USB-C External SSD works fine for a while but periodically slows to a crawl

ALLOW macOS TO AUTO-MOUNT AN EXTERNAL DRIVE:

To make an external drive work in more stable or consistent manner, do following steps:

• always connect the external-drive into same USB or Thunderbolt port in mac computer.
• during boot keep connected that external-drive.
• SSD 2.5" drives are very very light-weight, so if needed, tape-it or attach-it into the mac computer, behind the screen containing lid.
• Use "Disk Utility" tool to find out the "UUID" or "Volume UUID" (a unique number assigned for any drive/volume) of the external-drive. It also shows you what "FILESYSTEM" is used by the drive (for example: HFS , APFS , etc, etc).
  • You can also use below command in "Terminal" app, to see UUID of all drives, then find your external drive's UUID code:
  • $ sudo diskutil info -all
    • if macOS asks you, if you want "Terminal" to collect external drive info, allow that.
    • if diskutil does not show UUID of USB drive, then start the "System Information" app inside the Applications > Utilities , then goto Hardware > USB section to get more info/list.
    • If you prfer other way to get UUID, then you may get the apple's (discontinued but older) "USB Prober.app" by following instructions here, or get apple's "IORegistryExplorer.app" by following instructions here, or see other options mentioned here.
• open-up "Terminal" app in macOS (its inside Applications > Utilities) , then type+run this/below command, to load earlier content in "/etc/fstab" file if it exists, OR, run below command to create the "/etc/fstab" file if it did not exist:

$ sudo nano /etc/fstab

• fstab file uses command in this format:

DeviceID  MountPoint  FILESYSTEM  MountOptions  DumpValueFreq  FsckPassNo

• • To know more about "fstab" , run this command inside Terminal:
  • $ man fstab
    • press button/key "q" to exit out of "man" viewing/reading mode.
• if i know my external drive's UUID aka "Volume UUID", then i wud have to auto mount/load it, by using below command typed inside "/etc/fstab" file:

UUID=38fee…  /Volumes/Drv-X1  apfs  rw,auto  0  0

• • in above ofcourse the "38fee..." is just an example UUID, use your own device's actual/correct UUID.
• Suppose, i dont know my external-drive's UUID, & i only know the drive's LABEL name (which is shown in "Finder" after connecting the external-drive) , its aka "Volume Name" in macOS , and if i want to auto-mount this, then i wud have to use below command typed inside "/etc/fstab" file:

LABEL="MyExternalDriveName"  /Volumes/Drv-X1  apfs  rw,auto  0  0

• • if my external-drive label name has space characters then:

LABEL=My\040External\040Drive\040Name  /Volumes/Drv-X1  apfs  rw,auto  0  0

• in above, the fifth parameter/field (aka: DumpValueFreq or Freq) value "0" is indicating that the filesystem (in external-drive) does not need to be dumped. This param/field does not need to be specified.
• in above, the sixth parameter (aka: FsckPassNo or PassNo) value "0" is indicating fsck does not have to check filesystem. This param/field does not need to be specified.

Reboot once after applying above settings, to check if external drive is auto appearing as a new volume/disk "Drv-X1" or not , if settings are working fine, then thats what suppose to happen.

if an external drive is used for short time usage purpose/style, or filesystem need to be checked, or not-autoMounted , etc , then above commands (in "fstab" file) wud have to be different ofcourse.

please provide more info, so that one of us can evaluate or spot a mistake in config.

please attach the external drive & then run "System Information" > Hardware > Storage > find your external drive in the right side/pane list & select it > then in below, you will

see file-system related data .. please COPY the data, and paste in your next message in this forum,

But please HIDE or OBSCURE the full Volume UUID code numbers,

suppose full volume UUID is ADBBABC6-506C-3DA1-AA74-....... ,

then change it & post only ADBB.... (that is: keep first 4 alphanum & then use only four or three dots).

if you have copy of older fstab file , then copy content of that too ... HIDE UUID full codes ... then post here.

after pasting a code, please select the code lines, then use the "Code Insertion" button, ( to make it a fixed text without alterd by various parsers used by forum software ).

