Macbook Pro kernel_task high CPU usage

Question

ericf2000 Author

Level 1

35 points

Macbook Pro kernel_task high CPU usage

Starting two days ago, my MacBook Pro (Early 2011) has been extremely slow and I see that the "kernel_task" is running at about 300-600% CPU constantly, but the fan is not running and the machine case is not getting hot. I rebooted the system into the TechTool Pro 9 e-drive (stripped down OS X 10.11.6), and the kernel_task is still running about the same high CPU usage. TechTool Pro tells me that the battery capacity is nearly zero, which is not surprising as this is the original 6-year-old battery. I tried resetting the SMC and that made no difference. Is the "kernel_task" staying busy trying to check the battery or something like that?

The machine is running so slowly, I can't update my backup.

MacBook Pro, OS X El Capitan (10.11.6)

Posted on Jun 18, 2017 2:40 PM

Reply

Answer 1

Kappy

Level 10

362,279 points

Jun 18, 2017 2:45 PM in response to ericf2000

Possible Fixes for El Capitan or Later

You should try each, one at a time, then test to see if the problem is fixed before going on to the next.

Be sure to backup your files before proceeding if possible.

Resetting your Mac’s PRAM and NVRAM
Reset the System Management Controller (SMC)
Start the computer in Safe Mode, then restart normally. This is slower than a standard startup.
Repair the disk by booting the from the Recovery HD. Immediately after the chime hold down the Command and R keys until the Utility Menu appears. Choose Disk Utility and click on the Continue button. Select the indented (usually, Macintosh HD) volumeentry from the side list. Click on the First Aid button in the toolbar. Wait for the Done button to appear. Quit Disk Utility and returnto the Utility Menu. Restart the computer from the Apple Menu.
Create a New User Account Open Users & Groups preferences. Click on the lock icon and enter your Admin password when prompted. On the left under Current User click on the Add [+] button below Login Options. Setup a new Admin user account. Upon completion log out of your current account then log into the new account. If your problems cease, then consider switching to the new account and transferring your files to it - Transferring files from one User Account to another.
Install Combo Updater Download macOS Sierra 10.12.5 Combo Update and install.
Reinstall OS X by booting from the Recovery HD using the Command and R keys. When the Utility Menu appears select Reinstall OS X then click on the Continue button.
Erase and Install OS X Restart the computer. Immediately after the chime hold down the CommandandRkeys until the Apple logo appears. When the Utility Menu appears:

Select Disk Utility from the Utility Menu and click on Continue button.

When Disk Utility loads select the drive (out-dented entry) from the Device list.

Click on the Erase icon in Disk Utility's toolbar. A panel will drop down.

Set the Format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.)

Click on the Apply button, then wait for the Done button to activate and click on it.

Quit Disk Utility and return to the Utility Menu.

Select Reinstall OS X and click on the Continue button.

Reply

Answer 2

ericf2000 Author

Level 1

35 points

Jun 19, 2017 12:31 AM in response to ericf2000

I was able to run a time cache backup from Safe Mode. Then I went back to regular boot and ran EtreCheck. Here is the output:

EtreCheck version: 3.4 (420)

Report generated 2017-06-18 22:50:29

Download EtreCheck from https://etrecheck.com

Runtime: 71:04

Performance: Poor

Click the [Lookup] links for more information from Apple Support Communities.

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

Problem: Computer is too slow

Description:

kernel_task is using 300-600% CPU, making everything else very slow.

Hardware Information: ⓘ

MacBook Pro (13-inch, Early 2011)

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

MacBook Pro - model: MacBookPro8,1

1 2.7 GHz Intel Core i7 (i7-2620M) CPU: 2-core

8 GB RAM Upgradeable - [Instructions]

BANK 0/DIMM0

4 GB DDR3 1333 MHz ok

BANK 1/DIMM0

4 GB DDR3 1333 MHz ok

Bluetooth: Old - Handoff/Airdrop2 not supported

Wireless: en1: 802.11 a/b/g/n

Battery: Health = Check Battery - Cycle count = 100

Disk Information: ⓘ

HGST HTS721010A9E630 disk0: (1 TB) (Rotational)

[Show SMART report]

(disk0s1) <not mounted> [EFI]: 210 MB

(disk0s2) <not mounted> [CoreStorage Container]: 983.35 GB

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

eDrive (disk0s4 - HFS+) <not mounted> : 15.87 GB

MATSHITADVD-R UJ-898 ()

Thunderbolt Information: ⓘ

Apple Inc. thunderbolt_bus

Virtual disks: ⓘ

Macintosh (disk1 - Journaled HFS+) / [Startup]: 982.97 GB (643.88 GB free)

