I keep getting the following messages in my computer's log:
13-07-15 3:13:37 PM com.apple.launchd[1] (com.apple.InternetSharing) Throttling respawn: Will start in 10 seconds
13-07-15 3:13:57 PM com.apple.launchd[1] (com.apple.InternetSharing[54121]) Exited with exit code: 1
Does anyone know what's going on and how to fix this?
This happens when a background process did not start properly.
Luckily, most of the time these errors have a minimal impact on the system, since they usually are quick warnings for small background processes that do not have a chance to start up.
Usually the system launcher starts up and reads the configuration file for a specific process, and then tries to start the process in accordance with the configuration's instructions.
If you see this error happening, the first thing to do is figure out what process is not launching properly by interpreting the error message, but first it helps to understand some of the organization of how OS X manages the configuration files for background processes, which are stored on one of three pairs of directories on the:
System Launch Agents or Launch Daemons:
/Macintosh HD/System/Library/LaunchAgents/
/Macintosh HD/System/Library/LaunchDaemons/
These directories are reserved for the launch configurations for system services such as file sharing, printer sharing, and authentication agents.
These folders are usually not tampered with by third-party developers, but if there is a problem with file sharing or similar system service not loading then it is likely the corresponding launch configuration file is in one of these directories. Nevertheless, these files should neither be removed nor altered.
Global Launch Agents or Launch Daemons:
/Macintosh HD/Library/LaunchAgents/
/Macintosh HD/Library/LaunchDaemons/
These directories hold the launch configurations for applications and services that affect all users on the system. Antivirus utilities and other similar system add-ons may be placed in this folder so they are loaded at start-up and run for every user.
If the Throttling Respawn message in the console shows that the launcher generating the error has a process ID of 1 (in brackets next to the text com.apple.launchd), and the process being respawned is a third-party process, then the launch configuration file is likely in one of these two directories.
User Launch Agents or Launch Daemons:
/username/Library/LaunchAgents/
/username/Library/LaunchDaemons/
These directories hold the launch configurations for background tasks that run only when a specific user logs into the system.
If the error in the console only shows up when you are logged into a specific user account, and the process ID number in brackets next to the text com.apple.launchd is greater than 1, then the launch configuration file is likely in one of these two directories.
With these locations in mind, when looking at the throttling respawn message we see the date and time of the message, along with the process identifier com.apple.launchd[ 1 ] which shows us the message was given by the system launcher process (the [ 1 ] shows us this is the main launcher process that is the first process invoked by the Kernel during boot).
The message from launchd is that it is going to try relaunching the program XXX in 10 seconds, likely because it just failed to do so.
Removing the launcher file:
With the launcher file identified, move it out of its parent folder and then reboot the system to prevent the error message from showing up. Doing this will not remove the program, but will prevent the system from trying to launch it every 10 seconds. If the program comes with an uninstaller then you should use that to uninstall it, but if not then removing the launcher file will at least keep it from starting.
Reinstall the program:
Generally these errors happen because of a faulty installation for the program, and reinstalling or updating the program can fix the problem by reinstalling the required resources for the program. You might consider running a permissions fix on the hard drive using Disk Utility before reinstalling, since permissions errors in either the /System or /Library folders at the root of the drive could result in background processes not being able to load the files they need.
Launchd is the first process of Mac OS X and runs EVERYTHING (pretty much). So, nothing is wrong with launchd. It's just letting you know that the "Internet Sharing" process is trying to restart over and over and over...
To toggle "Internet Sharing," go to System Prefernces > Sharing, and deselect "Internet Sharing." If "Internet Sharing" is NOT selected, I might need more info...