SWAP MEMORY : 1 of 2 :

When swap becomes/becoming issue, then all types of apps will suffer , more or less,

( based on macOS's pre-determined classification of PRIORITY : which app or function-library has higher priority designation or normal/general priority designation or lower priority designation , etc ... anyway detail explained below. )

1: Apps that are inside the Mac computer's system drive , that will load/start little bit faster than the external drive based apps,

because,

2: mac computer can load/start any app's software-components faster when they are located in internal FASTER speed & prioritized SSD-drive,

than loading/starting from the relatively slower speed & less-prioritized external drive.

3: But, beside loading/starting/running some software/app & it's components from app bundle location (whether in internal drive or in external drives) ,

4: few other very IMPORTANT ASPECT related to speed of running app , responsiveness of running app, etc ...

5: is their usage of RAM (primary-memory) amount & their usage of GraphicsCard RAM (G-RAM) memory amount & their usage of SWAP-memory AMOUNT / SIZE,

6: AND another IMPORTANT ASPECT is How much CPU & GPU (computing/processing) RESOURCES the app need to use , to run efficiently & smoothly.

7: When graphics-card's RAM (G-RAM) does not have enough free RAM to hold an individual app's graphics-display or video function related data,

then macOS's system components have to transfer it into SWAP MEMORY to hold that data temporarily , for that app.

8: macOS's own components can use-up 20 to 24GB RAM , depending on what functions, features are turned ON/enabled, etc in macOS.

9: ( By the way, Intel CPU based Mac/macOS, and, apple ARM silicon M1/M2 etc CPU based Mac/macOS , ... macOS itself uses/consumes two different memory size/amount for macOS's internal components, when Mac computer starts up ... Intel CPU based Mac computer's macOS uses up nearly 20 to 24 GB, but it varies based on various enabled/disabled functions/features, etc ... i'm not yet aware of exact RAM amount used/consumed by ARM CPU based macOS when its ready to serve user , but i assume its slightly less than 20 GB RAM ).

10: So, if the Mac computer does not have more than 20 GB RAM,

11: then macOS must do "swapping" when other apps are run/executed.

12: macOS system & "WindowsServer" (aka: Windows X Server) ( its not from microsoft, its part of apple macOS,

such type of internal-app or internal-process or system-process exists in ALL operating-systems), etc system components software

... they load+unload and also assist all running app to load+unload data , FROM & TO & IN-BETWEEN : the motherboard/primary RAM & Disk(s) & GraphicsCard-RAM(G-RAM) & "swap", etc memory.

13: Actually ... the RAM for CPU in Motherboard is primary-memory , Disk is secondary-memory (connected to shared computer-BUS aka common-data-lanes) , Graphics-Card/Video-Card's RAM (G-RAM) memory is a graphics-display & video function related (aka: sub-system-based) assistive-memory , SWAP is assistive-memory for primary-memory (RAM) & graphics-memory (G-RAM) etc memories and SWAP is also assistive-memory for CPU & GPU etc devices/components & sub-systems, etc, but SWAP memory files are located inside (slower) secondary-memory , CPU-Cache memory is inside the CPU & it is a VERY FAST assistive-memory primarily for CPU & also for primary-memory RAM & other devices & sub-systems ( it temporarily & pre-emptively holds small chunks of memory from other type of memory, decided by algorithms used in macOS ) , Software-Cache memory (aka Buffer) in RAM or in secondary-memory is also another assistive-memory to assist certain app(s) or certain device(s) . Device components themselves also have their own buffer/cache memory.

14: And the SIZE or Amount or Capacity of these MEMORY TYPES , and the device-interface they pass thru those device-interface's MAXIMUM DATA SPEED / BANDWIDTH RATE , affects macOS's various performances.

...

SEE NEXT / SECOND PART here ( SWAP MEMORY 2 of 2).

USING "SWAP" MEMORY FOR RUNNING APPS THAT NEEDS MORE MEMORY - 1 of 3:

i forget to mention various other solutions, among them is:

using "SWAP" or "swap partition" or "swap volume" or "swap file" , when a Mac computer has lower amount of RAM memory,

or when mac computer is slowing down often.

