10.14.4 update crippled my wifes 2012 i5 macbook pro

askomer wrote:

the update took 32 hours to run its course! afterwards the laptop runs painfully slow.

This was a 10.14.4 update not a 10.14 upgrade—

You can try Download macOS Mojave 10.14.4 Combo Update -

Apple Support https://support.apple.com/kb/DL1996?locale=pt_BR

and re-install this combo on top of your existing macOS

askomer wrote:

10.14.4 would NOT install to a new, blank SSD

That is the problem and you have your forward—

New Drives have to be formatted before they can except anything.

Welcome to Disk Utility on Mac - Apple Support

formatting/general reference/Boot clone https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-10081

askomer wrote:

I was able to install this update on my 15" 2012 I7,

the update took 32 hours to run its course! afterwards the laptop runs painfully slow.

I've been trying everything I can think of except for a full tear down.

First I removed the HD ribbon cable and booted the SSD from a USB Caddy (=No Luck). Next, I swapped the RAM (=No Luck), after that, (I had prior to the update ordered) installed a 16 Gig ram upgrade, and replaced the HD ribbon cable. I also tried installing to a "fresh" 250 SSD, with no luck.

here's the specs ;

MacBook Pro (13-inch, mid 2012)

Processor 2.5 GHz Intel Core i5

Memory 16 GB 1600 Mhz DDR3

Startup Disk 500 Gig SSD

Graphics Intel HD Graphics 4000 1536 MB

MacOS 10.14.4

Any pro's out there who can steer me in the right direction?

<etre report.log>

I do not know what this is "I also tried installing to a "fresh" 250 SSD,"

• System Load: 79.55 (1 min ago) 83.37 (5 min ago) 123.02 (15 min ago) Nominal I/O speed: 1.16 MB/s
• File system: 121.40 seconds (timed out)
• Write speed: 83 MB/s
• Read speed: 120 MB/s

What I see going no further—drive is failing in a big way.

etrecheck.com Runtime: 66:18

Back up all your data. Replace the drive with a SDD

OWC SSD Upgrade Kits For MacBook Pro 2012 - MacSales.com

It jumps out to me that you are launching a lot of apps/extensions on startup. You are also, it appears, launching Parallels. Parallels likely has RAM allocated to it so you have a reduced amount of RAM available for your MacOS.

And as already said, your drive is failing.

Try booting in safe mode to see if performance improves. It will take some time to boot in safe mode.

askomer wrote:

EXPLAINED;

I installed a new, blank 250 Gigabyte Solid State Drive. And tried to install a clean, newly downloaded copy (from the App Store) of Macos 10.14 Mojave.

ok..........."Tried" what does that mean you did or you didn't.

Did you format the drive—then installed the macOS successfully or no?

When it comes to Mojave installs or updates compared to ALL other previous system versions over the past 30 years, I believe a pram zap and an SMC reset is needed each time.

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

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