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Severe memory leak detected in Latest Safari 9.0 update.

I have detected a severe memory leak in the new Safari 9.0 update, when using the the El Capitan new OS X.

Whenever, I just open Safari, w/o giving it any other commands, I use a program called Clean My Mac, the latest version of that, and it has a memory monitor, and includes a "fee up memory" function, here is what I am seeing below:


With the monitoring of my available memory from my installed 8 GB of Ram, Safari 9.0, will drain the memory from 6.15 GB available memory down to 14MB, without touching any mouse or key.


This for me explained why my late 2013 iMac froze on any other attempts to use any other programs.


I am turning off Safari and using Firefox with it's latest revision from now on, unless, Apple will admit to another gaff, and fix this latest issue!


If anyone has a solution, please let us all know.


From what I am seeing from other comments on this Safari Community, I am not the only one being affected by this problem!


iMac, OS X Yosemite (10.10.1), iMac 21.5, 2.9GHZ, I5 quad proc.

Posted on Oct 3, 2015 8:59 AM

Reply
20 replies

Oct 3, 2015 10:48 AM in response to enumscrat

You need to uninstall CleanMyMac. It is horrible for your system, and can actually damage it. It deletes files it shouldn't, and you won't know this until things mysteriously stop working. All you have to do is search around here to see hundreds, if not thousands of people, all describing the various problems they've had with this program, along with MacKeeper and any other program that promises to "clean," "maximize," or "optimize" your hard drive. They can and will do no such thing.


The problem with your computer is not Safari, it's CleanMyMac.

Oct 3, 2015 12:37 PM in response to enumscrat

Hi Pinkstones,

Sorry, I uninstalled Clean My Mac as you suggested, with no change in the memory behavior traced back to the Safari, sucking the memory down to 20MB from 5.57GB, with out any external actions by me.


I checked this with "Memory Cleaner", that I had purchased a long time ago from the Apple Store.

It confirmed the same problems I saw with Clean My Mac! (I don't share your view about Clean My Mac, as it needs to carefully configured before using it.)


I am going to Apple Support to see what they can tell me.


Thanks for trying to assist.

Oct 3, 2015 4:15 PM in response to enumscrat

Please read this whole message before doing anything.

This procedure is a test, not a solution. Don’t be disappointed when you find that nothing has changed after you complete it.

Step 1

The purpose of this step is to determine whether the problem is localized to your user account.

Enable guest logins* and log in as Guest. Don't use the Safari-only “Guest User” login created by “Find My Mac.”

While logged in as Guest, you won’t have access to any of your documents or settings. Applications will behave as if you were running them for the first time. Don’t be alarmed by this behavior; it’s normal. If you need any passwords or other personal data in order to complete the test, memorize, print, or write them down before you begin.

Test while logged in as Guest. Same problem?

After testing, log out of the guest account and, in your own account, disable it if you wish. Any files you created in the guest account will be deleted automatically when you log out of it.

*Note: If you’ve activated “Find My Mac” or FileVault, then you can’t enable the Guest account. The “Guest User” login created by “Find My Mac” is not the same. Create a new account in which to test, and delete it, including its home folder, after testing.

Step 2

The purpose of this step is to determine whether the problem is caused by third-party system modifications that load automatically at startup or login, by a peripheral device, by a font conflict, or by corruption of the file system or of certain system caches.

Please take this step regardless of the results of Step 1.

Disconnect all wired peripherals except those needed for the test, and remove all aftermarket expansion cards, if applicable. Start up in safe mode and log in to the account with the problem.

Note: If FileVault is enabled in OS X 10.9 or earlier, or if a firmware password is set, or if the startup volume is a software RAID, you can’t do this. Ask for further instructions.

Safe mode is much slower to start up and run than normal, with limited graphics performance, and some things won’t work at all, including sound output and Wi-Fi on certain models. The next normal startup may also be somewhat slow.

The login screen appears even if you usually log in automatically. You must know your login password in order to log in. If you’ve forgotten the password, you will need to reset it before you begin.

Test while in safe mode. Same problem?

After testing, restart as usual (not in safe mode) and verify that you still have the problem. Post the results of Steps 1 and 2.