Swap-partition or swap-file usually needs to reserve storage space, that is 1.5x or 2x or 3x or 4x of RAM size.

So 1st try to create swap-partition that is 2x size of RAM GB size , & observe performance of mac computer.

If performance improved, you good to go.

Or else, just increase swap-partition size, or just create a 96 GB or 128 GB swap-partition.

Or Else, just allow the "swap" to be a DYNAMIC storage space file , that will+can increase when more space is needed, & "swap" file's size will reduce when more space is not-needed . (Newer macOS allows this easily).

macOS uses large amount of RAM memory, & thus can use large swap-memory.

• b = bit ; B = Byte ; 8 bits = 2^3 = 1 Byte ;

• bps = bits per second = b/s ; Bps = Bytes per second = B/s ;

Based on general Decimal ("10") number system :

• K = Kilo = Thousand = 10^3 ; M = Mega = Million = 10^6 ; G = Giga = Billion = 10^9 ; T = Tera = Trillion = 10^12 ;

• 1000 Bytes = 1 KB (deci) = 1 Kilo Bytes ; 1000 KB = 1 MB (deci) ; 1000 MB = 1 GB (deci) ; 1000 GB = 1 TB (deci) ;

... above (decimal based number/unit) is usually used for showing drive/memory storage space.

Based on IEC/JEDEC STANDARD based binary / "2" number system :

• Ki (IEC) = Kibi (IEC) = Kilo (JEDEC) = Thousand = 2^10 ; Mi (IEC) = Mebi (IEC) = Mega (JEDEC) = Million = 2^20 ; Gi (IEC) = Gibi (IEC) = Giga (JEDEC) = Billion = 2^23 ; Ti (IEC) = Tebi (IEC) = T (JEDEC) = Tera (JEDEC) = Trillion = 2^26 ;

• 1 KiB (IEC) = 2^10 = 1024 Bytes (IEC) ; 1 MiB (IEC) = 2^20 = 1,048,576 Bytes (IEC) = 1048 KB (deci) ; 1 GiB (IEC) = 2^30 = 1,073,741,824 Bytes (IEC) = 1073 MB (deci) ; 1 TiB (IEC) = 2^40 = 1,099,511,627,776 Bytes (IEC) = 1099 GB (deci) ;

... above (IEC/JEDEC based number/unit) is usually used for showing computer's internal component's data transfer rate, etc.

• USB 3.0 = 5 Gbps = 500 MB/s.

• USB 3.1 Gen1 = 5 Gbps = 500 MB/s.

• USB 3.1 Gen2 = 10 Gbps = 1212 MB/s = 1.2 GB/s.

• Thunderbolt [1] has max speed 10 Gbps = 1250 MB/s = 1.25 GB/s.

• USB 3.2 Gen2x2 = 2424 MB/s = 2.4 GB/s.

• Thunderbolt 2 has max speed 20 Gbps = 2500 MB/s = 2.5 GB/s.

• Thunderbolt 3 has max speed 40 Gbps = 5000 MB/s = 5 GB/s.

• USB4 (1.0) has max speed 40 Gbps = 5000 MB/s = 5 GB/s. Many many enhancements.

• Thunderbolt 4 has max speed 40 Gbps = 5000 MB/s = 5 GB/s . DisplayPort, DMA, USB Hub, etc enhancements.

• USB4 (2.0) (aka: USB4v2) has max speed 80 Gbps = 10 GB/s. Many many many enhancements, including DisplayPort, etc enhancements.

• Thunderbolt 5 is following USB4 (2.0) specifications, so it will have very very similar features as USB4 (2.0), in 2023.

Read this full/entire post/message before starting to do any step.

CREATE "swap" (file) or "swap-partition":

backup all data by using the TimeMachine software.

CREATE DYNAMIC SWAP FILE FOR (newer) macOS:

•1: first learn techniques by reading steps:

•1a: see/read this(1) discussion on StackExchange, showing how to create/move swap in external-drv or another partition in macOS, etc.

