Super slow macbook pro

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I have had my macbook pro for about a year now and over the last month or slow it has started to run extremely slow and have an excessively high RAM usage whilst not doing any particular tasks. I am an Industrial Design student so use a lot of intense software like the CS5 package and also run CAD software through bootcamp so having a slow mac is a massive effort for me.

It is a pretty high spec model with the i7 processor and 4gb of RAM so im not sure how i only have 500mb free when running reeder, ical, evernote, wunderlist, last.fm and itunes

ive taken the list below - is there anything strange in there?


Active Memory: 2.09 GB
Free Memory: 115.4 MB
Wired Memory: 872.7 MB
Used Memory: 3.88 GB
Inactive Memory: 967.7 MB
Total VM: 259.62 GB
Number of processes: 129

PID Process Name User CPU Real Mem Virtual Mem
0 kernel_task root 4.2 405.6 MB 4.87 GB
1 launchd root 0.0 1.7 MB 2.40 GB
10 kextd root 0.0 6.2 MB 2.39 GB
11 UserEventAgent root 0.0 8.6 MB 2.42 GB
12 notifyd root 0.0 1.5 MB 2.36 GB
13 mDNSResponder _mdnsrespo 0.0 5.7 MB 2.42 GB
14 opendirectoryd root 0.0 10.8 MB 2.41 GB
15 diskarbitrationd root 0.0 2.3 MB 2.39 GB
16 configd root 0.0 5.4 MB 2.42 GB
17 fseventsd root 0.1 7.6 MB 2.42 GB
18 syslogd root 0.0 1.0 MB 2.40 GB
20 powerd root 0.0 2.6 MB 2.41 GB
21 distnoted root 0.0 2.3 MB 2.39 GB
31 blued root 0.0 4.1 MB 2.41 GB
33 securityd root 0.0 5.5 MB 2.41 GB
51 coreservicesd root 0.0 29.0 MB 2.44 GB
62 awacsd root 0.0 15.0 MB 2.41 GB
64 ntpd root 0.0 1.4 MB 2.32 GB
66 warmd nobody 0.0 5.4 MB 2.40 GB
67 usbmuxd _usbmuxd 0.0 3.7 MB 2.40 GB
69 special_file_handler root 0.0 1.7 MB 2.36 GB
70 SystemStarter root 0.0 1.1 MB 2.38 GB
72 stackshot root 0.0 1.3 MB 2.38 GB
74 revisiond root 0.0 2.8 MB 2.39 GB
79 mtmfs root 0.0 6.5 MB 2.42 GB
80 mtmd root 0.0 7.7 MB 2.41 GB
81 mds root 0.1 55.0 MB 2.88 GB
83 loginwindow robbye91 0.0 28.6 MB 2.49 GB
85 KernelEventAgent root 0.0 1.1 MB 2.36 GB
86 kdc root 0.0 3.0 MB 2.39 GB
88 hidd root 1.3 2.2 MB 2.39 GB
90 dynamic_pager root 0.0 728 KB 2.32 GB
96 autofsd root 0.0 1.9 MB 2.39 GB
98 applepushserviced root 0.0 7.6 MB 2.41 GB
99 aosnotifyd root 0.0 7.8 MB 2.41 GB
100 socketfilterfw root 0.0 5.7 MB 2.41 GB
101 SophosAntiVirus root 0.0 2.1 MB 654.5 MB
102 InterCheck root 7.8 156.6 MB 783.0 MB
103 SophosAutoUpdate root 0.0 5.9 MB 676.1 MB
119 WindowServer _windowser 5.3 89.3 MB 3.28 GB
131 netbiosd _netbios 0.0 3.3 MB 2.40 GB
134 racoon root 0.0 2.3 MB 2.38 GB
136 CVMServer root 0.0 1.0 MB 2.33 GB
150 logind root 0.0 1.8 MB 2.38 GB
168 coreaudiod _coreaudio 0.0 11.0 MB 2.40 GB
190 launchd robbye91 0.0 1.4 MB 2.40 GB
220 UserEventAgent robbye91 0.0 24.1 MB 2.41 GB
222 distnoted robbye91 0.0 5.8 MB 2.40 GB
226 pboard robbye91 0.0 1.0 MB 2.32 GB
227 talagent robbye91 0.0 18.2 MB 2.43 GB
228 Dock robbye91 0.0 40.0 MB 2.45 GB
231 SystemUIServer robbye91 0.0 51.0 MB 2.50 GB
233 Finder robbye91 0.0 61.6 MB 2.49 GB
238 fontd robbye91 0.0 8.2 MB 2.44 GB
241 PhotoStreamAgent robbye91 0.0 24.7 MB 2.42 GB
242 warmd_agent robbye91 0.0 2.0 MB 2.38 GB
243 ubd robbye91 0.0 22.4 MB 2.42 GB
248 imagent robbye91 0.0 10.4 MB 2.41 GB
253 PenTabletDriver robbye91 0.0 25.7 MB 2.46 GB
254 Logitech Control Center D robbye91 0.0 8.1 MB 901.6 MB
