Beach ball and slower performance of new iMac and MacBook Pro

Log into another vanilla admin user account, Set up users, guests, and groups on Mac,  and see if the problem persists. (This tells us if the problem is limited to your user account or is system wide).

The mds_stores process seems to be running away. It's associated with Spotlight and indexing of files on all mounted hard drives. Check it out in the Activity Monitor/CPU section. Then boot into Safe Mode by booting with the Shift key held down, open Activity Monitor and check there to see if the problem persists, particularly when you try to drag a file .  Reboot normally and test again.

NOTE: Safe Mode boot can take up to 10 minutes as it's doing the following; 

• Verifies your startup disk and attempts to repair directory issues, if needed

• Loads only required kernel extensions (prevents 3rd party kernel/extensions from loading)

• Prevents Startup Items and Login Items from opening automatically

• Disables user-installed fonts 

• Deletes font caches, kernel cache, and other system cache files

For the iMac:

1. Delete Intego according to the developer’s instructions.
2. Delete Western Digital Software according to the developer’s instructions.
3. Delete “Pulse Secure”. according to the developer’s instructions.
4. Delete Virus Barrier according to the developer’s instructions.
5. Restart your iMac.

THE ONLY anti-malware app you should ever have is Malwarebytes for Mac!

Cheers,

Jack

What I'd do is:p

1 - boot into Safe Mode by booting with the Shift key held down and reboot normally.

NOTE: Safe Mode boot can take up to 10 minutes as it's doing the following; 

• Verifies your startup disk and attempts to repair directory issues, if needed

• Loads only required kernel extensions (prevents 3rd party kernel/extensions from loading)

• Prevents Startup Items and Login Items from opening automatically

• Disables user-installed fonts 

• Deletes font caches, kernel cache, and other system cache files

2 - then boot into the Recovery volume (boot with the Command + R keys held down), select Disk Utility and repair the drive. If you get any error notifications rerun until there are no notifications. Reboot normally and keep tabs on performance.

We don't need the report for the new, working admin account. We need it for the original admin account that's having the problems.

Hi avalani,

Yes, defiantly post the report, following this set of instructions:  https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-250000211 

Cheers,

Jack

Please post reports from both devices so we can examine them.

Same notes about MacBook as iMac. Also, delete NordVPN unless you need it 100%.

Do you have iCloud Library enabled? That could be much of the stuck iCloud issue.

Repost your latest Etrecheck report so we can do another evaluation.

With reference to my "big" problem, are you suggesting I try again after disabling VPN or uninstalling it?

I'd try disabling it and run to see if there's any improvement to performance.

As for protecting medical records you could put them in PDF format, password protect the files and transmit the password to each client in another type of communication. You'd have to make that call as the requirements are pretty strict on medical record protection.

Others have had problems with Dropbox running all the time in the background for backup. Do you use it for the medical files? Is that HIPAA complaint?

One user left Dropbox and went to Box instead and thought it was much less invasive to performance. Just some food for thought.

Also iCloud drive is a syncing feature and not an off computer storage facility. Any changes, edits, additions, deletions, etc., to any file is reflected in the iCloud Drive also.

Great! I would like to see the new report too.

Somehow, the Mac was not erased properly. Please provide screenshots selecting each disk under "Container disk1" and upload each screenshot. So, please provide the four screenshots.

Cheers,

Jack

For the desktop, consider making a single folder on the desktop, called something like "Desktop Items", and move everything into it. That way, you get quick access without lots of items on the desktop.

I'm ready to focus on the MacBook.

1. Make sure all data you want of Macintosh HD - One is stored on the regular Macintosh HD. Then, select Macintosh HD - One and hit the "-" in the Disk Utility toolbar.
2. The structure goes Physical Storage > Container > Macintosh HD (with snapshot) > Macintosh HD - Data.
3. To enable right click go to System Preferences > Mouse/Trackpad > Enable Secondary Click on right side.

Cheers,

Jack

Yes, please give Full Disk Access. There are no privacy concerns whatsoever.

Cheers,

Jack