Dottyc

Q: Why is my iMac so slow? OSX 10.5.8.

Frustrating frequently I get the color wheel when opening simple email, also when scrolling web pages on Firefox. 2008 Computer has 500GB of memory with 150GB available; 2GB 800MHz DDR2 SDRAM. I try to run with very few programs open, but still quite slow. I've run Repair Disk Permissions successfully to no avail. I've been told that the hard drive might be dying, which I hope is not the case, but I don't know how to confirm one way or the other. Any help would be appreciated.

Posted on Aug 17, 2012 1:16 PM

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Q: Why is my iMac so slow? OSX 10.5.8.

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  • by rack0 tack0,

    rack0 tack0 rack0 tack0 Aug 17, 2012 2:52 PM in response to Dottyc
    Level 4 (2,595 points)
    Aug 17, 2012 2:52 PM in response to Dottyc

    I don't know about the FF memory usage as you describe but I have seen memory useage go up with more tabs open.

    The other item that can slow systems down is disk fragmentation, OS X is very good at keeping this low but it is always possible that this has occured. I don't know of any software provided with OS X to check this out although there are applications available.

  • by Dottyc,

    Dottyc Dottyc Aug 17, 2012 3:01 PM in response to rack0 tack0
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Aug 17, 2012 3:01 PM in response to rack0 tack0

    Well, this is crazy. The wheel is still turning on Console Messages, and it says there are 4000 messages from one date in 2009 in a 20 minute time period. I've never opened this app before and don't know what it does, but that sounds a bit excessive.

  • by rack0 tack0,

    rack0 tack0 rack0 tack0 Aug 17, 2012 3:08 PM in response to Dottyc
    Level 4 (2,595 points)
    Aug 17, 2012 3:08 PM in response to Dottyc

    I have 4000 messages and the App opened quickly, this is on ML.

     

    Doing a search it seems that there was some problmes with Mail on 10.5, I never saw it but some had it eating memory. Is it worth rebooting when you can and using web mail for a short while instead of mail to see if that is causeing problems. Something is slowing your Mac up and it may be trying not running some of your applications to see if you can tie it down, unless you can diagnose it with AM.

  • by seventy one,

    seventy one seventy one Aug 17, 2012 3:16 PM in response to Dottyc
    Level 6 (15,185 points)
    Peripherals
    Aug 17, 2012 3:16 PM in response to Dottyc

    Something unmentioned so far.   Do you have a busy desktop.   Too much outstanding work on a desktop can have a slowing effect ... particularly as your RAM is not that large.   You could probably take another 2GB ay least.   Check it out with OWC or Crucial.  

  • by Dottyc,

    Dottyc Dottyc Aug 17, 2012 3:23 PM in response to rack0 tack0
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Aug 17, 2012 3:23 PM in response to rack0 tack0

    What should I be looking for in Console Messages? None of it makes any sense to me, and again, it's all from a 20 minute time period in 2009.

  • by Dottyc,

    Dottyc Dottyc Aug 17, 2012 3:35 PM in response to seventy one
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Aug 17, 2012 3:35 PM in response to seventy one

    Yes, guilty of a busy desktop. I will do a de-clutter. I don't know what OWC or Crucial are.

     

    Is adding RAM something I can do myself?

  • by RRFS,

    RRFS RRFS Aug 17, 2012 3:40 PM in response to Dottyc
    Level 5 (4,490 points)
    Aug 17, 2012 3:40 PM in response to Dottyc

    They are trustworthy vendors for gaurenteed RAM and other parts. Yes, almost anyone with a phillips screwdriver can do it. There are install videos sponsored on those sites. Just Google them you'll have no problems with either vendor.

  • by rack0 tack0,

    rack0 tack0 rack0 tack0 Aug 17, 2012 3:48 PM in response to Dottyc
    Level 4 (2,595 points)
    Aug 17, 2012 3:48 PM in response to Dottyc

    Crucial have a scanner application to show what memory upgrades are available for your Mac, I don't know if OCW do.

    http://www.crucial.com/mac/

     

    The Console messages from 2009 will not be much use.

