Trephination
Level 1 (110 points)

Q: MacBook Pro having frequent CPU spikes

I have an early 2011 MacBook Pro that is having frequent spikes in CPU use (usually kernel_task). It doesn't seem to be caused by specific software and is cleared by just putting it to sleep for a minute. It is constantly happening, though, and driving me crazy.

 

I've replaced the battery, replaced the hard-drive (with a SSD), and upgraded the RAM. No change. I'm running El Capitan with a clean install, but the issue happens with a clean install of Yosemite, too.

 

Apple Hardware Test just reports an error on the battery (4xxx/4/40000005: G "Battery") but I think that's just because it is a 3rd party battery. It's working fine.

 

Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

The Sytem CPU otherwise runs at about 1%, but here is an EtreCheck report that was run with the spiked CPU (kernel_task at 623%):

 

EtreCheck version: 2.6.4 (224)

Report generated 12/12/2015, 12:57 PM

Runtime 13:23

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 (15-inch, Early 2011)

    [Click for Technical Specifications]

    [Click for User Guide]

    MacBook Pro - model: MacBookPro8,2

    1 2.3 GHz Intel Core i7 CPU: 4-core

    16 GB RAM Upgradeable

    [Click for upgrade instructions]

        BANK 0/DIMM0

            8 GB DDR3 1333 MHz ok

        BANK 1/DIMM0

            8 GB DDR3 1333 MHz ok

    Bluetooth: Old - Handoff/Airdrop2 not supported

    Wireless:  en1: 802.11 a/b/g/n

    Battery: Health = Normal - Cycle count = 5 - SN = W00030C0L77ZC

 

Video Information: (What does this mean?)

    Intel HD Graphics 3000

    AMD Radeon HD 6750M - VRAM: 1024 MB

        Color LCD 1680 x 1050

        LED Cinema Display 2560 x 1440

 

System Software: (What does this mean?)

    OS X El Capitan 10.11.2 (15C50) - Time since boot: about 3 days

 

Disk Information: (What does this mean?)

    Samsung SSD 850 EVO 1TB disk0 : (1 TB) (Solid State - TRIM: No)

        EFI (disk0s1) <not mounted> : 210 MB

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

        SSD (disk1) / : 998.97 GB (774.31 GB free)

            Core Storage: disk0s2 999.35 GB Online

 

    MATSHITADVD-R   UJ-898   ()

 

USB Information: (What does this mean?)

    Apple Inc. FaceTime HD Camera (Built-in)

    Apple Inc. Apple Internal Keyboard / Trackpad

    Apple Inc. BRCM2070 Hub

        Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller

    GenesysLogic USB2.0 Hub 2 TB

        Western Digital Ext HDD 1021 2 TB

        EFI (disk3s1) <not mounted> : 210 MB

        Ext Backup (disk3s2) /Volumes/Ext Backup : 2.00 TB (74.61 GB free)

        Apple Inc. Keyboard Hub

            Apple Inc. Apple Keyboard

    Seagate Expansion Desk 4 TB

        EFI (disk2s1) <not mounted> : 315 MB

        M4TB (disk2s2) /Volumes/M4TB : 4.00 TB (749.55 GB free)

    Apple Inc. Apple LED Cinema Display

    Apple Inc. Display iSight

    Apple Inc. Display Audio

    Apple Computer, Inc. IR Receiver

 

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?)

        /Library/Extensions

    [not loaded]    com.FTDI.driver.D2XXHelper (1 - SDK 10.11) [Click for support]

 

        /System/Library/Extensions

    [not loaded]    com.wacom.kext.wacomtablet (6.3.15 - SDK 10.11) [Click for support]

 

Launch Agents: (What does this mean?)

    [running]    com.wacom.wacomtablet.plist [Click for support]

 

Launch Daemons: (What does this mean?)

    [running]    com.prey.agent.plist [Click for support]

    [loaded]    com.wacom.displayhelper.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)

    Dropbox    Application  (/Applications/Dropbox.app)

 

Other Apps: (What does this mean?)

