New iMac 2019 runs very slow on basic tasks

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Level 1

8 points

New iMac 2019 runs very slow on basic tasks

I recently bought a new 2019 iMac but it takes 15-30 seconds to open any program. I'm not running anything beyond the software that comes with iOS with no additional downloaded apps and no anti virus etc. Much slower than my several previous Macs. I have called customer support several times and reinstalled Catalina etc but with no improvement. It is still slower than my prior iMacs so something is wrong but I was effectively fobbed off on my last call and told it was an expectation issue. I guess I need to take it to a store - but can't see any way of making an appointment.

iMac Line (2012 and Later)

Posted on Dec 30, 2019 12:49 AM

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Answer 1

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BDAqua

Level 10

239,339 points

Dec 30, 2019 8:56 AM in response to Watixfather

We may be able to help here, I think you have to call Apple for a Genius Bar appointment...

https://www.apple.com/retail/geniusbar/

EtreCheck is a simple little app to display the important details of your system configuration and allow you to copy that information to the Clipboard. It is meant to be used with Apple Support Communities to help people help you with your Mac.

http://www.etresoft.com/etrecheck

Pastebin is a good place to paste the whole report...

https://pastebin.com/

Workable but harder for me to work with...the Note tool on the bottom of this editor's toolbar, as shown in the image, to copy and paste the output from EtreCheck.

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Answer 2

macjack

Level 10

111,168 points

Dec 31, 2019 5:48 AM in response to Watixfather

The report looks OK. Your biggest bottleneck to speed is the very slow 5400 RPM rotational drive. You could purchase an external SSD and run your Mac off that. This would make a dramatic difference in speed and take some pressure off RAM (You are already using some Swap.)

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Answer 3

Watixfather Author

Level 1

8 points

Dec 31, 2019 3:00 AM in response to macjack

Many thanks for the responses - very much appreciated. Full EtreCheck below. It does seem to have speeded up a bit post reinstalling Catalina so maybe I am back to where it should be given it has a SATA disk which I understand is quite slow??

Etre Check report

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