Activity Monitor Hangs

[Doctor X]

Something weird has happened in the last week. One particular program would tend to hang--a CPU hog I imagined. I monitored it on Activity Monitor to kill the process. Eventually, I simply got rid of it--did not use it that much.
However, I further noticed in the last two days that Activity Monitor itself would "hang." I would start it . . . it would hang.

I tried my usual maintenance programs--Onyx to using DiskWarrior and TechTools to cheSomething weird has happened in the last week. One particular program would tend to hang--a CPU hog I imagined. I monitored it on Activity Monitor to kill the process. Eventually, I simply got rid of it--did not use it that much.

However, I further noticed in the last two days that Activity Monitor itself would "hang." I would start it . . . it would hang.

I tried my usual maintenance programs--Onyx to using DiskWarrior and TechTools to check/fix the volumes, et cetera. Permissions? We fix'd them.

So finally--I backed everything up on two different Ex-HD--I simply pop'd in my SL disk and reloaded the OS. I did not do an Erase first--simply reloaded.

Voila!.

Happy Activity Monitor, happy everything save for the program I then deleted sick of the problem.

Then . . . today . . . Activity Monitor FAILs again.

Everything else System-wise seems fine.

"So what does Console/Crash Reports say?"

Console:

3/21/10 11:49:51 PM	com.apple.launchd[1]	(com.apple.ActivityMonitor) Throttling respawn: Will start in 10 seconds
3/21/10 11:50:01 PM	com.apple.launchd[1]	(com.apple.ActivityMonitor[450]) posix_spawn("/Applications/Utilities/Activity Monitor.app/Contents/MacOS/activitymonitord", ...): No such file or directory
3/21/10 11:50:01 PM	com.apple.launchd[1]	(com.apple.ActivityMonitor[450]) Exited with exit code: 1
3/21/10 11:50:01 PM	com.apple.launchd[1]	(com.apple.ActivityMonitor) Throttling respawn: Will start in 10 seconds
3/21/10 11:50:01 PM	SIMBL Agent[174]	warning: failed to get scripting definition from /Applications/Activity Monitor.app; it may not be scriptable.
3/21/10 11:50:11 PM	com.apple.launchd[1]	(com.apple.ActivityMonitor[466]) posix_spawn("/Applications/Utilities/Activity Monitor.app/Contents/MacOS/activitymonitord", ...): No such file or directory
3/21/10 11:50:11 PM	com.apple.launchd[1]	(com.apple.ActivityMonitor[466]) Exited with exit code: 1
3/21/10 11:50:11 PM	com.apple.launchd[1]	(com.apple.ActivityMonitor) Throttling respawn: Will start in 10 seconds
3/21/10 11:50:18 PM	com.apple.launchd.peruser.501[144]	([0x0-0x30030].com.apple.ActivityMonitor[451]) Exited: Terminated
3/21/10 11:50:18 PM	com.apple.UserNotificationCenter[469]	UserNotification[469]: [WSX] Will not load into com.apple.UserNotificationCenter as the hard coded exclude list says no.
3/21/10 11:50:21 PM	com.apple.launchd[1]	(com.apple.ActivityMonitor[483]) posix_spawn("/Applications/Utilities/Activity Monitor.app/Contents/MacOS/activitymonitord", ...): No such file or directory
3/21/10 11:50:21 PM	com.apple.launchd[1]	(com.apple.ActivityMonitor[483]) Exited with exit code: 1

it repeats:

3/21/10 11:51:01 PM	com.apple.launchd[1]	(com.apple.ActivityMonitor[506]) posix_spawn("/Applications/Utilities/Activity Monitor.app/Contents/MacOS/activitymonitord", ...): No such file or directory
3/21/10 11:51:01 PM	com.apple.launchd[1]	(com.apple.ActivityMonitor[506]) Exited with exit code: 1
3/21/10 11:51:01 PM	com.apple.launchd[1]	(com.apple.ActivityMonitor) Throttling respawn: Will start in 10 seconds

even after I kill Activity Monitor with Force Quit.

I am not sure how much of the LONG crash report is worth posting. If gives the following:

Date/Time:       2010-03-21 23:50:17 -0700
OS Version:      10.6.2 (Build 10C540)
Architecture:    x86_64
Report Version:  6

Command:         Activity Monitor
Path:            /Applications/Activity Monitor.app/Contents/MacOS/Activity Monitor
Version:         10.6 (212)
Build Version:   56
Project Name:    ActivityMonitor
Source Version:  2120000
Parent:          launchd [144]

PID:             451
Event:           hang
Duration:        3.34s (sampling started after 2 seconds)
Steps:           13 (100ms sampling interval)

Pageins:         2
Pageouts:        0


Process:         Activity Monitor [451]
Path:            /Applications/Activity Monitor.app/Contents/MacOS/Activity Monitor
UID:             501

and goes on and on and on with stuff that, of course, makes no sense to me so I am not sure what anyone needs.

Additional Information:

I decided to try an Erase and Install--having backed everything up previously . What I think may be the problem is that I placed some Applications in subfolders--such as Activity Monitor in the main Activities rather than Utilities.

The OS 10.6 Installer does not know this and happily places extra copies where they think they should be! I think by trying to place them in the folders I wanted I damaged the parent Application.

So . . . I reinstalled everything and now have two copies of some things--like Activity Monitor--which works fine now.

So . . . it there a way I can get rid of extra copies without frelling them?

--J.D.

--J.D.

 

[Giaguara]

How are you using activity monitor? By the application itself or scripting it from something else?

3/21/10 11:50:01 PM SIMBL Agent[174] warning: failed to get scripting definition from /Applications/Activity Monitor.app; it may not be scriptable.

3/21/10 11:50:01 PM com.apple.launchd[1] (com.apple.ActivityMonitor[450]) posix_spawn("/Applications/Utilities/Activity Monitor.app/Contents/MacOS/activitymonitord", ...): No such file or directory

/Applications/Activity Monitor.app is not the correct path to the application. It should be in /Applications/Utilities/. As the core of the application returns with "no such file or directory" for where it should be, "/Applications/Utilities/Activity Monitor.app/Contents/MacOS/activitymonitord", that makes me wonder if the application has by some mistake been moved to /Applications (or some other incorrect path).

Quit Activity Monitor (if it's running), and locate it on the HD. If it's anywhere else than where it should be, put it to /Applications/Utilities/ and try again.

top or top -u should always work too.

 

[Doctor X]

Currently have two locations since I ended up duplicating it:

Applications

Applications/Utilities

So should I dump the one in just Applications? Keep the associated files?

Thanks for the help!

--J.D.

 

[Doctor X]

Solution

I was privately informed that, no, Apple really does not like applications moved. I noticed this when moving Photoshop to a subfolder--I have to "repair" it so it would know where it was. Apparently, what SL installed are not-quite workable programs in the MAIN Application Folder--with "t3h R34l" Applications in my sub-folders. So I have to start deleting and moving

For those of us who hate looking at a HUGE Applications folder, create aliases, then subfolder that.

--J.D.

 

[Giaguara]

So now that it's only in /Applications/Utilities, it's not hanging any more?

 

[Doctor X]

Nope! What I must have done is either/or:

• 1. Deleted the "whole" program leaving a "weak" program.
  2. Kept the Pref, Plis and all of that--which may have confused the program since it was associated with the other.
  3. Angered a Polynesian Rain Goddess

--J.D.