unclmac

Q: Mac Mini sometimes slow.

My 2011 Mac Mini, OS X El Capitan 10.11.6 up-to-date, wifi speed good, 8GB memory, of which 3-5 in use, often slows down with rainbow whirligig.  This happens when I switch from wind to window or app to app quickly.

Mac mini, OS X El Capitan (10.11.6), 8GB memory

Posted on Aug 6, 2016 11:20 AM

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Q: Mac Mini sometimes slow.

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  • by K Shaffer,

    K Shaffer K Shaffer Aug 7, 2016 11:57 AM in response to unclmac
    Level 6 (14,328 points)
    Desktops
    Aug 7, 2016 11:57 AM in response to unclmac

    Other system specifications, and resource usage may indicate the cause

    of this slow-down at those times; the Console log files may be helpful if

    you use them according to exact time of each occurrence, for details.

    Disk Utility can also be helpful to compare certain items in the system.

     

    Even to simply look into the overall picture by use of a system report

    generating tool such a Etrecheck http://etrecheck.com/#about may be

    one way to have a report and also post a copy into these discussions.

     

    I'd suspect part of the lag may be due to the amount of saved content

    on the computer storage drive; if the content is becoming too much

    the resulting lag may be due to temporary swap files or virtual memory.

     

    You may need to archive some of your user-generated content to external

    hard drive storage for later retrieval, and then remove the original from HDD.

    The amount of unused capacity of the boot drive, aka "free space" can be

    of major importance since the Mac system will use that capacity to run.

     

    In addition to more memory (RAM) installed, a larger hard drive could help.

    Or less accumulation in the hard drive where the system lives.

     

    Good luck!

  • by lllaass,Apple recommended

    lllaass lllaass Aug 7, 2016 12:25 PM in response to unclmac
    Level 10 (188,724 points)
    Desktops
    Aug 7, 2016 12:25 PM in response to unclmac

    I suspect a failing HD since it happens when you read/write to the drive.  It is slow because data has to be repeatedly read/write from the drive to get a good read/write.

     

    - Try resetting the SMC and NVRAM/PRAM

    Intel-based Macs: Resetting the System Management Controller (SMC)

    https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201295

    About NVRAM and PRAM 

    https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204063

    - Try starting in Safe Mode

    OS X: What is Safe Boot, Safe Mode?

    https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201262

    - Boot to Recovery and repair the startup disk

    OS X: About OS X Recovery - Apple Support

    https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201314

    Also note in Disk Utility if the SMART status is listed as verified.

    - If it is repairable reinstall the OSX

    How to reinstall OS X on your Mac - Apple Support

    https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204904

    - If you do not have a backup use disk utility to restore the internal disk to an external disk so you can try to recover data.

    Then format the startup disk and do a fresh install of OSX