    [running]    com.etresoft.EtreCheck.200992

    [running]    com.wacom.TabletDriver.179552

    [running]    com.wacom.WacomTouchDriver.178912

    [loaded]    fm.last.Scrobbler.168352

    [loaded]    org.videolan.vlc.182432

 

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

    Default Browser: Version: 601 - SDK 10.11

    QuickTime Plugin: Version: 7.7.3

    WacomTabletPlugin: Version: WacomTabletPlugin 2.1.0.6 - SDK 10.9 [Click for support]

 

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

    WacomTablet  [Click for support]

 

Time Machine: (What does this mean?)

    Time Machine not configured!

 

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

       623%    kernel_task

        20%    UserEventAgent(2)

         9%    WindowServer

         0%    askpermissiond

 

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

    1.12 GB    kernel_task

    475 MB    softwareupdated

    410 MB    mds_stores

    213 MB    Console

    197 MB    Finder

 

Virtual Memory Information: (What does this mean?)

    8.94 GB    Free RAM

    7.05 GB    Used RAM (9.46 GB Cached)

    0 B    Swap Used

 

 

Posted on Dec 11, 2015 6:34 PM

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Trephination

Q: MacBook Pro having frequent CPU spikes

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  • Helpful answers

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  • by BobTheFisherman,

    BobTheFisherman BobTheFisherman Dec 11, 2015 6:39 PM in response to Trephination
    Level 6 (15,176 points)
    Dec 11, 2015 6:39 PM in response to Trephination

    Trephination wrote:

     

    I have an early 2011 MacBook Pro that is having frequent spikes in CPU use (usually kernel_task). It doesn't seem to be caused by specific software and is cleared by just putting it to sleep for a minute. It is constantly happening, though, and driving me crazy.

     

    Why is it bothering you? How do you know it is happening, other than monitoring the cpu use?

  • by Trephination,

    Trephination Trephination Dec 11, 2015 6:48 PM in response to BobTheFisherman
    Level 1 (110 points)
    Dec 11, 2015 6:48 PM in response to BobTheFisherman

    Because the whole system slows to a crawl.

  • by my ginger,

    my ginger my ginger Dec 11, 2015 7:13 PM in response to Trephination
    Level 4 (2,472 points)
    Dec 11, 2015 7:13 PM in response to Trephination

    You might be having a problem with Dropbox. It has been known to use a lot of the CPU. If you open activity monitor in utilities  it might show up. I know that your kernel tasks are high, but that could be that Dropbox is running.  http://blog.twicetwice.net/2014/08/08/how-to-fix-dropbox-using-100-cpu-on-os-x/

  • by Trephination,

    Trephination Trephination Dec 11, 2015 7:33 PM in response to my ginger
    Level 1 (110 points)
    Dec 11, 2015 7:33 PM in response to my ginger

    my ginger wrote:

     

    You might be having a problem with Dropbox.

    Thanks for the suggestion but I don't think that's it. On the clean install of Yosemite I didn't have Dropbox installed and still had the problem. I've quit Dropbox on Capitan, though, to see if it makes a difference.

  • by my ginger,

    my ginger my ginger Dec 11, 2015 7:46 PM in response to Trephination
    Level 4 (2,472 points)
    Dec 11, 2015 7:46 PM in response to Trephination

    When you say clean install. Does that mean that you erased the hard drive and installed Yosemite. And without having any personal files on the macbook Pro except for a home folder it ran slow? A clean install is like starting up a brand new Macbook Pro for the first time.

  • by Trephination,

    Trephination Trephination Dec 11, 2015 8:02 PM in response to my ginger
    Level 1 (110 points)
    Dec 11, 2015 8:02 PM in response to my ginger

    my ginger wrote:

     

    When you say clean install. Does that mean that you erased the hard drive and installed Yosemite. And without having any personal files on the macbook Pro except for a home folder it ran slow? A clean install is like starting up a brand new Macbook Pro for the first time.

    Yes, exactly. I installed some software so I could actually do something that used some memory and it spiked after a little while. It doesn't seem to be related to specific software, though, as it happens when I've been doing completely different things with different apps running. Not specific to eith Yosemite or El Capitan either, as I've done clean installs of both.

