[geeks] OS X mystery...

[Shannon]

I have had an issue with my Mac Pro for months, where it is unable to fork()
any more, thus cannot start any apps.

The issue is caused by a process table full of ps zombies.

I do not have anything running that fires off ps, and I cannot imagine what
does.

I have tried tracing to parent processes and everything, but cannot figure out
what is starting these zombies and leaving them to kill off the machine.

My memory is generally shattered lately, and the last time I did actually
figure out what was starting them.

I almost immediately forgot, and now I'm back to trying to figure it out
again.

It looks to me like some utility is probably using the ps command and is not
properly cleaning up, or it might be an application was removed and left
behind some automation. I know that in rare cases on OS X, some apps install
customized, scheduled processes and the drag to trash does no remove those.

I use Hazel to clean up after old apps, but maybe it has missed something?


--
Shannon Hendrix
shannon at widomaker.com