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Runaway virtual memory?
- Thread starter generik
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Has there been much noticeable slow down? Is the Mac freezing or doing anything weird like that? What devices are connected?
What's so abnormal about those VM figures? They're all similar to those of the computer I'm currently working on (Dual 1GHz G4/1.75GB RAM) 
.:*Robot Boy*:. said:What's so abnormal about those VM figures? They're all similar to those of the computer I'm currently working on (Dual 1GHz G4/1.75GB RAM)
They're pretty high considering the uptime plus it seems weird that there are no page outs at all.
My kernel_task is taking about 750MB as we speak. It controls the mounted and attached devices among other things such as the very basics of the system so it makes sense for it to use up a substantial amount of memory, virtual or otherwise.
I don't see anything abnormal. I don't understand why people are acting like this is unusual.
Mine looks similar, but I haven't restarted in two weeks:
![vm.png]()
If you want to see something abnormal, look at how much real memory GLterm and Safari are taking. That's what happens when programs with memory leaks are used for several days. I'm sick of dealing with buggy software.
As for page outs, if you restarted recently and haven't used up all available memory, chances are there's not going to be any.
Mine looks similar, but I haven't restarted in two weeks:
If you want to see something abnormal, look at how much real memory GLterm and Safari are taking. That's what happens when programs with memory leaks are used for several days. I'm sick of dealing with buggy software.
As for page outs, if you restarted recently and haven't used up all available memory, chances are there's not going to be any.
generik said:Why is mine so big?
The amusing thing is they are all page ins but none of them are page outs!
First, active program size in memory is relative to the amount of free physical memory you have. You have a lot RAM space therefore the OS can put more of the program into RAM without having to swap. Try to open some very large video or audio files and see what happens then.
superbovine said:
Hmm... you are right, it does seem normal.
It kinda rises to the 9GB+ point and just stays put there. However I think this can be kinda harsh to portable computers, that's almost.. 10% of your harddrive sunk right there.
As long as you dont have page outs, dont worry about this. Page outs mean that your system has too little REAL ram to do everything you want it to do, and is swapping files to the HDD and back, which will slow down your system considerably.......