Physical disk: disk0s2 983.35 GB Online

System Software: ⓘ

OS X El Capitan 10.11.6 (15G1510) - Time since boot: less than an hour

Gatekeeper: ⓘ

Mac App Store and identified developers

Kernel Extensions: ⓘ

/System/Library/Extensions

[not loaded] com.seagate.driver.PowSecDriverCore (5.2.4 (26840) - SDK 10.4) [Lookup]

/System/Library/Extensions/Seagate Storage Driver.kext/Contents/PlugIns

[not loaded] com.seagate.driver.PowSecLeafDriver_10_4 (5.2.4 (26840) - SDK 10.4) [Lookup]

[not loaded] com.seagate.driver.PowSecLeafDriver_10_5 (5.2.4 (26840) - SDK 10.5) [Lookup]

[not loaded] com.seagate.driver.SeagateDriveIcons (5.2.4 (26840) - SDK 10.4) [Lookup]

System Launch Agents: ⓘ

[not loaded] 7 Apple tasks

[loaded] 171 Apple tasks

[running] 61 Apple tasks

System Launch Daemons: ⓘ

[not loaded] 45 Apple tasks

[loaded] 159 Apple tasks

[running] 86 Apple tasks

Launch Agents: ⓘ

[loaded] com.google.keystone.agent.plist (Google, Inc. - installed 2017-03-28) [Lookup]

[loaded] com.hp.help.tocgenerator.plist (? 11d191c4 a5335bcc - installed 2011-11-20) [Lookup]

[running] com.micromat.TechToolProAgent.plist (Micromat, Inc. - installed 2017-05-26) [Lookup]

[not loaded] com.oracle.java.Java-Updater.plist (? 0 ? - installed (null)) [Lookup]

[running] net.juniper.pulsetray.plist (? b3b8c25a c7fede9 - installed 2016-05-27) [Lookup]

[loaded] org.freedesktop.dbus-session.plist (? 757820af 7a3c510f - installed 2016-04-24) [Lookup]

Launch Daemons: ⓘ

[loaded] com.adobe.fpsaud.plist (? 2afb3af7 a0305b84 - installed 2017-06-14) [Lookup]

[loaded] com.google.keystone.daemon.plist (Google, Inc. - installed 2017-04-17) [Lookup]

[running] com.jungledisk.service.plist (? d4d0428 34f35b1d - installed 2011-06-03) [Lookup]

[loaded] com.malwarebytes.HelperTool.plist (Malwarebytes Corporation - installed 2016-07-28) [Lookup]

[running] com.micromat.TechToolProDaemon.plist (Micromat, Inc. - installed 2017-05-26) [Lookup]

[loaded] com.microsoft.autoupdate.helper.plist (Microsoft Corporation - installed 2017-04-16) [Lookup]

[loaded] com.microsoft.office.licensing.helper.plist (? 6d8cb30e 8b29c3ef - installed 2012-04-02) [Lookup]

[not loaded] com.oracle.java.Helper-Tool.plist (? 0 ? - installed (null)) [Lookup]

[running] net.juniper.AccessService.plist (? 992eb637 88fef553 - installed 2016-03-09) [Lookup]

[loaded] net.juniper.UninstallPulse.plist (? 495c1065 cc0dbbde - installed 2016-03-09) [Lookup]

[running] net.openvpn.client.plist (? b47026bc c0187a06 - installed 2014-03-03) [Lookup]

[not loaded] org.freedesktop.dbus-system.plist (? e1cd8f49 7a3c510f - installed 2016-04-24) [Lookup]

Internet Plug-ins: ⓘ

FlashPlayer-10.6: 26.0.0.131 (installed 2017-06-16) [Lookup]

QuickTime Plugin: 7.7.3 (installed 2017-05-15)

Flash Player: 26.0.0.131 (installed 2017-06-16) [Lookup]

Default Browser: 601 (installed 2016-09-01)

3rd Party Preference Panes: ⓘ

Flash Player (installed 2017-06-14) [Lookup]

Flip4Mac WMV (installed 2012-05-15) [Lookup]

Paragon NTFS for Mac ® OS X (installed 2013-09-30) [Lookup]

TechTool Protection (installed 2017-05-26) [Lookup]

Time Machine: ⓘ

Skip System Files: NO

Mobile backups: ON

Auto backup: YES

Volumes being backed up:

Macintosh: Disk size: 982.97 GB Disk used: 339.09 GB

Destinations:

Iomega-1TB [Local]

Total size: 1.00 TB

Total number of backups: 47

Oldest backup: 7/8/15, 12:00 PM

Last backup: 6/18/17, 8:22 PM

Size of backup disk: Too small

Backup size 1.00 TB < (Disk used 339.09 GB X 3)

