Macbook pro very slow, fan always running

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Macbook pro very slow, fan always running

Hi. I have a MacBook Pro, and it has all the sudden gotten extremely slow. Basically unusable. I have done the bootyup thing where you hold the keys down. It got to the login screen super fast, then was slow again. It is also slow in safe mode. This is what the activity manager looks like, on a guest account by the way. I have no idea what to do.

Mac Pro, OS X Mavericks (10.9.5)

Posted on Nov 17, 2015 5:31 PM

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Answer 1

musgrat Author

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Nov 18, 2015 1:50 PM in response to musgrat

Nobody reading has any suggestions? Or maybe this is asked all the time and people are sick of answering this? If someone could just point me in the right direction, that would help.

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Answer 2

OGELTHORPE

Level 9

57,305 points

Nov 18, 2015 1:58 PM in response to musgrat

Download a temperature/fan speed application. Open Activity Monitor to ALL PROCESSES and set CPU to display values from high to low.

When the MBP has the fans running fast, post screen shots of both for review.

(Do not post pictures - to difficult to see)

Ciao.

Addendum: What is the EXACT model year of your MBP?

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Answer 3

musgrat Author

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Nov 18, 2015 6:41 PM in response to OGELTHORPE

I will have to reply in parts. Just now, I woke the thing up, and for a bit, it was as fast as it ever has been. Then, the fan speed started to go up, and the performance dropped rapidly. I would say this all happened in 20 seconds.

So I showed all processes, and the only one taking anything significant is kernel_task. It says it takes around 300% of the CPU. System CPU stays pretty constant, leading me to believe that it's a throttling issue. When the CPU is throttled, does kernel_task show as taking all those resources?

I will get a cpu temp/fan speed app, then take a screenshot, but this should help a bit.

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Answer 4

John Galt

Level 10

141,024 points

Nov 18, 2015 7:15 PM in response to musgrat

Read Apps can affect Mac performance, battery runtime, temperature, and fan activity - Apple Support.

Please determine if the problems also occur in "Safe Mode":

Safe Mode or "Safe Boot" is a troubleshooting mode that bypasses all third party system extensions and loads only required system components. Read about it: Starting up in Safe Mode
You must disable FileVault before you can start your Mac in Safe Mode.
Starting your Mac in Safe Mode will take longer than usual, graphics will not render smoothly, audio is disabled on some Macs, and some programs (iTunes for example) may not work at all.
Merely starting your Mac in Safe Mode is not intended to resolve the problem, it's to observe its performance without certain additional components.
To end Safe Mode restart your Mac normally. Shutdown will take longer as well.

Reply with your observations.

If the problem continues to persist read: Resetting the System Management Controller (SMC) on your Mac - Apple Support. Anecdotal reports also indicate an NVRAM reset may resolve the problem: How to Reset NVRAM on your Mac - Apple Support.

Other causes for a runaway kernel_task may be a faulty hardware sensor. Those causes may be diagnosed using Apple Hardware Test, though only a report of a specific failure can be considered a conclusive result: Using Apple Hardware Test - Apple Support. If you cover the Mac with cases or "skins" while it's in use, including keyboard covers, don't. Any other obstructions to cooling efficiency should be avoided also. Read Mac notebooks: Operating temperature - Apple Support.

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