•1b: see/read this(2) discussion on StackExchange, its for older macOS.

•1c: see/read this(3) discussion on StackExchange : macOS keeps various data including "swap" files in a specific VM folder/volume , the linked page discusses on How to setup macOS so that the external volume (named "VM") can be used by macOS to function as macOS's "VM" folder/volume.

•1d: Also see "More info" in last post or in bottom side.

...

GOTO NEXT PART OF THIS MESSAGE : here.

PLEASE SEE THE EARLIER PART OF THIS MESSAGE : 3 of 3.

...

•7: If your external drive is HDD (SAS3) (such HDD internally max ~ 60 to ~ 300 MB/s, though SAS3 speed is 1200 MB/s = 1.2 GB/s), and if it uses a Thunderbolt interface based ENCLOSURE, & if you connect it into Mac's Thunderbolt interface/port ( 1.2 to 5 GB/s) , then such external drive will still be SLOWER than your internal SSD (SATA-3) drive (max 600 MB/s) , so swap will perform bad , do not use this type drive for swap.

•8: If your external drive is SSD (SAS3) (max 1200 MB/s = 1.2 GB/s), & if it uses a USB 3.1 Gen2 (max 10 Gbps = 1212 MB/s = 1.2 GB/s) based ENCLOSURE, & if you connect it into Mac's USB4 or Thunderbolt 3 or Thunderbolt 4 port , then mac will use USB3.1-Gen2 sub-function mode (max 1212 MB/s = 1.2 GB/s) speed , then such external drive will perform FASTER & swap will perform much much better.

•9: If your external drive is NVMe (M2) PCIe-Gen3x4 (max 3938 MB/s = 3.9 GB/s read & write , but different drive with different quality, has different read & write speed) , & if you put this drive in a Thunderbolt interface/port (max 1.2 to 5 GB/s) based ENCLOSURE (Case for Drive), & if you connect into Mac's Thunderbolt port (max 1.2 to 5 GB/s) , then such external drive will be 2 to 8 times FASTER than your internal SSD (SATA-3) (max 600 MB/s) drive , so swap will perform much much much better . As Thunderbolt4 cannot be more than 5 GB/s, so using a NVMe (M2) PCIe-Gen4x4 (max 7876 MB/s = 7.87 GB/s read & write , but different drive with different quality, has different read & write speed) drive is not useful , because Thunderbolt-4 interface is slower speed than this NVMe PCIe-Gen4x4 drive.

•10: If your external drive is NVMe (M2) PCIe-Gen3x4 (max 3938 MB/s = 3.9 GB/s read & write , but different drive with different quality, has different read & write speed) , & if you are using it inside a USB4 (max 5 GB/s) based ENCLOSURE (Case for Drive) , and if you connect the enclosure into Mac's USB 4 or Thunderbolt 3 or Thunderbolt-4 port , then such external USB drive will also be 2 to 8 times faster than your internal SSD (SATA-3) (max 600 MB/s) drive , so swap will perform much much much better . As USB4v1 or Thunderbolt3 or Thunderbolt4 cannot be more than 5 GB/s, so using a NVMe (M2) PCIe-Gen4x4 (max 7876 MB/s = 7.87 GB/s read & write , but different drive with different quality, has different read & write speed) drive is not useful , because USB4 / TB-3 / TB-4 interface speed is slower speed than that drive's speed.

•11: USB4 (and also Thunderbolt-4) has PCIe link mode , if external NAS / SAN RAID Drive (with NVMe, etc drives) can use such PCIe link mode and can combine multi-link bandwidth , then extreme FASTER speed is possible.

•12: SDXC memory card, or USB (or Thunderbolt) based solid-state pen/flash drive, etc , utlizes much slower speed mode in USB / Thunderbolt interface , so they are very very SLOW & not-suitable for "swap" purpose usage.

Above data will give you technical sense on what hardware to choose, based on your need & budget, & what to expect from what hardware solution.

There are other ways to create swap (file/partition) too.

By the way, if your screen is showing many app's running windows , in small amount or in large amount , then

all of those windows/apps are consuming lots of RAM.

