attrex2013

Q: Should I keep my Mac Mini or replace it?

I have a Mac Mini, Model 4.1 (mid 2010) which has over time developed a number of annoying issues, none of them real showstoppers, but which together suggest that there is something deeply amiss with the machine. These issues run the gamut, the most annoying being its all-too-frequent stupidly sluggish response to the simplest kinds of actions. (For example waiting a minute to change a single cell in Excel or long wait times for web pages to load.)  Others are more strictly hardware-related.  These include dropping of the external drives during idle times of various lengths (not necessarily Sleep, and not necessarily long), CD burning errors, and today a new one: an inability to mount a perfectly good USB thumb drive.

 

Here are some system details:

Processor  2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo

Memory  4 GB 1067 MHz DDR3 (2x2GB)

Graphics  NVIDIA GeForce 320M 256 MB

Current Software  OS X 10.9.5 (13F34)

Storage: Internal 500 GB drive with 45.39 GB free; 3 external G-Tech FireWire drives, 2 @ 2Tb and 1 @ 500 Gb.  Total of 4 partitions.

 

I should note that while I have had FireWire drive-dropping problems from the very start, the devolution in performance really accelerated after I "upgraded" to Mavericks last summer.

 

What to do?

 

Outright replacement with a new machine is a solution, but an expensive one obviously.   Alternatively, a cheap first step would be to increase the RAM, say to 8 Gb - about $100 or so.  After that I see little choice but to take the Mini in for a checkup somewhere.   I've been to the Genius Bar several times in the past with dying laptops under AppleCare, and it seems that their default solution is to swap out the system drive and hope for the best.  (And this usually DID help these laptops, I might add.)  However, the Mini's disk drive has suffered nowhere near the jostling and abuse that my laptops' drives went through, so I find it harder to believe going in that this is the source of my problem.  Furthermore, I don't have Apple Care with this machine, so I suspect that when I'm done with them and a RAM upgrade I'd be more than halfway to a 13" MacBook Pro.  Hence my dilemma.

 

Here's my question: does the range of problems I'm seeing with this machine appear to be RAM- or system disk-related?  That is, in the worst case, would a new system disk likely solve my problems?  Or is it possible that I am looking at some more subtle hardware and/or software issue that something like a motherboard swap would solve?

 

Thanks for any insight on this and Happy New Year!

 

HJB

Mac mini, OS X Mavericks (10.9.4)

Posted on Dec 31, 2014 8:43 AM

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Q: Should I keep my Mac Mini or replace it?

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  • Helpful answers

  • by Phil0124,Helpful

    Phil0124 Phil0124 Dec 31, 2014 8:52 AM in response to attrex2013
    Level 7 (27,589 points)
    iPhone
    Dec 31, 2014 8:52 AM in response to attrex2013

    Before any hardware changes or outright rash decisions about the machine run Etrecheck and post the resulting log, it may help someone pin point causes of the slowness.  And how to address them.

     

    Before any major hardware modifications, a wipe and re-install of OSx may solve many issues dealing with accumulated start-up processes that run in the background and use up resources.

     

    If you are running Yosemite, an increase in RAM may help, but if background processes are the cause of the slowness or other bugs, it won't really solve much.

     

    All in all a clean install first, and a drive check on the system drive can rule out a lot of issues without too much hassle.

  • by Drew Reece,Helpful

    Drew Reece Drew Reece Dec 31, 2014 9:01 AM in response to attrex2013
    Level 5 (7,559 points)
    Notebooks
    Dec 31, 2014 9:01 AM in response to attrex2013

    45GB free on a 500GB drive? Is that the boot disk?

    Spinning disks read & write slower when they fill with more data. If you run like this for years the disk will be writing into the same area (becoming more & more fragmented).

    http://macperformanceguide.com/Storage-WhyYouNeedMoreThanYouNeed.html

     

    Free up some space would be my suggestion. I suspect you have migrated older apps or data that may be causing some of your issues too.

    Etrecheck can show you what is installed & running http://etresoft.com/etrecheck

     

    It would be simple for you to install a clean OS on an external disk (use the fastest one you have USB is slow, Firewire is generally better). If that OS runs well you know that the Mini is OK generally & the installed system needs cleaning or rebuilding.

     

    You need to monitor your RAM usage to see if the machine needs more RAM. Throwing RAM at it won't help if it isn't already swapping to disk, observe the 'swap used' in Activity Monitor and the 'memory pressure' graph will go red when writing memory out to disk (a.k.a. paging to disk).

  • by attrex2013,

    attrex2013 attrex2013 Dec 31, 2014 9:50 AM in response to Drew Reece
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Mac OS X
    Dec 31, 2014 9:50 AM in response to Drew Reece

    Results of Etrecheck:

    Problem description:

    Sluggish Mac Mini as described in thread entitled Should I keep my Mac Mini or replace it?  Variety of hardware issues in addition to poor performance, but with only 45 Gb free on 500 Gb system disk,  post responders recommended this check as a first step.

