Mac OS - Check task status with Activity Monitor

Mac OS - Check task status with Activity Monitor

Problem

A Mac user is experiencing some problems with system that are general or specific to an application being used and wish to provide technical information to help with a support query.


Applies to

  1. Mac OS

Resolution

Common scenarios in which this information is most helpful:
  1. When a Mac becomes particularly slow.
  2. When a Mac system appears to become excessively warm or fan noise is high.

Preparation

  1. Plug in your MacBook if possible, on mains the processor will run at its best.
  2. Then start up and open applications, web pages etc that represent a typical working load.

Method 1 - Launch using Finder

  1. Click Finder icon on the dock.
  2. Then click Go menu and then Applications.
  3. In the new window double click Utilities and then double click Activity Monitor.
  4. Then click the second column header from the left %CPU so as to bring the task using most CPU power to the top of the list. You may then wish to take a photo or screenshot to capture the result.

Method 2 - Launch using spolight

  1. Press COMMAND+SPACE to open Spotlight search, then enter “Activity Monitor” without the quotes and click it in the results to run it.
  2. Then click the second column header from the left %CPU so as to bring the task using most CPU power to the top of the list. You may then wish to take a photo or screenshot to capture the result.

Locate relevant information

Provinding information using some of the below methods can highlight problems your system may be having. 

  1. To see which process is requiring the most processor activitry click CPU tab then click % CPU until you see the list ordereed in descending order from highest to lowest processor usage.  Very high percentages may indicate an application that is experiencing problemss such as a hang or crash.
  2. To check memory usage by application click the Memory tab then click Memory column until you see apps memory usage in descending order with most at the top.
  3. If there is a specific application or process you want to check statistics for click search and enter the app or process name.

Report using screenshot

To capture the result from Activity Monitor please see: Taking a screenshot.

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