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Slow response for 15 month old Macbook air, with kernel_task (0) hogging up 300% of the CPU and fan moving at a very high speed.

I have looked through some similar problems that other users faced, and I uninstalled the Java Applet by deleting it, and I also restarted the computer multiple times, but the problem persists. I observed that many queries asked for an EtreCheck report, and this one here is mine. Please help:


Hardware Information: (What does this mean?)

MacBook Air (13-inch, Early 2014)

[Click for Technical Specifications]

[Click for User Guide]

MacBook Air - model: MacBookAir6,2

1 1.4 GHz Intel Core i5 CPU: 2-core

4 GB RAM Not upgradeable

BANK 0/DIMM0

2 GB DDR3 1600 MHz ok

BANK 1/DIMM0

2 GB DDR3 1600 MHz ok

Bluetooth: Good - Handoff/Airdrop2 supported

Wireless: en0: 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac

Battery: Health = Normal - Cycle count = 601 - SN = D8641970UU4F90JAY


Video Information: (What does this mean?)

Intel HD Graphics 5000

Color LCD 1440 x 900


System Software: (What does this mean?)

OS X Mavericks 10.9.5 (13F1112) - Time since boot: less than an hour


Disk Information: (What does this mean?)

APPLE SSD SD0128F disk0 : (121.33 GB) (Solid State - TRIM: Yes)

EFI (disk0s1) <not mounted> : 210 MB

Macintosh HD (disk0s2) / : 120.47 GB (16.80 GB free)

Recovery HD (disk0s3) <not mounted> [Recovery]: 650 MB


USB Information: (What does this mean?)

Apple Internal Memory Card Reader

Apple Inc. BRCM20702 Hub

Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller


Thunderbolt Information: (What does this mean?)

Apple Inc. thunderbolt_bus


Gatekeeper: (What does this mean?)

Mac App Store and identified developers


Kernel Extensions: (What does this mean?)

/System/Library/Extensions

[not loaded] com.ZTE.driver.ModemDriverMac (1.0.2d1) [Click for support]

[not loaded] com.mice.driver.Xbox360Controller (1.0.0d13 - SDK 10.8) [Click for support]


/System/Library/Extensions/360Controller.kext/Contents/PlugIns

[not loaded] com.mice.driver.Wireless360Controller (1.0.0d13 - SDK 10.8) [Click for support]

[not loaded] com.mice.driver.WirelessGamingReceiver (1.0.0d13 - SDK 10.8) [Click for support]


Startup Items: (What does this mean?)

MobileBrServ: Path: /Library/StartupItems/MobileBrServ

Startup items are obsolete in OS X Yosemite


System Launch Agents: (What does this mean?)

[running] com.apple.Dock.plist - Invalid signature!

[loaded] com.apple.RemoteDesktop.plist - Invalid signature!

[loaded] com.apple.screensharing.MessagesAgent.plist - Invalid signature!


Launch Agents: (What does this mean?)

[running] com.zteevdo.UDiskService.plist [Click for support]


Launch Daemons: (What does this mean?)

[running] com.mice.360Daemon.plist [Click for support]

[loaded] com.microsoft.office.licensing.helper.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?)

iTunesHelper Application (/Applications/iTunes.app/Contents/MacOS/iTunesHelper.app)

Android File Transfer Agent Application (~/Library/Application Support/Google/Android File Transfer/Android File Transfer Agent.app)


Other Apps: (What does this mean?)

[loaded] 0x7ff518504e00.mach_init.Inspector

[running] [0x0-0x1d01d].com.etresoft.EtreCheck

[running] com.google.Chrome.38400

[running] com.google.android.mtpagent.37344

[running] com.pushbullet.macapp-notifications


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

Default Browser: Version: 537 - SDK 10.9

QuickTime Plugin: Version: 7.7.3

SharePointBrowserPlugin: Version: 14.0.0 [Click for support]


User internet Plug-ins: (What does this mean?)

Folx3Plugin: Version: 3.0.1 - SDK 10.6 [Click for support]


Safari Extensions: (What does this mean?)

Adblock Plus

DuckDuckGo

Save to Pocket


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

XBox 360 Controllers [Click for support]


Time Machine: (What does this mean?)

Time Machine not configured!


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

294% kernel_task

38% mdworker(5)

19% kextcache

6% ocspd

1% WindowServer


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

1.44 GB Google Chrome Helper(13)

308 MB kernel_task

217 MB Google Chrome

139 MB com.apple.IconServicesAgent

127 MB Finder


Virtual Memory Information: (What does this mean?)

227 MB Free RAM

3.77 GB Used RAM (619 MB Cached)

0 B Swap Used


Diagnostics Information: (What does this mean?)

Nov 22, 2015, 06:01:18 PM Self test - passed

Nov 22, 2015, 05:40:39 PM ~/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/Captive Network Assistant_2015-11-22-174039_[redacted].crash

Nov 22, 2015, 01:47:32 PM ~/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/Captive Network Assistant_2015-11-22-134732_[redacted].crash

Nov 21, 2015, 05:22:10 PM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/Finder_2015-11-21-172210_[redacted].crash

Nov 21, 2015, 05:08:35 PM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/ClamXav_2015-11-21-170835_[redacted].hang

Nov 21, 2015, 12:55:28 AM ~/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/Elmedia Player_2015-11-21-005528_[redacted].crash

Nov 20, 2015, 01:43:35 PM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/mds_stores_2015-11-20-134335_[redacted].crash

Nov 20, 2015, 02:06:40 AM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/mds_stores_2015-11-20-020640_[redacted].crash

MacBook Air, OS X Mavericks (10.9.5), null

Posted on Nov 22, 2015 5:06 AM

Reply
Question marked as Best reply

Posted on Nov 23, 2015 12:30 AM

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.