Oct 4, 2015 12:45 PM in response to enumscrat

Hi All,


I am in the Apple Support mode with the Technical team for my issue.

I have sent them a movie of what happens when I just load the Safari Browser.

They also collected all the data from my computer to analyze what is going on in my particular case.

This information has been forwarded directly to the Software Engineers at Apple.

I am hopeful they will find an unknown gliche in their updates, and find a solution.


Because I am retired, I can live with whatever is causing the issue.

I will just be using Firefox, instead, for browsing purposes.


When I get a definitive answer from Apple Support, I will post what I found out, but it may be a week before that happens, because of the release of El Capitan, they are very busy, as you can imagine.

Oct 4, 2015 12:48 PM in response to enumscrat

I am also having the same issue.

Safari only, in a matter of minutes my memory (8GB) will be gone and i will receive a pop-up stating i have run out of memory.

Safari requires me to Force quit it at that time, and also when i attempt to close it just after having it open for 30 seconds or so.

I don't use any third-party programs like Clean My Mac, and i haven't had any other issues besides this.


pinkstones, please take this seriously. You are doing us all a massive disservice by blaming third-party software and not diagnosing the issue properly.

Oct 6, 2015 3:06 PM in response to enumscrat

Resetting Safari worked for me:


Open a terminal and enter the following commands to fully wipe out all of your old Safari settings:

mv ~/Library/Safari ~/Desktop/Safari-`date +%Y%m%d%H%M%S`; \ rm -Rf ~/Library/Caches/Apple\ -\ Safari\ -\ Safari\ Extensions\ Gallery; \ rm -Rf ~/Library/Caches/Metadata/Safari; \ rm -Rf ~/Library/Caches/com.apple.Safari; \ rm -Rf ~/Library/Caches/com.apple.WebKit.PluginProcess; \ rm -Rf ~/Library/Cookies/Cookies.binarycookies; \ rm -Rf ~/Library/Preferences/Apple\ -\ Safari\ -\ Safari\ Extensions\ Gallery; \ rm -Rf ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.Safari.LSSharedFileList.plist; \ rm -Rf ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.Safari.RSS.plist; \ rm -Rf ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.Safari.plist; \ rm -Rf ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.WebFoundation.plist; \ rm -Rf ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.WebKit.PluginHost.plist; \ rm -Rf ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.WebKit.PluginProcess.plist; \ rm -Rf ~/Library/PubSub/Database; \ rm -Rf ~/Library/Saved\ Application\ State/com.apple.Safari.savedState

Restart your machine and check memory usage again

Hope this works.

Oct 6, 2015 3:32 PM in response to TomAC81

Hi Tom,


I have reached the point in my life where I would rather have the factory guys figure out what to do, instead of me trying to be patient enough to type all these setting in manually.


I really appreciate you and the other fine members of the Apple community, trying to assist me, but this time I am going to see what the folks that are always collecting our money, can do with some hard work, that may help all of their customers have a brighter day with their Apple hardware.


Note: Pinkstones, I have analyzed the possibility that Clean My Mac could be part of my problem, but I have re-installed it on my computer, because I see no relation to any issue whatsoever, that is causing any detriment to my computer, and quite the opposite, it has kept me out of trouble for several years.

Oct 6, 2015 4:03 PM in response to enumscrat

On your own head be it, then. CleanMyMac is junk, just like MacKeeper and any other similar product. I don't know how many people here have to say this before people figure it out and listen. There is nothing CleanMyMac purports to do that your own gray matter can't do as well. That's all a Mac needs, by the by, to stay in good working order. It doesn't need cleaners, refreshers, optimizers, anti-virus software, extra firewalls, or anything else like that. Apple does a fairly decent job of putting out a product that doesn't need extraneous third-party programs to run efficiently.


I can 100% guarantee you that CleanMyMac has not kept you out of trouble for years, especially since programs like that many times delete files that you need, files you won't know are missing until something goes wrong. Not to mention, saying the program has kept you out of trouble is a bit like saying the rock under my bed keeps tigers away; because I haven't seen any tigers, therefore the rock is working.

Severe memory leak detected in Latest Safari 9.0 update.

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