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Running out of memory

I have a 2020 MacBook Air, 1.2GHz, 8GB of RAM. Among many problems, I am constantly being alerted by CleanMyMac that I'm running out of memory. I know things run in the background, but at the moment I have 2 tabs open in Firefox (including this one) and no other programs running in the foreground and my available memory is about 170MB. I have run through a list of the suggested Firefox suggestions to reduce memory usage, and I have restarted my laptop and cleared cache. Any suggestions (apart from switching back to Safari - please)?


If needed, I can specify more info from the Activity Monitor, or otherwise.


Thanks in advance!

Edward’s MacBook 13" Air - 2020

Posted on Dec 5, 2021 7:41 PM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Dec 5, 2021 7:47 PM

fwafwow Said:

"Running out of memory: I have a 2020 MacBook Air, 1.2GHz, 8GB of RAM. Among many problems, I am constantly being alerted by CleanMyMac that I'm running out of memory. I know things run in the background, but at the moment"

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Troubleshooting Low RAM:

See what apps are open, and control what opens at login.

A. Check Force Quit:

See if something is listed as "(Not Responding)". Go to: Apple Menu > Force Quit...> Select anything ending with "(Not Responding)". Also, while in Force Quit... be sure to select Finder, and Click "Relaunch"


B Remove Login items:

See if any of these apps are a Login Item. If so, remove them as such and then restart the Mac, seeing if it/they no longer load(s) at login.  Go Here: Change Users & Groups Login Items Preferences on Mac - Apple Support.

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5 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Dec 5, 2021 7:47 PM in response to cedar727

fwafwow Said:

"Running out of memory: I have a 2020 MacBook Air, 1.2GHz, 8GB of RAM. Among many problems, I am constantly being alerted by CleanMyMac that I'm running out of memory. I know things run in the background, but at the moment"

-------


Troubleshooting Low RAM:

See what apps are open, and control what opens at login.

A. Check Force Quit:

See if something is listed as "(Not Responding)". Go to: Apple Menu > Force Quit...> Select anything ending with "(Not Responding)". Also, while in Force Quit... be sure to select Finder, and Click "Relaunch"


B Remove Login items:

See if any of these apps are a Login Item. If so, remove them as such and then restart the Mac, seeing if it/they no longer load(s) at login.  Go Here: Change Users & Groups Login Items Preferences on Mac - Apple Support.

Dec 5, 2021 8:48 PM in response to cedar727

First of all, you want to get rid of CleanMyMac. It is completely worthless and causes problems. You did not mention which Mac OS you are running, but the new ones have the OS and its system files quarantined in a read-only non accessible volume on your hard drive, so CMM cannot even do what it would want to do because it does not have access. It is therefore useless.


As for running out of memory -are you talking about RAM or hard drive space? RAM is fine if it is being used; the new OS versions do that purposely. Check Activity monitor - if the memory graph is showing green, you are good.


If you are talking about the hard drive - yes, you would need to do something quickly and that would mean deleting files off your drive to gain some space.

Dec 6, 2021 5:29 AM in response to babowa

Thanks @babowa. My OS is Monterey 12.0.1. And I am running out of RAM memory.


I will try eliminating CMM. Is there any replacement option app, or a series of manual steps to take to replace what it's supposed to do (as far as eliminating junk, uninstalling, etc.?) Would CMM possibly be causing the fan to be running so much?


My Activity Monitor memory graph is currently green. I will continue to watch that.

Dec 6, 2021 8:24 AM in response to cedar727

No, there is no such program needed. Mac OS takes care of itself and such programs can wreak havoc on the smooth running of the OS.


The OS is set up to use all the available RAM as the thinking is: unused RAM is wasted RAM. As long as your memory pressure is fine and you don't have huge RAM swaps, all is well.

Running out of memory

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