7 replies
Question marked as Best reply

Nov 23, 2015 12:30 AM in response to macarena721

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.

Nov 23, 2015 12:30 AM in response to macarena721

The kernel is using excessive processor cycles. Below are some possible causes for the condition.

FileVault

Open the Security & Privacy pane in System Preferences and select the FileVault tab. If there's an indication that encryption or decryption is in progress, wait (maybe several hours) for it to finish and see whether there's an improvement.

Throttling

When it gets high temperature readings from the hardware, or low voltage readings from the battery of a MacBook, the kernel may try to compensate by interrupting the processor(s) to slow them down and reduce power consumption. This condition can be due to:

☞ a buildup of dust on the logic board

☞ high ambient temperature

☞ a worn-out or faulty battery in a portable

☞ the malfunction of a cooling fan, a temperature sensor, a voltage sensor, or some other internal component

Note that if the problem is caused by a sensor, there may be no actual overheating or undervoltage.

If the computer is portable, test with and without the AC adapter connected. If kernel_task hogs the processor only on AC power, charging is causing the machine to heat up. That behavior may be normal for some models, but it may also be an indication of a hardware fault.

Apple Diagnostics or the Apple Hardware Test, though not very reliable, is sometimes able to detect a fault. For more thorough hardware testing, make a "Genius" appointment at an Apple Store, or go to another authorized service provider.

If nothing is wrong with the hardware, then whatever you can do to improve cooling may help.

Installed software

User-installed software that includes a device driver or other kernel code may thrash the kernel. That category includes virtualization software, such as Parallels and VMware, as well as most commercial "anti-virus" products. Some system-monitoring applications, such as "iStat," can also contribute to the problem. You can test for this possibility by completely disabling or removing the software according to the developer's instructions, or starting in safe mode. Note, however, that disabling a system modification without removing it or testing in safe mode may not be as easy as you think.

Corrupt NVRAM or SMC data

Sometimes the problem is cleared up by resetting the NVRAM or the SMC.

External display

Connecting an external display to some MacBook Pro models while the lid is open may cause this issue. If applicable, use the external display in clamshell mode.

Other peripherals

Disconnect all wired peripherals except those needed to start up, and remove all third-party expansion cards (if applicable to your model.) If the problem is resolved, reconnect the devices one at a time until you identify the culprit.

Nov 23, 2015 12:16 AM in response to John Galt

I tried doing the Apple Diagnostics Test, and it ended up reporting this:


There may be an issue with the System Management Controller (SMC)


There may be an issue with the power management system.


How do I proceed now?


Edit: I had tried using Safe Mode before posting the OP and the problem persisted. I'm fairly confident that I don't really have any buggy softwares (barely have any, to be frank), and the diagnostics report seems to have confirmed that the software/plugins aren't the problem, though I took some precautionary measures and deleted the oracle Java plugin immediately.

Nov 23, 2015 7:34 AM in response to macarena721

I tried doing the Apple Diagnostics Test, and it ended up reporting this:


There may be an issue with the System Management Controller (SMC)


There may be an issue with the power management system.


How do I proceed now?


Apple Diagnostics: Reference codes states the following regarding "There may be an issue with the System Management Controller (SMC)":


Contact Apple or take your computer to an Apple Authorized Service Provider or Apple Retail Store to determine which service and support options are available.

Nov 23, 2015 8:57 AM in response to Linc Davis

Yes, I reset the SMC and I also reset the NVRAM. The problem is still extant, though, and I'm not really sure what's causing the problem.


On some other forums, I read about moving a specific file to a different folder will solve the problem, but frankly, I'm not really keen on messing with system files and screwing the laptop up further.


the reference code for the results in the apple diagnostics report were: PFM006 & PPN001. I'm unable to find anything for the second one actually, and I'm utterly bemused as to what I have to do next in such a situation.

Nov 23, 2015 9:23 AM in response to macarena721

I'm not really keen on messing with system files and screwing the laptop up further.

You're right.

Make a "Genius" appointment at an Apple Store, or go to another authorized service provider. You may have to leave the machine there for several days.

Back up all data on the internal drive(s) before you hand over your computer to anyone. There are ways to back up a computer that isn't fully functional—ask if you need guidance.

If privacy is a concern, erase the data partition(s) with the option to write zeros* (do this only if you have at least two complete, independent backups, and you know how to restore to an empty drive from any of them.) Don’t erase the recovery partition, if present.

Keeping your confidential data secure during hardware repair

Apple also recommends that you deauthorize a device in the iTunes Store before having it serviced.

*An SSD doesn't need to be zeroed.

Slow response for 15 month old Macbook air, with kernel_task (0) hogging up 300% of the CPU and fan moving at a very high speed.

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