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8gig RAM MBA 2012 starting to run out of app memory

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dominicdiep

macrumors member
Original poster
Jun 11, 2012
99
0
:( I don't understand why I'm starting to get this recently, considering that the programs I've been using mainly consisting of just Chrome, Safari, Finder and iTunes! I've checked Activity Monitor and something is definitely up. How can I run of memory with just a few programs open with 8gigs of ram to spare? Someone explain please
 
dominicdiep said:
:( I don't understand why I'm starting to get this recently, considering that the programs I've been using mainly consisting of just Chrome, Safari, Finder and iTunes! I've checked Activity Monitor and something is definitely up. How can I run of memory with just a few programs open with 8gigs of ram to spare? Someone explain please
Click to expand...
What do you mean, you've "run out of memory"? My guess is you're misinterpreting your System Memory readings. Add Free and Inactive memory together to determine what's available for apps to use.
  1. Launch Activity Monitor
  2. Change "My Processes" at the top to "All Processes"
  3. Click on the CPU column heading once or twice, so the arrow points downward (highest values on top).
  4. Click on the System Memory tab at the bottom.
  5. Take a screen shot of the entire Activity Monitor window, then scroll down to see the rest of the list, take another screen shot
  6. Post your screenshots.
 
simsaladimbamba said:
Open Activity Monitor and go to the System Memory* tab and look for Page Outs and Swap used and report back.
Can you make a screenshot of Activity Monitor (SHOW ALL PROCESSES and sorted by REAL MEM and with the SYSTEM MEMORY tab visible) and attach it to your next post?
Click to expand...

Sorry for the late reply. My MacBook just did it again and when it does the whole computer becomes unresponsive and I have to cold boot it.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/80954133@N08/7755761748/
 
Go to Terminal and type in 'purge' (without the quotations). This should free up unused memory. Your computer will become unresponsive for 20-30 seconds. Post screenshot after doing so
 
dominicdiep said:
Sorry for the late reply. My MacBook just did it again and when it does the whole computer becomes unresponsive and I have to cold boot it.
Click to expand...
Restart your computer, then follow the instructions in my earlier post to take a new screen shot and post it. Don't skip any steps.
youse123 said:
Go to Terminal and type in 'purge' (without the quotations). This should free up unused memory.
Click to expand...
That is not necessary. Inactive RAM is available for use, just like free memory, except it has an added advantage. Purging removes that advantage.
 
GGJstudios said:
Restart your computer, then follow the instructions in my earlier post to take a new screen shot and post it. Don't skip any steps.

That is not necessary. Inactive RAM is available for use, just like free memory, except it has an added advantage. Purging removes that advantage.
Click to expand...

here you go, thanks
 

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GGJstudios said:
You're no where near running out of memory. Just relax and enjoy your Mac. Mac OS X will manage memory quite well without you doing anything.
Click to expand...

This is straight after restarting my computer, like you said before. In about a couple of hours use it will happen again. Did you want me to take screenshots when it's about to run out of memory after opening basic apps?
 
dominicdiep said:
This is straight after restarting my computer, like you said before. In about a couple of hours use it will happen again. Did you want me to take screenshots when it's about to run out of memory after opening basic apps?
Click to expand...
Please do.
 
dominicdiep said:
After just 14 minutes of use...

Safari web content? i only have facebook and reddit open... :confused:
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You still have no page outs, which means you haven't maxed out your memory. However, you are using Flash, which is notorious for high resource usage. For Flash-related issues:
  • Find your Flash version and make sure it's the latest version available. Never install or update Flash from a pop-up on a website. Always go to Adobe's site to get Flash or updates.
  • Install ClickToFlash (Safari), Flashblock (Firefox) or FlashBlock (Chrome) to control which Flash content plays on websites.
  • Try using the YouTube HTML5 Video Player to watch YouTube videos, when available. (May impact fullscreen viewing. See link for details.) Some have reported better performance with HTML5, while some have reported worse. Try it and find out what works best for you.
 
GGJstudios said:
You still have no page outs, which means you haven't maxed out your memory. However, you are using Flash, which is notorious for high resource usage. For Flash-related issues:
  • Find your Flash version and make sure it's the latest version available. Never install or update Flash from a pop-up on a website. Always go to Adobe's site to get Flash or updates.
  • Install ClickToFlash (Safari), Flashblock (Firefox) or FlashBlock (Chrome) to control which Flash content plays on websites.
  • Try using the YouTube HTML5 Video Player to watch YouTube videos, when available. (May impact fullscreen viewing. See link for details.) Some have reported better performance with HTML5, while some have reported worse. Try it and find out what works best for you.
Click to expand...

