PeterBphoto

Q: Activity Monitor tutorial, maybe?

I have a new iMac and an older iMac. New one's fine, the older one is horribly slow. If I knew what to look for with Activity Monitor, maybe I could spot what processes are dragging down response times. The older iMac has a bazillion files to keep track of. Ordinary mouse clicks and changing from one running application to another takes between 10 and 20 seconds to register the change. Curiously, when the two Macs are connected to each other (older one as a Device on the newer one), I can access the older iMac's folder structure via the new iMac and response times are normal. What does that indicate? Both running OS X 10.10.5, 24" iMac mid-2007, 27" iMac late 2013.

Posted on Nov 25, 2015 5:29 AM

Close

Q: Activity Monitor tutorial, maybe?

  • All replies
  • Helpful answers

  • by ckuan,

    ckuan ckuan Nov 25, 2015 5:33 AM in response to PeterBphoto
    Level 7 (33,902 points)
    Nov 25, 2015 5:33 AM in response to PeterBphoto
  • by notcloudy,

    notcloudy notcloudy Nov 25, 2015 5:39 AM in response to PeterBphoto
    Level 4 (1,195 points)
    Desktops
    Nov 25, 2015 5:39 AM in response to PeterBphoto

    PeterBphoto wrote:

     

    I have a new iMac and an older iMac. New one's fine, the older one is horribly slow. If I knew what to look for with Activity Monitor, maybe I could spot what processes are dragging down response times. The older iMac has a bazillion files to keep track of. Ordinary mouse clicks and changing from one running application to another takes between 10 and 20 seconds to register the change. Curiously, when the two Macs are connected to each other (older one as a Device on the newer one), I can access the older iMac's folder structure via the new iMac and response times are normal. What does that indicate? Both running OS X 10.10.5, 24" iMac mid-2007, 27" iMac late 2013.

    Run etrecheck on both devices -- if you see that some modules were killed - means you are running too many applications on that device - for the amount of RAM memory you have.

     

    http://www.etresoft.com/etrecheck

  • by notcloudy,

    notcloudy notcloudy Nov 25, 2015 5:52 AM in response to PeterBphoto
    Level 4 (1,195 points)
    Desktops
    Nov 25, 2015 5:52 AM in response to PeterBphoto

    PeterBphoto wrote:

     

    I have a new iMac and an older iMac. New one's fine, the older one is horribly slow. If I knew what to look for with Activity Monitor, maybe I could spot what processes are dragging down response times. The older iMac has a bazillion files to keep track of. Ordinary mouse clicks and changing from one running application to another takes between 10 and 20 seconds to register the change. Curiously, when the two Macs are connected to each other (older one as a Device on the newer one), I can access the older iMac's folder structure via the new iMac and response times are normal. What does that indicate? Both running OS X 10.10.5, 24" iMac mid-2007, 27" iMac late 2013.

    Yosemite changes the way both RAM and VM are used.   If you are used to having open a certain number of applications on your desk top in earlier releases with no problem - loading the same applications with Yosemite may cause Memory pressure.

     

    Yosemite puts your entire application into RAM - unlike earlier releases where it put some in VM (pages in) if you see pages out swapping is occurring.

    In order to keep active applications in RAM (those that have activity) Yosemite may compress parts of memory -- if its still not enough for active processes it Kills processes that have had no activity in a certain amount of time, only as a last resort will it swap active processes to VM.

     

    I see 2 downsides to Yosemite: First  Killing processes: Some applications may crash because the caller of a process opens it with initialization of some  field then tries to call the same application after it has been killed - but is assuming it is running.    Second: Compress of Memory - compression of information has one quick - very rare - the data compresses into an instruction that signifies end of data when it really isn't.    Both problems would not occur if you have enough ram to run everything you have open.

  • by PeterBphoto,

    PeterBphoto PeterBphoto Nov 25, 2015 6:32 AM in response to ckuan
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Nov 25, 2015 6:32 AM in response to ckuan

    Thank you! That's one of the things I needed. I'll start learning more about AM and how it can help me. I appreciate your help very much.

  • by PeterBphoto,

    PeterBphoto PeterBphoto Nov 25, 2015 6:45 AM in response to notcloudy
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Nov 25, 2015 6:45 AM in response to notcloudy

    Thank you for the EtreCheck recommendation and comments about Yosemite changes. The slowdown on the older 24" iMac began immediately upon upgrading it from Mavericks to Yosemite, so its symptoms fit with your remarks. The first-time report issued by EtreCheck tells me 12 System Launch Agent processes killed due to insufficient RAM and 10 System Launch Daemon processes killed due to insufficient RAM. Total RAM for the machine is 4 GB. Other aspects of the report are OK. I guess that tells me the first thing I need to change to improve the performance. I appreciate your help very much!