     

    EtreCheck version: 2.1.5 (108)

    Report generated December 31, 2014 at 12:25:44 PM EST

     

    Click the [Support] links for help with non-Apple products.

    Click the [Details] links for more information about that line.

    Click the [Adware] links for help removing adware.

     

    Hardware Information: ℹ️

      Mac mini (Mid 2010) (Verified)

      Mac mini - model: Macmini4,1

      1 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo CPU: 2-core

      4 GB RAM Upgradeable

      BANK 0/DIMM0

      2 GB DDR3 1067 MHz ok

      BANK 1/DIMM0

      2 GB DDR3 1067 MHz ok

      Bluetooth: Old - Handoff/Airdrop2 not supported

      Wireless:  en1: 802.11 a/b/g/n

     

    Video Information: ℹ️

      NVIDIA GeForce 320M - VRAM: 256 MB

      DELL U2412M 1920 x 1200

     

    System Software: ℹ️

      OS X 10.9.5 (13F34) - Uptime: 2:58:42

     

    Disk Information: ℹ️

      Hitachi HTS545050B9SA02 disk0 : (500.11 GB)

      EFI (disk0s1) <not mounted> : 210 MB

      Macintosh HD (disk0s2) / : 499.25 GB (45.35 GB free)

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

     

      OPTIARC DVD RW AD-5680H 

     

    USB Information: ℹ️

      Apple Inc. MacBook Air SuperDrive

      Apple, Inc. Keyboard Hub

      Logitech USB Receiver

      Apple Inc. Apple Keyboard

      Apple Inc. BRCM2070 Hub

      Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller

      Apple Computer, Inc. IR Receiver

     

    Firewire Information: ℹ️

      G-TECH OEM ATA Device 00 800mbit - 800mbit max

      EFI (disk1s1) <not mounted> : 210 MB

      G-DRIVE (disk1s2) /Volumes/G-DRIVE : 2.00 TB (2.00 TB free)

      G-TECH OEM ATA Device 00 800mbit - 800mbit max

      EFI (disk3s1) <not mounted> : 210 MB

      Time Machine (disk3s2) /Volumes/Time Machine : 1.50 TB (301.49 GB free)

      Old Timer (disk3s3) /Volumes/Old Timer : 499.92 GB (72.27 GB free)

      G-TECH OEM ATA Device 00 800mbit - 800mbit max

      EFI (disk2s1) <not mounted> : 210 MB

      Music & Pix (disk2s2) /Volumes/Music & Pix : 499.76 GB (499.31 GB free)

     

    Gatekeeper: ℹ️

      Mac App Store and identified developers

     

    Kernel Extensions: ℹ️

      /Applications/DiskWarrior.app

      [not loaded] com.alsoft.Preview (4.2) [Support]

     

      /Applications/Toast 8 Titanium/Toast Titanium.app

      [not loaded] com.roxio.BluRaySupport (1.1.6) [Support]

      [not loaded] com.roxio.TDIXController (1.7) [Support]

     

      /Library/Application Support/Symantec/Protector

      [not loaded] com.symantec.kext.protector.panther (1.0f5) [Support]

      [not loaded] com.symantec.kext.protector.tigerplus (1.0f5) [Support]

     

      /Library/StartupItems/SymAutoProtect

      [not loaded] com.Symantec.kext.SAVAPComm (10.2.0) [Support]

     

      /System/Library/Extensions

      [loaded] com.Logitech.Control Center.HID Driver (3.3.0) [Support]

      [not loaded] com.Logitech.Unifying.HID Driver (1.2.0) [Support]

      [not loaded] com.Symantec.kext.SymEvent (2.0) [Support]

      [not loaded] com.Symantec.kext.SymOSXKernelUtilities (3.0) [Support]

      [not loaded] com.apcupsd.driver.dummy (1.0.0d1) [Support]

      [not loaded] com.digidesign.fwfamily.driver (7.4.2f1) [Support]

      [not loaded] com.digidesign.iokit.DigiDal (8.0.0f1) [Support]

      [not loaded] com.digidesign.iokit.DigiIO (8.0.0f1) [Support]

      [not loaded] com.digidesign.mbox2.boot.driver (8.0.0f1) [Support]

      [not loaded] com.digidesign.mbox2.driver (8.0.0f1) [Support]

      [not loaded] com.paceap.kext.pacesupport.master (5.7) [Support]

     

      /System/Library/Extensions/PACESupportFamily.kext/Contents/PlugIns

      [not loaded] com.paceap.kext.pacesupport.leopard (5.7) [Support]

