*** FOUND and SOLVED: Flash Player/Mac slowdown*** DO NOT return your iMacs!!!
Fellow Apple enthusiasts,
I seem to be the first one to report this. I've found the cause of the infamous Mac "slowdown." I haven't seen this information posted anywhere yet, and hope to introduce a PROVEN solution to alleviate some frustrations with many Mac users out there. Don't return your iMac! Your hardware is fine. It is an Apple software issue that should be easily remedied with an update.
I'm posting this here in the iMac section first, because many seem to believe that only the iMac is affected. This is false. It will probably affect any Snow Leopard machine, but the new iMacs are the first Macs to come with the new mouse drivers pre-loaded.
THE PROBLEM: Resource leakage, system slowdown, and slow/choppy Flash video playback while pegging CPU utilization for Flash Player, as observed in the Activity Monitor.
THE CAUSE: MAGIC MOUSE drivers. Yes, the Wireless Mouse update is the cause. With the update installed, the problem will occur as long as the mouse is paired with the Mac.
It will occur REGARDLESS if:
- The Magic Mouse is in standby mode
- The mouse is switched off via power switch underneath
- The mouse is disconnected under the Bluetooth drop down menu at top of screen
The reason I'm reporting the Wireless Mouse Update as the culprit is:
I have a 13" unibody MacBook Pro (Early 2009) and purchased a Magic Mouse online. Received it yesterday - Monday, November 2nd, and updated the Wireless Mouse driver files via Software Update under the Apple menu.
After the update, I noticed the same Flash Player problems mentioned online, and indeed, System Monitor showed about 104% utilization. Flash videos appeared to be running with 1/2 to 1/3 frame rates.
*** THE SOLUTION: Remove your Magic Mouse using the Bluetooth Utility.
- Click on the Bluetooth icon at top of screen, and choose "Open Bluetooth Preferences." Or, use equivalent steps via System Prefs.
- Highlight the Magic Mouse, and then click on the "-" minus at the bottom of the window.
- Your Magic Mouse will no longer function with your Mac, obviously. Use a different mouse to avoid the problems you've experienced.
- The Flash video problem will no longer occur, and suspect the resource leakage may cease as well.
A restart may or may not be necessary, but upon restarting my MBP, Flash video playback returned to normal, with about 40% utilization while streaming a single Flash video.
The steps above are simply what I used to rectify the problem. I don't know if other bluetooth mice will cause this problem. I have not tested any other wired or wireless mice either.
I'm just an average user who experienced and recognized the Flash video playback issue on my system. Upon seeing the problem occur, I simply reversed the last change I made to my computer, and found that this solved the problem. Both the problem and the fix are repeatable. The information here has been reported to Apple.
DON'T RETURN YOUR COMPUTERS! I'm confident that once Apple is aware, a software fix will be made. Again, this will probably occur on any machine running Snow Leopard, and may be even more widespread. I will continue conversation with Apple on this subject.
Good luck to us all in resolving this issue as quickly and easily as possible.
I seem to be the first one to report this. I've found the cause of the infamous Mac "slowdown." I haven't seen this information posted anywhere yet, and hope to introduce a PROVEN solution to alleviate some frustrations with many Mac users out there. Don't return your iMac! Your hardware is fine. It is an Apple software issue that should be easily remedied with an update.
I'm posting this here in the iMac section first, because many seem to believe that only the iMac is affected. This is false. It will probably affect any Snow Leopard machine, but the new iMacs are the first Macs to come with the new mouse drivers pre-loaded.
THE PROBLEM: Resource leakage, system slowdown, and slow/choppy Flash video playback while pegging CPU utilization for Flash Player, as observed in the Activity Monitor.
THE CAUSE: MAGIC MOUSE drivers. Yes, the Wireless Mouse update is the cause. With the update installed, the problem will occur as long as the mouse is paired with the Mac.
It will occur REGARDLESS if:
- The Magic Mouse is in standby mode
- The mouse is switched off via power switch underneath
- The mouse is disconnected under the Bluetooth drop down menu at top of screen
The reason I'm reporting the Wireless Mouse Update as the culprit is:
I have a 13" unibody MacBook Pro (Early 2009) and purchased a Magic Mouse online. Received it yesterday - Monday, November 2nd, and updated the Wireless Mouse driver files via Software Update under the Apple menu.
