Slow operating system on the new iMac

Question

Slow operating system on the new iMac

Hi There,

I have purchased the new iMac operating Big Sur Software. 3.6 Quad-core 8GB memory.

Since I have started it up for the first time it has been running very slow.

I have re formatted the hardrive, reloaded the software and have nothing installed or loaded onto the computer, the hardrive is empty.

I am running Microsoft Word, Excel etc.

I have raised a few cases with Mac but 12 months later still have not resolved the issue and wondering if anyone out there has suggestions.

I live remote .....8 hrs to the nearest city so I am unable to take it into a Mac shop to get looked at. Trying to resolve this myself. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

Mac Pro

Posted on Aug 1, 2021 7:23 PM

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Answer 1

Aug 1, 2021 8:54 PM in response to LivingLatitudes

Unsigned Files:

Launchd: /Library/LaunchAgents/com.bitcointrezor.trezorBridge.trezord.plist

Executable: /bin/sh -c '/Applications/Utilities/TREZOR\ Bridge/trezord -l $HOME/Library/Logs/trezord.log'

Details: Exact match found in the legitimate list - probably OK

Old Applications:

56 x86-only apps

System Launch Daemons:

[Not Loaded] 38 Apple tasks

[Loaded] 181 Apple tasks

[Running] 140 Apple tasks

[Other] 3 Apple tasks

System Launch Agents:

[Not Loaded] 17 Apple tasks

[Loaded] 174 Apple tasks

[Running] 142 Apple tasks

[Other] One Apple task

Launch Daemons:

[Loaded] com.adobe.ARMDC.Communicator.plist (Adobe Systems, Inc. - installed 2021-01-09)

[Loaded] com.adobe.ARMDC.SMJobBlessHelper.plist (Adobe Systems, Inc. - installed 2021-01-09)

[Running] com.adobe.acc.installer.v2.plist (Adobe Inc. - installed 2021-07-22)

[Running] com.adobe.agsservice.plist (Adobe Inc. - installed 2021-08-02)

[Loaded] com.microsoft.OneDriveStandaloneUpdaterDaemon.plist (Microsoft Corporation - installed 2021-07-30)

[Loaded] com.microsoft.OneDriveUpdaterDaemon.plist (Microsoft Corporation - installed 2021-07-30)

[Loaded] com.microsoft.autoupdate.helper.plist (Microsoft Corporation - installed 2021-07-16)

[Loaded] com.microsoft.office.licensingV2.helper.plist (Microsoft Corporation - installed 2021-04-12)

Launch Agents:

[Other] com.adobe.ARMDCHelper.cc24aef4a1b90ed56a725c38014c95072f92651fb65e1bf9c8e43c37a23d420d.plist (Adobe Systems, Inc. - installed 2021-04-22)

[Loaded] com.adobe.AdobeCreativeCloud.plist (Adobe Inc. - installed 2021-07-22)

[Running] com.adobe.GC.AGM.plist (Adobe Inc. - installed 2021-08-02)

[Not Loaded] com.adobe.GC.Invoker-1.0.plist (Adobe Inc. - installed 2021-08-02)

[Loaded] com.adobe.ccxprocess.plist (Adobe Systems, Inc. - installed 2021-06-10)

[Other] com.bitcointrezor.trezorBridge.trezord.plist (? 9b551654 - installed 2020-01-01)

[Loaded] com.microsoft.OneDriveStandaloneUpdater.plist (Microsoft Corporation - installed 2021-07-30)

[Loaded] com.microsoft.update.agent.plist (Microsoft Corporation - installed 2021-07-16)

User Launc

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Answer 2

Aug 1, 2021 7:41 PM in response to LivingLatitudes

Hello, LivingLatitudes.

If I understand you correctly, you're running an iMac (Retina 4k, 21.5-inch, 2019) and it's been running very slowly, even after upgrading to macOS Big Sur.

The problem is common on that entry-level iMac and it generally stems from the 5400 rpm hard disk drive that is built in.

That iMac really was not designed to do much more than surf the web and exchange email. If pushed much beyond that the performance is generally not great.