When app's window is behind another window, or when app is minimized, etc, so when any app's windows' any part is NOT-SHOWN on screen , then that app uses slightly less RAM , because macOS tries to put it into the "SWAP" memory file/partition area.

When app comes into focus or comes into screen then macOS loads core components into RAM.

so use this trick, to reduce slowness:

increase app's window size, to take up full space of the screen, so that other app-windows are behind your main app, hiding.

then computer will speed up slightly.

in "Activity Monitor" you can see a process called "Windows X Server" is often busy when you switch in between app ... that process is bringing app from swap to RAM , & sending less necessary into "swap".

More info:

this(5) : a discussion in apple community forum, on "swap-partition" (aka: "swap volume") in external drive for macOS BigSur.

SWAP MEMORY : 2 of 2 :

...

... SEE EARLIER / FIRST PART here ...

...

15: and Disk / storage-memory that holds the SWAP files/partition/drive/volume , that disk/storage drive's max sustained DATA TRANSFER RATE , & that storage device's or channel's INTERFACE or ports max data transfer rate , are BIGGEST FACTORS for swap SPEED related operations . Faster (data-trasnfer-rate based) drive & faster interface based storage-memory will obviously be better for holding the SWAP related files/data.

16: When MORE swapping happening , then macOS (system components, "Windows-X-Server", etc) utilizes the CPU , CPU-Cache , etc to transfer more data & more frequently in-between RAM & G-RAM & Disk(s) & SWAP (and related) memory areas/files/devices.

17: When CPU reaches its data computing/processing limit/capacity per second , that is : NO MORE INSTANT data computing/processing RESULT is possible or available,

18: then macOS starts to use PRIORITY based scheduled data computing/processing : So which-ever app or function-library has LESS-PRIORITY , it must WAIT inside multiple separate type of QUEUE LINEs , for their turn to come, to use the CPU (cpu cores).

19: and this/such can also happen with Graphics-Display data processing or Video-data processing, that is, there is no more instant result possible from GPU (Graphics-Card aka Video-Card) as GPU has reached its processing limit , then macOS "WindowsServer" component also creates PRIORITY based multiple queue lines , for processing graphics data of apps.

20: So in THIS ABOVE TYPES of situation(s) : a lesser-priority or general-priority based APP's (or Function-Library's) speed/responsiveness SLOWS-DOWN , as SYSTEM is WAITING for this APP's (of Function-Library's) TURN to come, thru their QUEUE line, to use the cpu / cpu-cores and gpu.

21: And if a user does not reboot often , then such swap problems starts to happen : macOS can create multiple swap memory files related to same app, based on triggered other app or function-library usage . New swapped data from RAM & G-RAM goes into inside the swap file's new memory location . macOS deletes swap file's internal memory location when that is swapped out of swap file , macOS can delete entire swap file, if thats not needed anymore . BUT these "delete" are just deletion of memory-location id's first few bytes, its not the deletion of entire memory location or entire swap file . macOS does not de-fragment each active swap file to reduce overall swap file size , by getting rid of unused/deleted fragments out of the swap file , etc . So swap area & swap file's size increases , number of swap file also starts to increase as more functions & apps go into more queue & waiting , etc . When these increases, then macOS system becomes even more busy to go thru all these swap files, & to find their active memory location instead of deleted memory location , ...

so system becomes even more slower over-time , as more or max CPU & GPU resources are used , and so apps on screen starts to suffer first .. they start to loose their responsiveness.

22: Because "swap" is located in a memory which is much slower-than RAM memory , and each Mac computer's CPU / cpu-cores & GPU has a MAX data processing/computing/speed-rate limit , and Mac computer's each interface / port also has a MAX data processing/computing/speed-rate limit.

23: COMMON SENSE : if swap is currently in a data processing channel which can give/allow max r/w (read/write) at 600 MB/s (this is the max limit what a SSD SATA-3 drive can give),

and if you move the swap into a faster data processing channel which can give/allow max r/w at 3900 MB/s (this is possible with NVMe-PCIe-Gen3+Thunderbolt3),

then obviously swap related operations will be 3900 / 600 = 6.5 TIMES FASTER ... that is the benefit you can get from good swap.

