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User profile for user: ziggy263
ziggy263 Author
User level: Level 1
8 points

iMac slow to load apps, frequent beach ball for 10-15 seconds

Hi all, thanks in advance for the help and I've posted an EtreCheck report below. In short, my late 2012 iMac has ran pretty slow for a while but recently has become almost unusable. Opening apps takes quite a while (1 min + for Firefox) and simple tasks like switching windows, clicking on menu items, or opening the spotlight search bar cause the system to beachball for 10-15 seconds before completing the task. I've spend time "cleaning up" the Mac as well as tried to keep an eye on the CPU and Memory usage, but they both remain suprising low throughout all the hangups (usually less than 20% CPU usage and no more than 3 gb of RAM used), so the system doesn't seem to be taxed. I've also created a test user account with nothing else installed, and it suffers the same problems which leads me to believe that it is hardware related—though all of the HD tests I've ran come back fine. I'd appreciate hearing if the etrecheck report reveals anything to the community here, or if replacing the HD with an SSD might clear up the issue (I don't want to throw money at the issue if it won't make a difference). Thanks!

EtreCheck Report


Posted on Aug 15, 2019 5:45 AM

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User profile for user: Allan Jones
Allan Jones
User level: Level 9
72,260 points

Posted on Aug 15, 2019 7:13 AM

The only software issues I see is that you have installed something called "AppCleaner." So far, I've not found any "cleaner" apps that do not cause more problems than they fix. Apple built maintenance scripts ito OSX that run automatically; adding a third-party cleaning/tune-up/optimizing app to the mix causes conflicts you do not want. So free yourself from AppCleanre.


However, the root cause for the symptoms you describe is surely this:

Drives:
disk0 - APPLE HDD ST1000LM024 1.00 TB (Mechanical - 5400 RPM)
Internal SATA 3 Gigabit Serial ATA


This is why most entry-level 21.5-inch iMacs feel "slow. "Apple opted to install a slow 5400 rpm drive rated at 3GBps in a computer with a hard drive bus rated twice that fast (6GBps). And yours is on the slow side of "slow." We have a 2011 iMac with the same drive config and its read/write speeds are faster that (110MBps v. your 70MBps.


The real fix is to open the computer and replace the rotational hard drive with a 6GBps solid state drive (SSD). However, the 2012 iMac was the first of the "glueMacs." The case is held together with adhesive strips. Getting into the case and have to install new seal strips before reassembly is a pain, both in your wallet and your backside.


The easier fix used by many senior contributors here is to buy a USB3 drive inclosure and install a 6GBps SSD in it. Those specs are important to respect or you won't see any benefit. It usually means buying those separately and assembling at home. That's easy.


Once the new enclosure and drive are assembled and attached, you clone the entire internal hard drive to the external and use the Startup Disk system preference to tell the computer to boot from the external drive. This helps because USB3 has a max transfer rate of 5GBps, 60+ percent faster than the internal drive crippled by its 3GBps speed rating.


You can leave the original drive in place and use is for data storage or backups.


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User profile for user: Allan Jones
Allan Jones
User level: Level 9
72,260 points

Aug 15, 2019 7:13 AM in response to ziggy263

The only software issues I see is that you have installed something called "AppCleaner." So far, I've not found any "cleaner" apps that do not cause more problems than they fix. Apple built maintenance scripts ito OSX that run automatically; adding a third-party cleaning/tune-up/optimizing app to the mix causes conflicts you do not want. So free yourself from AppCleanre.


However, the root cause for the symptoms you describe is surely this:

Drives:
disk0 - APPLE HDD ST1000LM024 1.00 TB (Mechanical - 5400 RPM)
Internal SATA 3 Gigabit Serial ATA


This is why most entry-level 21.5-inch iMacs feel "slow. "Apple opted to install a slow 5400 rpm drive rated at 3GBps in a computer with a hard drive bus rated twice that fast (6GBps). And yours is on the slow side of "slow." We have a 2011 iMac with the same drive config and its read/write speeds are faster that (110MBps v. your 70MBps.


The real fix is to open the computer and replace the rotational hard drive with a 6GBps solid state drive (SSD). However, the 2012 iMac was the first of the "glueMacs." The case is held together with adhesive strips. Getting into the case and have to install new seal strips before reassembly is a pain, both in your wallet and your backside.


The easier fix used by many senior contributors here is to buy a USB3 drive inclosure and install a 6GBps SSD in it. Those specs are important to respect or you won't see any benefit. It usually means buying those separately and assembling at home. That's easy.


Once the new enclosure and drive are assembled and attached, you clone the entire internal hard drive to the external and use the Startup Disk system preference to tell the computer to boot from the external drive. This helps because USB3 has a max transfer rate of 5GBps, 60+ percent faster than the internal drive crippled by its 3GBps speed rating.


You can leave the original drive in place and use is for data storage or backups.


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iMac slow to load apps, frequent beach ball for 10-15 seconds

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