Q: Mac has suddenly been running very slow lately

Does this happen when your MBP's unplugged? If so, I was having the same problem but after days of googling I finally found a working solution:

     Mavericks System CPU Spikes When Unplugged

It worked for me. Hopefully it'll work for a few of you.

@pchopz23:

OK, I am back again at last.

Your latest list has not changed at all, still all the rubbish on it.

I agree with John: so much rubbish may be best solved with making a clean start:

1. back up all your user data.

2. restart while holding CMD+R keys: the Recovery partition will start, you must have a good internet connection.

3. start DiskUtility from the menu, and format your Disk Mac OS Extended (journalled).

4. Close DiskUtility, choose Reinstall OSX. Do the reinstall.

After the reinstall of 10.9 the mac will restart. And you can install your non Apple softwares. Then you can add your user data from the backup(s).

Read this thread again carefully to see what you should NOT install again, like CleanMyMac, Pace, Intego etcetera.

Lex

You can do with CMD+R+Alt(=option), then you load it from the internet: be sure that you have an excellent internet connection, at best with an ethernet cable.

If you have an external disk free, make a bootable clone on it with CarbonCopyCloner: that is really safe when disaster happens when formatting your internal disk.

Please can anyone help me out as well?? It takes about 25-30 secs to start.

Hardware Information:

          MacBook Pro (13-inch, Mid 2012)

          MacBook Pro - model: MacBookPro9,2

          1 2.5 GHz Intel Core i5 CPU: 2 cores

          4 GB RAM

Video Information:

          Intel HD Graphics 4000 - VRAM: 1024 MB

Audio Plug-ins:

          BluetoothAudioPlugIn: Version: 1.0 - SDK 10.9

          AirPlay: Version: 1.9 - SDK 10.9

          AppleAVBAudio: Version: 2.0.0 - SDK 10.9

          iSightAudio: Version: 7.7.3 - SDK 10.9

System Software:

          OS X 10.9.1 (13B42) - Uptime: 0 days 0:11:2

Disk Information:

          APPLE HDD HTS545050A7E362 disk0 : (500.11 GB)

                    EFI (disk0s1) <not mounted>: 209.7 MB

                    Macintosh HD (disk0s2) /: 499.25 GB (418.17 GB free)

                    Recovery HD (disk0s3) <not mounted>: 650 MB

          MATSHITADVD-R   UJ-8A8

USB Information:

          Apple Inc. FaceTime HD Camera (Built-in)

          Apple Inc. Apple Internal Keyboard / Trackpad

          Apple Computer, Inc. IR Receiver

          Apple Inc. BRCM20702 Hub

                    Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller

FireWire Information:

Thunderbolt Information:

          Apple Inc. thunderbolt_bus

Kernel Extensions:

          com.symantec.kext.internetSecurity          (5.2f2 - SDK 10.6)

          com.symantec.kext.ndcengine          (1.0f2 - SDK 10.6)

          com.symantec.kext.ips          (3.5f2 - SDK 10.6)

          com.symantec.kext.SymAPComm          (12.2f2 - SDK 10.6)

Problem System Launch Daemons:

Problem System Launch Agents:

Launch Daemons:

          [loaded] com.adobe.fpsaud.plist

          [loaded] com.github.GitHub.GHInstallCLI.plist

          [loaded] com.google.keystone.daemon.plist

          [loaded] com.oracle.java.Helper-Tool.plist

          [loaded] com.symantec.liveupdate.daemon.ondemand.plist

          [failed] com.symantec.liveupdate.daemon.plist

          [not loaded] com.symantec.sep.migratesettings.plist

          [loaded] com.symantec.sharedsettings.plist

          [loaded] com.symantec.symdaemon.plist

          [loaded] org.macosforge.xquartz.privileged_startx.plist

Launch Agents:

          [loaded] com.google.keystone.agent.plist

          [loaded] com.oracle.java.Java-Updater.plist

          [loaded] com.pharos.notify.plist

          [loaded] com.pharos.popup.plist

          [loaded] com.symantec.uiagent.application.plist

          [loaded] org.macosforge.xquartz.startx.plist

User Launch Agents:

          [loaded] com.akamai.single-user-client.plist

          [loaded] com.facebook.videochat.[redacted].plist

User Login Items:

          iTunesHelper

          VMware Fusion Start Menu

3rd Party Preference Panes:

          Akamai NetSession Preferences

          Flash Player

          Java

          Symantec QuickMenu

Internet Plug-ins::

          FlashPlayer-10.6: Version: 11.9.900.170 - SDK 10.6

          Default Browser: Version: 537 - SDK 10.9

          Flash Player: Version: 11.9.900.170 - SDK 10.6

          QuickTime Plugin: Version: 7.7.3

          o1dbrowserplugin: Version: 4.9.1.16010

          npgtpo3dautoplugin: Version: 0.1.44.29 - SDK 10.5

          googletalkbrowserplugin: Version: 4.9.1.16010

          Silverlight: Version: 5.1.20913.0 - SDK 10.6

          JavaAppletPlugin: Version: Java 7 Update 45

Bad Fonts:

          None

Old applications:

          FacebookVideoCalling:          Version: 1.2.0.157 - SDK 10.5

                    /Users/kartikkapila/Library/Application Support/Facebook/video/1.2.0.158/FacebookVideoCalling.app

          Keynote:          Version: 5.3 - SDK 10.5

                    /Applications/iWork '09/Keynote.app

          SLLauncher:          Version: 1.0 - SDK 10.5

                    /Library/Application Support/Microsoft/Silverlight/OutOfBrowser/SLLauncher.app

          SyLinkDrop:          Version: 1.0 - SDK 10.5

                    /Library/Application Support/Symantec/SMC/tools/SyLinkDrop.app

Time Machine:

          Time Machine not configured!

Top Processes by CPU:

               5%          firefox

               4%          WindowServer

               1%          hidd

               1%          EtreCheck

               0%          SymDaemon

Top Processes by Memory:

          590 MB          SymDaemon

          266 MB          firefox

          147 MB          softwareupdated

          119 MB          com.apple.IconServicesAgent

          74 MB          mds_stores

Virtual Memory Statistics:

          977 MB          Free RAM

          1.69 GB          Active RAM

          822 MB          Inactive RAM

          566 MB          Wired RAM

          249 MB          Page-ins

          0 B          Page-outs

Yes, you have Nortons (Symantec) installed. Uninstall it using Nortons uninstaller provided on their site.

https://support.norton.com/sp/en/us/home/current/solutions/kb20080427024142EN_En dUserProfile_en_us

Pete

Pete is right, get rid of Symatec software (Norton) completely. Make sure that it is gone from the SystemPreferences panels also.

There is another software that is as bad: Akamai, it is in theSystemPreferences panels. Uninstall that also. It is absolutely incompatible with any OSX version.

After you do this run an etrecheck list again and post, so that we can see if all remnants are gone.

Not really important: I assume you do not run an VirtualMachine all the time, thus I advise to take out the VMware from the LoginItems:   SystemPreferences/Users&Groups/LoginItems: remove the VMware entry with the minus sign underneath; this will not remove the application, but from now on you have to start it manually, after use Quit it from its menu.

Lex

Here:

Hardware Information:

          MacBook Pro (13-inch, Mid 2012)

          MacBook Pro - model: MacBookPro9,2

          1 2.5 GHz Intel Core i5 CPU: 2 cores

          4 GB RAM

Video Information:

          Intel HD Graphics 4000 - VRAM: 1024 MB

Audio Plug-ins:

          BluetoothAudioPlugIn: Version: 1.0 - SDK 10.9

          AirPlay: Version: 1.9 - SDK 10.9

          AppleAVBAudio: Version: 2.0.0 - SDK 10.9

          iSightAudio: Version: 7.7.3 - SDK 10.9

System Software:

          OS X 10.9.1 (13B42) - Uptime: 0 days 0:1:46

Disk Information:

          APPLE HDD HTS545050A7E362 disk0 : (500.11 GB)

                    EFI (disk0s1) <not mounted>: 209.7 MB

                    Macintosh HD (disk0s2) /: 499.25 GB (420.04 GB free)

                    Recovery HD (disk0s3) <not mounted>: 650 MB

          MATSHITADVD-R   UJ-8A8

USB Information:

          Apple Inc. FaceTime HD Camera (Built-in)

