Kernel_task high CPU

Hi All,

Started my MBP up this evening with it running very slow, high CPU and the fan running.

No dust, no heat.

EntreCheck below

Any help appreciated

EtreCheck version: 3.0.5 (309)

Report generated 2016-09-27 20:10:26

Download EtreCheck from https://etrecheck.com

Runtime 5:48

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

Hardware Information: ⓘ

MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Mid 2014)

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

MacBook Pro - model: MacBookPro11,1

1 2.6 GHz Intel Core i5 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 = 174

Video Information: ⓘ

Intel Iris

Color LCD 2560 x 1600

LG TV 1920 x 1080

System Software: ⓘ

OS X El Capitan 10.11.6 (15G1004) - Time since boot: less than an hour

Disk Information: ⓘ

APPLE SSD SM0256F disk0 : (251 GB) (Solid State - TRIM: Yes)

EFI (disk0s1) <not mounted> : 210 MB

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

Macintosh HD (disk1) / : 249.80 GB (79.26 GB free)

Encrypted AES-XTS Unlocked

Core Storage: disk0s2 250.14 GB Online

USB Information: ⓘ

Apple Inc. Apple Internal Keyboard / Trackpad

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: ⓘ

/System/Library/Extensions

[not loaded] com.IKMultimedia.driver.StompIO1 (1.0.0 - 2016-09-18) [Support]

[not loaded] com.ikmultimedia.driver.StealthPedal (1.0.0 - 2016-09-18) [Support]

System Launch Agents: ⓘ

[not loaded] 7 Apple tasks

[loaded] 157 Apple tasks

[running] 75 Apple tasks

System Launch Daemons: ⓘ

[not loaded] 47 Apple tasks

[loaded] 159 Apple tasks

[running] 84 Apple tasks

Launch Agents: ⓘ

[failed] com.adobe.ARMDCHelper.cc24aef4a1b90ed56a725c38014c95072f92651fb65e1bf9c8e43c37a2 3d420d.plist (2016-07-11) [Support]

Launch Daemons: ⓘ

[loaded] com.adobe.ARMDC.Communicator.plist (2016-07-11) [Support]

[loaded] com.adobe.ARMDC.SMJobBlessHelper.plist (2016-07-11) [Support]

[loaded] com.adobe.fpsaud.plist (2016-08-30) [Support]

[loaded] com.microsoft.autoupdate.helpertool.plist (2016-09-10) [Support]

[loaded] com.microsoft.office.licensing.helper.plist (2014-11-17) [Support]

[loaded] com.microsoft.office.licensingV2.helper.plist (2016-09-10) [Support]

User Launch Agents: ⓘ

[loaded] com.citrixonline.GoToMeeting.G2MUpdate.plist (2016-09-19) [Support]

[running] com.nchsoftware.expressaccounts.agent.plist (2015-03-16) [Support]

[not loaded] com.nchsoftware.expressinvoice.agent.plist (2016-01-12) [Support]

User Login Items: ⓘ

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

Dropbox Application (/Applications/Dropbox.app)

HotspotShieldHelper SMLoginItem (/Applications/Hotspot Shield.app/Contents/Library/LoginItems/HotspotShieldHelper.app)

Internet Plug-ins: ⓘ

FlashPlayer-10.6: 23.0.0.162 - SDK 10.9 (2016-09-20) [Support]

QuickTime Plugin: 7.7.3 (2016-08-01)

AdobePDFViewerNPAPI: 15.017.20053 - SDK 10.11 (2016-08-04) [Support]

AdobePDFViewer: 15.017.20053 - SDK 10.11 (2016-08-04) [Support]

Flash Player: 23.0.0.162 - SDK 10.9 (2016-09-20) [Support]

Default Browser: 601 - SDK 10.11 (2016-08-01)

SharePointBrowserPlugin: 14.5.7 - SDK 10.6 (2015-10-21) [Support]

Silverlight: 5.1.41212.0 - SDK 10.6 (2016-04-03) [Support]

User internet Plug-ins: ⓘ

CitrixOnlineWebDeploymentPlugin: 1.0.105 (2013-04-26) [Support]

3rd Party Preference Panes: ⓘ

Flash Player (2016-08-30) [Support]

Time Machine: ⓘ

Time Machine not configured!