The best thing you can do to speed things up is to buy an external SSD, transfer the macOS and your user files to that and boot up and run from that drive.

To confirm this, You should start with an EtreCheck evaluation of your Mac.

EtreCheck is a diagnostic app that gathers and reports important information about your Macintosh. It is very highly regarded and meant to be used with Apple Support Communities to help others help you troubleshoot and resolve your Mac problems.

Please navigate to EtreCheck.com and download the free version of EtreCheck. Once you’ve run the app and created your report please post it with your reply to this message.

You must upload the full report. For instructions on how to attach your EtreCheck report to your reply, please click How to use Add Text when posting…

We can use the EtreCheck report to look for the more obvious things that may be causing your problem and advise how to correct them.

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Answer 3

Jack-19

Level 8

46,278 points

Aug 1, 2021 7:50 PM in response to LivingLatitudes

I believe we need to proceed with an EtreCheck report. EtreCheck is a useful App to diagnose and identify issues, both hardware and software. It is trusted by many users. Please follow the steps outlined below:

Navigate to: https://etrecheck.com and get the free version of EtreCheckPro.
Download it. It is a free and trusted app. It is often recommended here on Apple Support Communities.
Open EtreCheck, and before running the report, be sure to check “Allow full Drive Access” at the bottom of the EtreCheckPro window.
Run the report, and put it in a post, as seen here: https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-250000211. We will then examine the report for issues in your Mac.

Jack

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Answer 4

Aug 1, 2021 8:52 PM in response to Jack-19

EtreCheckPro version: 6.5.1 (6F003)

Report generated: 2021-08-02 11:40:28

Download EtreCheckPro from https://etrecheck.com

Runtime: 8:60

Performance: Below Average

Problem: Computer is too slow

Description:

Computer is very very slow when working on applications, the more you

try do the slower it gets. Very slow to start up.

Takes ages to open up word, excel and Mail.

Hangs when surfing the internet.

Major Issues:

Anything that appears on this list needs immediate attention.

No Time Machine backup - Time Machine backup not found.

Minor Issues:

These issues do not need immediate attention but they may indicate future problems or opportunities for improvement.

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.

Low performance - EtreCheck report took an unusually long time to run.

x86-only Apps - This computer has x86-only apps might not work on future versions of the operating system.

Hardware Information:

iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, 2019)

iMac Model: iMac19,2

3.6 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i3 (i3-8100) CPU: 4-core

8 GB RAM - Upgradeable by an Apple Authorized Service Provider

BANK 0/ChannelA-DIMM0 - 4 GB DDR4 2400

BANK 2/ChannelB-DIMM0 - 4 GB DDR4 2400

Video Information:

Radeon Pro 555X - VRAM: 2 GB

iMac (built-in) 4096 x 2304

Drives:

disk0 - APPLE HDD HTS541010A9E632 1.00 TB (Mechanical - 5400 RPM)

Internal SATA 3 Gigabit Serial ATA

disk0s1 - EFI (MS-DOS FAT32) [EFI] 210 MB

disk0s2 [APFS Container] 999.86 GB

disk1 [APFS Virtual drive] 999.86 GB (Shared by 6 volumes)

disk1s1 - i************* - Data (APFS) [APFS Virtual drive] (Shared - 118.67 GB used)

disk1s2 - Preboot (APFS) [APFS Preboot] (Shared - 317 MB used)

disk1s3 - Recovery (APFS) [Recovery] (Shared - 623 MB used)

disk1s4 - VM (APFS) [APFS VM] (Shared - 5.37 GB used)

disk1s5 (APFS) [APFS Container] (Shared - 15.31 GB used)

disk1s5s1 - i***********e (APFS) [APFS Snapshot] (Shared - 15.31 GB used)

disk1s6 - Update (APFS) (Shared - 1 MB used)

Mounted Volumes:

disk1s1 - i************* - Data [APFS Virtual drive]

999.86 GB (Shared - 118.67 GB used, 860.01 GB available, 859.36 GB free)

APFS

Mount point: /System/Volumes/Data

disk1s2 - Preboot [APFS Preboot]