  • by PeterBphoto,

    PeterBphoto PeterBphoto Nov 25, 2015 6:51 AM in response to notcloudy
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Nov 25, 2015 6:51 AM in response to notcloudy

    Unfortunately, my mid-2007 24" iMac cannot accept more than the 4 GB RAM it currently has, according to Apple's Support documents.

  • by rccharles,

    rccharles rccharles Nov 25, 2015 12:21 PM in response to PeterBphoto
    Level 6 (8,496 points)
    Classic Mac OS
    Nov 25, 2015 12:21 PM in response to PeterBphoto

    OWC asserts you can get 6gig in the 2007 imac.  Lots of time a larger memory chip comes out after Apple announces the machine. OWC and other try larger memory and see if it works.  I'd give owc a call and verify more memory will work.

    http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/apple/memory/iMac

     

    look in activity monitor for the memory hogs.   Don't run as many apps at once.

     

    Consider downgrading.  4gig isn't enough for yosemite in my experience.

  • by Eric Root,

    Eric Root Eric Root Nov 25, 2015 12:21 PM in response to PeterBphoto
    Level 9 (72,040 points)
    iTunes
    Nov 25, 2015 12:21 PM in response to PeterBphoto

    Can you post the Etrecheck report please.

     

    It can probably be upgraded to 6 GB. Check the OWC site.

     

    I have purchased RAM several times from Other World Computing and have always been very satisfied with the product and service. They have on-line instructions on how to replace the RAM. OWC has also tested RAM above what Apple states is the maximum. I now have 6GB installed on a early 2008 iMac supposedly limited to 4 GB and noticed an improvement.

     

    Other World Computing


    Performance Guide

     

    Why is my computer slow

     

    Why your Mac runs slower than it should

     

    Slow Mac After Mavericks

     

    Things you can do to resolve slowdowns  see post by Kappy

     

    6 Easy Tips to Speed Up OS X Yosemite on Your Mac

  • by PeterBphoto,

    PeterBphoto PeterBphoto Nov 30, 2015 8:18 AM in response to Eric Root
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Nov 30, 2015 8:18 AM in response to Eric Root

    Thank you for the numerous suggestions to check out. I'm in the process of doing some of the things that apply. More maintenance and cleaning out to do. OWC Chat rep says their testing reveals usability of 6GB RAM, desp

    ite Apple's assertion 4 GB is the ceiling.  EtreCheck report is at this link:

     

    https://www.dropbox.com/sh/k76uc590kqy17ru/AABJn-_HFVyHEKstReT9Gk-7a?dl=0

  • by Eric Root,

    Eric Root Eric Root Nov 30, 2015 8:57 AM in response to PeterBphoto
    Level 9 (72,040 points)
    iTunes
    Nov 30, 2015 8:57 AM in response to PeterBphoto

    As I posted above, I'm using 6 GB of RAM on a computer Apple says only supports 4 GB.

     

    Could you post the Etrecheck report in a reply or on Pastebin?

     

    Pastebin

  • by PeterBphoto,

    PeterBphoto PeterBphoto Nov 30, 2015 9:47 AM in response to Eric Root
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Nov 30, 2015 9:47 AM in response to Eric Root

    (PeterBPhoto's 24" iMac)

     

    EtreCheck version: 2.6.4 (224)
    Report generated 11/25/15, 9:32 AM
    Runtime 4:13
    Download EtreCheck from
    http://etresoft.com/etrecheck

    Click the [Click for support] links for help with non-Apple products. Click the [Click for details] links for more information about that line.

    Hardware Information: (What does this mean?) iMac (24-inch, Mid 2007)
    [Click for Technical Specifications]
    [Click for User Guide]

    iMac - model: iMac7,1
    1 2.8 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo CPU: 2-core 4 GB RAM Upgradeable
    [Click for upgrade instructions]

    BANK 0/DIMM0
    2 GB DDR2 SDRAM 667 MHz ok

    BANK 1/DIMM1
    2 GB DDR2 SDRAM 667 MHz ok

    Bluetooth: Old - Handoff/Airdrop2 not supported Wireless: en1: 802.11 a/b/g/n

    Video Information: (What does this mean?) ATI,RadeonHD2600 - VRAM: 256 MB

    iMac 1920 x 1200

    System Software: (What does this mean?)
    OS X Yosemite 10.10.5 (14F1021) - Time since boot: about 2 hours

    Disk Information: (What does this mean?)
    WDC WD5000AAKS-40TMA0 disk0 : (500.11 GB) (Rotational)

    EFI (disk0s1) <not mounted> : 210 MB
    Macintosh HD (disk0s2) / : 499.25 GB (91.01 GB free)
    Recovery HD (disk0s3) <not mounted> [Recovery]: 650 MB

