Activity Monitor looks weird

Activity Monitor on my friend's MacBook isn't displaying right. The graph for "show cpu history" looks like it's cut in half with a white line of pixils. Weird. Any ideas? (The dock icon looks like that – with the line – too.
(I don't think I can add attachments, but here's a screenshot.)
http://accordionnoir.org/drupal/files/pictures/Activity%20Monitor%20Screen%202.j pg

Great news!
Still haven't seen that on the 8 Core Mac Pros!

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Does my activity monitor look ok?

I was just wondering if anything looks suspicious to you guys as i don't know what to look out for when on Actvity Monitor. I am really paranoid about threats and viruses etc...
Thanks.

-Matt wrote:
I. I am really paranoid about threats and viruses etc...
Thanks.
There are no virus that affect Mac OS X
Stedman

Airport Express made monitor look weird?

I was trying to install a new Airport Express yesterday. At some point in the process, all my system colors changed: first they all had an overlay of deep green, then grey (with a return to a very old wallpaper which has never been used on the current machine), then back to deep green, over everything. I checked all the monitor profiles and so on, and then did a Time Machine restore from before I had installed the Airport Express software, but nothing worked. The Airport Express itself was plugged into an electric plug; it was sitting close to the monitor but NOT plugged into the computer or the modem, and Wi-Fi was not on. But when I unplugged the Airport Express from the electric plug, suddenly my display was back to normal. Before I try this again, does anyone have an explanation or suggestions?

Your AirPort Express Base Station, like any wireless router, is a source of RF energy, albeit a very small amount. Nonetheless, your monitor may be susceptible to any nearby RF source ... especially if it is an older CRT (TV) vs. an LCD (Flat Panel).

MacPro Quad Core 32g Ram running slow Logic using only 9g in Activity Monitor

Well its taken a while, but this is my first foray into the world of forums! I'm so hacked off with this regular problem and havent been able to find anything anywhere to solve it i thought i'd see if anyone has any similiar issues and maybe even a solve to it.
So.... im an orchestrator and producer and after my mid 2008 Macbook Pro with 8g ram started freezing up i invested in this 3 years ago -
Mac Pro 2x 2.4ghz Quad Core intel Xeon and stuck in 32gb of lovely Crucial RAM and 3 seperate internal 1TB drives with one for operating system (10.6.8), one for Audio recording/saving and one for all my sample libraries.
32gb ram - should be enough i thought!
So i regularly run at least 30 VI's - Ni The giant, Spitfire Orchestral librabies (say 12 string instruments up to 0.69g per load) LASS strings, plus perc STYLUS, ABBEY road drums, Trillian basses (acoustic/electric), ominisphere etc etc. So pretty hefty sample instruments. But theyre sooo nice!!
In addition, the 32 bit server will come alive (NOT! So unstable i find) with my Waves plugs etc.
Looking at ACTIVITY MONITOR however i might be not touching 9 gig (and sometimes even less) of usage for Logic, and only say 800MB for 32 bit server and have NOTHING else open - and what do i find .....
- Mouse lag and cant really do anything with the mouse whilst playing the track - cant adjust volume - too slow, zooming problems
- Takes a good 2-3 seconds for track to stop playing
Dont get System OVERLOADS so much, its just that the system goes REALLLLLY slow.
What ive tried- - -
- Running Mountain Lion off another drive (havent had time to install it and wanted to be sure everything worked etc)
- Tried all audio prefs - large/small buffers/threads etc and yes i am on 1024.
in a nutshell how come with 32g RAM everything is so slow when barely using 10g of that???????
I dread getting to the end of a project cos i know im gonna be freezing so much, but with so much editing all the time for the orchestral parts i need everything unfrozen and working.
Sorry if this is long winded but wanted to describe what im experiencing.
Any feedback most welcome! Thankyou in advance.
Mac Pro 2x 2.4ghz Quad Core intel Xeon 32g RAM, 3TB storage
10.6.8
Logic Pro 9.1.8

