MacBook Air extremely slow (kernel_task)

Question

Level 1

4 points

MacBook Air extremely slow (kernel_task)

Hi all,

my MacBook Air 6,2 runs Mac OS El Capitan 10.11.4. Since a couple of days ago it runs extremely slow and kernel_task uses more than 300 % of the CPU. I tried deleting all the Mac Book Air files in IOPlatformPluginFamily.kext, installed the OS completely new (once without and once with time machine backup) but nothing works. I even updated to the current beta of 10.11.5, because i hoped for a fix in that release, but there was no change.

I ran the Apple hardware check (pressing D during startup), everything seems fine. The EtreCheck test seems fine, too (I attach the test protocol).

I tried the SMC reset and the PRAM reset. I am not sure if that did anything, because my Macbook Air behaved slightly different than i have seen in the videos (no red charger light at SMC reset und no automatic reboot at PRAM reset).

Now I ran out of ideas... Has Anybody any ideas for me?

Thank you!

EtreCheck version: 2.9.12 (265)

Report generated 2016-05-05 18:47:18

Download EtreCheck from https://etrecheck.com

Runtime 6:44

Performance: Below Average

Click the [Support] links for help with non-Apple products.

Click the [Details] links for more information about that line.

Problem: Computer is too slow

Description:

very slow

Hardware Information: ⓘ

MacBook Air

[Technical Specifications] - [User Guide] - [Warranty & Service]

MacBook Air - model: MacBookAir6,2

1 1,7 GHz Intel Core i7 CPU: 2-core

8 GB RAM Not upgradeable

BANK 0/DIMM0

4 GB DDR3 1600 MHz ok

BANK 1/DIMM0

4 GB DDR3 1600 MHz ok

Bluetooth: Good - Handoff/Airdrop2 supported

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

Battery: Health = Normal - Cycle count = 491

Video Information: ⓘ

Intel HD Graphics 5000

Color LCD 1440 x 900

System Software: ⓘ

OS X El Capitan 10.11.4 (15E65) - Time since boot: less than an hour

Disk Information: ⓘ

APPLE SSD SD0256F disk0 : (251 GB) (Solid State - TRIM: Yes)

EFI (disk0s1) <not mounted> : 210 MB

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

Flos Mac (disk1) / : 249.80 GB (113.15 GB free)

Encrypted AES-XTS Unlocked

Core Storage: disk0s2 250.14 GB Online

USB Information: ⓘ

Apple Inc. BRCM20702 Hub

Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller

Thunderbolt Information: ⓘ

Apple Inc. thunderbolt_bus

Gatekeeper: ⓘ

Mac App Store and identified developers

Kernel Extensions: ⓘ

/Applications/MATLAB_R2016a.app

[not loaded] com.mathworks.sldrtkrn (5.2.0 - OS X 10.8 - 2015-12-29) [Support]

/Applications/Tunnelblick.app

[not loaded] net.tunnelblick.tap (20141104 (Tunnelblick build 4270.4395) Unsigned - 2015-11-16) [Support]

[not loaded] net.tunnelblick.tun (20141104 (Tunnelblick build 4270.4395) Unsigned - 2015-11-16) [Support]

/Library/Application Support/VirtualBox

[loaded] org.virtualbox.kext.VBoxDrv (5.0.10 - 2016-05-05) [Support]

[loaded] org.virtualbox.kext.VBoxNetAdp (5.0.10 - 2016-05-05) [Support]

[loaded] org.virtualbox.kext.VBoxNetFlt (5.0.10 - 2016-05-05) [Support]

[loaded] org.virtualbox.kext.VBoxUSB (5.0.10 - 2016-05-05) [Support]

/Library/Extensions

[not loaded] com.asix.driver.ax88179-178a (1.6.0 - SDK 10.9 - 2016-05-05) [Support]

/System/Library/Extensions

[not loaded] com.prolific.driver.PL2303 (1.5.1 - SDK 10.6 - 2016-05-05) [Support]

