Investigating Kernal & Memory use

[moey2k2001]

Hello

I am trying to figure out what programs I can "shut down" and get rid of when the Mac starts up.
I realised at times the Mac obviously takes longer to start which is due to a lot of stuff starting up.

I am reinstalling in the next few days a complete new OS on the system and removing any apps that tale unnecessary space since I use the Mac to for only live performances I tend to want to switch all apps, startup and internet-linked apps off.

What is the best way to find out what the system really needs?
Or How do I find out what all the items, files are that start up/show up in the activity monitor?

I would like to simply "trim" the Mac down to have and startup with only the necessary items.
In reality, all I need is Safari, Calendar, Traktor, Machine, TextEdit.

Everything else is obsolete such as Notification Center, Dashboard and almost 98% of all Apps.


Thank you.
Much appreciated.

 

[StellarVixen]

What is that is making you problems? What takes so much resources, so that you want to shut it down?

If you wish to disable the login items, go to the System Preferences --> Users & Groups --> Login Items, and there click on what you do not want to be run at startup, and then click on the minus sign below to remove it from the list.

Some programs will run at the startup, but they will not show up here. There are several ways to disable such programs, but for now, try this.

 

[Weaselboy]

Or How do I find out what all the items, files are that start up/show up in the activity monitor?

Etrecheck

Run Etrecheck once and it will create a report showing all launch and startup items, then you look over the list and decide what you don't need.

A lot of things showing in Activity Monitor are part of the OS though, and you won't be able to stop them running.

 

[HDFan]

I am reinstalling in the next few days a complete new OS on the system and removing any apps that tale unnecessary space since I use the Mac to for only live performances I tend to want to switch all apps, startup and internet-linked apps off.

If preserving your apps/data is not a concern and you are doing a reinstall do a fresh/clean install. Use the apple boot options/tools to wipe your boot disk and do the install. That's going to be pretty much the minimum unless you want to spend a lot of time figuring out which Apple processes are not necessary for your workflow and are safe to be stopped/removed. That's a challenging task even for experts and is highly not recommended.

Then add programs as you need them.

Run Etrecheck once

Run just after the install and save the report. Now you have a baseline as you add additional software.

 

[moey2k2001]

If preserving your apps/data is not a concern and you are doing a reinstall do a fresh/clean install. Use the apple boot options/tools to wipe your boot disk and do the install. That's going to be pretty much the minimum unless you want to spend a lot of time figuring out which Apple processes are not necessary for your workflow and are safe to be stopped/removed. That's a challenging task even for experts and is highly not recommended.

Then add programs as you need them.


Run just after the install and save the report. Now you have a baseline as you add additional software.

I ran the Macbook Air using Command (⌘)-R
I did a complete wipe using the disk utility and then fresh install.
Even after a fresh install my Mac is not working as smooth as it should.

The CPU load is high in the skies when I use it.
No unnecessary apps at start up and no softwares to start with except Traktor DJ.
When I was doing with (a fresh install) I had audio drop outs.
Activity monitor showed all bar FULL in overload.


Google search shows that I am not the only one with the issue but no one seems to know the issue cause and solution.
Here's the checkup after quitting Traktor. Oh by the way, my fans are always running on max I realised. AND all of that so sudden, no change to my usual routine.

EtreCheck version: 4.3.6 (4D041)

Report generated: 2018-08-26 17:22:49

Download EtreCheck from https://etrecheck.com

Runtime: 4:56

Performance: Good


Problem: Other problem


Major Issues:

Anything that appears on this list needs immediate attention.


No Time Machine backup - Time Machine backup not found.


Minor Issues:

These issues do not need immediate attention but they may indicate future problems.


32-bit Apps - This machine has 32-bits apps that may have problems in the future.


