Inactive RAM causing slowdown in 10.4.5+

[FyreFly]

Ok, I will try and explain my situation in as much detail as possible. BTW, I am an Apple Certified Help Desk Specialist, don't be afraid to get technical.

I noticed after installing 10.4.5 on my G4 that the RAM would fill up with "Inactive" in Activity Monitor constantly and after having my machine run for only an hour or so after a reboot and would become sluggish. I game on my G4 so if I want to play Halo or Doom III for example, I must reboot before playing otherwise the games are basically unplayable.

I had assumed this was just buggy caching in 10.4.5 but then noticed other machines don't have the same problem, in fact, my own machine does not have the same problem when started up from my second HD running 10.4.6, which I keep installed on the backup HD incase my primary HD goes down.

I have tested multiple users and all have this problem so its not any particular user or a user login item. Also, I have noticed that the RAM will become full even after a fresh reboot if I leave the machine on and don't login for an hour or more, when eventually logging in for the first time Activity Monitor will show RAM being 99% full, with 1.3+GB of RAM as Inactive.

I am currently attempting to monitor my system.log for any strange activity. Any idea what the problem could be? I'm considering a fresh install of the OS but want to explore other solutions first.

 

[ElDiabloConCaca]

Aren't we already discussing this same issue?

http://www.macosx.com/forums/showthread.php?t=244007

 

[FyreFly]

Nope:

After 3 days, tickets are automatically closed from our support system
and transplanted to our open forums. We made a forum post in your name
and you will need to check with this thread for any follow-ups.

 

[Mikuro]

I've never heard of this before. Since it happens before login, my best guess is that it's a buggy kernel extension. Do you have any non-standard kernel extensions installed, like custom mouse drivers or anything?

If not, you might want to try re-applying the latest OS update via the "combo" updater. Sort of a shot in the dark, but I don't know what else to say.