      [not loaded] com.paceap.kext.pacesupport.panther (5.7) [Support]

      [not loaded] com.paceap.kext.pacesupport.snowleopard (5.7) [Support]

      [not loaded] com.paceap.kext.pacesupport.tiger (5.7) [Support]

     

    Startup Items: ℹ️

      apcupsd: Path: /Library/StartupItems/apcupsd

      Digidesign Mbox 2: Path: /Library/StartupItems/Digidesign Mbox 2

      DigidesignLoader: Path: /Library/StartupItems/DigidesignLoader

      HP IO: Path: /Library/StartupItems/HP IO

      NortonMissedTasks: Path: /Library/StartupItems/NortonMissedTasks

      PACESupport: Path: /Library/StartupItems/PACESupport

      RetroRun: Path: /Library/StartupItems/RetroRun

      SymAutoProtect: Path: /Library/StartupItems/SymAutoProtect

      SymProtector: Path: /Library/StartupItems/SymProtector

      Startup items are obsolete in OS X Yosemite

     

    Launch Agents: ℹ️

      [loaded] com.adobe.CS4ServiceManager.plist [Support]

      [running] com.Logitech.Control Center.Daemon.plist [Support]

     

    Launch Daemons: ℹ️

      [loaded] com.adobe.fpsaud.plist [Support]

      [loaded] com.adobe.versioncueCS4.plist [Support]

      [loaded] com.barebones.bbedit.plist [Support]

      [loaded] com.bombich.ccc.plist [Support]

      [loaded] com.cocoatech.pathfinder.SMFHelper.plist [Support]

      [running] com.digidesign.fwfamily.helper.plist [Support]

      [loaded] com.microsoft.office.licensing.helper.plist [Support]

      [failed] PACESupport.plist [Support]

     

    User Launch Agents: ℹ️

      [loaded] com.adobe.ARM.[...].plist [Support]

      [loaded] com.adobe.ARM.[...].plist [Support]

      [running] com.amazon.cloud-player.plist [Support]

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

     

    User Login Items: ℹ️

      Default Folder X Helper Application (/Library/PreferencePanes/Default Folder X.prefPane/Contents/Resources/Default Folder X Helper.app)

      PopChar Application (/Applications/PopChar/PopChar.app)

      DiskWarriorStarter ApplicationHidden (/Applications/DiskWarrior.app/Contents/MacOS/DiskWarriorStarter.app)

      Dropbox ApplicationHidden (/Applications/Dropbox.app)

      ScanNotification Application (/Library/Application Support/Symantec/AntiVirus/ScanNotification.app)

      SAVDiskMountNotify Application (/Library/Application Support/Symantec/AntiVirus/SAVDiskMountNotify.app)

      SymSecondaryLaunch Application (/Library/Application Support/Norton Solutions Support/Scheduler/SymSecondaryLaunch.app)

      SymQuickMenu Application (/Library/Application Support/Norton Solutions Support/SymQuickMenu/SymQuickMenu.app)

      HP Scheduler Application (/Library/Application Support/Hewlett-Packard/Software Update/HP Scheduler.app)

     

    Internet Plug-ins: ℹ️

      Google Earth Web Plug-in: Version: 6.1 [Support]

      Default Browser: Version: 537 - SDK 10.9

      Flip4Mac WMV Plugin: Version: 3.3.1.3   - SDK 10.8 [Support]

      OfficeLiveBrowserPlugin: Version: 12.3.6 [Support]

      RhapsodyPlayerEngine: Version: 1.1.0 [Support]

      AdobePDFViewerNPAPI: Version: 10.1.13 [Support]

      FlashPlayer-10.6: Version: 16.0.0.235 - SDK 10.6 [Support]

      Silverlight: Version: 5.1.20913.0 - SDK 10.6 [Support]

      Flash Player: Version: 16.0.0.235 - SDK 10.6 [Support]

      QuickTime Plugin: Version: 7.7.3

      iPhotoPhotocast: Version: 7.0 - SDK 10.8

      SharePointBrowserPlugin: Version: 14.4.7 - SDK 10.6 [Support]

      AdobePDFViewer: Version: 10.1.13 [Support]

      JavaAppletPlugin: Version: 14.9.0 - SDK 10.7 Check version

     

    User internet Plug-ins: ℹ️

      Move-Media-Player: Version: npmnqmp 07076003 [Support]

      fbplugin_1_0_3: Version: Unknown [Support]

     

    Audio Plug-ins: ℹ️

      Digidesign CoreAudio: Version: 8.0.0 [Support]

     

    3rd Party Preference Panes: ℹ️

      A Better Finder Preferences  [Support]

      Adobe Version Cue CS4  [Support]

      Application Enhancer  [Support]

      Default Folder X  [Support]

      DigidesignMbox2  [Support]

