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GizmoDVD

macrumors 68030
Original poster
Oct 11, 2008
2,597
5,001
SoCal
Sigh.

I installed a 128GB SSD drive into my Mini (along with the original base 500GB), and i've had a few instances of the computer just choking. I have the activity monitor open and have plenty of ram available (16GB installed).

Is it possible something went wrong during the install of the SSD? I can't understand why a 2012 Mini would freeze up after 5 minutes of playing Bejeweled 3 (from steam) on the middle setting.

I installed iStats menu and all 4 CPUs are to the max.
 
Last edited:

borostef

macrumors 6502
Feb 10, 2012
333
41
Zagreb, Croatia
Look at the activity monitor CPU column, maybe even take a screenshot and post it here so we can see what is using your CPU... Remember to change the option in the drop down menu at the top of the activity monitor from My Processes to All Processes...
It really should not be chocking like that... Not with the specs you have...
 

GizmoDVD

macrumors 68030
Original poster
Oct 11, 2008
2,597
5,001
SoCal
I'll upload a pic shortly. Looks like something called "kernel_task" is taking up anywhere from 275-310%.
 

Treq

macrumors 6502a
Apr 23, 2009
963
1,496
Santa Monica, CA
I've played that game on my late 2011 MBP 15" w/12GB ram, and was surprised how it made the fans crank up. Felt like the thing might take off. I mean, it's just Bejeweled! It's not like I'm trying to play COD, or Guild Wars 2 with max settings...
 

GizmoDVD

macrumors 68030
Original poster
Oct 11, 2008
2,597
5,001
SoCal
But i dont hear or see (the lid is off) the fans even going...Is there an app to make the fans work?

While playing Bewjewled, I watched and the kernel_task just kept rising and rising.
 

borostef

macrumors 6502
Feb 10, 2012
333
41
Zagreb, Croatia
Do you have encryption enabled? Filevault or something else? Third party antivirus? These things can cause this. It can also be a background defragmentation process.
 

Treq

macrumors 6502a
Apr 23, 2009
963
1,496
Santa Monica, CA
But i dont hear or see (the lid is off) the fans even going...Is there an app to make the fans work?

While playing Bewjewled, I watched and the kernel_task just kept rising and rising.

The fans should always be going. You might have unplugged the fan when installing the ssd.
 

GizmoDVD

macrumors 68030
Original poster
Oct 11, 2008
2,597
5,001
SoCal
Do you have encryption enabled? Filevault or something else? Third party antivirus? These things can cause this. It can also be a background defragmentation process.

Nope, not that I'm aware of. I popped the top off and double-checked to make sure the fan was connected and heard a 'click' and the fan clicked on. That may have solved my problem. Played more Bejeweled 3 and it didn't start freezing.

I did install Live Wallpaper (again, which I had problems with before) and that appears to be working. Still a wee bit sluggish....

Anything else I can do to see if this problem is really fixed? It would be a pain in the ass to return.
 

borostef

macrumors 6502
Feb 10, 2012
333
41
Zagreb, Croatia
If your fan wasn't working your Mini would overheat and possibly slow down and eventually shut down to prevent further damage, but that still does not explain the kernel task CPU usage, I looked at mine and it is at 3,9 percent...
Maybe you should stop playing Bejeweled ;)
 
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