kernel_task is occasionally eating all memory, why?

Discussion in 'Mac Basics and Help' started by LoveDager, Jan 23, 2015.

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  1. LoveDager, Jan 23, 2015

    LoveDager macrumors newbie

    Joined:
    Jan 23, 2015
    #1
    Hi!

    Suddenly but now occasionally kernel_task uses around 1GB of memory, CPU seems normal (3%) but total virtual memory is at extreme 34GB!

    This leads to my MBP Retina 15" being super slow and sometimes freezing completely for a bunch of seconds.

    Can I fix this?
     

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  2. Weaselboy, Jan 23, 2015

    Weaselboy Moderator

    Weaselboy

    Staff Member

    Joined:
    Jan 23, 2005
    Location:
    California
    #2
    Looks like you have a Chrome tab there running 46% of a CPU and a ton of Chrome tabs open. What if you reboot and don't use Chrome, but use Safari instead for a while. Does the problem still exist then?
     
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  3. grahamperrin, Jan 23, 2015

    grahamperrin macrumors 601

    grahamperrin

    Joined:
    Jun 8, 2007
    #3
    kernel_task (probably not a problem); sysdiagnose

    On a system with 8 GB, use of 1 GB by kernel_task is not, in itself, a concern.

    (Here at the time of writing, the measurements are 3.89 GB (5.84 GB real memory) – screenshot attached. For my use case, it's expected.)

    Is the drive for the startup volume hard disk, solid state or hybrid?

    What size is that volume, and how much space is free?

    Technical

    For methodical diagnosis of the cause of a freeze, I would begin with the key chord for sysdiagnose at the time of the freeze.

    In Ask Different: Apple sysdiagnose
     

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