My iMac is slow and freezing up. Previously I had some problems with the machine not booting up after several restarting attempts. I decided to re-install macOS via Recovery Mode. When done, it seemed fine as it eventually booted up and I can see Finder and my Desktop. However opening a file or an application is so slow I’m seeing beach-balling if I’m lucky, otherwise won’t open. Something has gone wrong, please help me.
iMac 27" 5K, macOS 10.15
I am running 10.15.1 Beta (19B77a). I had thought I had re-installed the normal version of Catalina from Recovery Mode.
I set up a new user, and to my surprise everything is normal. All the apps are opening instantly as they should be. I then removed VirtualBox by clicking and dragging it to the bin and emptying it. However the issue still persists. I did in fact install and open VirtualBox before I realised there was some slow-down. I then restarted thinking that would fix it but then couldn’t get it to boot and hence these issues.
To add to the symptoms, when booting up to my account, sometimes it would seize up and restart again with this message: https://i.stack.imgur.com/Iri0O.jpg. Other times when booting, I would see it stuck on my desktop screen for around 20 mins with no menu bar, no dock and no files on desktop. When it does finally load, every click I press is slow and there’s a 1 minute or so lag with the cursor beachballing. Apps and files barely load.
I managed to run EtreCheck, but I did so from the test user account because I couldn’t run it in my normal account. EtreCheck would stop at 50% on the progress bar and the spinning dial kept going like and it seemed forever. So Instead I just canceled it.
I also ran Apple Diagnostics and there were no errors found.
Yes. Restore Shipping Software - Apple Beta
I suggest trying steps 1, 2, 4-6, & 8 n the following user tip article to see if they can help:
Which exact version of macOS Catalina is your iMac running?
For the error report, I suggest that you create a new user account on your Mac. Restart your Mac, and then, log in with this new account to see if the issue continues. If it does, I would then suggest that you completely remove VirtualBox as this appears to be a potential culprit from the report.
erahi wrote:
I am running 10.15.1 Beta (19B77a). I had thought I had re-installed the normal version of Catalina from Recovery Mode.
Ok, I thought the version number looked odd. Sorry, but we can't help you with beta software issues here. As you should know from your "agreement" with Apple to try beta software there is no user support available ... especially if this is a public beta. If this is a Developer beta, then you should also know that Apple has provided you with a forum to go to with issues.
Thanks I will go through that list. In the meantime, if it helps, I have this report:
What year is the iMac? What kind of storage? Mechanical drive? Fusion drive, Solid State drive?
This is Mid 2017 with Fusion Drive
Is there a way for me to install a non-Beta version via Recovery Mode?
iMac slow after several attempts not booting