Hi
A few thoughts:
julian6400 wrote:
In addition, the 32 bit server will come alive (NOT! So unstable i find) with my Waves plugs etc.
The 32bit server is a pita: Waves v9 are 64bit compatible (they run fine). 32 bit VI's can be run outside Logic using Vienna Ensemble Pro (see later)
julian6400 wrote:
So i regularly run at least 30 VI's - Ni The giant, Spitfire Orchestral librabies (say 12 string instruments up to 0.69g per load) LASS strings, plus perc STYLUS, ABBEY road drums, Trillian basses (acoustic/electric), ominisphere etc etc. So pretty hefty sample instruments. But theyre sooo nice!!
Some of these VI's are extremely CPU hungry: Abbey Rd drums for example, really do hammer the CPU. What does Logic's Performance meter show in the way of CPU load. What does Activity Monitor show regarding CPU load?
With 32G of RAM, this should not be the issue, but you might have general CPU problems (see above), and you may also have Sample disk streaming limitations if all the Loibraries you mention are on the same drive. How does Activity Monitor look regarding disk access? You might find it helpful to add a second drive and split the sample libraries across 2 for faster disk access.
I presume that you have plenty of free space on the System drive?
Logic can get sluggish if the Undo info gets way too big, and also if there are loads of regions in the Arrange: check Options:Project Information.
Many are finding some benefits (me included) by running the VI's in Vienna Ensemble Pro:
Better CPU load distribution than directly in Logic
"Persistant Samples": they can remain loaded whilst you switch Logic Projects
Logic is effectively running much less itself, so generally flies.
32bit Plugs hosted separately in VEP so no 32bit Bridge issues in Logic
Something to consider,though perhaps not yet, would be setting up a Slave computer using VEP.
CCT

I looked at system.log in the system profiler today and see lots of activity at 2 a.m. when I was fast asleep, should I worry? It seems to reset hostname and mentions frequent transitions for interface, looks weird to me (I'm not a teckie!)

I looked at system.log in the system profiler today and see lots of activity at 2 a.m. when I was fast asleep, should I worry? It seems to reset hostname and mentions frequent transitions for interface, looks weird to me (I'm not a teckie!)
This is a section:
May 12 02:05:10 wendy-drapers-macbook configd[14]: setting hostname to "wendy-drapers-macbook.local"
May 12 02:05:29 wendy-drapers-macbook kernel[0]: Auth result for: 00:26:44:14:17:a3 MAC AUTH succeeded
May 12 02:05:29 wendy-drapers-macbook kernel[0]: AirPort: Link Up on en1
May 12 02:05:29 wendy-drapers-macbook mDNSResponder[16]: Note: Frequent transitions for interface en1 (192.168.1.92); network traffic reduction measures in effect
May 12 02:05:29 macbook configd[14]: setting hostname to "macbook.lan"
May 12 02:05:31 macbook mDNSResponder[16]: Note: Frequent transitions for interface en1 (FE80:0000:0000:0000:021E:C2FF:FEB3:1A3E); network traffic reduction measures in effect
May 12 02:05:34 macbook com.apple.launchd[1] (org.samba.nmbd): Throttling respawn: Will start in 5 seconds

I've been seeing messages exactly like that (and many, many other kinds) in the Console since the first version of OS X. They look menacing but are harmless.
You don't need any kind of security software.
Just surf the web carefully, pay attention to where you're going and don't install anything that you don't recognize. If you are asked to enter an admin user name and password, DON'T. Unless you know for sure that you initiated the installation from a known and reliable source (like Apple).
Mac malware relies on social engineering. No amount of security/anti-virus, blah, blah, blah software is going to help.

Catalyst: Mouse Pointer looks weird on one monitor

Hi, i just installed a fresh Arch system (2.6.35-ARCH) and I'm using Xorg (1.9.0) together with the AUR-package "catalyst-test". Now when i start up a desktop environment (i tryd twm and openbox), my mouse pointer looks weird on my right monitor but normal on my left, which is my primary.
Right Monitor (the square on the left is my mouse pointer)
When i tryd to make a screenshot of the problem the image just showed me the mouse pointer as its supposed to be, so i had to make this picture with a camera. The mouse pointer is fully functional just its look is broken. I never had this bug before when using the same hardware together with Arch. When I changed my xorg.conf so that my right monitor is the primary one, the mouse pointer looks weird on the left but is okay on the right.
xorg.conf:
Section "ServerLayout"
Identifier "aticonfig Layout"
Screen 0 "aticonfig-Screen[0]-0" 0 0
Screen "aticonfig-Screen[0]-1" RightOf "aticonfig-Screen[0]-0"
EndSection
Section "Module"
EndSection
Section "ServerFlags"
Option "Xinerama" "on"
EndSection
Section "Monitor"
Identifier "aticonfig-Monitor[0]-0"
Option "VendorName" "ATI Proprietary Driver"
Option "ModelName" "Generic Autodetecting Monitor"
Option "DPMS" "true"
EndSection
Section "Monitor"
Identifier "aticonfig-Monitor[0]-1"
Option "VendorName" "ATI Proprietary Driver"
Option "ModelName" "Generic Autodetecting Monitor"
Option "DPMS" "true"
EndSection
Section "Device"
Identifier "aticonfig-Device[0]-0"
Driver "fglrx"
Option "DesktopSetup" "horizontal"
Option "Capabilities" "0x00000800"
BusID "PCI:1:0:0"
EndSection
Section "Device"
Identifier "aticonfig-Device[0]-1"
Driver "fglrx"
BusID "PCI:1:0:0"
Screen 1
EndSection
Section "Screen"
Identifier "aticonfig-Screen[0]-0"
Device "aticonfig-Device[0]-0"
Monitor "aticonfig-Monitor[0]-0"
DefaultDepth 24
SubSection "Display"
Viewport 0 0
Depth 24
Modes "1600x1200"
EndSubSection
EndSection
Section "Screen"
Identifier "aticonfig-Screen[0]-1"
Device "aticonfig-Device[0]-1"
Monitor "aticonfig-Monitor[0]-1"
DefaultDepth 24
SubSection "Display"
Viewport 0 0
Depth 24
Modes "1600x1200"
EndSubSection
EndSection
Last edited by aXyde (2010-10-10 18:34:37)

