cloudd slow system computer

Are you using either the iCloud Drive or iCloud Photos Library on your Mac. The iCPL is often very active in the background indexing photos in the library, identifying faces, etc. That definitely would contribute to the performance issue.

Download and run Etrecheck.  Copy and paste the results into your reply. Etrecheck is a diagnostic tool that was developed by one of the most respected users here in the ASC and recommended by Apple Support  to provide a snapshot of the system and help identify the more obvious culprits that can adversely affect a Mac's performance.

Use the Add Text button to include the report in your reply:

Also before running assign Full Disk Access to Etrecheck so that it can get additional information from the Console and log files for the report:

You've installed two apps that are totally unnecessary and often the cause of problems: CleanMyMac, and Sophos. Uninstall each according to the developer's instructions.

There's no need for any "cleaning", "optimizing", "speed-up" or anti-virus apps. Macs are very secure.

Malwarebytes is a good app to have for adware and malware.

After uninstalling rerun Etrecheck to verify you've removed all of the supporting files for those apps.

Hi Lincoln,

Thanks for getting back to us after trying those steps. It sounds like you were able to isolate the likely cause of the performance issues to iCloud activity on your main user account. We'd like to have you get in touch with Apple Support next, who can take a closer look at this with you. You can reach them using this link:

Apple - Support - Product Selection

Take care.

You're welcome.

Hello Lincoln Betteridge,

Thank you for using Apple Support Communities! I understand that your Mac is performing slower than expected, and you're wondering if it may be related to cloudd performance. You've come to the right place for help.

If you're referring to the cloudd process that appears when using the Activity Monitor on your Mac, this can indicate that iCloud Photos is uploading or downloading photos to your library. I suggest checking Activity Monitor for additional processes that may be using high CPU on your Mac, and also checking the status of you photo library:

• See how apps affect Mac performance, battery runtime, temperature, and fan activity - Apple Support
• About the status bar in Photos for macOS - Apple Support

If the Mac is still performing slowly after your photo library has been updated, I would like to further isolate some additional causes with you:

1. Go to System Preferences > Security & Privacy > FileVault. Does FileVault show it's currently encrypting your drive?
2. Verify and repair your startup disk using Disk Utility, then test if there's any change in performance: Using Disk Utility to verify or repair disks - Apple Support
3. Restart your iMac in safe mode. If there are no performance concerns while in safe mode, follow the steps under the "If an issue doesn't happen in safe mode" section here: Use safe mode to isolate issues with your Mac - Apple Support
4. Using another user account can help determine if the behavior is related to files or settings for your user account. If you don't have another use account you can use for testing, here's how to create one: How to test an issue in another user account on your Mac - Apple Support

Keep us posted on the results.

Cheers!

Sorry it too me a while to get back to you, but it took me a while to get rid of CleanMyMac!!

Firstly THANKS, the problem seems to have been resolved. Response times are much improved and the cloudd process is no longer reading hundreds of GB of data. Everything looks fine after several hours and having done a cold-start of the system. I will show the issue as closed.

Secondly, I was also impressed by the tool, Etecheck, you advised me to use. The information it provides is interesting indeed. I will be keeping the tool available for any future needs.

Thanks again and best regards.