  • by my ginger,

    my ginger my ginger Dec 11, 2015 8:09 PM in response to Trephination
    Level 4 (2,472 points)
    Dec 11, 2015 8:09 PM in response to Trephination

    Does it do it even if you have no peripherals plugged in?

  • by Trephination,

    Trephination Trephination Dec 11, 2015 8:14 PM in response to my ginger
    Level 1 (110 points)
    Dec 11, 2015 8:14 PM in response to my ginger

    my ginger wrote:

     

    Does it do it even if you have no peripherals plugged in?

    I think so but I will try that again to be sure.

  • by Trephination,

    Trephination Trephination Dec 11, 2015 8:17 PM in response to Trephination
    Level 1 (110 points)
    Dec 11, 2015 8:17 PM in response to Trephination

    Just spiked again. Only web browser and iTunes running.

     

    Here's the log messages from Console:

     

    12/12/2015 3:09:05.048 PM appleeventsd[55]: SecTaskLoadEntitlements failed error=22

    12/12/2015 3:09:06.119 PM launchservicesd[81]: SecTaskLoadEntitlements failed error=22

    12/12/2015 3:09:06.126 PM launchservicesd[81]: SecTaskLoadEntitlements failed error=22

    12/12/2015 3:09:18.000 PM syslogd[47]: ASL Sender Statistics

    12/12/2015 3:09:18.019 PM navd[10614]: 2015-12-12 15:09:18.019, 10614, a8d0b130, [NAVDaemonLocalProxy]: Location error message: Error Domain=kCLErrorDomain Code=0 "(null)"

    12/12/2015 3:09:46.243 PM apsd[80]: MessageTracer: load_domain_prefix_whitelist:120: Missing default whitelist file: /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/CrashReporterSupport.framework/Resources/Subm itDiagInfo.default.domains

    12/12/2015 3:09:47.345 PM com.apple.spotlight.IndexAgent[496]: [com.apple.corespotlight.log] Not allowed to pass in bundle ID

    12/12/2015 3:09:47.346 PM IMDPersistenceAgent[450]: [com.apple.corespotlight.log.index] Finished "index items"(176) with error:Error Domain=CSIndexErrorDomain Code=-1003 "(null)"

    12/12/2015 3:09:47.347 PM IMDPersistenceAgent[450]: [Warning] IMDChatAddMessageToSpotlight: indexing searchable items failed with error Error Domain=CSIndexErrorDomain Code=-1003 "(null)"

    12/12/2015 3:09:47.379 PM IMDPersistenceAgent[450]: [Warning] IMDChatAddMessageToSpotlight: indexing searchable items failed with error Error Domain=CSIndexErrorDomain Code=-1003 "(null)"

    12/12/2015 3:09:47.446 PM soagent[498]: Can't allocate SOHelper <SOMessageHelper: 0x7f91fb78e490> inside com.apple.soagent

    12/12/2015 3:09:47.549 PM com.apple.spotlight.IndexAgent[496]: [com.apple.corespotlight.log] Not allowed to pass in bundle ID

    12/12/2015 3:09:47.600 PM IMDPersistenceAgent[450]: [com.apple.corespotlight.log.index] Finished "index items"(178) with error:Error Domain=CSIndexErrorDomain Code=-1003 "(null)"

    12/12/2015 3:09:47.601 PM IMDPersistenceAgent[450]: [Warning] IMDChatAddMessageToSpotlight: deleting message for searchable items failed with error Error Domain=CSIndexErrorDomain Code=-1003 "(null)"

    12/12/2015 3:09:47.618 PM IMDPersistenceAgent[450]: [Warning] IMDChatAddMessageToSpotlight: deleting message for searchable items failed with error Error Domain=CSIndexErrorDomain Code=-1003 "(null)"

    12/12/2015 3:09:48.009 PM apsd[80]: MessageTracer: load_domain_prefix_whitelist:120: Missing default whitelist file: /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/CrashReporterSupport.framework/Resources/Subm itDiagInfo.default.domains