Radioactiveman wrote:Please inform yourself before writing these comments.
Catalyst-test is compatible with xorg-server 1.9, otherwise there would be just a blank screen ...
I'll keep that in mind, thanx for your helpul comment.

Weird - Activity Monitor Network Traffic vs iStat Traffic

With no applications running on my MacBook Pro, the Network tab of the Activity monitor is showing 'Data received/sec" toggling every second or so between 1.38 KB/s and 2.75 KB/s. It's showing the same numbers for 'Data sent/sec' as well. I can't figure out what is causing this network traffic. But if it's real, it's adding up to about 5 GB a month of bandwidth usage. My cap is only 60 GB so it's significant.
But when I use iStat or the Net Monitor app to monitor throughput, they show 0.0 traffic when the system is idle. Also, since last night Activity Monitor shows 322 MB data received and 99 MB data sent. While iStat shows 239 MB received and 16 MB sent.
So which is correct? Does Activity Monitor also include traffic that is internal to my network? Or do I have a phantom bandwidth hog somewhere?
Thanks for any insight to the weirdness.
Jim

The switches at home and at work generally corroborate the activity shown by tcpdump / atMonitor / MenuMeters, not the continuous data flow shown by Activity Monitor. The MacBook Air I'm sitting at right now shows similar discrepancies, with traffic totals in Activity Monitor about 40x higher than those shown with the other tools and a steady and inexplicable (and by other means invisible) 29-34 KB/sec of both sent & received traffic. tcpdump shows periods of network silence between 2-15 seconds in length (in between DNS lookups; netbios syncs; ntp queries; ipp messages; http, pop, and imap messages; etc. happening in bursts as one would expect).
Changing Activity Monitor to refresh every half second shows the mystery traffic as a burst of 112 KB sent & received every two seconds--and no, that's not the same throughput as the 29-34 KB seen at 2-second refresh intervals. When I set refresh to every 5 seconds, the mystery throughput drops to 22 KB / sec. As the throughput varies depending on refresh interval, I wonder if I'm seeing internal loopback queries (or something of that sort) contributing to the totals. Is it possible that the mystery traffic is of AM's own creation, and only exists within the machine and is not actually sent on the network?
Lest we digress further into general network troubleshooting techniques, let me restate the question, perhaps a bit more clearly: has anyone else seen this traffic-volume discrepancy between the Activity Monitor's Network tab and other network monitoring tools, and does anyone have an explanation for it?

There is nothing in my utilities folder i am looking for activity monitor can someone advisce me please

there is nothing in my utilities folder a s i am looking for my activity monitor to see why my trash it is not working i am trying to delete files from copy but cannot i need help asap

donna maree wrote:
i am a new mac user so i am very frustrated i find it is not user friendly........
Once you sort this out, see these (I'm assuming you've had a windoze machine before):
Switching from Windows to Mac OS X,
Basic Tutorials on using a Mac,
Mac OS X keyboard shortcuts,
Anatomy of a Mac,
MacTips,
Switching to Mac Superguide, and
Switching to the Mac: The Missing Manual, Mountain Lion Edition.
Additionally, *Texas Mac Man* recommends:
Quick Assist,
Welcome to the Switch To A Mac Guides,
Take Control E-books, and
A guide for switching to a Mac.

Do I have some "weird programs" on my activity monitor?

