I had a problem on my laptop. Something called AddressBookSync was going crazy – sucking up almost all of my system resources. I don’t really know what it was, which piece of software it was connected to (though I have my suspicions) or even how I eventually managed to get rid of it – but the difference to my Macbook now that I’m rid of it is astonishing.
I only really noticed the problem over the last few days. The computer’s been getting more and more sluggish over time which, when it happens gradually, you’re only marginally aware of. But recently, the fan has been going nonstop, programmes were taking minutes to load, and it had started to do that thing where you type, go make a cup of tea, and return to see your words emerge, one character at a time, on the screen.
I went for the Activity Monitor and immediately identified the process to blame, quit it, and things calmed down. Three minutes later, it was back – and it was angry. I killed it again, but like the last 15 minutes of Terminator – just when you think it’s dead, up it pops again like an unstoppable, all-devouring technozombie.
I Googled it, but the only AddressBookSync I could find was a piece of software I have never downloaded. It puts Facebook pictures on your contacts. Or something like that. Anyway – not something I’ve ever used (and given my experience with its namesake, something I’d be very cautious of).
So I went digging and started removing programmes. By midnight, I was sure it was dead. The last thing I did was to remove all traces of the Missing Sync for Windows Mobile. I no longer have a Window Mobile (can I get an ‘Amen’?) and run everything natively for the Mac/iPhone world.
There were some complicated steps to take to remove all traces of it. I found Response #6 on this forum very helpful.
I don’t have hard evidence that Missing Sync was the culprit, but I have strong suspicions. It was only one of many extraneous things that I removed from my laptop last night and I’m glad it’s gone.
But the lesson for Mac users is to keep an eye on the Activity Monitor from time to time. See if there’s anything hogging resources and keeping you from enjoying the lightning reactions of an unencumbered machine. I didn’t know what I had, but now that it’s gone, the difference is night and day.
It’s awesome. I feel like I’ve got a brand new computer. Only smudgy.
Right now:
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Tagged: Computer, Macbook, Maintenance, Software
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4 Comments
Aaaaghhh! I spoke too soon!
It’s back. It stayed dormant for a good 12 hours… but it’s back with a vengeance. It’s the Japanese Knotweed of computer issues. Still – I have a taste for the good life, computing wise, and I’m on a mission to make it properly completely dead.
So – my apologies to Missing Sync. That wasn’t the problem, and I was hasty to hold it responsible. The hunt continues…
I had a similar experience with 99% CPU twice recently (but fortunately easier to track down). MS Word was using a lot of CPU suddenly… it turned out to be because I was working on improving a translation from Italian to English. The grammar checker was working overtime because the rough translation had so much incorrect grammar in it, and it was literally making the Mac run hot. Once I fixed up the grammar, the CPU usage went down! (Turning off grammar checking also fixed it).
I’ve also been travelling, and got a new Mac just before leaving. It was supposed to have really good battery life, but was barely lasting 3 hours. Turns out that my virus checker was using 99% CPU trying to update the files, but my university had it configured so that it wouldn’t work when off campus. Brilliant… regular virus updates, unless you’re in a foreign country :-)
We used to joke that a computer would be running hot if it had a lot of computation to do, but these days if the fan comes on, you really know that something’s up!
I have the same problem on two Macs, an Imac and a Macbook Air, both machines the addressbooksync slows the machine s down to a crawl. But I never had missing sync on the Macbook Air. It is strange that both started with problem at the same time. Have you any clues?
Regards
Dave
Yep. Do this:
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1627