After the update, I noticed the same Flash Player problems mentioned online, and indeed, System Monitor showed about 104% utilization. Flash videos appeared to be running with 1/2 to 1/3 frame rates.
*** THE SOLUTION: Remove your Magic Mouse using the Bluetooth Utility.
- Click on the Bluetooth icon at top of screen, and choose "Open Bluetooth Preferences." Or, use equivalent steps via System Prefs.
- Highlight the Magic Mouse, and then click on the "-" minus at the bottom of the window.
- Your Magic Mouse will no longer function with your Mac, obviously. Use a different mouse to avoid the problems you've experienced.
- The Flash video problem will no longer occur, and suspect the resource leakage may cease as well.
A restart may or may not be necessary, but upon restarting my MBP, Flash video playback returned to normal, with about 40% utilization while streaming a single Flash video.
The steps above are simply what I used to rectify the problem. I don't know if other bluetooth mice will cause this problem. I have not tested any other wired or wireless mice either.
I'm just an average user who experienced and recognized the Flash video playback issue on my system. Upon seeing the problem occur, I simply reversed the last change I made to my computer, and found that this solved the problem. Both the problem and the fix are repeatable. The information here has been reported to Apple.
DON'T RETURN YOUR COMPUTERS! I'm confident that once Apple is aware, a software fix will be made. Again, this will probably occur on any machine running Snow Leopard, and may be even more widespread. I will continue conversation with Apple on this subject.
Good luck to us all in resolving this issue as quickly and easily as possible.
Comments
Fellow Apple enthusiasts,
I seem to be the first one to report this. I've found the cause of the infamous Mac "slowdown." I haven't seen this information posted anywhere yet, and hope to introduce a PROVEN solution to alleviate some frustrations with many Mac users out there. Don't return your iMac! Your hardware is fine. It is an Apple software issue that should be easily remedied with an update.
I'm posting this here in the iMac section first, because many seem to believe that only the iMac is affected. This is false. It will probably affect any Snow Leopard machine, but the new iMacs are the first Macs to come with the new mouse drivers pre-loaded.
THE PROBLEM: Resource leakage, system slowdown, and slow/choppy Flash video playback while pegging CPU utilization for Flash Player, as observed in the Activity Monitor.
THE CAUSE: MAGIC MOUSE drivers. Yes, the Wireless Mouse update is the cause. With the update installed, the problem will occur as long as the mouse is paired with the Mac.
It will occur REGARDLESS if:
- The Magic Mouse is in standby mode
- The mouse is switched off via power switch underneath
- The mouse is disconnected under the Bluetooth drop down menu at top of screen
The reason I'm reporting the Wireless Mouse Update as the culprit is:
I have a 13" unibody MacBook Pro (Early 2009) and purchased a Magic Mouse online. Received it yesterday - Monday, November 2nd, and updated the Wireless Mouse driver files via Software Update under the Apple menu.
After the update, I noticed the same Flash Player problems mentioned online, and indeed, System Monitor showed about 104% utilization. Flash videos appeared to be running with 1/2 to 1/3 frame rates.
*** THE SOLUTION: Remove your Magic Mouse using the Bluetooth Utility.
- Click on the Bluetooth icon at top of screen, and choose "Open Bluetooth Preferences." Or, use equivalent steps via System Prefs.
- Highlight the Magic Mouse, and then click on the "-" minus at the bottom of the window.
- Your Magic Mouse will no longer function with your Mac, obviously. Use a different mouse to avoid the problems you've experienced.
- The Flash video problem will no longer occur, and suspect the resource leakage may cease as well.
A restart may or may not be necessary, but upon restarting my MBP, Flash video playback returned to normal, with about 40% utilization while streaming a single Flash video.
The steps above are simply what I used to rectify the problem. I don't know if other bluetooth mice will cause this problem. I have not tested any other wired or wireless mice either.
I'm just an average user who experienced and recognized the Flash video playback issue on my system. Upon seeing the problem occur, I simply reversed the last change I made to my computer, and found that this solved the problem. Both the problem and the fix are repeatable. The information here has been reported to Apple.
DON'T RETURN YOUR COMPUTERS! I'm confident that once Apple is aware, a software fix will be made. Again, this will probably occur on any machine running Snow Leopard, and may be even more widespread. I will continue conversation with Apple on this subject.