    12/12/2015 3:10:03.776 PM apsd[80]: MessageTracer: load_domain_prefix_whitelist:120: Missing default whitelist file: /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/CrashReporterSupport.framework/Resources/Subm itDiagInfo.default.domains

    12/12/2015 3:10:47.358 PM apsd[80]: MessageTracer: load_domain_prefix_whitelist:120: Missing default whitelist file: /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/CrashReporterSupport.framework/Resources/Subm itDiagInfo.default.domains

    12/12/2015 3:10:50.103 PM apsd[80]: MessageTracer: load_domain_prefix_whitelist:120: Missing default whitelist file: /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/CrashReporterSupport.framework/Resources/Subm itDiagInfo.default.domains

    12/12/2015 3:11:01.430 PM apsd[80]: MessageTracer: load_domain_prefix_whitelist:120: Missing default whitelist file: /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/CrashReporterSupport.framework/Resources/Subm itDiagInfo.default.domains

    12/12/2015 3:11:02.623 PM com.apple.spotlight.IndexAgent[496]: [com.apple.corespotlight.log] Not allowed to pass in bundle ID

    12/12/2015 3:11:02.625 PM IMDPersistenceAgent[450]: [com.apple.corespotlight.log.index] Finished "index items"(180) with error:Error Domain=CSIndexErrorDomain Code=-1003 "(null)"

    12/12/2015 3:11:02.640 PM IMDPersistenceAgent[450]: [Warning] IMDChatAddMessageToSpotlight: indexing searchable items failed with error Error Domain=CSIndexErrorDomain Code=-1003 "(null)"

    12/12/2015 3:11:02.642 PM IMDPersistenceAgent[450]: [Warning] IMDChatAddMessageToSpotlight: indexing searchable items failed with error Error Domain=CSIndexErrorDomain Code=-1003 "(null)"

    12/12/2015 3:11:03.115 PM apsd[80]: MessageTracer: load_domain_prefix_whitelist:120: Missing default whitelist file: /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/CrashReporterSupport.framework/Resources/Subm itDiagInfo.default.domains

    12/12/2015 3:11:03.287 PM apsd[80]: MessageTracer: load_domain_prefix_whitelist:120: Missing default whitelist file: /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/CrashReporterSupport.framework/Resources/Subm itDiagInfo.default.domains

    12/12/2015 3:11:03.492 PM apsd[80]: MessageTracer: load_domain_prefix_whitelist:120: Missing default whitelist file: /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/CrashReporterSupport.framework/Resources/Subm itDiagInfo.default.domains

    12/12/2015 3:11:04.996 PM apsd[80]: MessageTracer: load_domain_prefix_whitelist:120: Missing default whitelist file: /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/CrashReporterSupport.framework/Resources/Subm itDiagInfo.default.domains

    12/12/2015 3:11:08.290 PM apsd[80]: MessageTracer: load_domain_prefix_whitelist:120: Missing default whitelist file: /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/CrashReporterSupport.framework/Resources/Subm itDiagInfo.default.domains

  • by my ginger,Helpful

    my ginger my ginger Dec 12, 2015 12:54 AM in response to Trephination
    Level 4 (2,472 points)
    Dec 12, 2015 12:54 AM in response to Trephination

    What I am able to read from your report is that spotlight is running and having trouble indexing some files Try reindexing spotlight. It may be getting stuck on a file. https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201716 You can also control the files that are indexed. If there are files that change a lot you might not want them indexed You can do this in the search setting or privacy by adding to it.

  • by Trephination,

    Trephination Trephination Dec 12, 2015 12:56 AM in response to my ginger
    Level 1 (110 points)
    Dec 12, 2015 12:56 AM in response to my ginger

    my ginger wrote:

     

    What I am able to read from your report is that spotlight is running and having trouble indexing some files Try reindexing spotlight. It may be getting stuck on a file. https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201716 You can also control the files that are indexed. If there are files that change a lot you might not want them indexed You can do this in the search setting or privacy by adding to it.

    Thanks! This might be it. It's certainly caused the CPU spike with the kernel_task. I'll let it run and see what happens. Am I better off doing it in sections to try and determine which files are problematic, or just let it do the whole thing?

