Looks like no one’s replied in a while. To start the conversation again, simply ask a new question.
User profile for user: Saxman
Saxman Author
User level: Level2 325 points
I had recently just opened up my iMac, and soon saw that of 64 GBs or RAM, I was down to about 6!
I opened Activity Monitor and saw "suggestd" was using nearly 20 GBs, and wondered what in the world that process is, and why is it using so much memory. Anyone have any idea what it is?
iMac 27″ 5K, macOS 10.15
Posted on Aug 4, 2021 9:10 AM
Question marked as Top-ranking reply
User profile for user: leroydouglas
leroydouglas
Community+ 2024 User level: Level10 188,076 points
Posted on Aug 4, 2021 9:41 AM
Saxman wrote:
I had recently just opened up my iMac, and soon saw that of 64 GBs or RAM, I was down to about 6!
I opened Activity Monitor and saw "suggestd" was using nearly 20 GBs, and wondered what in the world that process is, and why is it using so much memory. Anyone have any idea what it is?
suggestd —is daemon that processes user content in order to detect contacts, events, named entities, etc. It receives content from Mail, Spotlight, Messages and other apps.
—Try a SafeBoothttps://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201262
Takes noticeable longer to get to the login screen, does a 5 minute disk repair before it fully boots up, and certain system caches get cleared and rebuilt, including dynamic loader cache, etc.
Login and test. Reboot as normal. Caches get rebuilt automatically.
In Safe mode third party system modifications and system accelerations are disabled, it removes malware, etc hampering smooth operation, however a reboot will put it back to normal mode.
You can always run a sample in the Activity Monitor in search of clues, or force quit the process and try again.
Activity Monitor User Guide for Mac - Apple Support
View in context
Similar questions
- gdaserver using up RAM (MacBook Pro 13″)?Dear community,Lately, I saw that a certain "gdaserver" is taking up quite a bit of RAM (mostly around 1GB). Is anyone familiar with this? Is it any of the basic activities that happen in the background, or maybe from a program I have installed on my laptop? Not an expert at this type of stuff and internet searches didn't get me far. [Re-Titled by Moderator] 4055
- High ram usage I have just realized that i got 5 gb ram on usage even if there is nothing opened in my mac .It makes no sense and i have just needed to ask this usage's reason . And if it's normal or not ? And how i can be able to handle it myself? 67366
11 replies
Loading page content
Page content loaded
Question marked as Top-ranking reply
User profile for user: leroydouglas
leroydouglas
Community+ 2024 User level: Level10 188,076 points
Aug 4, 2021 9:41 AM in response to Saxman
Saxman wrote:
I had recently just opened up my iMac, and soon saw that of 64 GBs or RAM, I was down to about 6!
I opened Activity Monitor and saw "suggestd" was using nearly 20 GBs, and wondered what in the world that process is, and why is it using so much memory. Anyone have any idea what it is?
suggestd —is daemon that processes user content in order to detect contacts, events, named entities, etc. It receives content from Mail, Spotlight, Messages and other apps.
—Try a SafeBoothttps://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201262
Takes noticeable longer to get to the login screen, does a 5 minute disk repair before it fully boots up, and certain system caches get cleared and rebuilt, including dynamic loader cache, etc.
Login and test. Reboot as normal. Caches get rebuilt automatically.
In Safe mode third party system modifications and system accelerations are disabled, it removes malware, etc hampering smooth operation, however a reboot will put it back to normal mode.
You can always run a sample in the Activity Monitor in search of clues, or force quit the process and try again.
Activity Monitor User Guide for Mac - Apple Support
User profile for user: etresoft
etresoft
User level: Level8 49,352 points
Aug 28, 2021 8:16 AM in response to Saxman
Never use any of those "memory clean" apps. The operating system manages your memory. It is a constant battle with apps that try to allocate too much memory. Any 3rd party "memory cleaner" is only going to interfere and make the problem worse.
This person on Stack Overflow found a solution. When I see someone saying something like "fixed (at least on my system)", I have a higher level of confidence in their approach. They referenced instructions on this web page to reset your Address Book. Unfortunately, there are a lot of ads on that page for other types of "clean up" apps. Don't download any of those. Also, the instructions are out-of-date. I have updated them for Big Sur and posted below. I tested this and confirm that it will do no harm, if done correctly.
- LaunchContacts.
- Click onFilefrom the menu bar at the top of the screen.
- ChooseExport.
- SelectContacts Archive.
- Select thelocationwhere to save the file and set the file name.(This is for a backup.)
- Go to icloud.comand check if you have all the contacts there. (To make sure your data in iCloud is correct.)
