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User profile for user: DeanBeau
DeanBeau Author
User level: Level 1
4 points

Slow 2015 iMac

Hey guys - not the most tech Savvy but hoping for some simple advice and guidance. My iMac has been running sloooooowww for so long now. Downloaded MacKeeper a couple of years back to try to resolve that improved it a little. Now it’s basically unusable. I read about a diagnostic tool in the community and wanted some help to interpret the results please! Thanks in advance!


EtreCheckPro version: 6.5.6 (6F040)

Report generated: 2022-01-15 09:35:18

Download EtreCheckPro from https://etrecheck.com

Runtime: 21:03

Performance: Poor


Problem: Computer is too slow


Major Issues:

  Anything that appears on this list needs immediate attention. 

  No Time Machine backup - Time Machine backup not found.

  Failing hard drive - This computer has a hard drive that appears to be failing.

  Unsigned files - There are unsigned software files installed that could be adware and should be reviewed.

  Adobe Flash Player installed - Adobe Flash Player is installed on this computer. This is a security risk and no longer supported.


Minor Issues:

  

  Clean up - There are orphan files that could be removed.

  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.

  System modifications - There are a large number of system modifications running in the background.

  Vintage hardware - This computer may be considered vintage.


Hardware Information:

  iMac (21.5-inch, Mid 2014) - Vintage!

  iMac Model: iMac14,4

  1.4 GHz Dual-Core Intel Core i5 (i5-4260U) CPU: 2-core

  8 GB RAM - Not upgradeable

   BANK 0/DIMM0 - 4 GB DDR3 1600  

   BANK 1/DIMM0 - 4 GB DDR3 1600  


Video Information:

  Intel HD Graphics 5000 - VRAM: 1536 MB

   iMac 1920 x 1080


Drives:

  disk0 - APPLE HDD HTS545050A7E362 500.11 GB (Mechanical - 5400 RPM) 

  Internal SATA 3 Gigabit Serial ATA

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

   disk0s2 [APFS Container] 499.90 GB

    disk1 [APFS Virtual drive] 499.90 GB (Shared by 5 volumes)

     disk1s1 - Macintosh HD - Data (APFS) [APFS Virtual drive] (Shared - 279.27 GB used)

     disk1s2 - Preboot (APFS) [APFS Preboot] (Shared - 82 MB used)

     disk1s3 - Recovery (APFS) [Recovery] (Shared - 529 MB used)

     disk1s4 - VM (APFS) [APFS VM] (Shared - 2.15 GB used)

     disk1s5 - Macintosh HD (APFS) (Shared - 11.31 GB used)


  disk2 - TOSHIBA MK2006GAL 20.00 GB

  External USB 480 Mbit/s USB

   disk2s1 - F*****Y (MS-DOS FAT32) 20.00 GB (15.64 GB used)


Mounted Volumes:

  disk1s1 - Macintosh HD - Data [APFS Virtual drive]

   499.90 GB (Shared - 279.27 GB used, 240.55 GB available, 206.39 GB free)

   APFS

   Mount point: /System/Volumes/Data


  disk1s4 - VM [APFS VM]

   499.90 GB (Shared - 2.15 GB used, 206.39 GB free)

   APFS

   Mount point: /private/var/vm


  disk1s5 - Macintosh HD

   499.90 GB (Shared - 11.31 GB used, 240.55 GB available, 206.39 GB free)

   APFS

   Mount point: /

   Read-only: Yes


  disk2s1 - F*****Y

   20.00 GB (15.64 GB used, 4.34 GB free)

   MS-DOS FAT32

   Mount point: /Volumes/F*****Y


Network:

  Interface en0: Ethernet

  Interface en1: Wi-Fi

   802.11 a/b/g/n/ac

  Interface en4: iPhone

  Interface en5: Bluetooth PAN

  Interface bridge0: Thunderbolt Bridge

  iCloud Quota: 1.71 TB available


  File sharing: Enabled

  Remote login: Enabled


System Software:

  macOS Catalina 10.15.7 (19H1615) 

  Time since boot: About a day


Security:

  Gatekeeper: App Store and identified developers

  System Integrity Protection: Enabled


  Antivirus software: Apple and MacKeeper


  Security Risk! - Adobe Flash Player installed!


