This usually happens when I am away during the day. When I come home and try to use it Safari seems to be frozen and I can't get to anything else. A few times I have seen the message "too many applications open". This is relatively new. Is it some recent update?
MacBook Pro with Retina display, OS X Yosemite (10.10)
You either have too many open applications or too little RAM. Add more RAM or open fewer applications concurrently.
You either have too many open applications or too little RAM. Add more RAM or open fewer applications concurrently.
There is excessive swapping of data between physical memory (that is, the memory chips on the logic board) and virtual memory (one or more files on the startup volume.) That activity is relatively slow and causes the whole system to be less responsive. It can happen for two reasons:
A long-running process with a memory leak (a kind of bug)
Not enough memory for your usage pattern
Please note that if the cause is a memory leak, installing more memory will not help. That's likely if you already have more than 4 GB of memory. Tracking down a memory leak can be difficult, and it may come down to a process of elimination.
These instructions are for OS X 10.9 and later. Some details may be slightly different for earlier versions of OS X.
When you notice the swap activity, open the Activity Monitor application and select All Processes from the View menu, if it's not already selected. Select the Memory tab. Click the heading of the Real Mem column in the process table twice to sort the table with the highest value at the top. If you don't see that column, select
View ▹ Columns ▹ Real Memory
from the menu bar.
If one process (excluding "kernel_task") is using much more memory than all the others, that could be an indication of a leak. A better indication would be a process that continually grabs more and more real memory over time without ever releasing it. Here is an example of how it's done.
The processes named "Safari Web Content" render web pages for Safari. They use a lot of memory and may leak if certain Safari extensions or third-party web plugins are installed. Consider them prime suspects.
Another process often implicated in memory leaks is "inkjet4" or "inkjet8," which is a component of the HP printing software. If it's present, force-quit the process in Activity Monitor to solve the problem temporarily. Empty the print queues in the Printers & Scanners preference pane (which has a slightly different name in each recent version of OS X.) If you don't use an HP printer, reset the printing system. Otherwise, if the problem is recurrent, update the software (which may not help) or contact HP support.
"Wired" memory should be a small part of the total. That memory is not swapped, but it makes less physical memory available which may then result in swapping. If you have a lot of wired memory, that's usually an indication of a memory leak in a third-party program that modifies the operating system at a low level. Ask for guidance in that case.
If you don't have an obvious memory leak, your options are to install more memory (if possible) or to run fewer programs simultaneously.
Safari is using the most memory by a long shot.
How much, may I ask?
In the Memory column - 3.73 GB
In the Real Memory column - 1.38 GB
I have 3 windows up - one with a Kindle book, one with Audible, 2 other tabs, and this one with 4 tabs.
Try a simple step first. From the Safari menu bar, select
Safari ▹ Preferences... ▹ Privacy ▹ Remove All Website Data...
and confirm. Quit and relaunch Safari.
Thanks Linc. Now the memory for Safari is down to something reasonable. I guess I need to do that step now and then.
Carol
Mac Book Pro freezes