          Apple Inc. Apple Internal Keyboard / Trackpad

          Apple Computer, Inc. IR Receiver

          Apple Inc. BRCM20702 Hub

                    Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller

FireWire Information:

Thunderbolt Information:

          Apple Inc. thunderbolt_bus

Kernel Extensions:

Problem System Launch Daemons:

Problem System Launch Agents:

Launch Daemons:

          [loaded] com.adobe.fpsaud.plist

          [loaded] com.github.GitHub.GHInstallCLI.plist

          [loaded] com.google.keystone.daemon.plist

          [loaded] com.oracle.java.Helper-Tool.plist

          [loaded] org.macosforge.xquartz.privileged_startx.plist

Launch Agents:

          [loaded] com.google.keystone.agent.plist

          [loaded] com.oracle.java.Java-Updater.plist

          [loaded] com.pharos.notify.plist

          [loaded] com.pharos.popup.plist

          [loaded] org.macosforge.xquartz.startx.plist

User Launch Agents:

          [loaded] com.facebook.videochat.[redacted].plist

User Login Items:

          iTunesHelper

          VMware Fusion Start Menu

3rd Party Preference Panes:

          Flash Player

          Java

Internet Plug-ins::

          FlashPlayer-10.6: Version: 11.9.900.170 - SDK 10.6

          Default Browser: Version: 537 - SDK 10.9

          Flash Player: Version: 11.9.900.170 - SDK 10.6

          QuickTime Plugin: Version: 7.7.3

          o1dbrowserplugin: Version: 4.9.1.16010

          npgtpo3dautoplugin: Version: 0.1.44.29 - SDK 10.5

          googletalkbrowserplugin: Version: 4.9.1.16010

          Silverlight: Version: 5.1.20913.0 - SDK 10.6

          JavaAppletPlugin: Version: Java 7 Update 45

Bad Fonts:

          None

Old applications:

          FacebookVideoCalling:          Version: 1.2.0.157 - SDK 10.5

                    /Users/kartikkapila/Library/Application Support/Facebook/video/1.2.0.158/FacebookVideoCalling.app

          Keynote:          Version: 5.3 - SDK 10.5

                    /Applications/iWork '09/Keynote.app

          SLLauncher:          Version: 1.0 - SDK 10.5

                    /Library/Application Support/Microsoft/Silverlight/OutOfBrowser/SLLauncher.app

Time Machine:

          Time Machine not configured!

Top Processes by CPU:

              14%          firefox

               6%          WindowServer

               2%          mds_stores

               1%          hidd

               1%          EtreCheck

Top Processes by Memory:

          221 MB          firefox

          33 MB          WindowServer

          29 MB          EtreCheck

          25 MB          plugin-container

          25 MB          mds

Virtual Memory Statistics:

          2.54 GB          Free RAM

          802 MB          Active RAM

          154 MB          Inactive RAM

          533 MB          Wired RAM

          175 MB          Page-ins

          0 B          Page-outs

I removed the  VMware Fusion Start Menu from the LoginItems as well. Can I do anything else?

Pharos PopUp, Mac OS forge and GitHub all need to be checked to see it the versions are compatable, but how is it running since you got rid of Nortons?

Pete

This better aleady.

- Do you need the programmer Github app? if not uninstall it, or at least remove the com.github.... entry from 

/Library/LaunchDaemons/ folder.

- I do not know why the two  com.pharos....  entries are there in /Library/LaunchAgents: I have no experience with that (printer enhancement or something?? If this is a remnant from an old app, delte these files.

- VMware Fusion is still in the LoginItems.

- Since you do not have the Facebook Video Calling app anymore: go into   yourname/Library/LaunchAgents/   folder and remove      com.facebook.videochat.[redacted].plist 

then go into  yourname/Library/ApplicationSupport/    and delete the Facebook folder.

Then restart the MBP.

Lex

These last three posts crossed each other.

