Apple Intelligence is now available on iPhone, iPad, and Mac!

📢 Newsroom Update

Apple unveils the new iMac with M4, supercharged by Apple Intelligence and available in fresh colors. Learn more >

📢 Newsroom Update

Apple introduces M4 Pro and M4 Max. Learn more >

Looks like no one’s replied in a while. To start the conversation again, simply ask a new question.

iMac slow to startup - nearly 3 minutes!

Hi,

Maybe this questions been asked many times before but why is my iMac so slow at startup.

The performance has dropped since installing an external SSD and installing the latest MacOS.

Time for a new machine or roll back the OS and load the HDD?

Posted on Aug 14, 2022 1:02 AM

Reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Aug 14, 2022 2:58 AM

Here are a few things to try.


  • Restart in Safe Mode followed by a normal startup.
  • Uninstall any antivirus or cleanup apps.
  • Don’t have apps automatically opening at login
  • If you use a USB hub try a direct connection for the SSD
  • Plug your external SSD into a different port on the Mac
  • Try a different USB cable
4 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Aug 14, 2022 2:58 AM in response to jlowe01

Here are a few things to try.


  • Restart in Safe Mode followed by a normal startup.
  • Uninstall any antivirus or cleanup apps.
  • Don’t have apps automatically opening at login
  • If you use a USB hub try a direct connection for the SSD
  • Plug your external SSD into a different port on the Mac
  • Try a different USB cable

Aug 15, 2022 7:05 AM in response to jlowe01

The two most common reasons for an issue like this are issues with third party software or a failing internal drive. A failing internal drive can sometimes interfere even when booting from external media if the drive failure is severe enough.


You can try running the Apple Diagnostics to see if any hardware issues are detected. Unfortunately the diagnostics don't detect most drive failures so you may also want to run DriveDx to check the health of the hard drive. Post the complete text report here using the "Additional Text" icon which looks like a piece of paper.


To look for possible software issues run EtreCheck and post the report here using the "Additional Text" icon which looks like a piece of paper.

iMac slow to startup - nearly 3 minutes!

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple Account.