[loaded] virtualcdrw.driver (1.0 - 2016-05-05) [Support]

System Launch Agents: ⓘ

[not loaded] 6 Apple tasks

[loaded] 166 Apple tasks

[running] 66 Apple tasks

System Launch Daemons: ⓘ

[not loaded] 44 Apple tasks

[loaded] 160 Apple tasks

[running] 84 Apple tasks

Launch Agents: ⓘ

[not loaded] com.adobe.AAM.Updater-1.0.plist (2016-04-12) [Support]

[failed] com.adobe.ARMDCHelper.cc24aef4a1b90ed56a...plist (2015-11-25) [Support]

[running] com.adobe.AdobeCreativeCloud.plist (2016-02-20) [Support]

[running] com.bjango.istatmenusagent.plist (2016-05-05) [Support]

[running] com.bjango.istatmenusnotifications.plist (2016-05-05) [Support]

[running] com.bjango.istatmenusstatus.plist (2016-05-05) [Support]

[loaded] com.cisco.anyconnect.gui.plist (2014-12-09) [Support]

[loaded] com.oracle.java.Java-Updater.plist (2014-09-20) [Support]

[not loaded] com.teamviewer.teamviewer.plist (2015-01-15) [Support]

[not loaded] com.teamviewer.teamviewer_desktop.plist (2015-01-15) [Support]

[not loaded] org.freedesktop.dbus-session.plist [Support]

[loaded] org.macosforge.xquartz.startx.plist (2014-08-11) [Support]

[failed] virtualcdrw.daemon.plist (2009-11-30) [Support]

Launch Daemons: ⓘ

[loaded] com.adobe.ARMDC.Communicator.plist (2015-11-25) [Support]

[loaded] com.adobe.ARMDC.SMJobBlessHelper.plist (2015-11-25) [Support]

[running] com.adobe.adobeupdatedaemon.plist (2016-04-12) [Support]

[loaded] com.adobe.agsservice.plist (2016-04-12) [Support]

[loaded] com.adobe.fpsaud.plist (2016-04-16) [Support]

[running] com.bjango.istatmenusdaemon.plist (2016-05-05) [Support]

[running] com.cisco.anyconnect.vpnagentd.plist (2014-12-09) [Support]

[running] com.cleverfiles.cfbackd.plist (2015-09-20) [Support]

[loaded] com.microsoft.office.licensingV2.helper.plist (2015-09-11) [Support]

[loaded] com.oracle.java.Helper-Tool.plist (2014-09-20) [Support]

[loaded] com.oracle.java.JavaUpdateHelper.plist (2015-03-21) [Support]

[loaded] com.teamviewer.Helper.plist (2015-01-15) [Support]

[not loaded] com.teamviewer.teamviewer_service.plist (2015-01-15) [Support]

[loaded] net.tunnelblick.tunnelblick.tunnelblickd.plist (2015-11-16) [Support]

[not loaded] org.freedesktop.dbus-system.plist [Support]

[loaded] org.macosforge.xquartz.privileged_startx.plist (2014-08-11) [Support]

[not loaded] org.virtualbox.startup.plist (2016-01-06) [Support]

[loaded] org.wireshark.ChmodBPF.plist (2014-10-26) [Support]

User Launch Agents: ⓘ

[loaded] com.adobe.AAM.Updater-1.0.plist (2014-10-16) [Support]

[loaded] com.bittorrent.uTorrent.plist (2015-01-31) [Support]

[loaded] com.google.keystone.agent.plist (2016-03-02) [Support]

[running] com.spotify.webhelper.plist (2016-05-05) [Support]

[failed] com.synology.CloudStation.plist (2016-05-05) [Support]

[loaded] com.synology.CloudStationDrive.plist (2016-05-05) [Support]

[failed] com.valvesoftware.steamclean.plist (2016-03-12) [Support]

[loaded] net.tunnelblick.tunnelblick.LaunchAtLogin.plist (2015-03-30) [Support]

