high system CPU usage

R

rafuzo

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I run the Apple CPU monitor in my dock constantly to see what my system's doing at any given time. Often times after I wake my Ti Powerbook from sleep (and now it seems to be happening more frequently during normal logins when I don't use sleep), the CPU monitor starts displaying a whole lot of red. Top reports consistent system CPU usage at 80% or higher, usually in the 90's; Assuming it was some important kernel maintenance I'd let it run. But after letting it run for up to 15 minutes without any change, I'm at a loss. For starters, is there a way to get a look at kernel thread information? Is there an equivalent of pstack and ptree in Solaris for Darwin? And how can I track down what's causing the high system CPU usage?

Thanks a lot.

rafuzo
 
The ProcessViewer in your Utilities folder will tell you exactly which applications or processes are taking up most of your CPU and what percentage of it it is taking up.
 
Thanks for the help, like an idjit I just today decided to look at the console and process viewers for more info. This appeared in the console:


Jan 14 00:31:51 localhost WindowServer[70]: CGXSetWindowProperty: Operation on a window not owned by you

Jan 14 00:31:51 localhost WindowServer[70]: CGXInvalidateWindowShadow: Operation on a window not owned by you

And I notice that briefly in top that the proc 'LoginWindow' eats up a huge chunk of CPU % before disappearing. I think pbs is somehow involved in this too.

LoginWindow seems obvious enough, but what does pbs do? What calls it and why?

Thanks for the help!
R
 
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