    USB Information: (What does this mean?) Apple, Inc. Keyboard Hub

    Apple, Inc Apple Keyboard
    Apple Inc. Built-in iSight
    Apple Computer, Inc. IR Receiver
    Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller

     

     

    Mitsumi Electric Apple Optical USB Mouse

    Gatekeeper: (What does this mean?)
    Mac App Store and identified developers

    Kernel Extensions: (What does this mean?) /Applications/Utilities/Toast 7 Titanium/Toast Titanium.app

    [not loaded] com.roxio.BluRaySupport (1.1.3) [Click for support] [not loaded] com.roxio.TDIXController (1.6) [Click for support]

    /Library/Extensions

    [loaded] at.obdev.nke.LittleSnitch (4352 - SDK 10.8) [Click for support] /System/Library/Extensions

     

     

    [not loaded] [not loaded] [not loaded]

    com.AmbrosiaSW.AudioSupport (4.1.2 - SDK 10.6) [Click for support] com.Logitech.Control Center.HID Driver (3.5.1 - SDK 10.0) [Click for support] com.Logitech.Unifying.HID Driver (1.2.0 - SDK 10.0) [Click for support]

     

     

    System Launch Agents: (What does this mean?) [killed] com.apple.CallHistoryPluginHelper.plist [killed] com.apple.CallHistorySyncHelper.plist [killed] com.apple.EscrowSecurityAlert.plist [killed] com.apple.Maps.pushdaemon.plist [killed] com.apple.cloudphotosd.plist

    [killed] com.apple.coreservices.appleid.authentication.plist [killed] com.apple.gamed.plist
    [killed] com.apple.icloud.fmfd.plist
    [killed] com.apple.photolibraryd.plist

    [killed] com.apple.sbd.plist
    [killed] com.apple.scopedbookmarkagent.xpc.plist [killed] com.apple.telephonyutilities.callservicesd.plist 12 processes killed due to insufficient RAM

    System Launch Daemons: (What does this mean?) [killed] com.apple.awdd.plist
    [killed] com.apple.ctkd.plist
    [killed] com.apple.icloud.findmydeviced.plist [killed] com.apple.ifdreader.plist

    [killed] com.apple.nehelper.plist
    [killed] com.apple.periodic-daily.plist [killed] com.apple.softwareupdated.plist [killed] com.apple.tccd.system.plist

     

     

    [killed] com.apple.wdhelper.plist
    [killed] org.cups.cupsd.plist - Invalid signature! 10 processes killed due to insufficient RAM

    Launch Agents: (What does this mean?)

     

     

    [running] [running] [loaded] [running] [loaded] [loaded] [loaded] [loaded] [loaded] [running]

    at.obdev.LittleSnitchUIAgent.plist [Click for support]

    com.Logitech.Control Center.Daemon.plist [Click for support] com.adobe.AAM.Updater-1.0.plist [Click for support]

    com.adobe.AdobeCreativeCloud.plist [Click for support] com.maintain.LogOut.plist [Click for support] com.maintain.PurgeInactiveMemory.plist [Click for support] com.maintain.Restart.plist [Click for support] com.maintain.ShutDown.plist [Click for support] com.maintain.Sleep.plist [Click for support]

     

     

    com.maintain.SystemEvents.plist [Click for support] Launch Daemons: (What does this mean?)

     

     

    [running]

    [loaded]

    [failed]

    [loaded] [loaded] [loaded] [running] [loaded] [loaded] [loaded] [loaded] [loaded]

    at.obdev.littlesnitchd.plist [Click for support] com.adobe.agsservice.plist [Click for support]

    com.adobe.fpsaud.plist [Click for support] com.ambrosiasw.ambrosiaaudiosupporthelper.daemon.plist [Click for support] com.barebones.authd.plist [Click for support] com.barebones.textwrangler.plist [Click for support]

    com.crashplan.engine.plist [Click for support] com.maintain.AutoLoginUserScreenLocked.plist [Click for support] com.maintain.CocktailScheduler.plist [Click for support] com.maintain.HideSpotlightMenuBarIcon.plist [Click for support] info.lokiware.attachmenttamer.securetool.plist [Click for support] net.sourceforge.MonolingualHelper.plist [Click for support]

     

     

    User Launch Agents: (What does this mean?)
    [loaded] com.adobe.AAM.Updater-1.0.plist [Click for support]
    [failed] com.apple.SafariBookmarksSyncer.plist - /Applications/Safari.app/Contents/SafariSy

    Executable not found!

     

     

    [loaded]

    [failed]

    [loaded]

    com.c-command.SpamSieve.LaunchAgent.plist [Click for support] com.google.keystone.agent.plist [Click for support]

    com.maintain.ShowUserLibraryDirectory.plist [Click for support]

     

     

    User Login Items: (What does this mean?)
    CopyPaste Pro Application (/Applications/CopyPaste Pro.app) Dropbox Application (/Applications/Dropbox.app)

     

     

    n

     

     

    Other Apps: (What does this mean?)

