2014 MacBook Pro very slow

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2014 MacBook Pro very slow

All,

My 2014 MacBook Pro is very very slow... it has slowed down to the point of almost being useless. Everything from logging in to opening apps to typing. As an example, trying to launch an app from the dock might take 10 seconds before it even responds.

I recently took my main laptop into the shop for a new battery, transferred the SSD to a backup laptop. both are identical machines (2014 MacBook Pro) and both experience the same problem with very slow response.

I have tried logging out of apps such as dropbox, Google Drive etc, but so far no response.

I also tried wiping the SSD and restoring from backup, but that just recreated the same problem.

I should add two items: the battery in the backup laptop is essentially dead (not sure why) Might this be creating problems? This is why I took the original laptop into the shop... the battery was charging, but was swollen like a balloon (I discovered this when the trackpad stopped working).

I ran Activity Monitor, a process called Window Server is eating up a lot of CPU time, 80% to 90% at times, regardless of whether any apps are open.

I also ran an etrecheck report, which I will attach here as well. Etrecheck notes that generating a report should only take about three minutes, but this seemed to be more like ten minutes.

I am contemplating just wiping the SSD and starting from scratch, moving things over one at a time to see what success I have there, but that is very time consuming.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions or ideas.

Robert

EtreCheckPro report 2014 MacBook pro

MacBook Pro 15″, macOS 10.15

Posted on Jun 6, 2021 7:35 PM

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Answer 1

MrHoffman

Level 10

152,681 points

Jun 6, 2021 9:02 PM in response to Robert Thompson3

What I’ve suggested (above) are ways to offload, including offloading some of the apps in contention for the available memory. The add-on security apps including anti-malware (Symantec) and VPN apps, and the Google apps (etc) can all cause substantial system loads, and/or system delays. So can Java, and the hypervisor, etc. This Mac hardware configuration is under-sized for what you’re currently doing with it (or trying to do with it), and what of the active apps you can defer or disable or offload.

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Answer 2

Jun 6, 2021 8:04 PM in response to MrHoffman

MrHoffman,

Thanks for the reply. For memory, that is surprising... a 1 terabyte SSD, showing 556 GB still available. And 16 GB Ram, yet slow and buggy even when running only one or two apps.

I had removed Symantec's Norton Security some time ago, since I suspected that might be part of the problem, but it looks like somewhere there is a remnant hanging out somewhere. I will delete the VPN for now as well to see if that makes a difference.

Thanks again, I will report back after I try these steps.

Robert

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Answer 3

Jun 6, 2021 8:41 PM in response to MrHoffman

Thanks again for the quick reply. Would this be the case even with few or no apps running? Even with no apps running, Activity Monitor shows process WindowServer is using a big chunk of memory. And both laptops had 16 BG of RAM.

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Answer 4

MrHoffman

Level 10

152,681 points

Jun 6, 2021 7:58 PM in response to Robert Thompson3

By all appearances, this Mac is seriously overloaded, and with inadequate memory. The CPU is also very busy, though that may be for some other purpose, such as cooling; yes, kernel_task can be involved with system cooling, oddly enough.

Unloading the system means deciding what you want and need to keep around, and what you can remove and offload.

Off the top, these two would get removed locally: Symantec and the VPN, removed per the vendors’ instructions, reboot, and test again.

Google apps can require substantial system resources doing who-knows-what, and you’re currently short on resources.

Remove Java, if you don’t need it.

A hypervisor tends to need substantial memory, too.

There is some old cruft around too, left-overs from previous installs.

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Answer 5

MrHoffman

Level 10

152,681 points

Jun 6, 2021 8:08 PM in response to Robert Thompson3

What you’re short of here is main memory (RAM), not main storage (SSD).

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2014 MacBook Pro very slow

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