[not loaded] org.virtualbox.vboxwebsrv.plist (2016-01-06) [Support]

User Login Items: ⓘ

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

Dropbox Programm Hidden (/Applications/Dropbox.app)

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

Other Apps: ⓘ

[running] com.adobe.CCLibrary.85152

[running] com.adobe.CCXProcess.85472

[running] com.adobe.acc.AdobeDesktopService.100192.E22420E0-7AA3-46FF-A478-9D278516CCB4

[running] com.adobe.accmac.85792

[running] com.etresoft.EtreCheck.121952

[running] com.getdropbox.dropbox.30112

[running] com.google.android.mtpagent.7072

[running] com.synology.CloudStationUI.23072

[loaded] 421 Apple tasks

[running] 196 Apple tasks

Internet Plug-ins: ⓘ

AdobeAAMDetect: 3.0.0.0 - SDK 10.9 (2016-05-04) [Support]

FlashPlayer-10.6: 21.0.0.226 - SDK 10.6 (2016-05-04) [Support]

QuickTime Plugin: 7.7.3 (2016-03-12)

AdobePDFViewerNPAPI: 15.010.20060 - SDK 10.8 (2016-05-04) [Support]

AdobePDFViewer: 15.010.20060 - SDK 10.8 (2016-05-04) [Support]

Flash Player: 21.0.0.226 - SDK 10.6 (2016-05-04) [Support]

Default Browser: 601 - SDK 10.11 (2016-03-12)

NP_2020Player_IKEA: 5.0.94.1 - SDK 10.6 (2012-09-28) [Support]

Silverlight: 5.1.30514.0 - SDK 10.6 (2014-08-06) [Support]

JavaAppletPlugin: Java 8 Update 40 (2016-05-05) Check version

User internet Plug-ins: ⓘ

WebEx64: 1.0 - SDK 10.6 (2014-12-29) [Support]

Safari Extensions: ⓘ

AdBlock - BetaFish, Inc. - https://getadblock.com (2015-11-22)

3rd Party Preference Panes: ⓘ

Flash Player (2016-04-16) [Support]

Java (2015-03-21) [Support]

TeXDistPrefPane (2014-08-21) [Support]

Time Machine: ⓘ

Skip System Files: NO

Mobile backups: ON

Auto backup: YES

Volumes being backed up:

Destinations:

Ohne Titel [Local]

Total size: 999.53 GB

Total number of backups: 17

Oldest backup: 11.10.14, 11:22

Last backup: 26.12.15, 19:30

Size of backup disk: Excellent

Backup size 999.53 GB > (Disk size 0 B X 3)

Zeitmaschine [Network]

Total size: 3.93 TB

Total number of backups: 71

Oldest backup: 28.12.15, 16:28

Last backup: 26.04.16, 20:17

Size of backup disk: Excellent

Backup size 3.93 TB > (Disk size 0 B X 3)

Top Processes by CPU: ⓘ

13% mdworker(19)

9% WindowServer

8% accountsd

5% launchd

5% softwareupdated

Top Processes by Memory: ⓘ

704 MB kernel_task

410 MB softwareupdated

336 MB mdworker(19)

164 MB garcon(2)

147 MB Dropbox

Virtual Memory Information: ⓘ

2.95 GB Free RAM

5.05 GB Used RAM (3.36 GB Cached)

0 B Swap Used

Diagnostics Information: ⓘ

May 5, 2016, 06:38:02 PM ~/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/EtreCheck_2016-05-05-183802_[redacted].crash

/Users/USER/Downloads/EtreCheck.app/Contents/MacOS/EtreCheck

May 5, 2016, 06:24:24 PM Self test - passed

May 5, 2016, 11:09:53 AM ~/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/quicklookd_2016-05-05-110953_[redacted].crash

/System/Library/Frameworks/QuickLook.framework/Versions/A/Resources/quicklookd. app/Contents/MacOS/quicklookd

