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Q: Do IntelHD chips in MacBook Airs just start underperforming?

So I have a Core i5 MBA. 4GB RAM, 128GB SSD and it's probably the weirdest machine I've ever owned.

 

The speakers just didn't work at all until yesterday when it just magically started working, which - as a 16 year senior technician - that actually mystified me, but whatever... audio works now, so I'm not questioning it any further.

 

The problem I'm here for is that it's all around sluggish. Moving through the dock, the magnification is extremely choppy, scrolling is choppy, moving the mouse around happens at a framerate so poor that I'd swear I was on a 20 year old Compaq.

 

To relate the experience I'm having - it feels like any Windows machine would if it were freshly restored without the graphics driver... except, on a Windows machine, I can just hunt down the device's hardware ID, find the graphics driver and everything is smooth again... but I'm not as well-versed in the language of Macish. From what I've researched, the graphics driver for my machine's Intel HD3000 is bundled in with updates so it would appear I have to rely on kext tools within terminal to *possibly* trigger my graphics extension.

 

None of that seems to get me anywhere. I've tried internet recovery multiple times, followed it up with every available update 10.7 has access to... and performed at least 15 search result pages' worth of tricks to no avail. Whatever's going on also seems to brick my machine if I try to update to El Capitan from the App Store. Tested the SSD to see if that could be the culprit, it all verified just fine. I'd think that the gfx being integrated would mean that if my gfx adapter were dead, I wouldn't be able to have it pass hardware diagnostics (or even turn it on successfully).

 

Only thing I haven't tried so far is getting the DMG for ElCapitan and creating a bootable drive to see if latest MacOSX just quick fixes everything (which I'll be doing tonight).

 

If that gets me nowhere... what could this problem be?

MacBook Air, Mac OS X (10.7.5)

Posted on Sep 14, 2016 4:16 PM

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Q: Do IntelHD chips in MacBook Airs just start underperforming?

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  • by Kappy,

    Kappy Kappy Sep 14, 2016 4:20 PM in response to BEASTthisIndustry
    Level 10 (271,123 points)
    Desktops
    Sep 14, 2016 4:20 PM in response to BEASTthisIndustry

    Do IntelHD chips in MacBook Airs just start underperforming?

     

    No.

  • by OGELTHORPE,Helpful

    OGELTHORPE OGELTHORPE Sep 14, 2016 5:04 PM in response to BEASTthisIndustry
    Level 9 (52,353 points)
    Mac OS X
    Sep 14, 2016 5:04 PM in response to BEASTthisIndustry
  • by BEASTthisIndustry,

    BEASTthisIndustry BEASTthisIndustry Sep 14, 2016 5:04 PM in response to OGELTHORPE
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Notebooks
    Sep 14, 2016 5:04 PM in response to OGELTHORPE

    Done countless NVRAM resets, never seemed to get me anywhere on the performance issue. Only effect it seems to have had is that the El Cap upgrade locks up at about 70% instead of it's usual locking up at 5%.

     

    Have not tried SMC reset though, so I'll give that a try.

  • by Kappy,

    Kappy Kappy Sep 14, 2016 10:08 PM in response to BEASTthisIndustry
    Level 10 (271,123 points)
    Desktops
    Sep 14, 2016 10:08 PM in response to BEASTthisIndustry

    Try each of these in order. Test to see if the computer is working properly:

     

    1. Reset the PRAM
    2. Reset the System Management Controller (SMC)
    3. Start the computer in Safe Mode, then restart normally. This is slower than a standard startup.
    4. Repair the disk by booting the from the Recovery HD. Immediately after the chime hold down the Command and R keys until the Utility Menu appears. Choose Disk Utility and click on the Continue button. Select the indented (usually, Macintosh HD) volume entry from the the side list.  Click on the First Aid button in the toolbar. Wait for the Done button to appear. Quit Disk Utility and return to the Utility Menu. Restart the computer from the Apple Menu.
    5. Download and Install OS X El Capitan 10.11.6 Combo Update
    6. Reinstall OS X by booting from the Recovery HD using the Command and R keys. When the Utility Menu appears select Reinstall OS X then click on the Continue button.
  • by dwb,

    dwb dwb Sep 15, 2016 4:18 AM in response to BEASTthisIndustry
    Level 7 (24,187 points)
    Notebooks
    Sep 15, 2016 4:18 AM in response to BEASTthisIndustry

    I see you are running 10.7.5 so your MBA is about 5 years old so it is possible that your computer is experiencing some problems related to age. Beside’s Kappy’s suggestions it would be a good idea to run the Apple Diagnostics. Since I don’t know what year your computer is I’m assuming diagnostics will launch if you restart holding the D key. Run the long series to ensure your computer is nice and warm so thermal related issues have a better chance of revealing themselves.

