25 PM in response to JoonaV

    Unless you're experiencing slow downs what you describe is normal. Beginning with Mavericks the OS uses large amount of memory and releases it to other application as it's needed. Think about it, would your rather your computer be using all of it's resources in order to make things faster or would you like your resources sitting idle? Learn about using Activity Monitor here How to use Activity Monitor - Apple Support

  • by JoonaV,

    JoonaV JoonaV Feb 23, 2015 3:37 PM in response to rkaufmann87
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 23, 2015 3:37 PM in response to rkaufmann87

    Problem description:

    iMac running out of memory

     

    EtreCheck version: 2.1.8 (121)

    Report generated 24. helmikuuta 2015 1.35.48 UTC+2

    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 (21.5-inch, Late 2012) (Technical Specifications)

        iMac - model: iMac13,1

        1 2.7 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

        Bluetooth: Good - Handoff/Airdrop2 supported

        Wireless:  en1: 802.11 a/b/g/n

     

    Video Information: ℹ️

        NVIDIA GeForce GT 640M - VRAM: 512 MB

            iMac 1920 x 1080

     

    System Software: ℹ️

        OS X 10.10.2 (14C109) - Time since boot: one day 0:31:48

     

    Disk Information: ℹ️

        APPLE HDD ST1000LM024 disk0 : (1 TB)

            EFI (disk0s1) <not mounted> : 210 MB

            Macintosh HD (disk0s2) / : 999.35 GB (835.61 GB free)

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

     

    USB Information: ℹ️

        Nuforce Inc., Nuforce 192k USB DAC

        Apple Inc. FaceTime HD Camera (Built-in)

        Apple Inc. BRCM20702 Hub

            Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller

     

    Thunderbolt Information: ℹ️

        Apple Inc. thunderbolt_bus

     

    Configuration files: ℹ️

        /etc/sysctl.conf - Exists

     

    Gatekeeper: ℹ️

        Mac App Store and identified developers

     

    Kernel Extensions: ℹ️

            /Library/Application Support/Avast/components/fileshield/unsigned

        [loaded]    com.avast.AvastFileShield (2.1.0 - SDK 10.9) [Click for support]

     

            /Library/Application Support/Avast/components/proxy/unsigned

        [loaded]    com.avast.PacketForwarder (2.0 - SDK 10.9) [Click for support]

     

            /Library/Extensions

        [not loaded]    jp.co.roland.RDUSB012ADev (1.0.0 - SDK 10.9) [Click for support]

     

            /System/Library/Extensions

        [not loaded]    com.devguru.driver.SamsungComposite (1.2.63 - SDK 10.6) [Click for support]

        [loaded]    com.eltima.SyncMate.kext (0.2.5b15) [Click for support]

        [not loaded]    com.nuforce.driver.nuforceUSBAudio (2.7.3f1) [Click for support]

     

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

        [not loaded]    com.devguru.driver.SamsungACMControl (1.2.63 - SDK 10.6) [Click for support]

        [not loaded]    com.devguru.driver.SamsungACMData (1.2.63 - SDK 10.6) [Click for support]

        [not loaded]    com.devguru.driver.SamsungMTP (1.2.63 - SDK 10.5) [Click for support]

        [not loaded]    com.devguru.driver.SamsungSerial (1.2.63 - SDK 10.6) [Click for support]

     

    Launch Agents: ℹ️

        [running]    com.avast.update-agent.plist [Click for support]

        [loaded]    com.avast.userinit.plist [Click for support]

        [loaded]    com.divx.dms.agent.plist [Click for support]

        [loaded]    com.divx.update.agent.plist [Click for support]

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

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

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

        [running]    syncmateStarter.plist [Click for support]

     

    Launch Daemons: ℹ️

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

        [loaded]    com.avast.init.plist [Click for support]

        [loaded]    com.avast.uninstall.plist [Click for support]

        [loaded]    com.avast.update.plist [Click for support]

        [loaded]    com.ea.origin.ESHelper.plist [Click for support]

        [running]    com.edb.launchd.postgresql-9.0.plist [Click for support]

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

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

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

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

        [running]    rapiback.plist [Click for support]

