Out of system memory

dick.feldman Said:

"Out of system memory: I keep getting a warning that I am out of system memory and am prompted to force quit applications. But when I look on Activity Monitor, it says memory is 70% idle. What's up? I'm on a Mac Mini with 8 GB of memory running Big Sur."

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Force Quit, then Reboot:

Something is consuming too much system resources. So...

1. Force Quit: Not Responding items
2. Shut Down: your Mac
3. Wait: 30 seconds
4. Boot Up your Mac.

To Force Quit the Applications:

1. Go to: Apple menu
2. Select: Force Quit...
3. Select: the application (an all other applications ending in "(Not Responding)"
4. Click: Force Quit button
5. Click: Force Quit button
6. Perform: the same for each item

Charles9162 Said:

"[...]Is there a user accessible way to determine the app that’s sucking up the memory and fix it?[...]”

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Yes: Activity Monitor

RAM is intended for multitasking. To see what is using most of the RAM view it using the Activity Monitor, Close whatever it is. Perhaps, it is a virus scan that is always going on in the background.  Go Here:  View Memory Usage in Activity Monitor on Mac.

Uninstall Security Software:

Moreover: Rid your Mac of any A/V and Security Software. It's unneeded on a Mac, as it just gets in the way. This is a pure example of it getting in the way. You are getting that message most likely because of the software installed that is used for managing your Mac.

Use an Uninstaller for the Software:

Removing Security Software from your Applications folder will not rid of it all, as much of it will remain in your system cache. So, contact the developer and request the uninstaller.

Pop up nagging me with "Your system has run out of application memory"

Yes, I have force quit everything and rebooted a few times now. I will point out that there were two power outages today following a storm.

In addition, it's only fair to point out that I have 64Gb of RAM on my late 2017 iMac. The likelihood that I am out of application memory ranks somewhere between slim and none unless my memory is fried. Right now the friendly Pop Up tells me Firefox is running 432.9Mb and Finder is running 121.9Mb. No where near the 64G limit.

I don't expect to hear from anyone, ever, but I'm giving this a shot because I'm not afraid of being wrong.

Thank you.

Anyone? Anyone? Buhler?

LastSpottedOwl Said:

"Your system has run out of application memory"

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Free Up Space in Safe Mode:

Your hard drive is likely full of data. So, first boot into Safe Mode [Hold Down: shift key upon boot[, and then remove items, by moving them to an external storage device(i.e. hard drive). Such items would be those that take up lost of space (i.e. Virtual Machines and Databases). Also, remove unnecessary items such as Movies and TV Shows, as they take up 2-4GB each. Finally, use Force Quit...(found in the Apple menu) and quit all applications that are open, to clear up virtual memory.

An Answer, but not a good one. Come on, this is not a Windows machine that should be rebooted every day. Is there a user accessible way to determine the app that's sucking up the memory and fix it? My M1 8gb mini frequently runs out of memory using just Safari. Most often it displays the dialog after sleeping for an hour or so. I can't believe Safari, an Apple App, would suck up and die.

Charles9162 Said:

“Uninstalled my virus scanner and restarted. So far so good”

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Learn from this:

Rid your Mac of any A/V and Security Software and know to always keep it off of your Mac.

Author you Own Post:

Next time you want to post something, make it your own post.

ever since I did my first OS upgrade, I have gotten the message that my MacBookPro has run out of system memory and I have to stop working on projects. Sometimes I am using a program that directs a cutting machine and today it froze on me mid-project. I have deleted as much as I can, I have relegated as much as I can to the cloud BUT there is still 135.19 GB that are in that grey area labeled OTHER and I have not been able to touch it. What is there? If I could get rid of it, will I be finished with my problem?

GB, not Gb.

MB, not Mb.

b=bit

B=byte

Correct, but not helpful.

Uninstalled my virus scanner and restarted. So far, so good.

More helpful than highjacking someone else's post? The comment wasn't even directed to you.