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jnguyen4

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Aug 27, 2006
317
0
Hey, my computer runs fine for exactly one day but then after it gets really slow and then the programs do not respond. after that i have to restart it and then it works again. but after another 24 hrs, it gets messed up again. does anybody know what is going on? thanx
 
jnguyen4 said:
Hey, my computer runs fine for exactly one day but then after it gets really slow and then the programs do not respond. after that i have to restart it and then it works again. but after another 24 hrs, it gets messed up again. does anybody know what is going on? thanx

You'll have to give us more info to work with.

What were you doing on your computer. What programs are you using. What OS. What computer? The more details the better.
 
This is what warranties are for. Why hassle trying to fix a one-day old computer. Take it back.
 
I'm going to say, memory leak on an application.

So yes, a little more detail on the apps you are using -- including if you are using an all-in-one printer.
 
Ok i am using a macbook with 512 mb ram.. i know this is not enough but this should not be causing the problem. i am using the basic programs daily. like safari, itunes, word, the dvd player, and limwire.
 
Limewire is a good place to start.

Stop it, (make sure it does actually stop, and doesn't start again when you log in or restart), restart your MacBook, and see how it goes over the next 24 hrs.

Good luck
 
I'm going to guess that your machine won't crash if you don't use Limewire. Which probably has a bad memory leak.
 
Sun Baked said:
I'm going to guess that your machine won't crash if you don't use Limewire. Which probably has a bad memory leak.

what exactly is a memory leak and what can i do to fix it?
 
Limewire can be a quirky application. They update that thing like twice a month. Another alternative to that is Cabos, which is what I switched too and like better.

But yeah, you can start by eliminating that and see what happens.

I don't know the technical explaination for a memory leak but think of it as stealing more and more of your ram without giving any of it back. Eventually it's using so much disk scratch space and ram that your computer slows down or it crashes the application.

Safari does this as well.
 
jnguyen4 said:
what exactly is a memory leak and what can i do to fix it?
You can't...

It just means that there is a problem with the code that the programmers have not fixed.

When a routine asks for more memory, it fails to release it like any good program should when it exits the routine. So it will use all free RAM, then the HD, and then crash the computer.

Just have to wait unit they fix the problem, or use something else.

Or it might not be a memory leak, but something that looks like one.
 
I say run the activity monitor and see what programs are sucking the memory.
 
MacNut said:
I say run the activity monitor and see what programs are sucking the memory.

i don't think that its a memory problem because it works fine for a day, but after 24 hours, it crashes
 
jnguyen4 said:
i don't think that its a memory problem because it works fine for a day, but after 24 hours, it crashes
We are telling you it IS a memory problem. Caused by an application.

A program that might use 4MB during the first hour may be using many many GB after 24 hours. Like all the RAM and all the free HD space.

This is the case where your computer starts slowing down, beachballs for long periods, and then finally crashes.

But works fine when you restart.

If you had a hardware problem, like a dying HD, the beachballs would still be there after a restart -- or the HD crashes at varying intervals as it overheats.
 
Wait...

Are you QUITTING your programs after you're finished with them?

Closing the window does not QUIT a program on a Macintosh, unlike Windows.

You can tell which programs are running by the black triangles underneath them in the dock.

LimeWire is pretty bad too.
 
jnguyen4 said:
so wut do you advise me to do?
STOP Limewire for a day (don't just close the window ... click "Limewire" then "Quit Limewire"), and see whether that makes any difference.
 
OzMo said:
STOP Limewire for a day (don't just close the window ... click "Limewire" then "Quit Limewire"), and see whether that makes any difference.

thank you.. i will try that
 
I am guessing you are not quitting the applications. You are probably just clicking on the red dot in the upper left. That does not quit the application, you need to either (1) go into the left most menu and select quit or (2) press Apple - Q
 
skubish said:
I am guessing you are not quitting the applications. You are probably just clicking on the red dot in the upper left. That does not quit the application, you need to either (1) go into the left most menu and select quit or (2) press Apple - Q

yes i was quiting the actual application. so far i have not ran limewire for 24 hrs now and my computer seems to be running fine.. i think we found a solution. thank you muchos!!
 
Allotriophagy said:
If it turns out that Limewire is causing the problems, then AcquisitionX is a replacement I have found to be very good.

by the way... since limewire is a p2p network.. isn't that the same as the acquisition?? and wouldn't that cause me the same problems?? or will it be cleaner and less harmful to my computer? thanx
 
jnguyen4 said:
by the way... since limewire is a p2p network.. isn't that the same as the acquisition?? and wouldn't that cause me the same problems?? or will it be cleaner and less harmful to my computer? thanx

Acquisition and LimeWire access the same Gnutella network. The network is not what's cuasing the slowness, it's the horrible way that LimeWire is written (I believe entirely in Java) that is slowing your system down.

You'll find the same files with Acquisition, only unlike LimeWire, Acquisition is actually designed for the Mac and is lean, fast, and stable.

http://www.acquisitionx.com/
 
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