A computer technician came to my place to fix my friend's computer (PC), and he needed a working computer to download some drivers. So I let him use my iMac (under my surveillance). Then he opened the activity monitor to examine "what kind of things are running hidden in the background." After examining all the processes in a couple of minutes, he said that there are some "weird programs" slowing down my mac and "causing crashes." He said that my Mac needs a defragmenting to "zap all the confused processes." He then tried to charge me $100 for the task, saying Apple stores will charge me even more. Do I really need to perform this? Here are the screenshots of my activity monitor:

Well, again, I don't know about everything that is showing, but I can tell you for certain the the ones labeled "Photo Stream" and "Notification Center" are not....
I think you have been buffaloed....do not let this person near your Mac again....are you running a Windows partition on your Mac? If not, then everything he is telling you is unmitigated bull...
Defragging, Viruses....these are Windoze terms and issues...not Macs.
And BTW - he is going to charge you $100 to mess up your Mac, but he says Apple Stores are going to charge even more? NOT - Apple Stores do not do repairs. For any price.
Cheers,
GB

There ' is a panel that sayscopy' preparing to duplicate to "desktop". I clicked stop three days and it still trying to stop. Tried to 'force quit' does not show up, looked in activity monitor but i am not sure how it is listed. I am new to the mac world.

there is panel in the upper right corner of my screen that says 'copy' preparing to duplicate to "desktop". I clicked stop three days ago and it is still trying to stop. Tried to 'force quit' does not show up in finder, looked in activity monitor but i am not sure how it is listed. I am new to the mac world.

Force quit/Restart the Finder.
Then for safety...
Bootup holding CMD+r, or the Option/alt key to boot from the Restore partition & use Disk Utility from there to Repair the Disk, then Repair Permissions.

Monitor has weird, pixelated colors, but external monitor looks fine

I have a MacBook Pro. It is a couple of years old. Recently the monitor started fritzing out. At first it would happen only happen when I ran windows through boot camp. A couple of days later, it began happening in os x too.The screen seems to be operating on a reduced amount of colors, a preponderance of green and everything is pixelated. There are blobby shaped circles of rainbow all over the desktop. Windows on top of the desktop look better, but still way too green and pixelated. All parts of the screen are equally bad. I tried changing all the settings in display. Also ran disc utility. The display on the external monitor looks fine. Any ideas on how I can fix this?

Some MBP have bad nVidea graphics chips that can do wheat you describe, except it usually affects an external monitor as well. It's covered by a warranty extension program here:
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2377

Weird Slow Perf. - Activity Monitor - Dock Problem

I have a Powerbook G4 that's been running insanely slow. I went through the troubleshooting steps to fix this, and opened the Activity Monitor to see what's been sucking up all the processing power on the CPU. To my surprise, the Dock application is using 60 to 80% of my CPU at any given time. I know Mac doesn't get viruses, but... is this a virus?

Not in my experience. However, if the Dock is showing a lot of activity, then I suspect that you're running widgets. Click on the Dashboard icon and turn them off (easiest way is to open the Activity Monitor, select the Dock, and quit it).

Hello I am getting some nasty popups on safari. looks like malware. virtually all menus on safari are frozen out. Search with firefox and followed some directions to use the activity monitor to force quit these processes and it was no use.

malware on safari. tried activity monitor > force quit but they just popped back up. Please help.

wow thanks holding down the shift key worked. Is there anything else I should do know?
The problem wasn't in quitting safari but everyone time I opened it, that crap would pop up. Should I be able to use it now without holding down shift?

Can someone give me an Activity Monitor checkup?

I'd love to send a screenshot of all the info in Activity Monitor to someone who really knows what their doing, so they can give it a look over and let me know if there are any weird processes or memory hogs and how I can remove them permanently if necessary or advisable. Any ideas?

some more good info here and [here|http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2488963&tstart=0].

Activity Monitor Indicates 16+TB Memory Usage !

Has anyone ever seen an application's memory usage displayed in the Activity Monitor as 'Terabytes?' I recently noticed that Photoshop CS3 was using [get this] '16,777,216.00TB' of Real Memory. I spoke with both Adobe & Apple, and neither has any reports of anything like this. Weird!

Did restart, but haven't had a chance to run PS yet. I did repair permissions via Disk Utility and there were quite a few corrections. Whether that had anything to do with it remains to be seen. I did read once that incorrect permissions [set incorrectly by installers] can cause a host of application-related issues [such as app crashes and the inability to launch them]. Other app memory usage looks normal.

Activity Monitor looks weird

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