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MBP - CPU sometimes running off the charts!

Hey Folks


My 13" mid 2009 MBP (2.26 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 8 GB RAM) is giving me grief and I can't figure it out.


It was recently replaced with a new model, when that happened, I swapped the drive into the new Mac and in doing so, the old machine got a SSD that was factory fresh with OS X. It's been updated to 10.10.5 and I set it up for my 7 year old - Meaning, it basically has nothing on it but the stock stuff with parental restrictions engaged, Chrome as a browser. (No bloatware, no downloads and 219.45 GB free space)


It often needs to be restarted because it will be painfully slow to use. I checked the Activity Monitor and it often tells me:

System: 48.33%

User: 41.18%

Idle: 9.55%


Why is the system using almost 50%?

Is Chrome not recommended for this model?

What can I do to keep things under control?

What is the optimal version of OSX for this machine?


This Mac was a great computer just a few months ago. We used it daily for everything (photoshop, etc.) when the logicboard died. It's been replaced, but now this problem is making it a boat anchor.


Thanks

Posted on Oct 9, 2015 12:10 PM

Reply
25 replies

Oct 10, 2015 2:26 PM in response to OGELTHORPE

EtreCheck version: 2.5.3 (206)

Report generated 10/10/15, 2:26 PM

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: (What does this mean?)

MacBook Pro (13-inch, Mid 2009)

[Click for Technical Specifications]

[Click for User Guide]

MacBook Pro - model: MacBookPro5,5

1 2.26 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo CPU: 2-core

8 GB RAM Upgradeable

[Click for upgrade instructions]

BANK 0/DIMM0

4 GB DDR3 1333 MHz ok

BANK 1/DIMM0

4 GB DDR3 1333 MHz ok

Bluetooth: Old - Handoff/Airdrop2 not supported

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

Battery: Health = Normal - Cycle count = 1654 - SN = W013853P5D3BA


Video Information: (What does this mean?)

NVIDIA GeForce 9400M - VRAM: 256 MB

Color LCD 1280 x 800


System Software: (What does this mean?)

OS X Yosemite 10.10.5 (14F27) - Time since boot: about 6 days


Disk Information: (What does this mean?)

Crucial_CT250MX200SSD1 disk0 : (250.06 GB) (Solid State - TRIM: No)

EFI (disk0s1) <not mounted> : 210 MB

Macintosh HD (disk0s2) / : 249.07 GB (219.41 GB free)

Recovery HD (disk0s3) <not mounted> [Recovery]: 784 MB


HL-DT-ST DVDRW GS23N ()


USB Information: (What does this mean?)

Apple Inc. Built-in iSight

Apple Internal Memory Card Reader

Apple Inc. Apple Internal Keyboard / Trackpad

Apple Computer, Inc. IR Receiver

Apple Inc. BRCM2046 Hub

Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller


Gatekeeper: (What does this mean?)

Mac App Store and identified developers


Kernel Extensions: (What does this mean?)

/System/Library/Extensions

[not loaded] com.paceap.kext.pacesupport.master (5.9.1 - SDK 10.6) [Click for support]


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

[not loaded] com.paceap.kext.pacesupport.leopard (5.9.1 - SDK 10.4) [Click for support]

[not loaded] com.paceap.kext.pacesupport.panther (5.9.1 - SDK 10.-1) [Click for support]

[loaded] com.paceap.kext.pacesupport.snowleopard (5.9.1 - SDK 10.6) [Click for support]

[not loaded] com.paceap.kext.pacesupport.tiger (5.9.1 - SDK 10.4) [Click for support]


Launch Daemons: (What does this mean?)

[loaded] PACESupport.plist [Click for support]

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

[running] com.paceap.eden.licensed.plist [Click for support]


User Launch Agents: (What does this mean?)

[loaded] com.google.keystone.agent.plist [Click for support]


User Login Items: (What does this mean?)

None


Other Apps: (What does this mean?)

[running] com.apple.xpc.launchd.oneshot.0x10000004.EtreCheck

[running] com.google.Chrome.72736


Internet Plug-ins: (What does this mean?)

FlashPlayer-10.6: Version: 19.0.0.185 - SDK 10.6 [Click for support]

Flash Player: Version: 19.0.0.185 - SDK 10.6 [Click for support]

QuickTime Plugin: Version: 7.7.3

Default Browser: Version: 600 - SDK 10.10


3rd Party Preference Panes: (What does this mean?)

Flash Player [Click for support]


Time Machine: (What does this mean?)

Time Machine not configured!


Top Processes by CPU: (What does this mean?)

43% Google Chrome Helper(13)

16% WindowServer

10% Google Chrome

2% SystemUIServer

0% powerd


Top Processes by Memory: (What does this mean?)

1.02 GB Google Chrome Helper(13)

519 MB kernel_task

459 MB softwareupdated

213 MB Google Chrome

123 MB mds_stores


Virtual Memory Information: (What does this mean?)

3.52 GB Free RAM

4.48 GB Used RAM (2.08 GB Cached)

0 B Swap Used



Oct 11, 2015 10:28 AM in response to stedman1

Hopefully this doesn't sound like I don't want help - Because I do, and appreciate the input.


Yes - I see that Chrome is being a hog. But why is the system at 50%? Or - Are you suggesting that I can't run Chrome (one application) on this Mac? Again, it worked just fine before and now it's not. I also see that on my new MBP, the system takes up somewhere around 3%. Yes, it's an i7 processor, but that's a huge margin.

Oct 11, 2015 7:51 PM in response to Timothy B Hewitt

Timothy B Hewitt wrote:


As stated - That RAM was in the machine for 5 years - It's not a problem


And you're suggesting that the battery is slowing down the machine? That's not an issue.

The computer wasn't running Yosemite 5 years ago. As the latest operating systems use RAM differently, yes it could cause issues that weren't visible with older operating systems. Also, despite your arguement to the contrary, yes Chrome is using a high percentage of your CPU. (In your Etrecheck screenshot, 53%)

MBP - CPU sometimes running off the charts!

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