finethenyoupickmyusername wrote:
This is frustrating, because I can usually figure this stuff out myself, but I am baffled by this. So... I did perform the recommended procedures in the article you suggested, and I'm still confused. Does this look like my SSD is full? I haven't gotten any warnings about it, but it kind of looks full...? Does this make any sense? Am I barking up the wrong tree? I did the Startup Disk Full Fixer app (because I saw it recommended on the Apple community forum), and it deleted 2 GBs' worth of stuff, but it didn't appear to make any difference. I'm ready to bury this thing in an unmarked grave in the backyard, binge Netflix, and eat chocolate. Save me from myself. :-P
https://discussions.apple.com/content/attachment/46f7ed75-ccd4-4534-b217-094c0d8e8163
https://discussions.apple.com/content/attachment/c4bf0eb2-1ae2-42fe-aecb-d6dfaffb8575
https://discussions.apple.com/content/attachment/79aae322-8c49-40de-aca1-cf1f8e9fdff6
That Disk Utility output looks fine.
I would suspect the < SSD too slow - SSD is showing poor performance.> might be failing.
If you can boot to an external clone you can test this hypothesis by bypassing the internal SSD.
— How to create a boot clone https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-10081
VPN are known to cause issues—Did you try uninstall the <ProtonVPN>
You can trouble shoot further you can:
—Try a SafeBoot https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201262
Takes noticeable longer to get to the login screen, does a 5 minute disk repair before it fully boots up, and certain system caches get cleared and rebuilt, including dynamic loader cache, etc.
Login and test. Reboot as normal. Caches get rebuilt automatically.
In Safe mode third party system modifications and system accelerations are disabled, it removes malware, etc hampering smooth operation, however a reboot will put it back to normal mode.
This test will tell you if third party interference; extensions etc are not loaded in safe boot mode.
—Test issue in another user (or guest user) account https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/set-up-other-users-on-your-mac-mtusr001/mac
This will tell you if it a universal issue or isolated to your user/admin account.
Uninstall all third party apps that are Cleaners/Optimizers/VPN/Anti-Virus