     

    Having switched from Win to Mac many years ago I understand how strange these beasts seem at first. One thing is true - they just work (or don’t). There’s no fiddling with hardware drivers, no need to use the terminal to activate anything.

     

    One kind of problem that can be hard to isolate are those that are account related. The OS has its own library but the user has one too. It is possible for a user to install software that will affect the computer’s stability for that account only. That’s why I always have a test account in which I install almost no software so I know it is pristine and free from potential baddies. You might want to try this step as well.

     

    Run through Kappy’s list first though. (I’d probably run diagnostics before downloading and installing the OS)

  • by BEASTthisIndustry,

    BEASTthisIndustry BEASTthisIndustry Sep 15, 2016 4:50 AM in response to OGELTHORPE
    Level 1 (4 points)
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    Sep 15, 2016 4:50 AM in response to OGELTHORPE

    Got a chance to give the SMC reset a try. Unfortunately that did not solve the problem. Still performing as if the graphics adapter had no driver.

  • by BEASTthisIndustry,

    BEASTthisIndustry BEASTthisIndustry Sep 15, 2016 5:00 AM in response to dwb
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Notebooks
    Sep 15, 2016 5:00 AM in response to dwb

    dwb wrote:

     

    I see you are running 10.7.5 so your MBA is about 5 years old so it is possible that your computer is experiencing some problems related to age. Beside’s Kappy’s suggestions it would be a good idea to run the Apple Diagnostics. Since I don’t know what year your computer is I’m assuming diagnostics will launch if you restart holding the D key. Run the long series to ensure your computer is nice and warm so thermal related issues have a better chance of revealing themselves.

     

    Having switched from Win to Mac many years ago I understand how strange these beasts seem at first. One thing is true - they just work (or don’t). There’s no fiddling with hardware drivers, no need to use the terminal to activate anything.

     

    One kind of problem that can be hard to isolate are those that are account related. The OS has its own library but the user has one too. It is possible for a user to install software that will affect the computer’s stability for that account only. That’s why I always have a test account in which I install almost no software so I know it is pristine and free from potential baddies. You might want to try this step as well.

     

    Run through Kappy’s list first though. (I’d probably run diagnostics before downloading and installing the OS)

    I actually did run diagnostics before coming here and everything passed (I thought I'd noted that somewhere in the OP), and with nearly 10 recoveries I think I can safely assume I've already omitted any account-based instability.

     

    Despite also having a Mac Mini from the PowerPC era (which actually runs laps around my MBA somehow) chalking it up to age was my first instinct - though I'm absolutely unwilling to stop at that. At any rate, I've run through every item in that list except the combo update... which I can't do until I find some way to get 10.11 on this box. And nothing's changed, unfortunately.

  • by dwb,

    dwb dwb Sep 15, 2016 6:39 AM in response to BEASTthisIndustry
    Level 7 (24,187 points)
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    Sep 15, 2016 6:39 AM in response to BEASTthisIndustry

    BEASTthisIndustry wrote:

     

    with nearly 10 recoveries I think I can safely assume I've already omitted any account-based instability.

    If by recovery you mean you erased the drive, installed the OS, created a new account and ran the computer without installing any new software then yes, you can assume account based stability has been tested. But if your recovery either didn’t erase the drive or immediately migrated data from a backup then no, you cannot say account based issues have been tested.

     

    In regard to diagnostics - my habit is to run the long diagnostic set twice in rapid succession to ensure the computer is hot. Second, as far as I’m concerned there are only two RAM tests I trust: (1) the RAM test shows a failure. False positives are very rare. (2) swapping out known good RAM for suspect RAM. When a RAM test tells me the memory is good all I truly believe is that this time no errors appeared. Of course we can’t swap MBA RAM.