  • by my ginger,

    my ginger my ginger Dec 12, 2015 9:12 AM in response to Trephination
    Level 4 (2,472 points)
    Dec 12, 2015 9:12 AM in response to Trephination

    You know, I can't answer that, As I have never tried it. Normally, you reindex the whole drive. Here's an article about spotlight hanging at a file.  http://www.tequilafish.com/2014/11/13/spotlight-hung-on-os-x-yosemite-with-100-c pu-us Kernel task is the various parts of the operating system.  You can also see it spotlight is whats using cpu by checking in the activity monitor the MDS root-MD worker Root-MD worker user name.

  • by Trephination,

    Trephination Trephination Dec 12, 2015 5:06 PM in response to my ginger
    Level 1 (110 points)
    Dec 12, 2015 5:06 PM in response to my ginger

    Well, that's not it. It indexed the whole drive (no peripherals plugged in) and CPU returned to normal. After a little while, though, it spiked again with kernel_task - Spotlight does not show that it is indexing.

     

    The mds$ command from your link gives me this:

    COMMAND PID USER   FD      TYPE DEVICE  SIZE/OFF    NODE NAME

    mds      61 root  cwd       DIR    1,4      1088       2 /

    mds      61 root  twd       DIR    1,4      1088       2 /

    mds      61 root  txt       REG    1,4   2018000 1354136 /System/Library/Frameworks/CoreServices.framework/Versions/A/Frameworks/Metadat a.framework/Versions/A/Support/mds

    mds      61 root  txt       REG    1,4  26283888 1386692 /usr/share/icu/icudt55l.dat

    mds      61 root  txt       REG    1,4   3321856 1409731 /private/var/folders/zz/zyxvpxvq6csfxvn_n0000000000000/0/com.apple.LaunchServic es-1340.csstore

    mds      61 root  txt       REG    1,4   3321856 1432305 /private/var/folders/zz/zyxvpxvq6csfxvn_n0000000000000/0/com.apple.LaunchServic es-1340.csstore

    mds      61 root  txt       REG    1,4    638336 1384754 /usr/lib/dyld

    mds      61 root  txt       REG    1,4 554396694 1387224 /private/var/db/dyld/dyld_shared_cache_x86_64

    mds      61 root    0r      CHR    3,2       0t0     303 /dev/null

    mds      61 root    1u      CHR    3,2       0t0     303 /dev/null

    mds      61 root    2u      CHR    3,2    0t1347     303 /dev/null

    mds      61 root    3u   KQUEUE                          count=2, state=0x12

    mds      61 root    4r      REG    1,4      2512 1423445 /private/var/run/utmpx

    mds      61 root    5r      DIR    1,4      1088       2 /

    mds      61 root    6r      DIR    1,4      1088       2 /

    mds      61 root    7   FSEVENT                         

    mds      61 root    8r      DIR    1,4      1088       2 /

    mds      61 root    9r      DIR    1,4      2686      39 /System/Library

    mds      61 root   10r      DIR    1,4       782  392963 /System/Library/Spotlight

    mds      61 root   11r      DIR    1,4      4080 1424920 /.Spotlight-V100/Store-V2/9A4247C0-B0D6-49BB-815C-06C19B8C3D4F

    mds      61 root   12r      DIR    1,4      1088       2 /

    mds      61 root   13r      DIR    1,4       782  392963 /System/Library/Spotlight

    mds      61 root   14r      DIR    1,4       170  109655 /Library/Spotlight

    mds      61 root   16r      DIR    1,4       170  109655 /Library/Spotlight

    mds      61 root   18u      REG    1,4        53 1424968 /.Spotlight-V100/Store-V2/9A4247C0-B0D6-49BB-815C-06C19B8C3D4F/journalExclusion

  • by Trephination,

    Trephination Trephination Dec 12, 2015 6:28 PM in response to Trephination
    Level 1 (110 points)
    Dec 12, 2015 6:28 PM in response to Trephination

    Stopping Spotlight with

     

    sudo launchctl unload -w /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.metadata.mds.plist


    has no affect. Kernel_task is still 6-700%

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