Top Processes by CPU: ⓘ

370% kernel_task

6% ps

3% ScreenSaverEngine

3% system_profiler

2% ps

Top Processes by Memory: ⓘ

659 MB kernel_task

183 MB mds_stores

102 MB iconservicesagent

101 MB WindowServer

94 MB Finder

Top Processes by Energy Use: ⓘ

3.06 mds

1.32 TechToolProDaemon

0.94 mds_stores

0.64 sandboxd

0.46 launchd

Virtual Memory Information: ⓘ

2.34 GB Available RAM

130 MB Free RAM

5.66 GB Used RAM

2.21 GB Cached files

0 B Swap Used

Software installs: ⓘ

TechTool Pro 9: (installed 2017-05-26)

Adobe Flash Player: (installed 2017-06-14)

Adobe Flash Player: (installed 2017-06-16)

Install information may not be complete.

Diagnostics Information: ⓘ

2017-06-18 20:57:32 notifyd Crash [Open]

2017-06-18 19:50:41 mtmfs High CPU use [Open] [Details]

2017-06-18 18:40:49 backupd High CPU use [Open] [Details]

2017-06-18 17:28:13 ??? High CPU use [Open] [Details]

2017-06-17 08:21:10 Safari.app High CPU use [Open] [Details]

2017-06-16 07:00:06 quicklookd.app Crash [Open]

Cause: quicklookd seems struck trying to quit, crashing

abort() called

=========

It looks like my quicklookd is malfunctioning.

Reply

Answer 3

ericf2000 Author

Level 1

35 points

Jun 18, 2017 7:38 PM in response to Kappy

Thanks, booting in Safe Mode seems to stop the kernel_task from doing whatever it was doing, but it starts using a lot of CPU again on a regular boot. I see that this likely means that there is some added startup item that is malfunctioning. Rebuilding the startup disk directory did not solve anything. I will try the rest of the suggestions later after completing a new backup.

Reply

Answer 4

Kappy

Level 10

362,279 points

Jun 20, 2017 9:29 AM in response to ericf2000

OK. First get rid of the Seagate software that you have installed. You don’t need it and it’s a potential problem. Unfortunately, you may need to repartition and reformat the drive to do that.

Uninstall TechTool and all the rest of your third-party stuff such as unneeded HP software, the Juniper software, the free desktop, and OpenVPN. Get rid of Flip4Mac and Paragon NTFS.

Tend to these items in the Diagnostics:

Diagnostics Information:ⓘ

2017-06-18 20:57:32 notifyd Crash [Open]

2017-06-18 19:50:41 mtmfs High CPU use [Open] [Details]

2017-06-18 18:40:49 backupd High CPU use [Open] [Details]

2017-06-18 17:28:13 ??? High CPU use [Open] [Details]

2017-06-17 08:21:10 Safari.app High CPU use [Open] [Details]

2017-06-16 07:00:06 quicklookd.app Crash [Open]

Cause: quicklookd seems stuck trying to quit, crashing

abort() called

Were I you I think I might start from scratch. Then I would carefully reinstall only the third-party software required by your use being sure the versions are all the most recent. See App Compatibility Table - RoaringApps.

You could also try killing quicklookd and see if that solves the problem, but you also might note that it is not the only problem shown above.

Reply

Answer 5

ericf2000 Author

Level 1

35 points

Jun 20, 2017 9:33 AM in response to Kappy

Thanks again for the suggestions. That Seagate software must be left over from a while ago as I don't have a Seagate drive now.

I started trying to delete all the extra software, but it is hard to find everything.

I then decided to start with a new installation of OS X 10.12. The installation process has been running for 12 hours now, so I suspect there is a hardware problem. In fact, I never hear the fans running, so maybe the fans failed and the hardware is slowing everything down to avoid overheating the chips.

++Eric

Reply

Answer 6

snig27

Level 1

14 points

Jul 23, 2017 4:55 AM in response to ericf2000

Sadly, as helpful as many people want to be, there's is nothing much you can do. It's not about extra software or legacy driver entries in the library or anything else, it's a power supply vs. OSX issue that effects a great many machines - these forums and the web are full of it and little works. Apple have finally started to admit there is a problem with their support post but one can only hope it is addressed at some stage urgently. We are dealing with an OSX vs. the hardware compatibility issue. People are getting it on new machines with no added software, and in safe mode. It can be triggered by just about any app including Apple apps - on one machine I have an extension free Safari this is a trigger.

Your only solution is to slowly nurse the machine to health when it happens - kill any video or audio apps, or any tabs running such, kill skype, dropbox and external drives, remove the power supply – and wait. Try and ensure your machine is in a very chilled room.

Sorry not to be more positive.

Reply