More info:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_memory
• About the Virtual Memory System
• Memory and Virtual Memory

ALLOW macOS TO AUTO-MOUNT AN EXTERNAL DRIVE , part 2 of 3:

...

see earlier part ( part-1 ) is here.

...

There are variables or multiple factors : different user can do this in different ways because different user has different items, different settings, for different needs.

As many infos are not-passed-on to other side , aka: unknown , so user need to understand & adjust.

param = parameter . used in a command-lines, after the command word.

please change below config line, accordingly below instructions:

UUID=4a5f... 	/Volumes/FastSSD 	apfs 	rw,auto 	0 	0

• 1: all alphanumeric characters in UUID is usually specified with capital letters, So pls update . Also please keep the "dash" in UUID in exact same places.
• 2: MOUNT-POINT : The "/Volumes/FastSSD" folder/directory must-be/should-be created early , for "fstab" to mount it in that mount-point during boot time , so please re-create that "FastSSD" folder/dir properly , before creating "fstab" file.
  • 2b: You will need to Detach/EJECT the external drive, & at that point apply below command, so that below command(s) do not affect any existing data inside external-drive . So start "Terminal" app in macOS, then execute below comand:

$ sudo mkdir /Volumes/FastSSD

• • 2d: OWNERSHIP : Usually sub-folders under "/Volumes" folder, are added by admin/root user or macOS system for the user , so we need to make sure the "FastSSD" is owned by root user or macOS system or the username that you use (when you use that external drive).
  • 2e: If "fstab" not-loading the external drive, then you need to add one of your Mac computer's user, into the permitted user-list of external APFS based drive . Your own username should be part of "Administrator" type-of privileged groups, inside the "Users & Groups" in your macOS Settings . If your username is not yet a member of "Administrator" type group, then please goto Settings > "Users & Groups", & change user type ).
  • 2f: Let us assume your username is "admin2".
  • 2g: Now connect external-drive, & go into this instructions page's "Volume Ownership" section, to find out which users are allowed to access the external drive , check if your username "admin2" (who is also an "Administrator" type privileged user) is listed there , if not then please add "admin2" there, as an allowed user of that external drive.
  • 2h: Lets assume, your Mac computer has an user named "admin2" (who is also part of "staff" group), & you also added user "admin2" in external drive's list of users, who are able/allowed to access it . So, the mount-point "FastSSD" also need to be owned-by (or accessible-to) that user "admin2". So apply below command, after Detaching/EJECTing the external drive:

$ sudo chown admin2 /Volumes/FastSSD

• • 2j: you can also change directory/folder ownership or r/w permission access, via GUI method shown here by using the "Finder" , but sometime you need to use "chown", etc from command-line for advanced settings changes . More info on chown is here & here & you may also see comments of user "atErik" here.
  • 2k: PERMISSION / ACCESS , aka, r/w (read/write) access and/or execute access, etc . Permissions can also be changed via "chmod" command , (permission access can also be changed via GUI method mentioned here) , more info on chmod here & here & here . Detach/EJECT external drive, then run below command:

$ sudo  chmod  u=rwx,g=rx,o=  /Volumes/FastSSD

• • 2l: in "chmod", r=read=4 , w=write=2, x=execute=1 , u=user , g=group , o=others , so above "u=rwx,g=rx,o=" is equal to "750" , it means: owner user can r/w (read/write) & x=execute files+folders, it means here: owner user can view+read+write into all files + folders/directories, & owner user can view+go inside all folders . And the "group" who is permitted to access, that group's members can read & execute, it means here: that group's members can view/read & execute files, but cannot write or create files/folders, & that grp members can view+go inside folders . And all "others" are denied all type of access as its empty after the = symbol, so it means here: "others" are not-allowed to view/read/write/run/execute any files, & not-allowed to view or go inside any folder . And previous all conditions are created for the mount-point folder "FastSSD", & "others" cannot even see the mount-point folder "FastSSD" itself.

