My 13" MBP 9,2 is suddenly slower than molasses in winter

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Level 1

8 points

My 13" MBP 9,2 is suddenly slower than molasses in winter

Hi, I have a mid 2012 MPB, 2.5 i5, 16 GB ram, 750 GB 7200 HD, running the latest version of Yosemite.

This morning I woke up my computer to find it so slow as to be utterly useless. One restart took 5 minutes from login to load my desktop. I just now started into Safe Mode, and that took over 10 minutes. It's so slow spotlight is useless, and my trackpad is almost impossible to manage.

Fan is running constantly, starting early in the startup process. Computer is cool to the touch, and air coming out the back is cold. Activity Monitor was showing kernel_task to be between 150-4000% of CPU, System taking up 85% of the process (as high as 97% in Safe Mode).

Now for a little background info. In 2013 I took this computer, which I'd at that point had for 4 months, on a 6 month bike tour of the U.S. During the course of this trip the computer became damaged on the DVD drive side, requiring me to replace the drive. Apparently I didn't straighten the frame enough or something, because my replacement (installed after the trip) became broken as well.

So in early 2015, my computer started randomly restarting — indifferent to work load, and with no regularity. Sometimes I can go weeks without a restart. Sometimes it gives the kernel panic screen, sometimes it just goes dead, sometimes it restarts "normally". It can happen at night or during the day.

I also noticed that I was only getting half the battery life I should have been, due apparently to an overworking fan.

I've done a complete reinstall within the last couple months (from 10.9). The hard drive is neither full nor apparently stressed. Ram is less than 25% full, and seems to be functioning fine.

At this point I'm willing to accept that I have a motherboard or some other expensive hardware problem. It seems I have an aberrant sensor, or something, though when I installed Hardware Monitor, nothing seemed off (GPU was 41 C, everything else was 31-35).

My question is, is there any way I can override the run away "this system is overheating!!" idiocy and use my computer while I save up for and diagnose defective equipment? (I do have a cooling plate).

Posted on Aug 30, 2015 11:30 AM

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Answer 1

Lexiepex

Level 6

14,102 points

Aug 30, 2015 11:52 AM in response to Hendan

First check your battery:

a. In SystemInformation (Utilities folder) click Power on the left side: what does it say on "Cycle Count:" and "Condition:" ?

b. take of the back of the mac, and see if your battery looks swollen and/or leaking. In both cases you have to replace the battery immediately, if it has leaked have the mainboard and other parts inspected by an Apple service point, to see if damage has been done.

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Answer 2

Hendan Author

Level 1

8 points

Aug 30, 2015 12:21 PM in response to Lexiepex

Nothing wrong with my battery. 380 load cycles, still taking 5069 mAh.

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Answer 3

Lexiepex

Level 6

14,102 points

Aug 30, 2015 12:23 PM in response to Hendan

Condition?

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Answer 4

Hendan Author

Level 1

8 points

Aug 30, 2015 12:54 PM in response to Lexiepex

I don't have a screwdriver available at the moment, though I'll check it as soon as I do, for your sake. But are you suggesting that a battery could explode or leak without so much as getting hot, and without losing its full function as a battery? (I'm running on battery power right now). And further, that a past explosion or leak, while not affecting charging or battery performance, would yet kill my performance instead?

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Answer 5

Lexiepex

Level 6

14,102 points

Aug 30, 2015 12:59 PM in response to Hendan

Not explode, swell. Battery problems are often overlooked as the cause of issues.

But there may be a false heat sensor on the cpu. You should have that checked at Apple service.

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Answer 6

Sep 21, 2015 4:55 PM in response to Hendan

Hi!

You are the closest to my issue I have found, I have a pretty similar computer with the exact same problem, mine is a mid-2012 Mac Book Pro 2.9 and core i7 running on the latest software update.

Long story short is around February before I moved away from the US I took my laptop to the Apple store to get a quote on a slight crack on my screen that appeared out of nowhere, they decided to cover it under warranty, after a few days they called to say something was wrong with my motherboard (not exactly sure how those two incidents are related) but I agreed to get it fixed as they are supposed to know more than me. I do design for a living so I had the entire Creative Cloud CS6 running on it back then, moved out of the US in March for a job where I got a laptop and didn't use mine regularly and definitely not for design work. In July I get a personal project I have to work on my laptop and discover the awful pains you are describing, not knowing much I just thought it was slow because I hadn't been using it as often, my Apple Care runs out on August and that's where the craziness began. I took it to a certified Mac Repair shop here in Mexico and they ran a bunch of tests, motherboard, hard drive, etc until we ended up resetting the entire computer and starting it all over. There isn't a hardware issue, I was never able to run my Time Machine backup so none of the old files are on the computer anymore, and the problem has gotten worse. Since I make a living doing design I had to install the Creative Cloud which I had tried not to use ever since it came out but having my CS6 encrypted on my useless Time Machine Backup this is my only work around.

It seems as if a lot of people are complaining about older processors not being compatible with Creative Cloud and suggest killing CC's libraries and online update system through Activity Monitor every time I run any of their applications, it did the trick for maybe a week but today it was back to running the kernel tasks at 500%, I had one file with a simple logo open on Illustrator and nothing else and I would get the spinning wheel for 4-10 minutes on EVERY move.

I can't think of anything else to do but to do this trick I found on Mac Rumors: http://forums.macrumors.com/threads/how-to-solve-kernel_task-high-cpu-usage.1706 948/ but unfortunately I am not that savvy and have no idea how to even access that file, and the more I read the comments the more scared I got since it seems like it's not the safest thing to do.

Can anyone else please help, this is getting ridiculous and the Mac repair shop here has done all they could, at least regarding my original complains.

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Answer 7

Lexiepex

Level 6

14,102 points

Sep 22, 2015 1:43 AM in response to alinaalvarez

I read your post and the link you gave:

there is only one sentence that made sense in that forum thread:

Really? WOW! LMAO If you are unfamiliar with what the "kernel_task" is/does, I suggest leaving system files alone

What you can do is an SMC reset, and a PRAM reset.

Resetting the System Management Controller (SMC) on your Mac - Apple Support

How to Reset NVRAM on your Mac - Apple Support

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Answer 8

Sep 22, 2015 12:00 PM in response to Lexiepex

Hi,

I did read that part but considering there aren't any other solutions being offered not at a Mac repair shop nor on the internet I was wondering if that would work. I have no idea how to perform any of these things, not the one on the link nor the ones you're suggesting. How should I know which ones are safe and which ones aren't?

Thanks

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Answer 9

Lexiepex

Level 6

14,102 points

Sep 23, 2015 12:20 AM in response to alinaalvarez

The SMC and PRAM resets are basic methods of Apple tp solve a lot of issues.

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