     

    User Launch Agents: ℹ️

        [loaded]    com.avast.home.userinit.plist [Click for support]

        [running]    com.spotify.webhelper.plist [Click for support]

     

    User Login Items: ℹ️

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

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

     

    Internet Plug-ins: ℹ️

        Flip4Mac WMV Plugin: Version: 2.4.4.2 [Click for support]

        FlashPlayer-10.6: Version: 16.0.0.305 - SDK 10.6 [Click for support]

        OVSHelper: Version: 1.1 [Click for support]

        DivX Web Player: Version: 3.0 - SDK 10.5 [Click for support]

        Flash Player: Version: 16.0.0.305 - SDK 10.6 [Click for support]

        Default Browser: Version: 600 - SDK 10.10

        QuickTime Plugin: Version: 7.7.3

        Silverlight: Version: 5.1.20125.0 - SDK 10.6 [Click for support]

        JavaAppletPlugin: Version: Java 7 Update 55 Check version

     

    Safari Extensions: ℹ️

        Avast Online Security

     

    3rd Party Preference Panes: ℹ️

        Flash Player  [Click for support]

        FUSE for OS X (OSXFUSE)  [Click for support]

        Java  [Click for support]

     

    Time Machine: ℹ️

        Skip System Files: NO

        Mobile backups: OFF

        Auto backup: YES

        Volumes being backed up:

            Macintosh HD: Disk size: 999.35 GB Disk used: 163.73 GB

        Destinations:

            Data [Network]

            Total size: 2.00 TB

            Total number of backups: 48

            Oldest backup: 2014-11-28 16:25:20 +0000

            Last backup: 2015-02-23 22:43:02 +0000

            Size of backup disk: Adequate

                Backup size 2.00 TB > (Disk used 163.73 GB X 3)

     

    Top Processes by CPU: ℹ️

             2%    WindowServer

             0%    loginwindow

             0%    fontd

             0%    com.avast.daemon

             0%    cloudpaird

     

    Top Processes by Memory: ℹ️

        1.04 GB    WindowServer

        249 MB    Safari

        172 MB    com.apple.WebKit.WebContent

        172 MB    com.avast.daemon

        163 MB    mds_stores

     

    Virtual Memory Information: ℹ️

        921 MB    Free RAM

        3.48 GB    Active RAM

        3.17 GB    Inactive RAM

        1.01 GB    Wired RAM

        7.87 GB    Page-ins

        438 KB    Page-outs

     

    Diagnostics Information: ℹ️

        Feb 23, 2015, 01:06:48 AM    /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/TeamViewer_2015-02-23-010648_[redacted].hang

        Feb 23, 2015, 01:02:40 AM    Self test - passed

  • by JoonaV,

    JoonaV JoonaV Feb 23, 2015 3:39 PM in response to Mike Sombrio
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 23, 2015 3:39 PM in response to Mike Sombrio

    It starts to get incredibly slow the closer it reaches the 8Gb usage mark (which makes sense).

  • by rkaufmann87,Helpful

    rkaufmann87 rkaufmann87 Feb 23, 2015 3:41 PM in response to JoonaV
    Level 9 (58,956 points)
    Photos for Mac
    Feb 23, 2015 3:41 PM in response to JoonaV

    JoonaV,

     

    One issue is you have antivirus software installed, this is not only 100% unnecessary but may be a large part of your problem. Avast, like most antivirus apps for OS X tends to create more issues than it solves! Locate Avast's uninstall instructions and completely uninstall Avast, then repost an EtreCheck report and we can look to see if there are any other issues.

  • by Csound1,Helpful

    Csound1 Csound1 Feb 23, 2015 3:41 PM in response to JoonaV
    Level 9 (51,412 points)
    Desktops
    Feb 23, 2015 3:41 PM in response to JoonaV

    Get rid of all that Avast junk.