264 BambooCore robbye91 0.0 3.7 MB 695.0 MB
265 SophosUIServer robbye91 0.0 8.4 MB 720.5 MB
267 com.apple.dock.extra robbye91 0.0 28.5 MB 2.44 GB
268 Growl robbye91 0.0 43.4 MB 2.45 GB
270 MobileMouseServer robbye91 0.0 24.3 MB 2.44 GB
272 EvernoteHelper robbye91 0.0 4.1 MB 695.4 MB
273 Quicksilver robbye91 0.0 48.4 MB 754.8 MB
274 Canon IJ Network Scanner robbye91 0.0 7.5 MB 708.9 MB
275 Xmarks for Safari robbye91 0.0 51.1 MB 742.6 MB
276 BetterSnapTool robbye91 0.0 21.5 MB 2.44 GB
277 Clippy robbye91 0.1 25.9 MB 2.45 GB
278 Last.fm robbye91 0.8 32.7 MB 823.5 MB
309 GrowlTunes robbye91 0.0 25.4 MB 2.44 GB
312 Dropbox robbye91 0.1 35.4 MB 747.1 MB
313 appleprofilepolicyd root 0.0 756 KB 2.32 GB
328 ConsumerTouchDriver robbye91 0.0 14.6 MB 2.42 GB
331 TabletDriver robbye91 0.0 13.5 MB 2.43 GB
346 dbfseventsd root 0.0 404 KB 582.7 MB
347 dbfseventsd root 0.0 4.3 MB 590.7 MB
348 dbfseventsd robbye91 0.0 172 KB 582.7 MB
364 iTunes robbye91 0.9 177.5 MB 2.67 GB
367 filecoordinationd root 0.0 2.0 MB 2.38 GB
383 AppleSpell.service robbye91 0.0 5.2 MB 2.41 GB
397 iTunes Helper robbye91 0.0 9.4 MB 2.39 GB
402 AppleMobileDeviceHelper robbye91 0.0 8.2 MB 675.2 MB
404 VTDecoderXPCService robbye91 0.0 11.1 MB 2.38 GB
1576 ath robbye91 0.0 3.4 MB 2.41 GB
1578 launchd _spotlight 0.0 648 KB 2.35 GB
1581 distnoted _spotlight 0.0 1.4 MB 2.39 GB
1589 Google Chrome robbye91 1.4 128.9 MB 1.04 GB
1591 Mail robbye91 0.0 137.9 MB 3.58 GB
1592 Reeder robbye91 0.0 78.4 MB 3.53 GB
1593 Skype robbye91 0.1 53.8 MB 929.1 MB
1594 Address Book robbye91 0.0 45.7 MB 2.47 GB
1600 ocspd root 0.0 3.9 MB 2.41 GB
1603 Google Chrome Worker robbye91 0.0 44.9 MB 857.8 MB
1605 cookied robbye91 0.0 1.5 MB 2.39 GB
1611 Google Chrome Worker robbye91 0.0 24.9 MB 806.9 MB
1612 Google Chrome Worker robbye91 0.2 26.6 MB 807.2 MB
1613 Google Chrome Worker robbye91 0.0 23.1 MB 805.2 MB
1614 Google Chrome Worker robbye91 0.0 27.2 MB 844.3 MB
1615 Google Chrome Worker robbye91 0.0 23.0 MB 805.4 MB
1616 Google Chrome Worker robbye91 0.0 22.2 MB 805.8 MB
1617 Google Chrome Worker robbye91 0.0 25.4 MB 840.4 MB
1618 Google Chrome Worker robbye91 0.0 28.7 MB 811.2 MB
1643 Google Chrome Renderer robbye91 0.1 71.2 MB 893.7 MB
1644 Google Chrome Renderer robbye91 0.0 31.8 MB 854.6 MB
1650 Java Applet Plug-in (Chro robbye91 0.1 21.3 MB 1.30 GB
1653 rcd robbye91 0.0 12.0 MB 2.43 GB
1654 Evernote robbye91 0.0 28.8 MB 799.7 MB
1655 Wunderlist robbye91 0.1 11.9 MB 753.8 MB
1657 VDCAssistant root 0.0 3.6 MB 2.39 GB
1673 Java Applet - weblearn.br robbye91 0.1 44.2 MB 2.91 GB
1675 mdworker _spotlight 0.0 13.6 MB 2.42 GB
1696 mdworker robbye91 0.6 45.6 MB 2.43 GB
1702 Activity Monitor robbye91 8.7 56.6 MB 2.52 GB
1705 activitymonitord root 2.4 1.4 MB 2.33 GB
1710 Shockwave Flash (Chrome P robbye91 0.1 33.8 MB 877.0 MB
1724 MemoryFreer robbye91 0.0 12.8 MB 759.4 MB
1798 DashboardClient robbye91 1.1 85.3 MB 3.55 GB
1799 DashboardClient robbye91 0.0 5.5 MB 714.0 MB
1843 Google Chrome Renderer robbye91 0.7 71.4 MB 878.5 MB
1969 Disk Utility robbye91 0.8 41.8 MB 2.48 GB
1973 diskmanagementd root 0.0 3.1 MB 2.41 GB
1977 CVMCompiler robbye91 0.0 16.3 MB 2.34 GB
1993 repair_packages root 2.7 69.0 MB 2.44 GB
2184 automountd root 0.0 2.2 MB 2.37 GB
2188 mDNSResponderHelper root 0.0 1.2 MB 2.35 GB
2195 launchdadd root 0.0 1.7 MB 2.35 GB
 