Hardware Information:

MacBook Air (11-inch, Early 2015)

MacBook Air Model: MacBookAir7,1

1 2,2 GHz Intel Core i7 (i7-5650U) CPU: 2-core

8 GB RAM - Not upgradeable

BANK 0/DIMM0 - 4 GB DDR3 1600 ok

BANK 1/DIMM0 - 4 GB DDR3 1600 ok

Battery: Health = Normal - Cycle count = 217


Video Information:

Intel HD Graphics 6000 - VRAM: 1536 MB

Color LCD 1366 x 768


Drives:

disk0 - APPLE SSD SD0256F 251.00 GB (Solid State - TRIM: Yes)

Internal PCI 5.0 GT/s x2 Serial ATA

disk0s1 - EFI [EFI] 210 MB

disk0s2 - Macintosh HD [Core Storage Container] 250.14 GB

disk1 - Macintosh HD (Journaled HFS+) 249.77 GB

disk0s3 - Recovery HD [Recovery] 650 MB


Mounted Volumes:

disk1 - Macintosh HD 249.77 GB (65.14 GB free)

Journaled HFS+

Mount point: /


Network:

Interface en0: Wi-Fi

802.11 a/b/g/n/ac

One IPv4 address

Interface en2: Bluetooth PAN

Interface bridge0: Thunderbolt Bridge


System Software:

OS X El Capitan 10.11.6 (15G31)

Time since boot: About a day

System Load: 1.74 (1 min ago) 1.87 (5 min ago) 1.92 (15 min ago)


Security:

System Status
Gatekeeper Mac App Store and identified developers
System Integrity Protection Enabled

32-bit Applications:

4 32-bit apps


System Launch Agents:

[Not Loaded] 6 Apple tasks
[Loaded] 159 Apple tasks
[Running] 73 Apple tasks

System Launch Daemons:

[Not Loaded] 46 Apple tasks
[Loaded] 156 Apple tasks
[Running] 88 Apple tasks
[Other] One Apple task

Launch Daemons:

[Loaded] com.native-instruments.NativeAccess.Helper2.plist (Native Instruments GmbH - installed 2018-08-25)
[Loaded] com.bombich.ccchelper.plist (Bombich Software, Inc. - installed 2018-08-25)

User Login Items:

NIHardwareAgent Application (Native Instruments GmbH - installed 2018-08-25)

(/Library/Application Support/Native Instruments/Hardware/NIHardwareAgent.app)


Internet Plug-ins:

Default Browser: (installed 2016-07-09)

QuickTime Plugin: (installed 2016-07-09)


Time Machine:

Time Machine Not Configured!


Top Processes by CPU:

Process (count) Source % of CPU Location
WindowServer Apple 7
kernel_task Apple 2
sysmond Apple 1
Activity Monitor Apple 1
com.apple.WebKit.WebContent (9) Apple 1

Top Processes by Memory:

Process (count) Source RAM usage Location
com.apple.WebKit.WebContent (10) Apple 1.42 GB
kernel_task Apple 773 MB
mdworker (7) Apple 75 MB
iconservicesagent (2) Apple 68 MB
Safari Apple 60 MB

Top Processes by Energy Use:

Process (count) Source Energy (0-100) Location
Activity Monitor Apple 8
com.apple.WebKit.WebContent (10) Apple 7
WindowServer Apple 5
Safari Apple 1
hidd Apple 1

Virtual Memory Information:

Available RAM 4.33 GB
Free RAM 2.39 GB
Used RAM 3.67 GB
Cached files 1.94 GB
Swap Used 642 MB

Software Installs (past 30 days):

Name Version Install Date
Service Center 2.6.0.137 2018-08-25
Traktor 2 2.11.3 17 2018-08-25

Diagnostics Information (past 7 days):

2018-08-25 15:11:59 Finder.app Crash

/System/Library/CoreServices/Finder.app

objc_msgSend() selector name: retain


2018-08-25 13:43:41 ServiceCenter.app Crash (3 times)

/Applications/Native Instruments/Service Center/ServiceCenter.app



End of report

[doublepost=1535297466][/doublepost]

Etrecheck

Run Etrecheck once and it will create a report showing all launch and startup items, then you look over the list and decide what you don't need.

A lot of things showing in Activity Monitor are part of the OS though, and you won't be able to stop them running.

Thanks. Trying to figure out if all the things are necessary. In general I would love to keep the apps to as minimum as it can get and delete all stuff I don't need. 98% of the apps I do not even use that are on my Mac...