  • by JoonaV,

    JoonaV JoonaV Feb 23, 2015 3:46 PM in response to rkaufmann87
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 23, 2015 3:46 PM in response to rkaufmann87

    Problem description:

    iMac running out of memory

     

    EtreCheck version: 2.1.8 (121)

    Report generated 24. helmikuuta 2015 1.45.59 UTC+2

    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 (21.5-inch, Late 2012) (Technical Specifications)

        iMac - model: iMac13,1

        1 2.7 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

        Bluetooth: Good - Handoff/Airdrop2 supported

        Wireless:  en1: 802.11 a/b/g/n

     

    Video Information: ℹ️

        NVIDIA GeForce GT 640M - VRAM: 512 MB

            iMac 1920 x 1080

     

    System Software: ℹ️

        OS X 10.10.2 (14C109) - Time since boot: one day 0:43:4

     

    Disk Information: ℹ️

        APPLE HDD ST1000LM024 disk0 : (1 TB)

            EFI (disk0s1) <not mounted> : 210 MB

            Macintosh HD (disk0s2) / : 999.35 GB (836.09 GB free)

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

     

    USB Information: ℹ️

        Nuforce Inc., Nuforce 192k USB DAC

        Apple Inc. FaceTime HD Camera (Built-in)

        Apple Inc. BRCM20702 Hub

            Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller

     

    Thunderbolt Information: ℹ️

        Apple Inc. thunderbolt_bus

     

    Configuration files: ℹ️

        /etc/sysctl.conf - Exists

     

    Gatekeeper: ℹ️

        Mac App Store and identified developers

     

    Kernel Extensions: ℹ️

            /Library/Extensions

        [not loaded]    jp.co.roland.RDUSB012ADev (1.0.0 - SDK 10.9) [Click for support]

     

            /System/Library/Extensions

        [not loaded]    com.devguru.driver.SamsungComposite (1.2.63 - SDK 10.6) [Click for support]

        [loaded]    com.eltima.SyncMate.kext (0.2.5b15) [Click for support]

        [not loaded]    com.nuforce.driver.nuforceUSBAudio (2.7.3f1) [Click for support]

     

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

        [not loaded]    com.devguru.driver.SamsungACMControl (1.2.63 - SDK 10.6) [Click for support]

        [not loaded]    com.devguru.driver.SamsungACMData (1.2.63 - SDK 10.6) [Click for support]

        [not loaded]    com.devguru.driver.SamsungMTP (1.2.63 - SDK 10.5) [Click for support]

        [not loaded]    com.devguru.driver.SamsungSerial (1.2.63 - SDK 10.6) [Click for support]

     

    Launch Agents: ℹ️

        [loaded]    com.divx.dms.agent.plist [Click for support]

        [loaded]    com.divx.update.agent.plist [Click for support]

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

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

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

        [running]    syncmateStarter.plist [Click for support]

     

    Launch Daemons: ℹ️

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

        [loaded]    com.ea.origin.ESHelper.plist [Click for support]

        [running]    com.edb.launchd.postgresql-9.0.plist [Click for support]

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

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

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

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

        [running]    rapiback.plist [Click for support]

     

    User Launch Agents: ℹ️

        [running]    com.spotify.webhelper.plist [Click for support]

     

    User Login Items: ℹ️

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

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

     

    Internet Plug-ins: ℹ️

        Flip4Mac WMV Plugin: Version: 2.4.4.2 [Click for support]

        FlashPlayer-10.6: Version: 16.0.0.305 - SDK 10.6 [Click for support]

        OVSHelper: Version: 1.1 [Click for support]

        DivX Web Player: Version: 3.0 - SDK 10.5 [Click for support]

        Flash Player: Version: 16.0.0.305 - SDK 10.6 [Click for support]

        Default Browser: Version: 600 - SDK 10.10

        QuickTime Plugin: Version: 7.7.3

        Silverlight: Version: 5.1.20125.0 - SDK 10.6 [Click for support]

        JavaAppletPlugin: Version: Java 7 Update 55 Check version

     

    Safari Extensions: ℹ️

        Avast Online Security

     

    3rd Party Preference Panes: ℹ️

        Flash Player  [Click for support]

        FUSE for OS X (OSXFUSE)  [Click for support]

        Java  [Click for support]

     

    Time Machine: ℹ️

        Skip System Files: NO

        Mobile backups: OFF

        Auto backup: YES

        Volumes being backed up:

            Macintosh HD: Disk size: 999.35 GB Disk used: 163.25 GB

        Destinations:

            Data [Network]

            Total size: 2.00 TB

            Total number of backups: 48

            Oldest backup: 2014-11-28 16:25:20 +0000

            Last backup: 2015-02-23 22:43:02 +0000

            Size of backup disk: Adequate

                Backup size 2.00 TB > (Disk used 163.25 GB X 3)

     

    Top Processes by CPU: ℹ️

            12%    helpd

             3%    WindowServer

             3%    diskimages-helper

             1%    mds

             1%    backupd

     

    Top Processes by Memory: ℹ️

        1.04 GB    WindowServer

        378 MB    helpd

        192 MB    mds_stores

        137 MB    Finder

        77 MB    mds

     

    Virtual Memory Information: ℹ️

        1.56 GB    Free RAM

        3.33 GB    Active RAM

        2.68 GB    Inactive RAM

        1.01 GB    Wired RAM

        8.03 GB    Page-ins

        438 KB    Page-outs

     

    Diagnostics Information: ℹ️

        Feb 23, 2015, 01:06:48 AM    /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/TeamViewer_2015-02-23-010648_[redacted].hang

        Feb 23, 2015, 01:02:40 AM    Self test - passed

  • by JoonaV,

    JoonaV JoonaV Feb 23, 2015 3:53 PM in response to JoonaV
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 23, 2015 3:53 PM in response to JoonaV

    Thanks guys. Lets see if it helped. Have to sleep now, will report tomorrow.

     

    EDIT:

     

    Quickly tested it by firing up 5 YouTube tabs in Safari -> instantly 7.92Gb and starting to get laggy.

  • by Mike Sombrio,

    Mike Sombrio Mike Sombrio Feb 23, 2015 3:56 PM in response to JoonaV
    Level 6 (17,283 points)
    Apple Watch
    Feb 23, 2015 3:56 PM in response to JoonaV

    Your slowdowns are probably related to Avast but your mac is not running out of memory as evidenced by the low number of page outs. If you were running out of memory your pageouts would be 1Gb plus, it's 438k.

    TEamViewer is also hung, you should find that process in Activity Monitor and kill it.

  • by MichelPM,

    MichelPM MichelPM Feb 23, 2015 3:54 PM in response to JoonaV
    Level 6 (14,260 points)
    iPad
    Feb 23, 2015 3:54 PM in response to JoonaV

    You still have an Avast Safari extension that needs to be disable or deleted/trashed.

  • by Linc Davis,

    Linc Davis Linc Davis Feb 23, 2015 4:49 PM in response to JoonaV
    Level 10 (208,037 points)
    Applications
    Feb 23, 2015 4:49 PM in response to JoonaV

    When you see a beachball cursor or the slowness is especially bad, note the exact time: hour, minute, second.  

    These instructions must be carried out as an administrator. If you have only one user account, you are the administrator.

    Launch the Console application in any of the following ways:

    ☞ Enter the first few letters of its name into a Spotlight search. Select it in the results (it should be at the top.)

    ☞ In the Finder, select Go ▹ Utilities from the menu bar, or press the key combination shift-command-U. The application is in the folder that opens.

    ☞ Open LaunchPad and start typing the name.

    The title of the Console window should be All Messages. If it isn't, select

              SYSTEM LOG QUERIES ▹ All Messages

    from the log list on the left. If you don't see that list, select

              View ▹ Show Log List

    from the menu bar at the top of the screen.

    Each message in the log begins with the date and time when it was entered. Scroll back to the time you noted above.

    Select the messages entered from then until the end of the episode, or until they start to repeat, whichever comes first.

    Copy the messages to the Clipboard by pressing the key combination command-C. Paste into a reply to this message by pressing command-V.

    The log contains a vast amount of information, almost all of it useless for solving any particular problem. When posting a log extract, be selective. A few dozen lines are almost always more than enough.

    Please don't indiscriminately dump thousands of lines from the log into this discussion.

    Please don't post screenshots of log messages—post the text.

    Some private information, such as your name, may appear in the log. Anonymize before posting.