Repeated error in Mac OS X when two displays are in use
Repeated error in Mac OS X when two displays are in use
In addition to the dual monitor-freeze issue also appearing in today's edition, we are investigating a repeated error that shows up in the console log for some users who are using multiple displays. The error looks like this, in hundreds of repetitions:
- Sep 6 07:18:11 xxx-xxx-xxx-xxx WindowServer[181]: Reserved range exhausted. (0xbbffe000 to 0xbc08e000 goes out of bounds)
- Sep 6 07:18:11 xxx-xxx-xxx-xxx WindowServer[181]: Reserved range exhausted. (0xbbffe000 to 0xbc01c000 goes out of bounds)
- Sep 6 07:18:59 xxx-xxx-xxx-xxx WindowServer[181]: Reserved range exhausted. (0xbbffe000 to 0xbc3f3000 goes out of bounds)
MacFixIt reader John Kassebaum, who first alerted us to the problem, writes
"The [181], as reported by process viewer, is the parent process ID. The hexadecimal numbers appear to be memory addresses, and ?goes out of bounds? seems to be something akin to a segmentation fault, when a process tries to access memory that is not its own.
"Obviously, since I am not crashing because of this error, OS X is catching the exception, but still, whatever process is causing it, causes it repeatedly. In Google-searching for what this error might mean, I came across various threads that discuss this error but with no resolution. The one thing I found, though, that our systems have in common is that we are all running at least 2 monitors.
"In watching console as I work on my system, I have discovered 2 trends:- If I have an open application residing solely on my second monitor, the error is consistently generated, at least once per minute.
- But if I move all open app windows on to my main screen, the error is not generated, except when I launch a new app or simply open a new window within an application.
If you use multiple monitors and have been experiencing system slow-down or inordinate memory usage, take a look at the console and see if a similar error is being generated. Please send us your findings, and system configuration information at late-breakers@macfixit.com.
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