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MacBook running slow in NM

Can anyone offer suggestions to restore my Mac to performance level? I've attached a Entricheck report.

MacBook Pro 13″, macOS 10.15

Posted on Dec 21, 2020 11:43 AM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Dec 21, 2020 4:39 PM

Your computer has a number of problems that are causing it to run poorly:


  • failing hard drive
  • hard drive is mechanical (spinning) drive, formatted with APFS, which is required for Catalina, but APFS is known to run very slowly on older mechanical drives
  • 4 GB RAM is not adequate for this recent an OS. It will run, but poorly.
  • 2012 vintage of your computer may also mean other components are out of useful life


You certainly need to replace a failing hard drive right away. Having a good backup (or two) is important. The report indicates that you do not have a Time Machine backup.


If you replace the hard drive, a solid state drive (SSD) will run much faster, maybe x10 times faster. But I don't know if that makes sense with just 4 GB RAM and a 2012 machine, a new computer may make more sense.

4 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Dec 21, 2020 4:39 PM in response to Pecospete77

Your computer has a number of problems that are causing it to run poorly:


  • failing hard drive
  • hard drive is mechanical (spinning) drive, formatted with APFS, which is required for Catalina, but APFS is known to run very slowly on older mechanical drives
  • 4 GB RAM is not adequate for this recent an OS. It will run, but poorly.
  • 2012 vintage of your computer may also mean other components are out of useful life


You certainly need to replace a failing hard drive right away. Having a good backup (or two) is important. The report indicates that you do not have a Time Machine backup.


If you replace the hard drive, a solid state drive (SSD) will run much faster, maybe x10 times faster. But I don't know if that makes sense with just 4 GB RAM and a 2012 machine, a new computer may make more sense.

Dec 21, 2020 11:48 AM in response to Pecospete77

Major Issues:
  Anything that appears on this list needs immediate attention. 
  No Time Machine backup - Time Machine backup not found.
  Failing hard drive - This computer has a hard drive that appears to be failing.
  Runaway process - A process is using a large percentage of your CPU.
  Software performance problems - Software seems to be causing performance problems.

Minor Issues:
  These issues do not need immediate attention but they may indicate future problems or opportunities for improvement. 
  Upgradeable hard drive - This computerâ  s hard drive could be replaced with an SSD. This would dramatically improve your computerâ  s performance.
  Unsigned files - There are unsigned software files installed. Apple has said that unsigned software will not run by default in a future version of the operating system.
  Vintage hardware - This computer may be considered vintage.
  Limited drive access - More information may be available with Full Drive Access.
  Sharing enabled - This computer has sharing services enabled that could be a security risk.

Hardware Information:
  MacBook Pro (13-inch, Mid 2012) - Vintage!
  MacBook Pro Model: MacBookPro9,2
  2.5 GHz Dual-Core Intel Core i5 (i5-3210M) CPU: 2-core
  4 RAM - Upgradeable
    BANK 0/DIMM0 - 2 GB DDR3 1600  
    BANK 1/DIMM0 - 2 GB DDR3 1600  
  Battery: Health = Normal - Cycle count = 315


MacBook running slow in NM

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