Top Processes by CPU: ⓘ

8% com.apple.WebKit.WebContent

3% kernel_task

2% hidd

1% AddressBookSourceSync

1% WindowServer

Top Processes by Memory: ⓘ

649 MB kernel_task

647 MB com.apple.WebKit.WebContent

156 MB mds_stores

147 MB Activity Monitor

131 MB Safari

Virtual Memory Information: ⓘ

2.67 GB Free RAM

5.33 GB Used RAM (1.69 GB Cached)

0 B Swap Used

Diagnostics Information: ⓘ

Sep 27, 2016, 07:53:34 PM Self test - passed

Sep 27, 2016, 05:38:57 PM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/revisiond_2016-09-27-173857_[redacted].crash

/System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/GenerationalStorage.framework/Versions/A/Supp ort/revisiond

Sep 27, 2016, 05:34:56 PM ~/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/Microsoft Word_2016-09-27-173456_[redacted].crash

com.microsoft.Word - /Applications/Microsoft Word.app/Contents/MacOS/Microsoft Word

Sep 27, 2016, 05:26:38 PM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/com.apple.AmbientDisplayAgent_2016-09-27-172638 _[redacted].crash

/System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/AmbientDisplay.framework/Versions/A/XPCServic es/com.apple.AmbientDisplayAgent.xpc/Contents/MacOS/com.apple.AmbientDisplayAgen t

MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Mid 2014), OS X El Capitan (10.11.6)

Posted on Sep 27, 2016 12:18 PM

24 replies

BobHarris

Level 9

57,041 points

Sep 27, 2016 4:07 PM in response to machinehead459

When you took the EtreCheck report, was the kernel_task consuming lots of CPU? I ask because EtreCheck only shows kernel_task using 3%

Sep 28, 2016 2:56 AM in response to BobHarris

Yes it was consuming lots.

Currently running 260%, yet when I rerun EtreCheck it still says 2% for kernel_task.

It still happens in Safe Mode

EtreCheck version: 3.0.5 (309)

Report generated 2016-09-28 10:48:55

Download EtreCheck from https://etrecheck.com

Runtime 8:51

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:

kernel_task running cpu high

Hardware Information: ⓘ

MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Mid 2014)

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

MacBook Pro - model: MacBookPro11,1

1 2.6 GHz Intel Core i5 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 = 175

Video Information: ⓘ

Intel Iris

Color LCD 2560 x 1600

System Software: ⓘ

OS X El Capitan 10.11.6 (15G1004) - Time since boot: less than an hour

Disk Information: ⓘ

APPLE SSD SM0256F disk0 : (251 GB) (Solid State - TRIM: Yes)

EFI (disk0s1) <not mounted> : 210 MB

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

Macintosh HD (disk1) / : 249.80 GB (79.37 GB free)

Encrypted AES-XTS Unlocked

Core Storage: disk0s2 250.14 GB Online

USB Information: ⓘ

Apple Inc. Apple Internal Keyboard / Trackpad

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: ⓘ

/System/Library/Extensions

[not loaded] com.IKMultimedia.driver.StompIO1 (1.0.0 - 2016-09-18) [Support]

[not loaded] com.ikmultimedia.driver.StealthPedal (1.0.0 - 2016-09-18) [Support]

System Launch Agents: ⓘ

[not loaded] 7 Apple tasks

[loaded] 157 Apple tasks

[running] 75 Apple tasks

System Launch Daemons: ⓘ

[not loaded] 47 Apple tasks

[loaded] 159 Apple tasks

[running] 84 Apple tasks

Launch Agents: ⓘ

[failed] com.adobe.ARMDCHelper.cc24aef4a1b90ed56a725c38014c95072f92651fb65e1bf9c8e43c37a2 3d420d.plist (2016-07-11) [Support]

Launch Daemons: ⓘ

[loaded] com.adobe.ARMDC.Communicator.plist (2016-07-11) [Support]

[loaded] com.adobe.ARMDC.SMJobBlessHelper.plist (2016-07-11) [Support]

[loaded] com.adobe.fpsaud.plist (2016-08-30) [Support]

[loaded] com.microsoft.autoupdate.helpertool.plist (2016-09-10) [Support]

[loaded] com.microsoft.office.licensing.helper.plist (2014-11-17) [Support]