  • by BEASTthisIndustry,

    BEASTthisIndustry BEASTthisIndustry Sep 15, 2016 8:46 AM in response to BEASTthisIndustry
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Notebooks
    Sep 15, 2016 8:46 AM in response to BEASTthisIndustry

    Two more hardware tests back to back... still passes.

     

    I did find an (apparently reputable) utility called EtreCheck that I ran. Here are the results.

    EtreCheck version: 3.0.3 (307)

    Report generated 2016-09-15 10:31:01

    Download EtreCheck from https://etrecheck.com

    Runtime 11:22

    Performance: Poor

     

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

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

     

    Problem: Computer is too slow

     

    Hardware Information:

        MacBook Air (13-inch, Mid 2011)

        [Technical Specifications] - [User Guide] - [Warranty & Service]

        MacBook Air - model: MacBookAir4,2

        1 1.7 GHz Intel Core i5 CPU: 2-core

        4 GB RAM

            BANK 0/DIMM0

                2 GB DDR3 1333 MHz ok

            BANK 1/DIMM0

                2 GB DDR3 1333 MHz ok

        Bluetooth: Old - Handoff/Airdrop2 not supported

        Wireless:  en0: 802.11 a/b/g/n

        Battery: Health = Normal - Cycle count = 688

     

    Video Information:

        Intel HD Graphics 3000 - VRAM: 1024 MB

            Color LCD 1440 x 900

     

    System Software:

        OS X Lion 10.7.5 (11G63) - Time since boot: less than an hour

     

    Disk Information:

        APPLE SSD TS128C disk0 : (121.33 GB) (Solid State - TRIM: Yes)

            disk0s1 (disk0s1) <not mounted> : 210 MB

            APPLE SSD TS128C (disk0s2) / : 120.47 GB (103.37 GB free)

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

     

    USB Information:

        Apple Internal Memory Card Reader

        Apple Inc. FaceTime Camera (Built-in)

        Apple Inc. BRCM20702 Hub

            Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller

        Apple Inc. Apple Internal Keyboard / Trackpad

     

    Thunderbolt Information:

        Apple, Inc. MacBook Air

     

    System Launch Agents:

        [not loaded]    5 Apple tasks

        [loaded]    112 Apple tasks

        [running]    13 Apple tasks

     

    System Launch Daemons:

        [not loaded]    64 Apple tasks

        [loaded]    122 Apple tasks

        [running]    35 Apple tasks

     

    Launch Daemons:

        [loaded]    com.apple.remotepairtool.plist (2016-09-14)

     

    Internet Plug-ins:

        QuickTime Plugin: 7.7.1 (2016-09-15)

        JavaAppletPlugin: 14.3.0 - SDK 10.7 (2016-09-14) Check version

     

    3rd Party Preference Panes:

        None

     

    Time Machine:

        Time Machine information requires OS X 10.8 "Mountain Lion" or later.

     

    Top Processes by CPU:

            16%    kextcache

            12%    Safari

            12%    WebProcess

             3%    WindowServer

             2%    ps

     

    Top Processes by Memory:

        184 MB    WebProcess

        82 MB    Safari

        61 MB    mds

        53 MB    SystemUIServer

        53 MB    WindowServer

     

    Virtual Memory Information:

        2.12 GB    Free RAM

        1.88 GB    Used RAM

        0 B    Swap Used

     

    Diagnostics Information:

        Sep 15, 2016, 10:09:16 AM    Self test - passed

     

     

    Does this shed any light?

     

    Also what's disk0s1 - could it be causing problems?

  • by dwb,

    dwb dwb Sep 15, 2016 9:57 AM in response to BEASTthisIndustry
    Level 7 (24,187 points)
    Notebooks
    Sep 15, 2016 9:57 AM in response to BEASTthisIndustry

    EtreCheck is reputable. Many of us here recommend people run it and paste the results so we can see what’s being run. Disk0 refers to the internal physical disk which has 3 partitions. I haven’t used 10.7 in years so I don’t recall how the first partition was labeled but I do expect to see a small initial boot partition which isn’t mounted. Yours isn’t labeled but on mine it is labeled EFI. Don’t know if that indicates a problem or not. You have a remarkably bare computer - I see nothing.