  File sharing: Enabled

  Remote login: Enabled


Old Applications:

  6 x86-only apps


Backup:

  Time Machine Not Configured!

  Auto backup: 

  Destinations: 


Performance:

  System Load: 2.30 (1 min ago) 2.56 (5 min ago) 1.92 (15 min ago)

  Nominal I/O speed: 2.27 MB/s

  File system: 55.25 seconds

  Write speed: 28 MB/s

  Read speed: 31 MB/s


CPU Usage Snapshot:

  Type Overall

  System: 5 %

  User: 11 %

  Idle: 85 %


Virtual Memory Information:

  Physical RAM: 8 GB


  Free RAM: 16 MB

  Used RAM: 6.56 GB

  Cached files: 1.43 GB


  Available RAM: 1.44 GB

  Swap Used: 760 MB


End of report


iMac Line (2012 and Later)

Posted on Jan 15, 2022 3:36 AM

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User profile for user: Jack-19
Jack-19
User level: Level 8
45,694 points

Posted on Jan 15, 2022 8:29 AM

Welcome to the Apple Support Communities.


MacKeeper

MacKeeper is malware, and Mac computers do not need any sort of anti-virus, cleaners, VPNs, etc. The only thing they are good at is creating false marketing promises and taking consumers' money. They are all scams. In fact, anti-virus and other cleaners cause performance issues, security issues, and make macOS appear buggy. Your Mac is far worse with these types of Apps installed.


Mac computers have protection built-in, which is the best protection for your Mac. For specifics on macOS Security, see: macOS - Security - Apple and Protecting against malware in macOS - Apple Support. Mac computers also have built-in storage recommendations: Optimize storage space on your Mac - Apple Support. You can even use the built-in macOS Firewall: Block connections to your Mac with a firewall - Apple Support. Other than that, all you should do is restart your Mac approximately once a week and keep macOS up to date: Update macOS on Mac - Apple Support. 


To delete this App, Malwarebytes for Mac should detect and remove it. If not, see: How to Delete Anti-Virus, Cleaners, VPNs,… - Apple Community.


Adobe Flash

Delete Adobe Flash following these steps. It is no longer used.


No Backup

It appears that you do not have a Time Machine backup. If this is the case, you should create one. To start, you need an external hard drive. Here’s an excellent one sold by Apple: G-Technology 4TB G-DRIVE mobile USB-C Portable Hard Drive - Apple.


You can then follow the steps in this Apple Support article to setup your Time Machine backup: Back up your Mac with Time Machine - Apple Support. Also, moving forward, I recommend that you use iCloud in addition to Time Machine to sync all your files and photos to all your Apple devices. Although iCloud is not a "true" backup service, iCloud can also act as an emergency off-site backup, but this is why iCloud should be used in addition to Time Machine. Here are some resources on setting up iCloud for Mac:


After you setup iCloud, turn off "Optimize Mac Storage" in System Preferences > Apple ID/iCloud. That way, all changes made to files in iCloud are also backed up to Time Machine. If you have this setting on due to a limited amount of storage on your Mac, that is fine. Just know changes won't be backed up to Time Machine, only iCloud.


Failing hard drive

Other than that, the reason your iMac is slow is due to the 5400-rpm hard drive. It also appears to be failing, so make a backup ASAP! Luckily, you can use an external SSD as your startup disk to run macOS and all your data from that. It will make your Mac 10 to 30 times faster for storage, and in turn, make your entire Mac system much faster. For more info, instructions, and what external SSD to buy, please see: How to Setup and Use an External SSD as your Startup Disk on a Desktop Mac - Apple Community.