      Digidesign Mbox 2 Pro  [Support]

      Flash Player  [Support]

      Flip4Mac WMV  [Support]

      Logitech Control Center  [Support]

      SymAutoProtect

      Symantec\nQuickMenu  [Support]

     

    Time Machine: ℹ️

      Skip System Files: NO

      Mobile backups: OFF

      Auto backup: YES

      Volumes being backed up:

      Destinations:

      Time Machine [Local]

      Total size: 1.50 TB

      Total number of backups: 97

      Oldest backup: 2012-06-16 17:07:34 +0000

      Last backup: 2014-12-31 16:55:32 +0000

      Size of backup disk: Excellent

      Backup size 1.50 TB > (Disk size 0 B X 3)

     

    Top Processes by CPU: ℹ️

          10% WindowServer

          4% apcupsd

          0% mds_stores

          0% usbd

          0% Microsoft Excel

     

    Top Processes by Memory: ℹ️

      146 MB WindowServer

      129 MB Safari

      107 MB Finder

      94 MB Mail

      69 MB Microsoft Excel

     

    Virtual Memory Information: ℹ️

      41 MB Free RAM

      1.19 GB Active RAM

      1.14 GB Inactive RAM

      711 MB Wired RAM

      893 MB Page-ins

      21 MB Page-outs

     

    Diagnostics Information: ℹ️

      Dec 31, 2014, 09:27:52 AM Self test - passed

  • by Drew Reece,

    Drew Reece Drew Reece Dec 31, 2014 1:21 PM in response to attrex2013
    Level 5 (7,559 points)
    Notebooks
    Dec 31, 2014 1:21 PM in response to attrex2013

    You have tons of software that looks old or unnecessary to me.

     

    The Page-outs listed shows that the OS has run out of RAM & had to write it back to disk - you either need to do less on the Mac, or add more RAM to avoid this. Disks are much slower than RAM, so this process can be a reason for the wait cursor (spinning beach ball). 21Mb is small, but monitor this figure via Activity Monitor to get a better picture of the RAM usage, over a few hundred MB would concern me. 2GB is the bare minimum for 10.9.

    OS X Mavericks: System Requirements - Apple Support

     

    I think Symantec & Norton are not needed, they waste resources doing things you should really take care of yourself by following basic computer hygiene (use a non-admin account, avoid following spam links, stay away from dubious sites, don't install or download from untrusted sources – basically the App store & the developers own site, using https were available).

    The other Norton & Symantec 'cleanup & performance' features seem pointless to me. If you want an AV scanner consider http://www.clamxav.com, it's free & focuses on only finding bad software (uses less resources). Apple use this in Mac OS server for the email servers antivirus detection. The OS has rules that already prevent known malware from running too.

     

    The kernel is where the OS talks directly to the hardware - you have many extensions, these can effect the entire OS 'sitting above' that layer.

     

    Symantec has kernel extensions named after Tiger & Panther - how old is this software? It was never designed to run on 10.9.

    Disk Warrior's preview extension appears to be from 2011 made for 10.6?

     

    How old is Logitech Control Center? I think 3.9.something is the latest? This is also running several extensions, a system level background job & a preferences pane.

     

    Do you know when apcupsd was installed? Is that current?

     

    I have no experience with digidesign but I'd also suggest looking at that too.

     

    Application Enhancer is a 'HACK', it modifies system apps in ways that Apple never allowed, OS updates usually cause this hack to break features in very odd ways.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Application_Enhancer

    It is also out not designed for 10.9, you have the preferences pane installed for some reason. Unsanity appears to have fallen off the internet, so I don't have the removal instructions to hand (search this site if you want to go that route).

     

    All of the red startup items are not supported on 10.9, developers were asked to stop using these years ago. Update or remove these apps.

     

    All of the User login items can effect how well your account runs, do you need them all (this is a low end Mac, with limited resources, you need to be conservative about what you run).

    Disable these to see if the Mac is any better – logout of the account, re-login whilst holding shift. If it's better you should consider deleting items from System Preferences > Users & groups > Login items. I expect this is only part of the problem.

     

    To clean up this correctly you would need to find the developers removal instructions or uninstallers and get rid of everything not supported on 10.9

    roaringapps.com will indicate what other user have had success with if the developer isn't clear. If you need it make sure it is up to date & supported on this OS.

     

    I was serious about installing onto an external disk to test, it will take a few hours to do so, but clearing out this old cruft could take days. If you decide to reinstall the OS, back it up then erase the boot disk. Then you can install & migrate only the user data back, that should avoid most of the old apps but keep your data working.

     

    You'll gain a few GB's by only installing what you use too, which should help the disk space situation too. Whatever you decide, just take a full backup first, (via CarbonCopyCloner, Super Duper! etc).