[loaded] com.microsoft.office.licensingV2.helper.plist (2016-09-10) [Support]

User Launch Agents: ⓘ

[loaded] com.citrixonline.GoToMeeting.G2MUpdate.plist (2016-09-19) [Support]

[running] com.nchsoftware.expressaccounts.agent.plist (2015-03-16) [Support]

[running] com.nchsoftware.expressinvoice.agent.plist (2016-01-12) [Support]

User Login Items: ⓘ

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

Dropbox Application (/Applications/Dropbox.app)

HotspotShieldHelper SMLoginItem (/Applications/Hotspot Shield.app/Contents/Library/LoginItems/HotspotShieldHelper.app)

Internet Plug-ins: ⓘ

FlashPlayer-10.6: 23.0.0.162 - SDK 10.9 (2016-09-20) [Support]

QuickTime Plugin: 7.7.3 (2016-08-01)

AdobePDFViewerNPAPI: 15.017.20053 - SDK 10.11 (2016-08-04) [Support]

AdobePDFViewer: 15.017.20053 - SDK 10.11 (2016-08-04) [Support]

Flash Player: 23.0.0.162 - SDK 10.9 (2016-09-20) [Support]

Default Browser: 601 - SDK 10.11 (2016-08-01)

SharePointBrowserPlugin: 14.5.7 - SDK 10.6 (2015-10-21) [Support]

Silverlight: 5.1.41212.0 - SDK 10.6 (2016-04-03) [Support]

User internet Plug-ins: ⓘ

CitrixOnlineWebDeploymentPlugin: 1.0.105 (2013-04-26) [Support]

3rd Party Preference Panes: ⓘ

Flash Player (2016-08-30) [Support]

Time Machine: ⓘ

Time Machine not configured!

Top Processes by CPU: ⓘ

12% spindump

8% WindowServer

2% kernel_task

0% Dropbox

0% cloudpaird

Top Processes by Memory: ⓘ

617 MB kernel_task

213 MB com.apple.WebKit.WebContent(3)

172 MB spindump

164 MB Dropbox

131 MB mdworker(9)

Virtual Memory Information: ⓘ

3.99 GB Free RAM

4.01 GB Used RAM (2.49 GB Cached)

0 B Swap Used

Diagnostics Information: ⓘ

Sep 28, 2016, 10:36:45 AM Self test - passed

Sep 27, 2016, 08:46:24 PM ~/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/com.apple.WebKit.Plugin.64_2016-09-27-204624_[ redacted].crash

/System/Library/Frameworks/WebKit.framework/Versions/A/XPCServices/com.apple.We bKit.Plugin.64.xpc/Contents/MacOS/com.apple.WebKit.Plugin.64

Sep 27, 2016, 05:38:57 PM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/revisiond_2016-09-27-173857_[redacted].crash

/System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/GenerationalStorage.framework/Versions/A/Supp ort/revisiond

Sep 27, 2016, 05:34:56 PM ~/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/Microsoft Word_2016-09-27-173456_[redacted].crash

com.microsoft.Word - /Applications/Microsoft Word.app/Contents/MacOS/Microsoft Word

Sep 27, 2016, 05:26:38 PM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/com.apple.AmbientDisplayAgent_2016-09-27-172638 _[redacted].crash

/System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/AmbientDisplay.framework/Versions/A/XPCServic es/com.apple.AmbientDisplayAgent.xpc/Contents/MacOS/com.apple.AmbientDisplayAgen t

BobHarris

Level 9

57,041 points

Sep 28, 2016 6:27 AM in response to machinehead459

OK, so EreCheck is not seeing the high kernel_task numbers.

Try booting in Safe mode

<http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1564>

This will NOT load any of the few 3rd party additions you have.

If the kernel_task behaves itself while running in Safe mode, then it is time to look at the 3rd party additions you do have.

Sep 28, 2016 6:41 AM in response to BobHarris

No, seems like it does not.

Booted in Safe Mode and it still continues as before.

I've been on the phone to Apple Support today. Cleared Caches and any temp files. Reset SMC, and NVRAM. This solved the problem for around an hour until the CPU bolted high and the fan came on again.

At the time only one application was being used (Excel with a few entries on it), everything else closed down. Still well ventilated, no heat on the bottom of the mac.

