Apple Event: May 7th at 7 am PT
Hello,
I have:
It has been running extremely slowly. It sometimes takes several minutes to login from the user page that the screen saver (set to start at 5 minutes) comes on. And it is slow to open multiple programs.
This has been getting progressively worse over time.
Hope someone is able to help!
Thanks.
1 - Suggest restarting in Safe Mode. This will perform a Disk Repair, clear cache files and only load Apple Software, extensions and fonts. The boot up will be slow and can take some time - Normal.
2 - Does the issue present in this mode ?
3 - If not - there could be something in the main User Account playing up. To further isolate this - Set up users, guests, and groups on Mac. Then log out of the Main User account and log into the dummy account and test again if the issue persists.
4 - If the issue is present in the dummy account - then, this appears to be a System Wide issue on the computer.
5 - Suggest downloading the Application Etrecheck directly from a well Respected ASC Contributor. And Safe to use.
The application is free or paid from added features.
Run the application with Full Disc Access ( Security & Privacy - Full Disc Access ).
It will take a Snap Shot - both the hardware and software.
The Report will Not Reveal Any Personal Information.
Post back the Full Report - copy and paste - using the Additional Text Icon ( 3rd Icon to last )
We can have a look at the report for possible issues and may have possible suggestions to resolve the issues.
This is the oft-discussed iMac 21.5” configuration with a HDD and 8 GB, and it’s going to be slow.
The usual workaround is migrating to an external SSD via Thunderbolt or USB 3.
Here are some instructions:
How to Setup and Use an External SSD as y… - Apple Community
A fast HDD does ~150 to ~200 I/O operations per second, and a slow SSD does 100,000 I/O operations per second. No comparison. And you don’t have a fast HDD. Recent macOS is just a little too much for this configuration.
Major Issues:
Q - No Time Machine backup - Time Machine backup not found.
A - A Time Machine Backup is very useful and can be used to Revert to Previous Working macOS.
Q - Clean up - There are orphan files that could be removed.
Q - Unsigned files - There are unsigned software files installed. These files could be old, incompatible, and cause problems.
Q - iMac (21.5-inch, Late 2015)
Q - disk0 - APPLE HDD HTS541010A9E662 1.00 TB (Mechanical - 5400 RPM)
A - As has been already mentioned - this drive is the slowest possible drive.
Not matter how clean of a installation the user has, this drive will and called be a Major Bottleneck for any meaningful performance.
Again, as previously mentioned - possible solution is an External SSD Drive which is going to be light years faster and reliable regarding performance including Boot Up Times.
▷ Update macOS.
▷ Use Apple Diagnostics to test your Mac.
If that does not help, then get expert service and support at the Genius Bar.
▷ Call 1-800-MY-APPLE or get help here.
Your slow 5400rpm hard drive is the weakest link in the system, and it may be starting to fail.
Please run Etrecheck and post its full report here. Use the "additional text" button and paste the report into the text box.
And if your mac is otherwise ok, you may want to consider getting yourself an external SSD.
Booting from it you are bound to see a dramatic improvement in boot times, and in general a much better responsiveness
of your system.
But do first post that Etrecheck report, so we can better assess other possible issues.
Update 4/16/22
Thank you for the responses.
I started off with trying using the SAFE MODE suggestion. The iMac was much faster when I started it in Safe Mode.
I then took the next step of using APPLE DIAGNOSTICS. It returned with no problems and the error code for the same of "no problems."
I then restarted it and let it boot up regularly. And again, it was slow in logging as my user, probably about 2-3 minutes, for my home screen/desktop icons to come up and be ready to use.
I have not used the Etrecheck suggestion yet. I thought I would update my progression after trying this first step before moving on to another.
I don't know if this matters, but I would like to add, that when my wife logs in to her user account it runs slowly for her also (I did not have her login in Safe Mode).
Thank you again for the assistance!
This is the oft-discussed 8 GB / HDD configuration.
A fast HDD will do ~150 to ~200 I/O operations per second.
A slow SSD will do ~100,000 I/O operations per second.
You don't have a fast HDD, here.
And that 8 GB isn't enough for even moderate usage, particularly while also trying to mask the slowness of that HDD with memory cache. You're accessing that hard disk for everything; with minimal or no room for memory cache available for HDD storage contents.
That iMac config was built for low selling price and for very light usage, and not for performance. More recently, macOS and/or apps and/or your usage have outgrown it.
The least bad option for improving performance—and it'll improve performance substantially over that HDD—is an external SSD via Thunderbolt or USB 3. See the link I posted earlier.
This is very slow, but about what would be expected for a slow HDD, and it and the lack of memory are the performance limit:
File system: 34.09 seconds
Write speed: 86 MB/s
Read speed: 89 MB/s
Surprised at how much baggage HP seemingly loads for a low-end printer in a low-end system, too. But that's a different discussion.
As mentioned in another reply, you do want and need backups via Time Machine or otherwise, too. Without backups, computers are one fire or failure or spilled-beverage or flood or drop away from data loss...
If you replace... An iMac 24" will be massively faster, and I'd go for 16 GB minimally and as much internal storage as you think you'll need over the life of the iMac 24", as neither can be upgraded.
Current version so Big Sur 11.6.5
Safe Mode should be slower, not faster. This shows just how slow your mac is going when booted normally.
Without the Etrecheck report it is nearly impossible to know what is causing the slowdown.
I just posted the Etrecheck report. Thanks for any assistance!
iMac running extremely slowly.
