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SIMBL Agent
#25783 04/21/13 01:08 PM
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jaybass Offline OP
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OS 10.6.8 imac 4GB ram My mac has been running slow a so I checked the activity monitor and saw an item called SIMBL Agent which was using over 500 Mb of virtual memory. I googled it and found that it should be deleted which I did manage to do. An apple site advised never to install SIMBL Agent again. Apparently it comes with some downloaded software. Question: Is there a way of detecting if it is in whatever software you might be downloading? Secondly, what is it's purpose? Thirdly, what should I look for in the activity monitor that shouldn't be there?
jaybass


OS 13.6.4 iMac (Retina 5K, 27", 2017, 3.4 GHz Intel Core i5, 24 GB RAM, 2400 MHz DDR4. SuperDuper. 1 TB Lacie HD
Re: SIMBL Agent
jaybass #25785 04/21/13 07:30 PM
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SIMBL allows patching of applications with plugins to extend their capabilities. This may interfere with certain other programs to the extent that the cure could be worse than the disease, but that depends entirely on the configuration of the Mac used, and is something to be experienced/decided by each user. But if you don't need any SIMBL-based hacks, there's no reason to have it installed.

Still, while uninstalling SIMBL may be appropriate in certain situations, a blanket advise to delete it is excessive. If necessary, however, the best way to go about deleting SIMBL is to use the Uninstaller that comes with the SIMBL package (found here). SIMBL plugins may come with a copy of the SIMBL package, but AFAIK they have to be installed separately. There *should* be no need to dig into the guts of a plugin installer package to detect it.

In case the Uninstaller causes problems, below are the locations where SIMBL, its plugins and (occasionally) scripting controls are found:

/Library/InputManagers/SIMBL
/Library/Application Support/SIMBL/Plugins
/Library/ScriptingAdditions/SIMBL.osax

Note that you may not have all of the above, but it probably won't hurt to check these locations in your user accounts (~Library) as well.

PS, 500 Mb of virtual memory is in and by itself no reason for concern; VM is not RAM, and the amount is insignificant. Moreover, unless you were looking at the actual PageIn and PageOuts, Activity Monitor only lists the maximum amount of VM an app can access, not what it actually uses.

PS2, your question about what you shouldn't see in Activity Monitor is hard to answer, but excessive CPU loads and RAM usage might qualify, to name a couple.


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Re: SIMBL Agent
alternaut #25786 04/21/13 08:07 PM
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jaybass Offline OP
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Thank for your reply. I did remove SIMBL Agent by removing 2 of those 3 items you mentioned plus removing flip4macWMV. I had to restart for the removal to take effect. I'll leave things as they are as I don't think it's absence will interfere with my configuration. jaybass


OS 13.6.4 iMac (Retina 5K, 27", 2017, 3.4 GHz Intel Core i5, 24 GB RAM, 2400 MHz DDR4. SuperDuper. 1 TB Lacie HD
Re: SIMBL Agent
jaybass #25791 04/22/13 07:59 AM
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Flip4Mac is a 3rd party (but Apple-endorsed) QuickTime plugin allowing you to play Windows media files. It is not related to SIMBL, and considered safe to use. For instance, if you need to be able to view .wmv movies, you'll have to reinstall it.


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Re: SIMBL Agent
alternaut #25795 04/22/13 02:55 PM
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jaybass Offline OP
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I was informed to uninstall Flip4Mac and so I did, but it is of no matter because the several years that I have had it, I've never used it. Of course, should I need it, it's there to reinstall.
Thanks for the info, jaybass


OS 13.6.4 iMac (Retina 5K, 27", 2017, 3.4 GHz Intel Core i5, 24 GB RAM, 2400 MHz DDR4. SuperDuper. 1 TB Lacie HD
Re: SIMBL Agent
jaybass #25798 04/23/13 01:21 AM
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You might have used Flip4Mac without knowing it. It isn't a program you run by itself. Instead, it runs automatically whenever you try to view a .avi movie, either online or from your hard drive.


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Re: SIMBL Agent
tacit #25799 04/23/13 01:19 PM
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jaybass Offline OP
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All my movies are either avi's or MP4s. The latter play using VLC and the avi's with DivX. I have DivX plus player which I've had for at least a couple of years but before that, I suppose you may be right. Just looking through my movies I see I have 2 Liberation Europe documentaries which at the moment tell me an error occurred and to try again later. They were downloaded from youtube. I have 2 more movies which when I tried to play them, it says it is not a movie but a file.
However, upon checking the info, they are described as an Auto Desk animator Movies
with 956.6 MB and the other with slightly less MBs. These 2 movies were also downloaded from you tube and all 4 of them have the safari icon. Do you know why the latter 2 movies are said not to be movies? I have played the first 2 movies so I know they are okay. I've just thought that perhaps if I reinstalled Fip4Mac, the last 2 movies might play?? Any ideas?
Thanks for your reply. jaybass


OS 13.6.4 iMac (Retina 5K, 27", 2017, 3.4 GHz Intel Core i5, 24 GB RAM, 2400 MHz DDR4. SuperDuper. 1 TB Lacie HD
Re: SIMBL Agent
jaybass #25800 04/23/13 04:58 PM
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Originally Posted By: jaybass
I've just thought that perhaps if I reinstalled Fip4Mac, the last 2 movies might play??

Sounds like a reasonable plan. Certainly it is worth trying. Flip4Mac has always provided a number of WMF codecs for Quicktime.

As to the "files" OS X is calling them "files" because it cannot identify a player and/or a codec to play them. Possibly because…
  1. There is no player or codec for Autodesk Animated Movies installed on your system so OS X does not know they are movies or what to do with them or…
  2. …the file headers are damaged in some fashion that prevents their being properly recognized.
Autodesk Animated Movies were originally used in Windows games back in the early 1990's. I was able to find a player for Windows (most of them pretty old), but a quick Google search was unsuccessful in turning up anything for the Mac. Perhaps someone else can come to the rescue with a player for you.


If we knew what it was we were doing, it wouldn't be called research, would it?

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Re: SIMBL Agent
joemikeb #25801 04/23/13 09:50 PM
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jaybass Offline OP
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Hi joe, I reinstalled Flip4Mac but it made no difference so I used visual hub and converted them to MP4s and they played perfectly with VLC. Such a simple solution, as is usually the case.
Your response is appreciated. jaybass


OS 13.6.4 iMac (Retina 5K, 27", 2017, 3.4 GHz Intel Core i5, 24 GB RAM, 2400 MHz DDR4. SuperDuper. 1 TB Lacie HD

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