May 4, 2016, 08:30:04 PM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/syncdefaultsd_2016-05-04-203004_[redacted].cras h

/System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/SyncedDefaults.framework/Support/syncdefaults d

May 4, 2016, 08:12:28 PM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/AdobeCRDaemon_2016-05-04-201228_[redacted].cras h

/Library/Application Support/Adobe/*/Adobe Desktop Service.app/Contents/Frameworks/AdobeCrashReporter.framework/Versions/A/AdobeCR Daemon.app/Contents/MacOS/AdobeCRDaemon

May 3, 2016, 10:07:41 PM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/secd_2016-05-03-220741_[redacted].crash

/usr/libexec/secd

May 3, 2016, 10:07:32 PM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/secd_2016-05-03-220732_[redacted].crash

MacBook Air, OS X El Capitan (10.11.4), Macbook Air 6,2

Posted on May 5, 2016 11:10 AM

Reply

Answer 1

May 5, 2016 11:16 AM in response to macecht

For starters uninstall the BitTorrent then restart your Mac to test.

Unfortunately, you have so much third party software installed, it could take days to troubleshoot. That's why your Mac is, "extremely slow".

There is also malware: com.valvesoftware.steamclean.plist

You can download the free malware removal utility here > https://www.malwarebytes.org/

Or, if you would rather not download MalwareBytes, follow the instructions removing malware manually here > Remove unwanted adware that displays pop-up ads and graphics on your Mac

Reply

Answer 2

macecht Author

Level 1

4 points

May 5, 2016 11:15 AM in response to Carolyn Samit

Thank you, I will try that. Even though i can't imagine that it will help, because the problem was there with the complete new system without the backup, too.

Reply

Answer 3

May 5, 2016 11:20 AM in response to macecht

"can't image that will help"

Please read the results of an Apple Support Communities search for BitTorrents here > https://discussions.apple.com/search.jspa?facet=content&type=discussion&sort=rel evanceDesc&showAnsweredFirst=true&q=BitT…

"the problem was there with the complete new system"

You didn't mention that in your first post. We can only go on what you tell us.

Reply

Answer 4

macecht Author

Level 1

4 points

May 5, 2016 11:34 AM in response to Carolyn Samit

Sorry, i thought that I did mention that. I just removed BitTorrent and did a reboot, but the MacBook is still extremely slow.

Thank you, any chance you have another idea?

Reply

Answer 5

May 5, 2016 11:46 AM in response to macecht

Yes. In my first reply to you I mentioned that there is malware installed. Please re read.

Reply

Answer 6

Linc Davis

Level 10

209,547 points

May 5, 2016 2:14 PM in response to macecht

First, your problem has nothing to do with BitTorrent.

The kernel is using excessive processor cycles. Below are some possible causes for the condition. Some may not apply to you.

FileVault

Please 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.

If you're not sure what software could be contributing to the problem, please hold down the option key and select

System Information...

from the Apple menu. The System Information window will open. Select

Software ▹ Extensions

from the menu on the left. After a delay of a minute or so, a list of all installed kernel extensions should appear in the upper right pane of the window.

In the extension list, click the heading of the column Obtained from twice to sort it by source, with Apple at the bottom. At or near the top, you may see some third-party extensions. Select one, and information about it, including Location, will appear in the lower right pane of the window. What do you see?

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.

Reply

Answer 7

macecht Author

Level 1

4 points

May 6, 2016 12:54 PM in response to Carolyn Samit

I installed malwarebytes, but it didn't find anything. I think com.valvesoftware.steamclean.plist is from an unclean uninstall of Steam (steampowered.com).

Reply

Answer 8

macecht Author

Level 1

4 points

May 8, 2016 3:36 AM in response to macecht

Hey, i deleted the IOPlatformPluginFamily.kext and my Macbook Air was back to normal speed. Sadly the Sleep mode when closing didn't work anymore. Any idea how to resolve this?

Reply