Which problem-solving techniques are still available in macOS Tahoe? While Intel Macs still have a few, Apple silicon Macs don’t have many left.
SMC
Open Activity Monitor. If kernel_task is the top of the CPU % list and hogging its cores, what should you do? Can Energy Modes help?
Intel Macs tell you why they last shut down, in the ‘shutdown cause code’ written to the log by their System Management Controller. What do Apple silicon Macs do?
Why you shouldn’t try killing kernel_task, but take action to help cool your Mac and reduce the heat it’s producing.
How do the SMC and CoreDuet manage the systems in your Mac, and should you fiddle with them?
Still very useful procedures for Intel Macs, resetting the SMC within a T2 chip is more complex. Used wisely they can resuscitate a failing Mac.
On Intel Macs, resetting the SMC was a universal panacea until the T2 came along. What can we do instead with an M1 Mac?
There’s no SMC, so you can’t reset it. Although there’s still NVRAM (PRAM), that can’t be reset either: full details of both for M1 models.
Your Mac goes all sluggish, you open Activity Monitor, and there at the top of the CPU list is kernel_task, taking 100% or more. Why?
When you wake your laptop up in the morning, it’s clear it has been awake half the night. How to ensure it gets a proper night’s sleep.
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