I too have a macbook pro that seemed to have recently slowed down for no reason. Please help etrecheck below:

Hardware Information:

          MacBook Pro (13-inch, Mid 2012)

          MacBook Pro - model: MacBookPro9,2

          1 2.5 GHz Intel Core i5 CPU: 2 cores

          4 GB RAM

Video Information:

          Intel HD Graphics 4000 - VRAM: 512 MB

System Software:

          OS X 10.8.5 (12F45) - Uptime: 0 days 7:3:51

Disk Information:

          APPLE HDD TOSHIBA MK5065GSXF disk0 : (500.11 GB)

                    disk0s1 (disk0s1) <not mounted>: 209.7 MB

                    Macintosh HD (disk0s2) / [Startup]: 499.25 GB (445.33 GB free)

                    Recovery HD (disk0s3) <not mounted>: 650 MB

          MATSHITADVD-R   UJ-8A8

USB Information:

          Fitbit Inc. Fitbit Base Station

          Apple Inc. FaceTime HD Camera (Built-in)

          Apple Computer, Inc. IR Receiver

          Apple Inc. Apple Internal Keyboard / Trackpad

          Apple Inc. BRCM20702 Hub

                    Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller

FireWire Information:

Thunderbolt Information:

          Apple Inc. thunderbolt_bus

Startup Items:

          BIND: Path: /System/Library/StartupItems/BIND

          NortonMissedTasks: Path: /Library/StartupItems/NortonMissedTasks

          NUMCompatibilityCheck: Path: /Library/StartupItems/NUMCompatibilityCheck

          SymDCInit: Path: /Library/StartupItems/SymDCInit

          TrackDelete: Path: /Library/StartupItems/TrackDelete

          VolumeAssist: Path: /Library/StartupItems/VolumeAssist

Launch Daemons:

          [System] com.adobe.fpsaud.plist 3rd-Party support link

          [System] com.barebones.authd.plist 3rd-Party support link

          [System] com.bombich.ccc.scheduledtask.806652FC-A0D3-423B-B349-8DF1C01ECCBD.plist 3rd-Party support link

          [System] com.bombich.ccc.scheduledtask.DE400061-A39F-4691-861A-7F9DB4E6BF67.plist 3rd-Party support link

          [System] com.fitbit.galileod.plist 3rd-Party support link

          [System] com.google.keystone.daemon.plist 3rd-Party support link

          [System] com.microsoft.office.licensing.helper.plist 3rd-Party support link

Launch Agents:

          [System] com.google.keystone.agent.plist 3rd-Party support link

          [System] com.hp.devicemonitor.plist 3rd-Party support link

          [System] com.hp.messagecenter.launcher.plist 3rd-Party support link

User Launch Agents:

          [not loaded] com.spotify.webhelper.plist 3rd-Party support link

User Login Items:

          SymSecondaryLaunch

          Google Updater Helper

Internet Plug-ins:

          DirectorShockwave: Version: 11.5.8r612 3rd-Party support link

          o1dbrowserplugin: Version: 5.1.7.17873 3rd-Party support link

          Google Earth Web Plug-in: Version: 6.1 3rd-Party support link

          Flip4Mac WMV Plugin: Version: 2.1.0.33 3rd-Party support link

          Silverlight: Version: 5.1.20513.0 - SDK 10.6 3rd-Party support link

          FlashPlayer-10.6: Version: 12.0.0.77 - SDK 10.6 3rd-Party support link

          DivXBrowserPlugin: Version: 2.0 3rd-Party support link

          Flash Player: Version: 12.0.0.77 - SDK 10.6 3rd-Party support link

          iPhotoPhotocast: Version: 6.0

          googletalkbrowserplugin: Version: 5.1.7.17873 3rd-Party support link

          npgtpo3dautoplugin: Version: 0.1.44.29 - SDK 10.5 3rd-Party support link

          AdobePDFViewer: Version: 9.5.1 3rd-Party support link

          CANONiMAGEGATEWAYDL: Version: 3.1.0.2 3rd-Party support link

          QuickTime Plugin: Version: 7.7.1

          SharePointBrowserPlugin: Version: 14.3.2 - SDK 10.6 3rd-Party support link

          JavaAppletPlugin: Version: 14.3.0 - SDK 10.8 Outdated! Update

Audio Plug-ins:

          AirPlay: Version: 1.7 - SDK 10.8

          iSightAudio: Version: 7.7.1 - SDK 10.8

iTunes Plug-ins:

          Quartz Composer Visualizer: Version: 1.4 - SDK 10.8

3rd Party Preference Panes:

          Flash Player  3rd-Party support link

          Flip4Mac WMV  3rd-Party support link

          Growl  3rd-Party support link

          Norton FileSaver

Old Applications:

          /Library/Application Support/Microsoft/MERP2.0

                    Microsoft Error Reporting:          Version: 2.2.9 - SDK 10.4 3rd-Party support link

                    Microsoft Ship Asserts:          Version: 1.1.4 - SDK 10.4 3rd-Party support link

          Microsoft AutoUpdate:          Version: 2.3.6 - SDK 10.4 3rd-Party support link

                    /Library/Application Support/Microsoft/MAU2.0/Microsoft AutoUpdate.app

Time Machine:

          Skip System Files: NO

          Auto backup: YES

          Volumes being backed up:

                    Macintosh HD: Disk size: 464.96 GB Disk used: 50.22 GB

          Destinations:

                    Time Machine Backups [Local] (Last used)

                    Total size: 0 B

                    Total number of backups: 0

                    Size of backup disk: Too small

                              Backup size 0 B < (Disk used 50.22 GB X 3)

          Time Machine details may not be accurate.

          All volumes being backed up may not be listed.

          /sbin excluded from backup!

          /usr excluded from backup!

          /System excluded from backup!

          /bin excluded from backup!

          /private excluded from backup!

          /Library excluded from backup!

          /Applications excluded from backup!

Top Processes by CPU:

               7%          Finder

               7%          WindowServer

               6%          Google Chrome

               1%          hidd

               1%          EtreCheck

Top Processes by Memory:

          156 MB          Google Chrome

          102 MB          mds

          52 MB          Google Chrome Helper

          41 MB          WindowServer

          41 MB          Finder

Virtual Memory Information:

          1.35 GB          Free RAM

          1.22 GB          Active RAM

          248 MB          Inactive RAM

          1.19 GB          Wired RAM

          2.01 GB          Page-ins

          0 B          Page-outs

You have more than enough ram and more than enough diskspace.

1. You have Norton installed, uninstall all Symantec and all Norton apps/tools: even in Windows they are detrimental. Absolutely killing in Mac.

2. every item in SystemPreferences/Users&Groups/LoginItems should be removed, with the minus sign underneath. This does not uninstall these apps, but just stops them for automatic starting.

Then you should really Quit those, and uninstall them.

3. Uninstall all three Microsoft items (Merp, Ship alerts, Autoupdate).

4. Uninstall Norton (SystemPreferences) if you forgot this one.

Uninstall Flip4Mac and Growl (SystemPreferences).

5. in   /Library/InternetPlugins:

delete the following plugins: DirectorSchockwave, Flip4Mac..., Silverlight, DivX, googletalk, npgtpo3dautoplugin (very important to remove),  AdobePDFViewer, Sharepointbrowser, JavaApplet.

6. Uninstall the Barebones software (Textwrangler probably, Textedit does all you want).

7. Look in /Library/StartupItems: delete all entries there.

The uninstall all the items that were listed there in the etrechecklist under "startup items".

9. Uninstall the fitbit application.

Restart, empty the trash bin.

10. Advice: do not exclude anything from the TimeMachine backup ! Only the VM's (when you have them at all).

So I did the things you told me to do and it's still pretty slow. When on chrome, it always says waiting on cache and waiting on app cache on the bottom, if that helps at all. I ran another etrecheck to see if you guys could maybe identify any other solutions. Thanks! Sorry I know nothing about the inner workings of computers.

Hardware Information:

          MacBook Pro (13-inch, Mid 2012)

          MacBook Pro - model: MacBookPro9,2

          1 2.5 GHz Intel Core i5 CPU: 2 cores

          4 GB RAM

Video Information:

          Intel HD Graphics 4000 - VRAM: 512 MB

System Software:

          OS X 10.8.5 (12F45) - Uptime: 0 days 15:44:52

Disk Information:

          APPLE HDD TOSHIBA MK5065GSXF disk0 : (500.11 GB)

                    disk0s1 (disk0s1) <not mounted>: 209.7 MB

                    Macintosh HD (disk0s2) / [Startup]: 499.25 GB (439.35 GB free)

                    Recovery HD (disk0s3) <not mounted>: 650 MB

          MATSHITADVD-R   UJ-8A8 

USB Information:

          Fitbit Inc. Fitbit Base Station

          Apple Inc. FaceTime HD Camera (Built-in)

          Apple Inc. Apple Internal Keyboard / Trackpad

          Apple Inc. BRCM20702 Hub

                    Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller

          Apple Computer, Inc. IR Receiver

FireWire Information:

Thunderbolt Information:

          Apple Inc. thunderbolt_bus

Startup Items:

          BIND: Path: /System/Library/StartupItems/BIND

Launch Daemons:

          [System] com.adobe.fpsaud.plist 3rd-Party support link

          [System] com.barebones.authd.plist 3rd-Party support link

          [System] com.bombich.ccc.scheduledtask.806652FC-A0D3-423B-B349-8DF1C01ECCBD.plist 3rd-Party support link

          [System] com.bombich.ccc.scheduledtask.DE400061-A39F-4691-861A-7F9DB4E6BF67.plist 3rd-Party support link

          [System] com.google.keystone.daemon.plist 3rd-Party support link

          [System] com.maintain.AutoLoginUserScreenLocked.plist 3rd-Party support link

          [System] com.maintain.HideSpotlightMenuBarIcon.plist 3rd-Party support link

          [System] com.microsoft.office.licensing.helper.plist 3rd-Party support link

Launch Agents:

          [System] com.google.keystone.agent.plist 3rd-Party support link

          [System] com.hp.messagecenter.launcher.plist 3rd-Party support link

          [System] com.maintain.PurgeInactiveMemory.plist 3rd-Party support link

          [System] com.maintain.Restart.plist 3rd-Party support link

          [System] com.maintain.ShutDown.plist 3rd-Party support link

          [System] com.maintain.SystemEvents.plist 3rd-Party support link

User Launch Agents:

          [not loaded] com.spotify.webhelper.plist 3rd-Party support link

User Login Items:

          None

Internet Plug-ins:

          FlashPlayer-10.6: Version: 12.0.0.77 - SDK 10.6 3rd-Party support link

          QuickTime Plugin: Version: 7.7.1

          Flash Player: Version: 12.0.0.77 - SDK 10.6 3rd-Party support link

          CANONiMAGEGATEWAYDL: Version: 3.1.0.2 3rd-Party support link

          o1dbrowserplugin: Version: 5.1.7.17873 3rd-Party support link

          Google Earth Web Plug-in: Version: 6.1 3rd-Party support link

          googletalkbrowserplugin: Version: 5.1.7.17873 3rd-Party support link

          iPhotoPhotocast: Version: 6.0

Audio Plug-ins:

          AirPlay: Version: 1.7 - SDK 10.8

          iSightAudio: Version: 7.7.1 - SDK 10.8

iTunes Plug-ins:

          Quartz Composer Visualizer: Version: 1.4 - SDK 10.8

3rd Party Preference Panes:

          Flash Player  3rd-Party support link

Old Applications:

          None

Time Machine:

          Skip System Files: NO

          Auto backup: YES

          Volumes being backed up:

                    Macintosh HD: Disk size: 464.96 GB Disk used: 55.79 GB

          Destinations:

                    Time Machine Backups [Local] (Last used)

                    Total size: 0 B

                    Total number of backups: 0

                    Size of backup disk: Too small

                              Backup size 0 B < (Disk used 55.79 GB X 3)

          Time Machine details may not be accurate.

          All volumes being backed up may not be listed.

          /sbin excluded from backup!

          /usr excluded from backup!

          /System excluded from backup!

          /bin excluded from backup!

          /private excluded from backup!

          /Library excluded from backup!

          /Applications excluded from backup!

Top Processes by CPU:

               6%          WindowServer

               6%          Google Chrome

               1%          hidd

               1%          EtreCheck

               0%          mDNSResponder

Top Processes by Memory:

          156 MB          Google Chrome

          94 MB          Google Chrome Helper

          78 MB          mds

          57 MB          Finder

          45 MB          Dock

Virtual Memory Information:

          803 MB          Free RAM

          1.43 GB          Active RAM

          617 MB          Inactive RAM

          1.18 GB          Wired RAM

          1.73 GB          Page-ins

          0 B          Page-outs