System Memory Alert

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My MacBook Pro randomly seems to hog application memory even when only the Finder is running. A restart solves the problem temporarily. I regularly repair permissions and use CleanMyMac software and remove duplicate files. At one point this software, indicated I needed to repair the disk by booting with a key held down (cannot remember which one) and then running Disk Utility to repair it. I did this and the problem was temporarily fixed but now it has reared its ugly head again. I have already replaced the hard drive once and would prefer not doing that again.

Any suggestions for identifying the problem and fixing it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Mike
 
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First, what Mac OS are you using?

Secondly, what is the exact model of your MacBook Pro? Also, how much memory do you have?

Third, are you making backups to an external device?

Fourth, how much free space is left on your internal drive?

Now, for using Disk Utility to repair your internal drive, as long as you are using OS 10.7 or above, there is a hidden Recovery partition on your internal drive from where you would run Disk Utility to do the repair. This link describes how to boot to that partition, and what can be done from there:

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201314

One other thing: get rid of CleanMyMac! That software can cause more harm than good. As it is, you are doing some useful maintenance on your drive. You should also clean off anything you do not need. You should also consider using the excellent third party, free software called Onyx. That venerable product has been around for a long time, and it is rock solid. The version you need to obtain depends on which OS you are using. This link shows what versions are available (and you can download the applicable version directly form there):

http://www.titanium.free.fr/onyx.html

Additionally, if you have a "standard" hard drive (ie, not an SSD), it helps to optimize the drive, both at the Volume and Partition levels. I'm not sure if Disk Utility can do that efficiently. I have the excellent third party disk maintenance/repair software called TechTool Pro, and two of its useful features is Volume Optimization and File Optimization. I haver SSDs in each of my Macs, so Volume Optimization does not apply.

Finally, check your StartUp Items folders. There could be some software that starts up when you boot your machine which you do not need to run.
 
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First, what Mac OS are you using?

Secondly, what is the exact model of your MacBook Pro? Also, how much memory do you have?

Third, are you making backups to an external device?

Fourth, how much free space is left on your internal drive?

Now, for using Disk Utility to repair your internal drive, as long as you are using OS 10.7 or above, there is a hidden Recovery partition on your internal drive from where you would run Disk Utility to do the repair. This link describes how to boot to that partition, and what can be done from there:

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201314

One other thing: get rid of CleanMyMac! That software can cause more harm than good. As it is, you are doing some useful maintenance on your drive. You should also clean off anything you do not need. You should also consider using the excellent third party, free software called Onyx. That venerable product has been around for a long time, and it is rock solid. The version you need to obtain depends on which OS you are using. This link shows what versions are available (and you can download the applicable version directly form there):

http://www.titanium.free.fr/onyx.html

Additionally, if you have a "standard" hard drive (ie, not an SSD), it helps to optimize the drive, both at the Volume and Partition levels. I'm not sure if Disk Utility can do that efficiently. I have the excellent third party disk maintenance/repair software called TechTool Pro, and two of its useful features is Volume Optimization and File Optimization. I haver SSDs in each of my Macs, so Volume Optimization does not apply.

Finally, check your StartUp Items folders. There could be some software that starts up when you boot your machine which you do not need to run.
 
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Thanks for your response. I am running 10.9.5. The specs on the computer are as follows:
MacBook Pro
13-inch, Late 2011
2.4 GHz Intel Core i5
16 GB 1333 MHz DDR3
I have around 500 GB of memory left. I do backup regularly to an external drive using Time Machine and have rebooted in R mode and run Disk Utility. I downloaded and ran Onyx and things have sped up quite a bit. The Startup Items folder has something called Phantom in it but nothing else.

Mike
 
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Thanks for the reply.

I don't know what Phantom is, nor what it does. I also do not have it on either of my machines. So, unless you have a specific need for it, I would get rid of that software. Or, if you can, at least remove it from your Startup items folder.

Also, glad that Onyx made things better. And, excellent that you are backing up regularly to an external device. You might want to consider doing the cleanup "chores" on a more frequent basis. For example, in addition to doing daily cleanup on my machines, I also run through a weekly disk cleanup/maintenance/repair procedure, and backing up via SuperDuper! to two external devices for each of my Macs. Keeping my machines "lean and clean" definitely helps in avoiding issues.
 
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