BobHarris

Level 9

57,041 points

Sep 28, 2016 7:20 AM in response to machinehead459

In your 2nd EtreCheck spindump

12% spindump

Is showing moderate activity. spindump collects information on app crashes and such. It is NOT present in your first EtreCheck, so this may be a false lead.

And I'm leaning towards false lead, only because the snippet of log info in each EtreCheck report is not very much. I would expect to see lots of log entries if spindump was being kept busy.

A little background. the kernel_task is the heart of the operating system. It creates processes, allocates memory, schedules who gets to run and on what CPU core, controls I/O (storage, network, keyboard, mouse, display), etc...

All kernel extensions become part of the kernel_task, which is why running in Safe mode is so useful, as 3rd party kernel extensions (and 3rd party launch agents/daemons) do not get loaded. It is a quick way to eliminate 3rd party additions as the cause (although in many cases of performance issues, it points the finger of guilt at them 🙂 ).

In many instances of high kernel_task CPU it is a 3rd party kernel extensions (often an anti-virus package). But again you still have the problem in Safe mode.

There have been instances of applications making kernel requests that get the kernel busy. Safari, backup utilities (lots of disk I/O with backup utilities), etc...

If you boot into Safe mode, and run NOTHING except Applications -> Utilities -> Activity Monitor and still get high kernel_task CPU, then it is something with OS X itself.

And I am at a loss as to what it is.

Going back to John Galt's post. You have tried his Safe mode. You have tried the SMC and NVRAM resets.

Did you try John's suggestion of creating a new test account?

And John Galt, if you have any other suggestions, or anyone else that has been following along, I think machinehead459 could use some new ideas about now.

John Galt

Level 10

156,320 points

Sep 28, 2016 9:46 AM in response to machinehead459

Currently running 260%, yet when I rerun EtreCheck it still says 2% for kernel_task.

I'm not seeing what you're seeing. Screenshots will help.

Please reproduce the events that cause your Mac to exhibit that problem. During that time, capture two screenshots as shown below, and post them in a reply.

Please refer to the CPU section in Use Activity Monitor on your Mac - Apple Support.

In Activity Monitor's View menu, select Active Processes (not "My Processes" as shown in the screenshots).

Click the CPU tab, and post a screenshot similar to the following, with the %CPU column sorted in decreasing order.

Then, click the Memory tab and post a screenshot similar to the following, with the Memory column sorted in decreasing order.

To learn how to post a screenshot please read the Appendix in Writing an effective Apple Support Communities question.

Please don't post any information that you might consider personal. The above User Tip includes a link explaining how to edit the screenshot, if needed.

John Galt

Level 10

156,320 points

Sep 28, 2016 9:50 AM in response to machinehead459

Excerpted from Apps can affect Mac performance, battery runtime, temperature, and fan activity - Apple Support:

Activity Monitor may show that a process named kernel_task is using a large percentage of your CPU, and during this time you may notice a lot of fan activity. This process helps manage temperature by making the CPU less available to processes that are using the CPU intensely. In other words, kernel_task responds to conditions that cause your CPU to become too hot. When the temperature decreases, kernel_task automatically reduces its activity.

In other words, excessive CPU use of kernel_task itself is a symptom of a problem, not a problem itself. That problem needs to be identified.

Nov 19, 2016 12:32 PM in response to machinehead459

I have a similar problem with the kernel_task CPU usage going to over 1,000% and the fan running.

The system was extremely slow. I tried Safe Mode, SMC reset, and other things but nothing worked. The motherboard was recently replaced, so I was concerned it may be the hardware, but the hardware test succeeded. Using Apple Hardware Test - Apple Support

What worked: Booting up in Recovery Mode and run the Disk Utility First Aid solved the problem for me

About macOS Recovery - Apple Support

It took a while to try out different tests and because the Macbook Pro was very slow, but Apple Support on the phone and screen share was quite helpful.

alralz

Level 1

4 points

Jan 16, 2017 2:55 PM in response to machinehead459

I had the same problem and I was suspicious about the battery which was dead ("replace battery" message). After removing the battery the cpu problem solved. So, I just need to replace the battery.

This thread has been closed by the system or the community team. You may vote for any posts you find helpful, or search the Community for additional answers.

Kernel_task high CPU