Jeff Greene1
Level 1 (119 points)
Mac OS X

Q: Kernal_task taking up virtual memory, computer slow

I have an iMac 21.5inch late 2013 with 8GB of RAM running OS X 10.11.6. The computer is incredibly slow and hangs up for long periods of time (minutes). In addition, I've noticed when backing up to my Time Capsule (ethernet connection, wifi is off) it will just pause half way through and stay there (e.g., 450MB of 789MB) for 30-45min. Activity monitor shows kernal_task taking up huge amounts of CPU Time (5:02:09), threads (118), idle wake ups (2752), and when I select the process name it shows real memory size of 781.2MB but virtual memory size of 70.51GB.

 

I don't have any external monitors, hard drives (except the time capsule), etc connected. Any ideas of what I can do?

 

Thanks!

Posted on Sep 13, 2016 5:39 PM

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Jeff Greene1

Q: Kernal_task taking up virtual memory, computer slow

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  • by Jeff Greene1,

    Jeff Greene1 Jeff Greene1 Sep 15, 2016 5:11 PM in response to BobHarris
    Level 1 (119 points)
    Mac OS X
    Sep 15, 2016 5:11 PM in response to BobHarris

    Thanks for all of the help. I've trashed the things mentioned above and things are working okay for now. Hopefully it'll stay that way.

     

    Apparently I cannot upgrade the memory myself. I guess I'd have to take it to an authorized apple dealer for install? My assumption has always been that such installs are pretty expensive (labor, etc.).

  • by Jeff Greene1,

    Jeff Greene1 Jeff Greene1 Sep 15, 2016 5:12 PM in response to BobHarris
    Level 1 (119 points)
    Mac OS X
    Sep 15, 2016 5:12 PM in response to BobHarris

    Thanks for all of the help - I've removed the things mentioned above.

     

    Apparently I cannot upgrade the RAM myself. I guess I have to use an Apple authorized repair site? I've always assumed they are expensive re: labor, etc?

  • by BobHarris,

    BobHarris BobHarris Sep 15, 2016 5:32 PM in response to Jeff Greene1
    Level 6 (19,432 points)
    Mac OS X
    Sep 15, 2016 5:32 PM in response to Jeff Greene1

    I did not realize that model iMac required opening up the unit, but I watched the video and it does not look like fun.

     

    More memory was just a suggestion, not a requirement.

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