User profile for user: Hector2004
Hector2004 Author
User level: Level 1
7 points

10.15.7 Catalina is just unusable

My main machine is an iMac 21.5 inch Late 2013, 2.7GHz quad core intel i5, 8GB 1600MHz DDR3. It seems every release gets slower and a little more unstable. The crashes are now regular and even the panic reporter cannot send logs back now either. The activity monitor claims that it's all idle but it takes minutes for a key press to register on the screen and I can here the disk working. App Store agent and the photo analysis are always working 24hrs a day but nothing else works so reliably. Are apple mining bit coins with my machine or something ? I cannot think why they the app store needs so much help when I open it less than once a year and im sure they'll find my photos quite disappointing once they've spent 100,000 hours analysing them ! When do you suppose Apple will go back to actually testing their software before releasing it ? The only reason to own Apple is for stability ! If you take that away...

Posted on Feb 21, 2021 9:38 AM

Reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply
User profile for user: rkaufmann87
rkaufmann87
User level: Level 10
148,452 points

Posted on Feb 22, 2021 11:29 AM

There are definitely some issues with your 2013 21.5" iMac. First is Kernel Panics you are receiving are likely due to failing hardware. The EtreCheck report indicates the internal HD appears to be failing so I would say this is the main issue. This also accounts for the problems you are experiencing. Also, you have Adobe Flash Player installed, Adobe has recommended that you uninstall this. Please locate uninstall instruction on Adobe's website.


You have many options available to you however before doing any of them please ensure your backup of your total system is working okay so you safeguard your data and apps.


These options are not in order of what I'd recommend.


  • Replace the computer with a more up-to-date iMac, yours is now 8 years old and is considered vintage meaning getting parts may be challenging at best. You can buy new, used (only use a reputable site such as Macsale.com or Macofalltrades.com for a used Mac) or you can buy a refurbished iMac from Apple.
  • Buy a USB 3 external SSD and then clone the internal HD to the SSD using either SuperDuper! or Carbon Copy Cloner and then use the SSD as your primary drive. The drive I'd recommend for you is:https://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/MS8U3SSDT1.0/ and a https://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/MOTGPWR/. As you appear to be in the UK, please use the following link to find a reseller in the UK. OWC Resellers
  • Take the computer to you local independent AASP and have the HD replaced. Because the computer is vintage an Apple Store will not work on the computer due to parts availability.
View in context

Similar questions

7 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply
User profile for user: rkaufmann87
rkaufmann87
User level: Level 10
148,452 points

Feb 22, 2021 11:29 AM in response to Hector2004

There are definitely some issues with your 2013 21.5" iMac. First is Kernel Panics you are receiving are likely due to failing hardware. The EtreCheck report indicates the internal HD appears to be failing so I would say this is the main issue. This also accounts for the problems you are experiencing. Also, you have Adobe Flash Player installed, Adobe has recommended that you uninstall this. Please locate uninstall instruction on Adobe's website.


You have many options available to you however before doing any of them please ensure your backup of your total system is working okay so you safeguard your data and apps.


These options are not in order of what I'd recommend.


  • Replace the computer with a more up-to-date iMac, yours is now 8 years old and is considered vintage meaning getting parts may be challenging at best. You can buy new, used (only use a reputable site such as Macsale.com or Macofalltrades.com for a used Mac) or you can buy a refurbished iMac from Apple.
  • Buy a USB 3 external SSD and then clone the internal HD to the SSD using either SuperDuper! or Carbon Copy Cloner and then use the SSD as your primary drive. The drive I'd recommend for you is:https://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/MS8U3SSDT1.0/ and a https://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/MOTGPWR/. As you appear to be in the UK, please use the following link to find a reseller in the UK. OWC Resellers
  • Take the computer to you local independent AASP and have the HD replaced. Because the computer is vintage an Apple Store will not work on the computer due to parts availability.
Reply
User profile for user: Hector2004
Hector2004 Author
User level: Level 1
7 points

Feb 22, 2021 1:06 PM in response to rkaufmann87

Many thanks again rkaufmann87 for your continued help, it is much appreciated. Im not sure what to make of the flash player notification as I have uninstalled this a long, long time ago and cannot imagine how it has managed to get back. It's not in my apps list and I can find no sign of it but the date is quite recent (11/2020) and so it must be hiding somewhere. Regarding my options, I plan to upgrade to an SSD disk to replace the internal one. I realise that this machine is considered "vintage" and I will need to replace it at some point but it has been very good up until recently and so i'd sooner stick with it for the time being for the sake of £100/150 for a new disk. I have a MacBook air that will tide me over while this iMac is "off the road". There a bit more life in this old dog yet I think ;o)




Reply
User profile for user: rkaufmann87
rkaufmann87
User level: Level 10
148,452 points

Feb 22, 2021 1:17 PM in response to Hector2004

Got it on Adobe, you can download the free version of FindAnyFile and see if it can locate anything that has "Flash" or "Adobe Flash" in it and then move those to the Trash and empty the Trash.


If you intend to install an internal SSD, please take it to your local independent AASP to do the work. Your machine is NOT intended to be serviced by a user, they are extremely difficult to work on! Here is a video that gives you an example, this is why I suggested the external SSD solution. We see users all the time that attempt to do this type of work themselves and end up with a huge mess.


https://eshop.macsales.com/installvideos/imac_21inch_late_2013_hdd/iMac13-1/

Reply
User profile for user: rkaufmann87
rkaufmann87
User level: Level 10
148,452 points

Feb 21, 2021 10:07 AM in response to Hector2004

Catalina is an extremely stable and useful version of Mac OS. I suspect your issue is with your paticular machine. Please begin to start diagnosing the issue by doing the following:


Please navigate to the Mac App Store or navigate to www.Etrecheck.com and download the free version of EtreCheck. Once you have you downloaded the app and installed it, please run the report and save it. This report will help us get a good idea what has been installed on your system and help us be able to diagnose what may be wrong.


When you have your report, you can attach it when you reply to this message and we can then review it and help you determine what is needed to get your system running well again. 


For instructions on how to download your EtreCheck report and attach it to your reply to this message please click https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-250000211


Reply

This thread has been closed by the system or the community team. You may vote for any posts you find helpful, or search the Community for additional answers.

10.15.7 Catalina is just unusable

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple Account.
Learn more Sign up