999.86 GB (Shared - 317 MB used, 859.36 GB free)

APFS

Mount point: /System/Volumes/Preboot

disk1s4 - VM [APFS VM]

999.86 GB (Shared - 5.37 GB used, 859.36 GB free)

APFS

Mount point: /System/Volumes/VM

disk1s5 [APFS Container]

999.86 GB (Shared - 15.31 GB used, 859.36 GB free)

APFS

Mount point: /System/Volumes/Update/mnt1

Partitions:

disk1s5s1

disk1s5s1 - i***********e [APFS Snapshot]

999.86 GB (Shared - 15.31 GB used, 860.01 GB available, 859.36 GB free)

APFS

Mount point: /

Read-only: Yes

disk1s6 - Update

999.86 GB (Shared - 1 MB used, 859.36 GB free)

APFS

Mount point: /System/Volumes/Update

Network:

Interface en0: Ethernet

Interface en1: Wi-Fi

802.11 a/b/g/n/ac

Interface en4: Bluetooth PAN

Interface bridge0: Thunderbolt Bridge

System Software:

macOS Big Sur 11.4 (20F71)

Time since boot: About 13 days

Security:

Gatekeeper: App Store and identified developers

System Integrity Protection: Enabled

Antivirus software: Apple

Etrecheck report

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Answer 5

Jack-19

Level 8

46,278 points

Aug 1, 2021 8:55 PM in response to LivingLatitudes

Notes:

No Time Machine backup - Time Machine backup not found. • It is very important to have a backup!
Last restart - 13 Days ago • Please restart once a week.

However, the reason your iMac is very slow is due to the 5400 rpm hard drive. Very slow. If you use an external SSD and run macOS from that, it will make your Mac 10 to 80 times faster for storage, depending on what external SSD you buy. For more info, instructions, and what external SSD to buy, please read: How to Setup and Use an External SSD as y… - Apple Community.

Jack

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Answer 6

Aug 1, 2021 9:05 PM in response to LivingLatitudes

Well done getting this EterCheck report posted. All in all it looks pretty clean and appears to me to confirm the culprit as the slow HDD that you're starting up from.

I agree with @Jack-19's post.

Backups are important. Eventually you will wish you had if you don't.

Also, consider restarting your Mac at least once a week. It gives the OS a chance to do the housecleaning.

And their recommendation regarding using an external SSD to boot from is spot on. You'll definitely gain a noticeable performance improvement if you follow that advice. For further enlightenment about external drives, you can visit Macsales.com. They are good people and really know their Macs.

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Answer 7

Aug 1, 2021 9:13 PM in response to LivingLatitudes

The issue is two-fold. The primary issue with your machine is the very slow mechanical hard drive. There is little one can do with it. Even in 2019, an SSD should have been the only option.

The second problem is the 8GB of RAM. That too is simply not enough. At the minimum, it should be 16GB, and more realistically it should be 32GB. Unfortunately, in your case the mechanical hard drive will still be a bottleneck and keep your machine running slow.

If it were me, I would consider one of three options:

1 - Plug a thunderbolt-equipped, external SSD drive to the back of your Mac, and use that external SSD as your primary BOOT drive. OWC sells one: https://eshop.macsales.com/shop/envoy-express/thunderbolt-3

2 - Inquire about upgrading the internal hard drive of your Mac to an SSD drive. If the motherboard does not contain an NVMe connector, then you'll be limited to SATA speeds which while much faster than a hard drive, it will still be about 1/5th the speed of a NVMe drive.

3 - Use any and all money towards a new iMac which will be a far more productive use of your money.

Never buy the base model. Apple is doing a disservice to people by selling such a crippled machine, but at the same time the onus is on the customer to do their research and buy an appropriate machine and not let price be the primary factor.

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Answer 8

Aug 1, 2021 8:11 PM in response to D.I. Johnson

thanks so much for your help....all seems to make sense...will go through the Etrecheck and see if it sheds some light on the issue

Thanks

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Slow operating system on the new iMac

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