Problem
A Mac user is experiencing problems with one or more applications on their computer that appear to have hung, are slow or crash.
Applies to
- Mac OS
Resolution
One may use Activity Monitor application to see what applications and tasks are curently running and monitor their activity.
- Plug in your MacBook if possible, on mains the processor will run at its best.
- Then start up and open applications, web pages etc that represent a typical working load.
Method 1 - Using the dock
In the dock highlight Activity Monitor in the dock then click once to launch it.
Method 2 - Open using Finder
- Click Finder icon on the dock.
- Then click Go menu and then Applications.
- In the new window double click Utilities and then double click Activity Monitor.
- 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 3 - Open using spolight search
- Press COMMAND+SPACE to open Spotlight search, then enter “Activity Monitor” without the quotes and click it in the results to run it.
- 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.
Provinding information using some of the below methods can highlight problems your system may be having.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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