Good luck to us all in resolving this issue as quickly and easily as possible.
Seeing the other posts above I think you need to rethink this, 08///M3.
Thanks for your comments. The mistake I made was assuming everyone in this forum knew about the problems I am talking about. The second mistake I made was implying that the problem was exclusively with Flash Player.
This thread concerns the curious problems that have been reported by owners of the new unibody iMacs. Check any forums' iMac section and you'll see they're reporting systemwide slowdowns, sluggish performance and punctuated by a common symptom between all machines affected: poor/choppy/slow Flash video presentation.
Not every iMac had these problems, but it's a significant amount and they're MAD. Owners have been frustrated by mulitple calls to support, multiple re-installations of SL and even multiple returns of their iMacs. I've been reading about this for some time, as I've been following reviews and opinions on the new models.
"Experts," as well as Apple, have been trying to find solutions to the problem, but no specific cause has been pinpointed. Temporary workarounds have been found, but for those who are experiencing the problem, it's well known no matter what they try, the problem always returns. Workarounds like system restarts and cycling your Airport connections (not sure if both wired and wireless connected machines are involved here), seem to help, but it's also known that the problem is a resource leak, and takes from 1 hour to one day to appear.
Those of you who are lucky enough to NOT have these widespread problems, then try to understand the frustration you'd feel if you DID have them. I'm trying to help those who were unlucky, as I was. If you noticed nothing, then disregard this thread! If you have this issue on your system, you'd know about it.
After reading about the problems for so long, I immediately recognized them on my own computer. I knew what caused them to begin, too, and it was my brand new Magic Mouse and associated software updates I installed just before seeing the problems arise. I've got a basic 13" uMBP purchased in Feb. 2009 (2.26GHz, 2G ram, SD card slot, SL through Up to Date), and I've had zero problems with my Mac. It's my first, I love it, and when my beloved MBP starts acting like a Windows machine, I take notice!
If you're still interested, read a little on the problems in the iMac sections of different forums. Here's a little more backgroud on where I am coming from (copied from another site):
What I started this thread to say, is that I have found a simple, repeatable, and PERMANENT solution to the slowdown/resource leakage/etc problem that people are reporting on their systems. A solution for MY MACHINE.
The problems users are seeing are not just Flash player related, and I apologize if I suggested that. It's the entire system being affected. What I've experienced is that everything slows down, becomes less "snappy," and appears bogged down. Flash video slowdown is simply is a good indicator and a consistent symptom, along with watching the activity monitor.
I understand that peoples' systems, software and hardware differ. I also understand that there are differing amounts of time for their systems to slow down and begin to affect their computing experience as a whole. One thing that is consistent is that different things can temporarily fix the problems, but the symptoms return.
I'm an electronics technician. When troubleshooting any problem, it's second-nature for me to look at the most recent change that was made before the problem began.
I have been reading about the predominantly unibody iMac problems for some time now. So, when my MBP started showing these same symptoms, it was clear to me what caused it; the wireless mouse update I installed on my system the day before. I haven't updated or installed anything else in the past few weeks. So, I began my search for a fix with a big clue.
Nothing short of unpairing my new Magic Mouse from my laptop seemed to help. I should actually go one step further and Time Machine backward. But unpairing seems to have stopped the return of any problems. I experimented, and pairing the mouse once again causes problems.
I've left my mouse unpaired, and intentionally increased the "intensity" of usage on my machine to see if any signs of the problem return. It's now been 3 times the longest known amount of time known for the symptoms to return on my machine. No problems. At all.
Some people report that it takes an hour, some report a day, for their machines to slow down after restarting. My machine took about a day (business day), or anywhere from 4 to 12 hours to slow down. It's now been 48 hours of increased amounts of usage. No changes to airport, settings, and no restarts.
When you can recreate the problem, and know how to remove the problem consistently, then you're able to point to the culprit. My culprit was the updated wireless mouse drivers. But because of the pairing and unpairing, I think it's the way the mouse itself interacts with the drivers. Could it be a hardware problem with the mouse? Quite possibly. The mouse drivers and mouse inputs are always active, and are deeply integrated with the OS.