     

    Hopefully Kappy will check back in with an idea and/or better memory of Lion (10.7). Have you by chance attempted booting this computer with an external hard drive?

  • by BEASTthisIndustry,

    BEASTthisIndustry BEASTthisIndustry Sep 15, 2016 1:14 PM in response to dwb
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Notebooks
    Sep 15, 2016 1:14 PM in response to dwb

    post.user_wrote.label:

     

    EtreCheck is reputable. Many of us here recommend people run it and paste the results so we can see what’s being run. Disk0 refers to the internal physical disk which has 3 partitions. I haven’t used 10.7 in years so I don’t recall how the first partition was labeled but I do expect to see a small initial boot partition which isn’t mounted. Yours isn’t labeled but on mine it is labeled EFI. Don’t know if that indicates a problem or not. You have a remarkably bare computer - I see nothing.

     

    Hopefully Kappy will check back in with an idea and/or better memory of Lion (10.7). Have you by chance attempted booting this computer with an external hard drive?

    Nah, however I did poke around in the activity monitor and find that kernel_task was DEVOURING my CPU at 99% usage. Didn't take much to discover that this was incredibly common in 10.7 machines (which the SMC clear was supposed to take care of but commonly seems not to).

     

    The most common resolution for this seemed to be modifying IOPlatformPluginFamily.kext(Contents/Plugins/ACPI_SMC_PlatformPlugin.kext/Conte nts/Resources) to remove the MacBookAir4_2 file that pertains to my MBA. She's performing beautifully now - though I'm not sure if that'll let me bump it up to ElCap though. I'll check back in on that.

  • by John Galt,

    John Galt John Galt Sep 15, 2016 9:03 PM in response to BEASTthisIndustry
    Level 8 (49,154 points)
    Mac OS X
    Sep 15, 2016 9:03 PM in response to BEASTthisIndustry

    Those symptoms make it seem that Mac is always booting in "Safe Mode". Might that be possible?

     

    When it is, System Information will indicate Boot Mode: Safe in System Software Overview.

     

    OS X: About System Information and System Profiler - Apple Support.

  • by BEASTthisIndustry,

    BEASTthisIndustry BEASTthisIndustry Sep 17, 2016 2:20 PM in response to John Galt
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Notebooks
    Sep 17, 2016 2:20 PM in response to John Galt

    She's definitely not automatically booting into safe mode. I've booted into SM a couple times when trying to figure this out and notice that there's blue text there to indicate when I'm in SM.

     

     

    To give an update on the situation, fixing the kext problem within extensions resolved the sluggishness - everything on-screen is smooth now… but updates are still being weird. I've gotten in the habit of creating bootable USB upgrades so that I can save myself from 2hr downtime for internet recovery/time machine recovery if it fails… I successfully was able to move from 10.7 to 10.8.5 and get a bunch of EFI upgrades, but it just does not wanna take 10.11 or even 10.10 regardless of how I try to load it. I try to boot them from them from the Apple Store installers and I end up with a brick that hangs at the apple logo with a bar that gets to either 5%, 30% or 70%… I try to load from the bootable USBs (made with Discmaker X) but never completes even if I leave it going overnight.

     

    I can confidently say I've never had a machine pass hardware diagnostics and still be so problematic with OS upgrades. Any idea how I can get this guy to take 10.11? Possible that I'll have to move from 10.8.5 to some iteration of 10.9 and knock out it's updates before I can move forward?

  • by dwb,

    dwb dwb Sep 17, 2016 2:54 PM in response to BEASTthisIndustry
    Level 7 (24,187 points)
    Notebooks
    Sep 17, 2016 2:54 PM in response to BEASTthisIndustry

    There is no logical reason to hop from 10.7 to 10.8 to 10.9 etc. I can tell you that I've upgraded several 2011 MBAs from early releases to later jumping over middle releases. I understand your befuddlement  at a machine that passes diagnostics but acts so...broken. I will say that Apple has diagnostics that are more robust than what consumers are given. Apple won't charge you for a diagnostic session and that may well be your best course.

     

    One thought...have you tried installing El Capitan on an external drive and booting from It?

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