     

     

    [loaded] [loaded] [loaded] [running] [running] [loaded] [running] [running] [running] [running] [running] [running] [running] [running] [running] [running] [running] [loaded]

    at.EternalStorms.yoinkLoginStarterHelper com.LittleFin.ChronicleAgent com.PeterHoerster.CopyPasteUniversal.45472

    com.adobe.acc.AdobeDesktopService.152824.BF6E4E4D-5910-452F-8280-3AA9219

    com.adobe.accmac.70464 com.ambrosiasw.SnapzLoginHelper

    com.apple.xpc.launchd.oneshot.0x10000002.File Multi Tool 5 com.apple.xpc.launchd.oneshot.0x10000003.Chronicle com.apple.xpc.launchd.oneshot.0x10000005.CopyPaste Pro com.apple.xpc.launchd.oneshot.0x10000006.SpamSieve com.apple.xpc.launchd.oneshot.0x10000008.Little Snitch Network Monitor com.apple.xpc.launchd.oneshot.0x1000000a.Yoink com.apple.xpc.launchd.oneshot.0x1000000b.Growl com.apple.xpc.launchd.oneshot.0x1000000c.Snapz Pro X com.apple.xpc.launchd.oneshot.0x1000000e.EtreCheck com.evernote.EvernoteHelper

    com.getdropbox.dropbox.47176 com.growl.GrowlLauncher

     

     

    Internet Plug-ins: (What does this mean?)
    JavaAppletPlugin: Version: 15.0.0 - SDK 10.10 Check version FlashPlayer-10.6: Version: 17.0.0.188 - SDK 10.6 [Click for support] QuickTime Plugin: Version: 7.7.3
    Flash Player: Version: 17.0.0.188 - SDK 10.6
    Outdated! Update AdobeAAMDetect: Version: 3.0.0.0 - SDK 10.9 [Click for support] Default Browser: Version: 600 - SDK 10.10
    Silverlight: Version: 5.1.10411.0 - SDK 10.6
    [Click for support] iPhotoPhotocast: Version: 7.0

    Safari Extensions: (What does this mean?) Buffer

    Facebook Cleaner ClickToFlash Evernote Web Clipper Web Snapper

    3rd Party Preference Panes: (What does this mean?) Default Folder X [Click for support]
    Dictionary Cleaner [Click for support]
    Flash Player [Click for support]

     

     

    E

     

     

    Logitech Control Center [Click for support] MouseLocator [Click for support]

    Time Machine: (What does this mean?) Skip System Files: NO
    Auto backup: YES
    Volumes being backed up:

    Macintosh HD: Disk size: 499.25 GB Disk used: 408.24 GB Destinations:

    LaCie1TB [Local]
    Total size: 642.91 GB
    Total number of backups: 82 Oldest backup: 7/24/14, 7:31 AM Last backup: 11/12/15, 4:02 PM Size of backup disk:
    Too small

    Backup size 642.91 GB < (Disk used 408.24 GB X 3)

    Top Processes by CPU: (What does this mean?) 4% WindowServer

    1% Creative Cloud 1% fontd
    0% SystemUIServer 0% kernel_task

    Top Processes by Memory: (What does this mean?)

     

     

    591 MB 147 MB 143 MB 135 MB 98 MB

    kernel_task
    mdworker(7) com.apple.WebKit.WebContent(2) Safari

    CrashPlanService

     

     

    Virtual Memory Information: (What does this mean?)

     

     

    1010 MB 3.01 GB 399 MB

    Free RAM
    Used RAM (1.03 GB Cached)

    Swap Used

     

     

    Diagnostics Information: (What does this mean?)

     

     

    Nov 25, 2015, 07:24:40 AM Nov 25, 2015, 06:50:39 AM Nov 24, 2015, 08:45:42 AM Nov 23, 2015, 07:25:35 AM

    ~/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/Adobe CEF Helper_2015-11-25-0 Self test - passed
    ~/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/Adobe CEF Helper_2015-11-24-0 ~/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/Creative Cloud_2015-11-23-0725

     

     

    7

    8 3

     

  • by PeterBphoto,

    PeterBphoto PeterBphoto Dec 1, 2015 8:50 AM in response to rccharles
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 1, 2015 8:50 AM in response to rccharles

    Thanks for the tip. I did a chat yesterday with tech support at OWC, and the woman there said they've tested & confirmed 6 GB will work in my mid-2007 24" iMac. From what I understand, as long as the 'About This Mac' overview recognizes and reads 6 GB (rather than 4) for memory, then the machine can make use of it. I have a couple maintenance and cleaning up tasks to do first, then I'll get the additional RAM. I appreciate your help!