- Then go toSystem Preferencesand click onApple ID and then iCloud.
- Navigate toContactsandcheck off the box.
- LaunchActivity Monitorand make sure thatAddressBookSourceSyncis not running.Double-clickand selectQuitfrom the window.
- Go to~/Library/Application Support/AddressBook/and hold the option key down while you select theGo menuinFinder.
- Delete everything in the "AddressBook" folder.
- Then go toSystem Preferencesand click oniCloud.
- Navigate toContacts.
- Recheckthe box again and wait for the sync start.
All this is doing is deleting your local contacts and downloading them fresh from iCloud. The first 6 steps are only to backup your current contacts and to ensure they are correct in iCloud before starting. Any "fix it" instructions that start off with a backup in case something goes wrong gives me confidence that the instructions are correct.
Link
User profile for user: leroydouglas
leroydouglas
Community+ 2024 User level: Level10 188,076 points
Aug 4, 2021 11:46 AM in response to Saxman
Saxman wrote:
It's now bouncing around... it'll go from 22GB, down to 2GB, then work itself back up to 11, 15, 8, 20, always using around 90/95% of CPU. But then then suddenly down to 120mb, and 0% CPU... I've got a call set for 4pm with an Apple upper-level tech person, so I'll see what he says... thanks
Will be looking forward to hearing your report on the issue.
Link
User profile for user: Old Toad
Old Toad
User level: Level10 209,795 points
Aug 28, 2021 10:10 AM in response to Saxman
Download and run Etrecheck. Etrecheck is a diagnostic tool that was developed by one of the most respected users here in the ASC and recommended by Apple Support to provide a snapshot of the system and help identify the more obvious culprits that can adversely affect a Mac's performance.
IMPORTANT:
Before running Etrecheck assign Full Disk Access to Etrecheck in the Etrecheck's Privacy preference pane so that it can get additional information from the Console and log files for the report:
Also click and read the About info to further permit full disk access.
Copy the report
and use the Additional Text button to include the report in your reply.
Then we can examine the report and see if we can determine what might be causing the problem.
Link
User profile for user: Saxman
Saxman Author
User level: Level2 325 points
Aug 4, 2021 11:43 AM in response to leroydouglas
It's now bouncing around... it'll go from 22GB, down to 2GB, then work itself back up to 11, 15, 8, 20, always using around 90/95% of CPU. But then then suddenly down to 120mb, and 0% CPU... I've got a call set for 4pm with an Apple upper-level tech person, so I'll see what he says... thanks
Link
User profile for user: Saxman
Saxman Author
User level: Level2 325 points
Aug 13, 2021 12:33 PM in response to leroydouglas
Well, the tech person only wanted to focus on the issues I'm having with my iPad, which neither he nor the Apple Store "genius" could fix. Which I don't get, the manager actually suggested I use my Macbook Pro, instead of the $1k, new, "state-of-the-art" iPad I bought, specifically to use it on my gigs. Oddly, the feature, Sound Check, works fine on my 20 yr old iPods, but not on the iPad, and they told me they don't know how they can fix it! I may just try to return it, and can't believe Apple would have something that doesn't work, and just say they don't know how to fix it, huh??
Anyway, since I didn't even get into the Suggestd RAM-sucking issue, I'm still having to constantly force quit it, as my 64 Gb of RAM will suddenly drop down to 5 or so Gigs.... which is also pretty ridiculous. And when I quit it, nothing that I can tell, stops working, whether streams or playing music, so I have no idea why it shoots up so suddenly, sucking up 20 to 40 gigs of RAM...
Link
User profile for user: Saxman
Saxman Author
User level: Level2 325 points
Aug 25, 2021 6:42 AM in response to Saxman
Still having this stubborn, and screwed up issue! I suddenly notice my RAM is down to less than 5 GBs, (out of 64), and Activity Monitor showing it's using as many as 115 GBs!! I have to force quit it, to get back to normal, what a mess...
Link
User profile for user: MrHoffman
MrHoffman
Community+ 2024 User level: Level10 123,589 points
Aug 4, 2021 9:21 AM in response to Saxman
Link
User profile for user: PRP_53
PRP_53
User level: Level10 90,013 points
User profile for user: Saxman
Saxman Author
User level: Level2 325 points
Aug 28, 2021 7:31 AM in response to PRP_53
I'm using Memory Clean 3, that's how I can quickly monitor the level of my available RAM, as it's shown in my toolbar.
Link
User profile for user: PRP_53
PRP_53
User level: Level10 90,013 points
What is "SUGGESTD" and why is it using 20GBs of RAM?