jeffh212

Q: Why am I getting "system installers" randomly added to my processes?

I have an early 2009, 24 inch iMac.  I installed el Capitan, and about a month after, I had performance problems.  I downloaded memory clean and discovered I was running out of RAM. So, I added 4 gigs of ram to bring the total to 8gb.  But I was  still occasionally having issues, ending up with about 400MB of RAM, even with the 8gb.  I looked at my processes in Activity Monitor and discovered several "system installers" taking up many gigs of processor memory. I quit those processes, but every day or so, another "system installer" appears. Since I keep Memory Clean and Activity Monitor open, I quit those processes and I'm fine.  The question is why do I keep getting these installers added to my processor memory?

iMac, iOS 10, iOS 10.11.6

Posted on Sep 20, 2016 9:54 PM

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Q: Why am I getting "system installers" randomly added to my processes?

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  • by jameson.h,Helpful

    jameson.h jameson.h Sep 21, 2016 7:24 PM in response to jeffh212
    Community Specialists
    Sep 21, 2016 7:24 PM in response to jeffh212
    Hi  jeffh212,

    Thank you for using Apple Support Communities. Based on what you stated, it seems like you are getting processes that begin running on their own that you have to close.
    There are a few ways this can happen. I would recommend you read these articles, they explain how you can disable some login items and see if the processes return. 

    OS X El Capitan: Open items automatically when you log in

    Another thing you can do is boot into safe mode to disable all login and startup items if the issue persists.
    Try safe mode if your Mac doesn't finish starting up - Apple Support

    Cheers.

  • by jeffh212,

    jeffh212 jeffh212 Sep 21, 2016 7:27 PM in response to jeffh212
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Desktops
    Sep 21, 2016 7:27 PM in response to jeffh212

    hi:

     

    Thanks very much for the reply.  Unfortunately, I didn't really post the question correctly in two ways.  First the "rogue" processes say "Installer," not "System Installer."  Second, these processes don't appear at Startup - they appear randomly while my machine is running.  For example, while I was using the machine typing this reply, three 10GB "Installers" appeared in Activity Monitor.  Any suggestions?  Thanks again.

  • by norm123,

    norm123 norm123 Sep 22, 2016 5:29 AM in response to jeffh212
    Community Specialists
    Sep 22, 2016 5:29 AM in response to jeffh212
    Hey jameson.h,

    If I understand correctly, randomly while you are using the computer installer processes appear in Activity Monitor. 
    You mentioned that they appeared while you were typing your reply. If you are using Safari it could be an extension in Safari. 

     

    Turn off or uninstall extensions

    1. Choose Preferences from the Safari menu, then click Extensions.
    2. Select an extension from the list.
    3. Turn off the extension by deselecting the Enable checkbox. If you can't determine what an extension does, or you don't expect to use it again, click the Uninstall button.


    Install and manage Safari extensions on your Mac - Apple Support


    One thing we can do is create a new user profile and test in there to see if those processes return. 

    OS X El Capitan: Set up users on your Mac

    If they do not return we will have narrowed it down to that one profile. At that point, we can try to narrow down what may be the cause. 

    Thank you for using Apple Support Communities. Have a good one.