spinning beach ball!

1 - Restart 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 - Sometimes a Safe Boot followed by a Normal Boot will just put things right.

4 - 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.

5 - If the issue is present in the dummy account - then, this appears to be a System Wide issue on the computer.

6 - If after performing each of the above steps in the order that have been presents and still have issues - please advise for possible further assistance.

Very well done, thanks.

Delete this file & restart...

~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.adobe.ARM.***.plist

~ tilde indicates your home folder

Apple hid the Users' Library folders...

Method 1:

1 From the Finder, select the Go menu at top of the screen, and choose Go to Folder.

2 In the window that opens, enter ~/Library, and click Go.

You can use Drive DX to possibly get a better view of Drive health…

https://binaryfruit.com/drivedx

You can also get rid of Adobe Flash Player, but the important thing is to backup asap & get the OS installed on an external drive, as your Drive does seem to be on the edge of Kaputness.

We need to see what all is running, a report from this will not display any personal info...

EtreCheck is a FREE simple little diagnostic tool to display the important details of your system configuration and allow you to copy that information to the Clipboard. It is meant to be used with Apple Support Communities to help people help you with your Mac. It will not display any personal info.

https://www.etrecheck.com/

Pastebin is a good place to paste the whole report if you capture the URL while there…

https://pastebin.com/

Whew, they've changed pastebin & made it harder, but after pasting in, click Create new paste button, then Embed button, then copy the URL...

<script src="https://pastebin.com/embed_js/KuvnghqA"></script>

The important part of the above is...

https://pastebin.com/embed_js/KuvnghqA

Workable but harder for me to work with...the Note tool on the bottom of this editor's toolbar, as shown in the image, to copy and paste the output from EtreCheck. In a Reply before you click post, look for this to add longer texts...

SSDs (Solid-State Drives) Designed for the MacBook Pro (macsales.com)

And they have install videos, you'll want an SSD.;)

On Drive DX's menu choose Actions>Save Report...

See How to add Text...

Using EtreCheck - Apple Community

On Permissions it may require this...

Do a Get info on your Home folder, unlock the lock in the Get Info panel. Make sure it says you have Read & Write privileges.

Using the tiny gear icon, use the drop down to "Apply to enclosed items...

Yes stick with Mojave.

Easiest if you can get the installer now...

macOS Mojave 10.14.6 - Technical Specifications

General Requirements

OS X 10.8 or later

2GB of memory

12.5GB of available storage (OS X El Capitan 10.11.5 or later)*

Some features require an Apple ID; terms apply.

Some features require a compatible Internet service provider; fees may apply.

Mac Hardware Requirements

For details about your Mac model, click the Apple icon at the top left of your screen and choose About This Mac. These Mac models are compatible with macOS Mojave:

MacBook (Early 2015 or newer)

MacBook Air (Mid 2012 or newer)

MacBook Pro (Mid 2012 or newer)

Mac mini (Late 2012 or newer)

iMac (Late 2012 or newer)

iMac Pro (2017)

Mac Pro (Late 2013; Mid 2010 and Mid 2012 models with recommended Metal-capable graphics cards)

Don't use FireFox for these links…

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/macos-mojave/id1398502828?mt=12

If you get a corrupted message...

Naw, not damaged, it's just that you have an old copy already in Applications, there are 2 cures...

Disconnect from the Internet & set the Date back to 2014, then you can run the Install MacsOS Mohave App in Applications, so expired Certificates are not expired.

Or... trash the Install MacsOS Mojave.app in Applications, empty trash & restart, then a new copy of a more recent version can be downloaded..

How to upgrade to macOS Mojave - Apple Support

How to get old versions of macOS - Apple Support

Just holler if you need more help my friend! :)

Gulp, might try running it in Safe Mode.

How to reset the SMC of your Mac ) and perform this action 3 times consecutively, then release the keyboard combinations

Then for good measure >> Reset NVRAM or PRAM on your Mac and perform this action 3 times consecutively

Not Test the Safe Boot if it is working

I recommend CCC for certain, it's never let me down like TM has.

Not much needed on installing, boot from your cloned drive, download the OS, run the Installer.on first boot of the new OS on SSD avail yourself of setup assistant to migrate what you want.

PS. The Install will restart itself up to 7 times during the Install.

I'd install BS to the New drive, boot from that & install Mojave, but running the Installer should give you a choice of drives to install to if the new drive/SSD is proper Format...may need to start off as MacOS Extended & let the installer convert it to APFS.

We'd both hope the copying should work.