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Welcome to the forums ....

First thing to notice is that you are very very low on free memory, so I guess your system is swapping like mad.

Instead of asking us to run through that list of processes, a print screen of activity monitor is much easier ... a picture speaks a thousand words.
Don't forget to select " All processes " in the upper right hand corner of Activity Monitor, and sort on CPU usage.

It would be beneficial to tell us how much free disk space you have as well.

You could create a baseline for yourself by simply rebooting and immediately go to Activity Monitor and take a snapshot, so you know all the processes that are running as soon as you boot your machine.

Cheers ... McBie
 
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Took a few print screens but they are all there! seems to be a lot running. i have over 250gb of space free on the HDD so cant see that a massive issue

Screen Shot 2012-01-30 at 17.05.07.png

Screen Shot 2012-01-30 at 17.05.19.png

Screen Shot 2012-01-30 at 17.05.29.png
 
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Do you really need all that stuff running on your machine ?

I would reboot, look at Activity Monitor and create a baseline, then decide if each of those processes is really required. Only you can judge that.

Cheers ... McBie
 

pigoo3

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Ooh boy...quite a bit going on there!;)

- Nick
 

pbw


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You had 115 + 967 available.

All of those little "extras" suck up memory and cpu. Get back to basics. If you insist on having reeder and wunderlist and evernote and dropbox and ... and ... you should probably get another 4 gigs for your pro. Nowadays, applications treat memory as though it's an inexhaustible resource.

You don't say how much swap space our system was using.
 
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MBPro+Retina, 2.3 GHz i7, 8GB RAM, 250 GB SolidStateHD, OS X MtnLion; AND a 2nd MBPro, iPhone 4S
Same problem (super slow MBPro), different symptoms

John here...
(4 yr old MBPro, 2.4 GHz Dual core, 4GB RAM, 200 GB HDD, Brand new motherboard and video card, Lion Mac OS X 10.7.4 (11E53))

1... I boot up
2... Have over 60 GB of HDD FREE (approx 1/3 of HDD)
3... I can hear the hard disk arm moving (seeking different sectors) like crazy
4... Activity Monitor shows "Swap Used" is 0 GB (shortly after boot)
5... ALL INTERACTION WITH THE SYSTEM IS EXTREMELY SLOW
6... As time goes by:
- disk activity continues
- "Swap Used" grows to 59 GB!
- iCal Helper consumes 2.74 GB of "real memory" (a.k.a. RAM) ! per Activity Mon.
- CPU usage is low, between 10-15%
- Key processes running: SystemUIServer, WindowServer, iCal Helper, ActivityMonitord
7... EVENTUALLY (like over night), the HDD fills up (a pop up then displays "Your Mac OSX startup disk has no more space available... bla bla bla")
8... iStats monitor shows HDD is now almost full (approx 96% of the 200GB)
9... I can't do another thing so I loop back to step #1 above...


After rebooting, the HDD again shows it is 1/3 free, with 60+ GB available.

My Theory:
I believe there may be error logs (?) or some other type of temporary file(s) being written after each re-boot. They fill up the HDD... and when I re-boot the next time, they disappear.


My Plea:
Help me figure this out. It's killing me... my laptop is unusable.