 

[Weaselboy]

Thanks. Trying to figure out if all the things are necessary. In general I would love to keep the apps to as minimum as it can get and delete all stuff I don't need. 98% of the apps I do not even use that are on my Mac...

Just as a test, hold the shift key at boot to start in safe mode. That stops all launch and startup items from running. Does that fix the issue? If it does, that tells you it is one of the launch items in the report causing this.

 

[moey2k2001]

Just as a test, hold the shift key at boot to start in safe mode. That stops all launch and startup items from running. Does that fix the issue? If it does, that tells you it is one of the launch items in the report causing this.

I did a reset on NVRAM & SMC... But didn't help.
In safe mode I am limited with the functionality so I am a little baffled as to how to find out.
The fans still seem to spin in safe mode but since the software's capabilities are not 100% there I cannot be certain.

I can try it again in 45 minutes. I am doin a Sierra update. Maybe it is a software OS issue? But if it is, why now and not 6 months ago?

Maybe some censor or sort of chip is damaged and is giving off wrong readinga to the OS/Kernal?

I am really not sure. The mac is in perfect shape but if I cannot fix it in the next few hours I will just go buy a new one as I got a few performances coming up and don't have much time to cope with that.

Does anyone know if it is a common thing/problem?
Google shows up tons of Kernal panic / CPU High Usage issues... and apparently Apple never fixed it.

 

[moey2k2001]

I don't think the issue is solved.
Even in safe mode and an OS update to Sierra...

Fans are spinning at full speed.
No software is running except Traktor and Activity monitor. The activity level is so high...

attached are a few screenshots seconds or minutes away from each other...

 

[Weaselboy]

I don't think the issue is solved.
Even in safe mode and an OS update to Sierra...

If you are in safe mode, why is Traktor running? The idea is to use safe mode with nothing else running to see if that fixes it.

 

[moey2k2001]

If you are in safe mode, why is Traktor running? The idea is to use safe mode with nothing else running to see if that fixes it.

I tried running the software to see what impact it would have. Nevertheless, even when its not running the Mac seems to be having issues. So nothing really changed.

 

[HDFan]

Nevertheless, even when its not running the Mac seems to be having issues.

So what are the issues that you have after a complete wipe, reinstall, and safe mode boot running no programs?

When activity monitor settles down to a consistent list of processes that would be useful to see those that are using a lot of cpu.

The Traktor not responding could be caused by a disk problem, or other bus issues. Have you run Disk Utility on your disk? Do you have any other devices connected? If so disconnect them and see if that makes a difference.

 

[moey2k2001]

CPU load is very high and I get audio drop out. I tried disconnecting all ports. The load is „slightly“ less but I still get audio drop outs.

The fans are ALWAYS spinning non stop.

 

[HDFan]

CPU load is very high and I get audio drop out. I tried disconnecting all ports. The load is „slightly“ less but I still get audio drop outs.

So with no programs running in safe mode, what are the processes that are consistently consuming the cpu?

The audio drop outs are on the mac's internal speakers?

 

[moey2k2001]

So with no programs running in safe mode, what are the processes that are consistently consuming the cpu?

The audio drop outs are on the mac's internal speakers?

well technically the drop outs are from the mac yes. a sound card was used but even after unplugging the usb sound card and using the aux out, it had drop outs because of overload of the cpu.

mainly the kernel is at large. all four bars from activity monitor were maxed out.
everything seems to be slower as if my machine is suddenly 10 years old lol

moving my finger on the mouse pad, the reaction time is like delayed 5 seconds later. sometimes it works, but mostly not.

check out these videos

normally it would take less than a minute to load....

 

[HDFan]

a sound card was used but even after unplugging the usb sound card and using the aux out, it had drop outs because of overload of the cpu.

An external device is an additional level of complexity. Let's just deal with the internal speakers, no external peripherals - NOTHING CONNECTED.

what are the processes that are consistently consuming the cpu?

With NO programs running, Activity Monitor/Cpu/Sort by CPU %. Then sort by CPU time. We need to find out what process(es) are causing the problem.

How large your disk is 250 GB, 64 GB free?