  • by BDAqua,

    BDAqua BDAqua Aug 17, 2012 4:13 PM in response to Dottyc
    Level 10 (123,780 points)
    Aug 17, 2012 4:13 PM in response to Dottyc

    OK, Console not opening is a problem, the rest is OK except the Pageouts... how long has it been running since the last restart... sine that is when it starts counting Pageouts?

  • by Dottyc,

    Dottyc Dottyc Aug 17, 2012 4:23 PM in response to BDAqua
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Aug 17, 2012 4:23 PM in response to BDAqua

    I just did a reboot and now the Page outs are 112 KB.

  • by Dottyc,

    Dottyc Dottyc Aug 17, 2012 4:30 PM in response to rack0 tack0
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Aug 17, 2012 4:30 PM in response to rack0 tack0

    Back to your comment about Mail. How do I get to web mail? Or should I just try getting my mail from my provider's website? Or is that one and the same?

  • by rack0 tack0,

    rack0 tack0 rack0 tack0 Aug 18, 2012 8:11 AM in response to Dottyc
    Level 4 (2,595 points)
    Aug 18, 2012 8:11 AM in response to Dottyc

    Webmail and your providors website, yes same thing.

     

    Have you any applications that start when you login, you can check in System Preferences/Users under Login items. Perhaps you are loading appliactions at Login that you don't need or know about.

  • by Dottyc,

    Dottyc Dottyc Aug 18, 2012 8:19 AM in response to rack0 tack0
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Aug 18, 2012 8:19 AM in response to rack0 tack0

    Thanks. Yes, I used to have Mail and Firefox open at login, but no more.

  • by Dottyc,

    Dottyc Dottyc Aug 22, 2012 5:58 AM in response to RRFS
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Aug 22, 2012 5:58 AM in response to RRFS

    I have Verified Disk and it said there were no problems found. Something has to be wrong. I just can't figure out what it is.

  • by rack0 tack0,Helpful

    rack0 tack0 rack0 tack0 Aug 22, 2012 9:43 AM in response to Dottyc
    Level 4 (2,595 points)
    Aug 22, 2012 9:43 AM in response to Dottyc

    If you are near an Apple store you could always take it to the Genius bar and let them look at the problem.

     

    If not hear are some thoughts.

     

    You have determined that there are lots of page outs which tends to suggest you have not enough memory for the tasks that are running on the system.

     

    So perhaps:-

    1. You have a rogue application that is using too much memory, or the data it uses has been corrupted and is causing the application to use more memory than it should normally do.

     

    2. You have a rogue application running on there that as been installed without you knowing, unlikely though.

     

    3. You just don't have enough memory to run the system the way you are doing.

     

    4. You have a very fragmented disk, this would slow the system but perhaps not load up memory, again with the file system used by Apple this is unlikely.

     

    There will be others but thats all for now.

     

    Due to you being unable to determine the exact cause of the problem these are some suggestion.

     

    Before you contemplate performing any of the following suggestions be sure to have verified backups in place.

     

    a. 'Archive and Install' the system, be sure to have all the installation media for iLife and any other Apple and Third party applications available to replace those also.

     

    Instruction at http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1545

     

    b. Run an Anti Virus program, a few free ones about, Sophos  and iAntivirus are two.

     

    c. Run a clean install were you wipe the disk and start a fresh install of everything, move user data back across from your backups. This would defragment the disk as well as replace all the software.

     

    This is one way, there will be instructions on the Apple web site, just could not find a link.

     

    http://www.tuaw.com/2007/10/26/leopard-how-to-clean-install/

     

    d. Buy extra memory as seventy one suggests, see my previous post with a link to Crucial, they can scan the machine and give you recommend upgrades. 4GB total would be good, not sure how much Ram your machine will take. It is relatively inexpensive, easy to fit in most iMacs from 2007/2008, again not sure about other iMacs.

    Be sure to check the OCW website also. Usually the more Ram the better.

     

    I would go for more Ram memory as a start, a lot easier than rebuilding the software.

     

    On a last point you mentioned in your first post that you were told that the disk could be going faulty, although you have tested that with the SMART data and Disk Utility it is still a possibility. I have seen disks drives have bad sectors but the error correction in the drive was so good that the drive  corrected the errors. Correcting the errors takes time and slows the system down. Unlikely with the tests you have run but not to be ruled out completely.

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