The iMacs came pre-loaded with the M Mouse, and so for a time were generally the only ones using the mouse and software update. So obviously they were the ones to complain first. However, the that fact that any SL system CAN BE susceptible, shows that it is a problem between the Magic Mouse, its update drivers, and Snow Leopard.
I'm also reading about other problems arising from the install of the mouse driver update. I'm hoping it is simply software brought to market too quickly, without sufficient testing.
Sorry for such a long post. Thanks for reading.
P.S. My Magic Mouse works fine.
How about this: Wait for a software update.
P.S. My Magic Mouse works fine.
Get a real mouse and you'll "get it".
Get a real mouse and you'll "get it".
Ireland, you're really starting to become annoying. You do need to realize that people have different preferences. You prefer a palm-fitting mouse. Some people don't. Get over it.
It's like someone who likes huge studio cans telling someone who likes in-ear buds that they should "get real headphones".
It's like someone who drives a Humvee telling a Corvette owner to "get a real car".
And it's annoying. There are a very large number of users who love small, light mice, and feel very comfortable holding them between our thumb and fourth fingers, with very little resistance because they are so light.
You're running around like a child calling those people poo poo heads.
Ireland, you're really starting to become annoying. You do need to realize that people have different preferences.
Yeah, some people like real mouse some people like Apple mouse. Good thing about me being annoying is you can block me, I don't mind.
Yeah, some people like real mouse some people like Apple mouse. Good thing about me being annoying is you can block me, I don't mind.
Well, I've got my Magic Mouse set up as fully equivalent to a configurable eight-button mouse (could add more if I wanted) and I can use it while lying in bed with my hands under the covers, or sitting on the sofa with no desktop space, using it on the cushion next to me or even on my thigh. Tracking speed is great, and although I have a 13.3" MacBook Pro, I could set it as high as I want for a 27" iMac if I had one.
Currently my Magic Mouse does this:
(Global)
Three fingers on the mouse and click: Exposé
Four fingers on the mouse and click: Spaces
Four fingers on the mouse and swipe down: Dashboard
(Firefox)
Two fingers swipe up: Zoom in
Two fingers swipe down: Zoom out
Two fingers swipe left: Tab left
Two fingers swipe right: Tab right
Now, I don't know about you, but for me, a "real" mouse is a configurable mouse. I'm sure your five-button mouse is configurable, for five things.
And a "real" mouse also has inertial scrolling. This is a killer feature. I'm sure your slow little wheel does just fine.
... I can use it while lying in bed with my hands under the covers...
I was starting to wonder where he was going with this...
Actually, I've got the flu, and it's winter time too... sometimes you just want to keep warm, you know?
Well, I've got my Magic Mouse set up as fully equivalent to a configurable eight-button mouse.
Wow, so now you have a magic mouse that has the amount of buttons of a "real" mouse, yet still has awful tracking and the ergonomics of a skimming pebble. Great. Not to me mention all those buttons was a hack.
Wow, so now you have a magic mouse that has the amount of buttons of a "real" mouse, yet still has awful tracking and the ergonomics of a skimming pebble. Great. Not to me mention all those buttons was a hack.
Actually, my Magic mouse has great tracking. The laser tracking is fantastically accurate. I'm 100% certain it's at least comparable in accuracy, if not better than, your Logitech or Kensington or whatever you prefer. If you're talking about Apple's default tracking speed (as opposed to accuracy), that's easily fixed with the same solution that gives me all the gestures and multi-button configuration options. Oh, and that solution is a background app, not a system extension, which in my opinion makes it highly preferable to system-mucking hacks like USB Overdrive and third-party (including Logitech and Kensington) drivers.
As far as ergonomics, that's the only thing you really can honestly argue, but even then, you have to agree that ergonomics can be highly subjective. I love the feather-light ergonomics of my Magic Mouse, as do countless other people.
In fact, on the issue of ergonomics, I tend to believe that when you rest your body too much, that is when problems happen. I strongly believe that just like sitting in a cradling chair all day can leave your back muscles weak, causing back pain when it's time to walk farther than from your car to your sofa, resting your whole hand on a palm-fitting mouse can weaken your hand.
It's far easier to move a pebble with a wrist movement than a stone with your whole arm, leaving your wrist and fingers with nothing to do but weaken. Of course if you masturbate all day, I guess that would compensate.