Upgrade to Big Sur from Catilina?

I would suggest that you first resolve any issues with your iMac before attempting to upgrade to macOS Big Sur as Big Sur will have a few challenges that you will need to resolve, primarily any critical third-party apps that you need must be 64-bit versions.

Going back to the report, here are a few observations/suggestions:

• 8 GBs of RAM is acceptable, but 16 GBs would provide better overall performance.
• Your iMac's internal drive is a "slow" mechanical HDD. You can "see" this in the report as the low read/write speeds. Replacing it with a SSD would also improve overall performance.
• Remove any "cleaner" apps from your Mac. In this case MacCleanse. These type of apps are not needed and tend to cause more issues than resolve them.
• I suggest removing any WonderShare apps. Same reason.
• The good news is that although your Mac has a few minor app crashes, it did not experience any kernel panics.

1. You cannot upgrade RAM on your Mac, as you have a 21.5, and only 27" Macs can upgrade RAM. The Geek Squad cannot do it as well.
2. You cannot upgrade to an SSD without voiding any warranty, and even if you are out of warranty, if you upgrade the SSD, Apple will never provide more technical support.
3. Yes, absolutely delete Disk Cleaner.
4. Delete "Wondershare". Some of them have malware.
5. Typically, you cannot delete Kernel Extensions.
6. I would recommend getting Malwarebytes to clean up your Mac from Malware. Malwarebytes is the only good anti-malware for Mac. Make sure to download it from the official Malwarebytes website!
7. And yes, just drag 32-bit apps to the trash.

If you have any more questions, you can post back here!

Cheers,

Jack

Hey Bill,

After seeing these issues, I think your best bet is to backup your important files using a drag and drop, or copy and paste method, then clean install Big Sur. This way, the Time Machine restore will not restore the issues.

So, for example, copy the contents of your documents and movies folder to an external storage device to be pasted back later.

When you are ready to erase/clean install Big Sur, follow the guide below:

1. Verify all your data is backed up to an external hard drive using "copy and pate" or "drag and drop".
2. Sign out of your Apple ID in System Preferences > Apple ID/iCloud > Sign Out
3. Shut down the iMac
4. Turn on the iMac, and immediately press and hold Option + Command + R until you see a spinning globe.
5. Once you are in macOS Recovery, verify you are connected to WiFi in the top right corner.
6. Also, verify you are in Big Sur recovery by the "Reinstall macOS" description contains the "Big Sur" words.
7. Go to Disk Utility.
8. Select "View" in the toolbar > "Show All Devices".
9. Select your main hard drive. This will either be "APPLE SSD...", "APPLE HDD...", or "Fusion Drive".
10. Click Erase, and input the following exactly: 
11. Name: Macintosh HD
12. Format: APFS
13. Scheme: GUID Partition Map
14. Click Erase
15. Quit Disk Utility
16. Go to the reinstall macOS app.
17. Follow the prompts, and install on Macintosh HD.
18. Once done, setup your Mac, again, and once setup, drag and drop or copy your files back to the iMac.

I hope this helps, and I think this should solve your issue.

Cheers,

Jack

In response to the questions:

1. Yes, that would most likely be the best way to start fresh. You just need to copy and paste/drag and drop files somewhere to backup before the erase. After the erase we can worry about this.
2. For the Photos Library, go ahead and save both. However, you may only need to restore one, IF one is using iCloud Photos. Do you have this on?
3. The only Mail to backup is the "On My Mac" mail. For these, yes, just drag the mail message to a location on your external drive. For the rest, just sign into your mail account again.
4. Most apps can just be reinstalled from the Internet. Do not drag and drop apps.

If you have anything else just let me know!

Cheers,

Jack

Some of MacCleanse is still installed:

[Other] com.koingosw.MacCleanse4Helper.Reminder.plist (? 0 - installed 2015-08-28)

[Other] com.koingosw.MacCleanse4Helper.TrashWatcher.plist (? 0 - installed 2015-08-28)

Try testing with the WD external disconnected. WD bare drives are great but the inexpensive enclosures they use, especially Passports, are flaky, as is the WD software. It is unneeded and can go.

The under-spec 2.5-inch notebook drives that Apple made standard in 21.5-inch iMacs from 2012 to 2019 are only 5400 RPM, connect at a slow 3GB/sec bus speed, and seem to fail often. You cannot install a super-fast blade SSD unless the iMac already had an SSD or a Fusion drive. You can tape a fast-enough SSD internally but you can get almost the same drive speeds with an external USB3 or USB-C drive fitted with a 6GB/sec SSD. Saves opening a computer case that Apple does not want you to open.

Set the extern SSD as the boot volume and you will get transfers speeds of 400-500MB/sec, about 10X your current glacial speeds.

Hey Bill,

Yes. Were it my computer I would show the WD software the door. I've had cause slowness, stalls, and overheating on both pre-2006 PowerPC Mac and current Intel Macs. I've sen a couple of posts here where a user called WD phone support about issues and WD told them the software was not needed for a Mac.

Be sure to check for an uninstaller so you know the files are fully removed. If there is a WD folder, look there. If not, search their support site for an uninstaller.

And I would test with an external drives disconnected. It is always best to eliminate things that don't cost money before shopping for extra hardware.

I am glad that Catalina is starting to work. You can use my Big Sur guide whenever.

And for backup, you do not really need an SSD, it could be, but you just need a large backup device. I recommend one of the following: the https://shop.westerndigital.com/products/external-drives/g-technology-g-drive-usb-c-usb-3-1-hdd#0G05666-1, https://shop.westerndigital.com/products/portable-drives/g-technology-g-drive-mobile-usb-c-usb-3-1-hdd#0G10264-1, or https://shop.westerndigital.com/products/portable-drives/g-technology-g-drive-mobile-usb-3-1-ssd#0G06052-1. (If you purchase the last one you must also purchase a longer cable for use.)

Cheers,

Jack