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You are here: MacNN Forums > Software - Troubleshooting and Discussion > macOS > CRAZY launch agents killing my laptop

CRAZY launch agents killing my laptop
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kevs
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Jun 10, 2019, 08:37 PM
 
May Mabook Air is dying of slowness. According to Etrecheck is becuase of something I haver not clue about so poting here:

LAUCH AGENTS: TONS OF THEM.. Someone here had me delete a find or something prefence on that I think but has not helped one iota.

One is even an app I deleted from the computer to get rid of Office 2011, still says issue.

The computer is becoming unusable so if someone can help would be great. I'm on Mac, 20, years, I have not a clue what this is about. Here is a master screenshot of it all. Thanks
screenshot
https://imgur.com/ELJnsOu

Everything on laptop is on desktop and desktop has no issues, both just upgraded to Mojave
     
Spheric Harlot
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Jun 11, 2019, 08:29 AM
 
Those Launch Services look totally normal, and there really isn't that many of them. It doesn't look like any of them is an issue.

The Microsoft Office error literally says that it can't find the Microsoft Office program referenced. This is not an issue.

That said, there is obviously an issue here, and it shows in the fact that your kernel_task is going crazy. This task, the kernel, is the operating system itself.

I'd guess that you have some kernel extension installed that isn't properly Mojave-compatible and needs updating.
     
kevs  (op)
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Jun 11, 2019, 11:12 AM
 
S, so all those red markers don't worry about? But Etre Check said performance Poor, and those are the red marks. But you say don't worry? I actually deleted Office 2001 to get of that red mark and still comes up!


Kernal task at 200% and 400% -- but why does not activity monitor say what causing it.

I just updated to Mojave last week, but that kernal stuff was issue pre- Mojave. So what is it? Thanks.
     
Spheric Harlot
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Jun 11, 2019, 06:06 PM
 
I don’t know, but it’s none of the Launch Daemons. Those all have their own process that shows up in the process list.

Stuff that is loaded into the kernel and causes the kernel_task to go haywire are kernel extensions and, I believe, frameworks.

What kernel extensions do you have installed?
     
Spheric Harlot
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Jun 11, 2019, 06:10 PM
 
If you aren’t using SteerMouse, I’d start by checking if there is still a kernel extension installed. If you’re not using it, chances are you haven’t updated it in a long time if it’s still installed, and if it’s old, it will probably cause problems.
     
kevs  (op)
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Jun 11, 2019, 08:17 PM
 
S. I don't know anything about Kernals, sorry. I do use Steermouse.
     
Spheric Harlot
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Jun 12, 2019, 03:52 AM
 
Is the steerMouse Software up to date?
     
ghporter
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Jun 12, 2019, 11:43 AM
 
And... Have you turned your laptop OFF and then restarted it recently? That is seriously a first step to figuring out what's going on.

If, after a cold restart (not "Restart" but off and then started again), you still see lots of weirdness, there's a big problem. If not, it's likely more of a glitch than anything else.

Further, if your laptop runs fine for a while and then starts giving you issues, that would support the idea that there's a glitch with one program or another that's messing with the OS.

Glenn -----OTR/L, MOT, Tx
     
kevs  (op)
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Jun 12, 2019, 02:45 PM
 
Steermouse is up to date.

The laptop is AOK now. Why is goes bananas every couple of weeks and hits the 300 400% kernal, I have no idea.

I do notice the fan is loud when watching video. That is a big part of the laptop, later in the day for an hour I use it as the main TV (catching up on news pre- recordered stuff from the kitchen) That does seem to be when this happens.
     
reader50
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Jun 13, 2019, 02:42 PM
 
The next time it goes crazy, click Activity Monitor over to Memory and give us a picture. If you're running out of RAM, that will force disk paging and delays. If you're running low on disk space too, that will really cause slowdowns.

You can find your MS Office Launch agents in one of these folders:

MacHD/Library/LaunchAgents/
MacHD/Library/LaunchDaemons/
(your user folder)/Library/LaunchAgents/

Look for a file with microsoft (or office) in the name, like com.microsoft.screwuser.plist

Move such files to the Trash (you'll need to authenticate for the first two locations) and reboot. Beware that Mojave may try to make a copy instead of moving. Either hold the command key while dragging, or right-click -> Move to Trash.

After rebooting, the unneeded launch agents will be gone. You can then empty the Trash if desired.
     
kevs  (op)
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Jun 14, 2019, 04:19 PM
 
thanks Reader, before deleting those things, can deleting any of them cause havoc?
     
reader50
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Jun 14, 2019, 06:34 PM
 
The core OS is in MacHD/System/Library/ <--- it is dangerous to delete stuff from here

MacHD/Library/ is for Application-related files, and user extensions, etc. As is the Library folder in your user folder.

Deleting things from either Library may cause a 3rd party app to lose some functionality. Like stop auto-updating. Or stop a scanner app from responding to pressing the buttons on front of the scanner. But in general, they won't make the OS go crazy.
     
kevs  (op)
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Jun 17, 2019, 05:24 PM
 
Thanks Reader, great worked! No more red marks Etra check. Streemouse, not working, but I look into that now...
     
Spheric Harlot
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Jun 18, 2019, 02:36 PM
 
I'm seeing real problems with MASSIVE CPU usage by kernel_task onstage, while running MainStage — which is fairly catastrophic in the middle of a live show, as it leads to crackles and dropouts.

I've scoured the web and figured out why it's doing that:

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT207359

So it's a feature that kicks in when the machine runs too hot, designed to have the kernel "fake" usage to hog the processor and block other apps from pushing it too hard and running into the thermal constraints of the machine.

Okay. I need to figure out a way to properly cool the machine on stage, without allowing all the pyro dust to blow into the keyboard…
     
reader50
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Jun 18, 2019, 06:20 PM
 
Interesting. I'd never heard of that before.
     
   
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