Think I've found the problem after looking at this https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1387267/. Seems like AdBlock is causing a memory leak in Safari. Just uninstalled it now and with Fb and Reddit open, Safari Web Content is only using around 100mb now :)
 
GGJstudios said:
What exactly is that advantage? I used to run into this all the time on my 27" iMac and it is extremely frustrating getting that response. Having 12GB RAM with Wired + Active totaling almost 4GB, Inactive totaling 8GB and a 40MB green sliver of Free RAM my computer would come screeching to a halt. As I open new web pages or programs I would stare at the spinwheel for 30+ seconds before anything would happen! When I had a lot of Free RAM the iMac was always so snappy.

Anyway, being told by Apple Geniuses and other bloggers that all is well and I just don't understand how OS X utilizes RAM didn't change the fact that that my Mac was crawling.
Click to expand...
 
heyadol said:
What exactly is that advantage?
Click to expand...

Mac OS X: Reading system memory usage in Activity Monitor
This information is in RAM but it is not actively being used, it was recently used.

For example, if you've been using Mail and then quit it, the RAM that Mail was using is marked as Inactive memory. Inactive memory is available for use by another application, just like Free memory. However, if you open Mail before its Inactive memory is used by a different application, Mail will open quicker because its Inactive memory is converted to Active memory, instead of loading it from the slower drive.
Click to expand...

heyadol said:
Anyway, being told by Apple Geniuses and other bloggers that all is well and I just don't understand how OS X utilizes RAM didn't change the fact that that my Mac was crawling.
Click to expand...
There are other factors other than memory issues that can cause poor performance.
 
GGJstudios said:
Mac OS X: Reading system memory usage in Activity Monitor



There are other factors other than memory issues that can cause poor performance.
Click to expand...

I suppose you are right, I was probably pointing fingers at RAM since "Used" total was usually about 0.1GB away from my actual total and CPU usage was typically 45% or less. Anyway, the OP seems satisfied so I will thank you for your feedback and the Apple support article. I shouldn't jump into someone else's post for and make it about me. :eek:
 
dominicdiep said:
Sorry for the late reply. My MacBook just did it again and when it does the whole computer becomes unresponsive and I have to cold boot it.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/80954133@N08/7755761748/
Click to expand...
Ah the famous Safari web content aka Safari + Flash. Safari is a very buggy and memory intensive webbrowser, especially when using Flash. It causes it to use enormous amounts of memory and make the cpu go crazy at times. I've had that very same issue and resolved it by simply stop using Safari all together (I wasn't running any extensions!). Opera, Chrome and Firefox are much better browsers that don't have this problem. It is best to use any one of these. Updating to the latest Safari and Flash version does not seem to resolve the memory issue.

Running purge and rebooting the machine will not resolve this problem. After running Safari for a few hours (say listening/looking at some playlist at YouTube) will cause it to use 4+ GB of memory like in your screenshot. If you must use Safari than regularly close it and restart it. You may need to do this after 2 or 3 vids even.
 
confirmed from me as well, use clicktoflash to control the flash settings and you're good to go.

Another way is to quit safari (as in command-Q instead of pressing the red button on the top left side). That should free up all memories hogged by flash.
 
dominicdiep said:
After just 14 minutes of use...

Safari web content? i only have facebook and reddit open... :confused:
Click to expand...

This is probably from Adobe Flash.

----------
dominicdiep said:
Think I've found the problem after looking at this https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1387267/. Seems like AdBlock is causing a memory leak in Safari. Just uninstalled it now and with Fb and Reddit open, Safari Web Content is only using around 100mb now :)
Click to expand...

I noticed this as well, although not lately. The memory overhead with adblock when visiting sites that contain a lot of links, javascript, and ads is huge.
 
OS X is meant to utilize every bit of ram it can get it's hands on. This is a good thing. Why have ram sitting there not being utilized. You're not paging out thats the main thing.
 
Isn't the 260 GB virtual memory file a little alarming? With a 128 GB SSD (as stated in the OPs specs), where does that even reside?

Another question: should the OP be using Safari if this is happening? Would Chrome prevent this, or is it just Flash that is causing this?
 
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