Another option is to replace this Mac with a new Apple Silicon Mac: Mac - Apple. If you go this route, it is generally recommended that you purchase 16GB of Memory with the largest SSD that you can afford.


Jack

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3 replies
Question marked as Best reply
User profile for user: Jack-19
Jack-19
User level: Level 8
45,694 points

Jan 15, 2022 8:29 AM in response to DeanBeau

Welcome to the Apple Support Communities.


MacKeeper

MacKeeper is malware, and Mac computers do not need any sort of anti-virus, cleaners, VPNs, etc. The only thing they are good at is creating false marketing promises and taking consumers' money. They are all scams. In fact, anti-virus and other cleaners cause performance issues, security issues, and make macOS appear buggy. Your Mac is far worse with these types of Apps installed.


Mac computers have protection built-in, which is the best protection for your Mac. For specifics on macOS Security, see: macOS - Security - Apple and Protecting against malware in macOS - Apple Support. Mac computers also have built-in storage recommendations: Optimize storage space on your Mac - Apple Support. You can even use the built-in macOS Firewall: Block connections to your Mac with a firewall - Apple Support. Other than that, all you should do is restart your Mac approximately once a week and keep macOS up to date: Update macOS on Mac - Apple Support. 


To delete this App, Malwarebytes for Mac should detect and remove it. If not, see: How to Delete Anti-Virus, Cleaners, VPNs,… - Apple Community.


Adobe Flash

Delete Adobe Flash following these steps. It is no longer used.


No Backup

It appears that you do not have a Time Machine backup. If this is the case, you should create one. To start, you need an external hard drive. Here’s an excellent one sold by Apple: G-Technology 4TB G-DRIVE mobile USB-C Portable Hard Drive - Apple.


You can then follow the steps in this Apple Support article to setup your Time Machine backup: Back up your Mac with Time Machine - Apple Support. Also, moving forward, I recommend that you use iCloud in addition to Time Machine to sync all your files and photos to all your Apple devices. Although iCloud is not a "true" backup service, iCloud can also act as an emergency off-site backup, but this is why iCloud should be used in addition to Time Machine. Here are some resources on setting up iCloud for Mac:


After you setup iCloud, turn off "Optimize Mac Storage" in System Preferences > Apple ID/iCloud. That way, all changes made to files in iCloud are also backed up to Time Machine. If you have this setting on due to a limited amount of storage on your Mac, that is fine. Just know changes won't be backed up to Time Machine, only iCloud.


Failing hard drive

Other than that, the reason your iMac is slow is due to the 5400-rpm hard drive. It also appears to be failing, so make a backup ASAP! Luckily, you can use an external SSD as your startup disk to run macOS and all your data from that. It will make your Mac 10 to 30 times faster for storage, and in turn, make your entire Mac system much faster. For more info, instructions, and what external SSD to buy, please see: How to Setup and Use an External SSD as your Startup Disk on a Desktop Mac - Apple Community.


Another option is to replace this Mac with a new Apple Silicon Mac: Mac - Apple. If you go this route, it is generally recommended that you purchase 16GB of Memory with the largest SSD that you can afford.


Jack

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User profile for user: Allan Jones
Allan Jones
User level: Level 9
68,768 points

Jan 15, 2022 10:50 AM in response to DeanBeau

Another reason for slow was there when you bought the computer:


  iMac Model: iMac14,4

  1.4 GHz Dual-Core Intel Core i5 (i5-4260U) CPU: 2-core


This is the crippled and low-cost "edu-institutional" model with a slow dual-core processor from a notebook computer.


The next model up had a fast, four-core processor suitable to a desktop workstation. Here are benchmarks from the MacTracker database for yours (on top) with the previous year's 4-core versions:



However taking Jack's; advice on getting rid of MacKeeper and using an external SSD as the boot volume will help quite a bit.

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Slow 2015 iMac

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