A... are there specific logs I can examine to see why they are filling up over a period of 5-6 hours?
B... does iCal Helper have a memory leak that chews up Real memory and Swap space?
C... am I missing something else that's plain as day to this forum's participants?

Hey, thanks for taking time to scan this issue.

John in Denver :Angry:
 
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Will try tomorrow, thx.
 
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Dear IanCT,

You asked above: "Have you tried this solution posted on the Apple board?
https://discussions.apple.com/message/7322496#7322496"

RESULTS:
I tried the suggested process (from D. Hoffmann dated May 27, 2008) that includes 9 steps, with these results:

1. I Exported all my calendars, no problems
2. I Restarted my MBP, no problems
3. **I did not find ANY files named "com.apple.ical" in "Macintosh HD/Library/Preferences/
4. **I did not find ANY folder named "com.apple.ical" in "Macintosh HD/Library/Caches/
5. **I did not find ANY folder named "iCal" in "Macintosh HD/Library/ApplicationSupport/
6. I launched iCal and found all my existing Calendars (no surprise)
7. I abandoned steps 7-9


NEW THEORY
The Apple company re-architected and re-wrote iCal since this 9-step process was invented (circa 2008)... thus, no files and folders are available in the locations mentioned... hence the process does not apply to my version of iCal:

- Version 5.0.3 (1605.3)

What do you theorize is the reason I can not find the files/folders mentioned?

NEXT THEORY
If I DELETE all my calendars in iCal... then RE-IMPORT them from my previous Exports... it may have the same effect as the 9-step process from 2008. OR, do you think there's a better theory/strategy based on the new iCal design?

Thanks for your help so far. (I'm learning quite a bit about Mac OS X design and tools.)

John in Denver :Angry:
 

Slydude

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I have the same version of iCal that you do. The only thing that I do not have is the one that is supposed to be in the Application Support folder. That may be because I dumped a bunch of ancient data from my Calendars recently.

If you are looking in the path that is written in your posts you are looking in the wrong place. The directions in that article have you look in the Library folder that is inside your user folder. Your post suggests you are looking in the Library folder at the root of your hard drive.

The individual LIbrary folder you are looking for is inside your user folder. In Lion this folder is hidden by default. Get to it by doing the following

1, From the Finder Go menu choose Go to Finder.
2. Then type ~/Library/
 
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Sly,
Thanks for guidance on locating the proper ~/Library/...

I, like you, had no ApplicationSupport folder named iCal, but did delete the other recommended files/folders. BUT, when I launched iCal in step 6, my calendars (5 in all) were still present and Home and Work cals were not present.

So, since my 5 had been exported, I deleted them all and added cals: Work and Home.

I created and appointment with an alert... but no alert popped up when it should have. Then I created an appointment on my iPhone and set an alert, and no alert happened.

Am frustrated and think I would like to Uninstall and Re-Install iCal. Is that easy to do? Can it be done through the Mac App Store? (That would be nice...) Or from my Lion CD?

Background
A week or so a go, in an attempt to improve performance, I ran a utility (SpeedUp My MAC?) that may have removed needed files for iCal. (??) I would like to simply uninstall and reinstall iCal... then Import my 5 Calendars and trust that the iCal Helper issue is resolved in the process.

You can probably tell, I'm a PC guy with fairly limited Mac/Unix *systems experience*. I can do the easy stuff but need a little guidance on how to proceed if it gets a too technical...

I really appreciate the Forum guidance so far.

Thanks,
John in Denver
 
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Ok Sly and others...
After a reboot, I am more optimistic... alerts are coming through on my iPhone and Mac, as expected.

Please don't spend time on this issue until you hear from me again... the problem may be resolved/resolving!

Oh, and after reboot, iCal Helper did not go crazy (per Activity Monitor), as it has for the last few weeks or so.

John in Denver
 

Slydude

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iCal drives me nuts at times as well - particularly with iCloud. I went through a period during the MobileMe - iCloud transition where I literally could not complete the transition.

I always make entries on my iPad during the day and relied on oCloud to push changes to the Mac. Finally that stopped working on the iPad. I hardy ever opened iCal on the Mac. I did one day only to discover that entries had not changed in months. After a call to Apple it turned out that there were entries there transferred from my Palm Centro going back four or more years. Once I cleared that junk the problems went away.
 
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Well, am holding my breath... all calendar entries seem to be sync'ed on both Mac and iPhone. Alerts are alerting and iCal Helper is behaving.

Will look tomoro and see if everything is still rosy. Thanks to Sly and Ian for nudging this OSX noob in the right direction.

John in Denver :Happy:
 

Slydude

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Glad things seem to be working out OK.
 

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