• 3: LOAD STATIC FILESYSTEMS (FSTAB) : now we will work on "fstab" : please make a backup copy of "/etc/fstab" file, in your home directory , bcoz we will have to delete it , then recreate a fresh one in step-section-4:

$ sudo cp /etc/fstab ~/fstab.01.bak
$ sudo rm /etc/fstab

ch = character / symbols / alpha-numeric letters, etc.

...

SEE NEXT PART (part-3) here.

ALLOW macOS TO AUTO-MOUNT AN EXTERNAL DRIVE , part 3 of 3:

...

SEE EARLIER PART (part-2) is here.

...

• 4: instead of directly creating+editing the "/etc/fstab" file by using "nano" editor , from now on we will use "vifs" which is recommended (and since macOS Catalina & onward, it works better, because apple changed filesystem structure) , & MORE INFO on fstab is here & here . Start "Terminal" app, then type, below vifs command, then specify your password, then type the UUID config line:

$ sudo vifs
UUID=4A5F... 	/Volumes/FastSSD 	apfs 	rw,noowners 	0 	2

• • 4d: that "sudo vifs" command uses the "vi" editor (older than nano), to create+edit the "/etc/fstab" file , & sets proper access permissions for "root" user, & "wheel" groups , its a safety measure type of reason, to do in that way , & fstab file has "u=rw,g=r,o=r" = ("644") permission.
  • 4e: and if you notice the UUID line ch-by-ch , you can see , after each word i have given a "space" & then a "tab" character, except for the last "2" . (because, in many important config files, "tab" ch is separator, not "space" ch).
  • 4f: after "sudo vifs" , type the UUID.... line exactly in above (including the "tab" characters), then save & quit , (more info on using "vi" / "vim" editor here or here or here , more info on entering "tab" ch is here).
  • 4g: the last/sixth param , tech note showing "The sixth field, (fs_passno), is used by the fsck(8) program to determine the order in which filesystem checks are done at reboot time. The root filesystem should be specified with a fs_passno of 1, and other filesystems should have a fs_passno of 2. Filesystems within a drive will be checked sequentially, but filesystems on different drives will be checked at the same time to utilize parallelism available in the hardware. If the sixth field is not present or zero, a value of zero is returned and fsck will assume that the filesystem does not need to be checked."
  • 4h: so last param can be "1" when we want macOS root user to attach / mount it & check it with root access method . and last param can also be "2" when we want other type of file-system check is performed on drive by other type of users . So you should first try with "2" (as your earlier posted data indicated it does not need root or admin level accessing) . if fstab related macOS components cannot mount/load the external drive, then please try with "1" as last number in that UUID config line, and see below required changes:
  • 4i: when you want to try with "1" as last param's value number, in that UUID line, then see step-2e & please add an user in external-drive's user-list who is for sure part of "Administrator" group in your Mac computer . And then see the "sudo chown" command in step-2h , you have to apply 2h for the user that you will add into external-drive's user-list . ( in my side, i use admin type user to connect APFS external drive(s), so i use "1", & that works ).
  • 4j: if "admin2" is the user that has "Administrator" type designation, then just try with "1" as last number in that UUID config line, if the "2" did not work:

UUID=4A5F... 	/Volumes/FastSSD 	apfs 	rw 	0 	1

• • 4l: if above does not work then try:

UUID=4A5F... 	/Volumes/FastSSD 	apfs 	rw 	0 	2

• • 4m: And in my case/side, as i use "1" as sixth param, so i dont use "noowners" in fourth param, as my APFS drive(s) were created by me (an admin type user), from my Mac, for admin purpose usage.
  • 4n: the fifth param, which is now "0" , its tech note showing : "it is used for these filesystems by the dump(8) command to determine which filesystems need to be dumped. If the fifth field is not present, a value of zero is returned and dump will assume that the filesystem does not need to be dumped." ... so we will continue to use "0" , as we want to keep this external drive stay connected into Mac's same interface port.
  • 4o: the fourth param in UUID config line, (aka: filesystem mounting options), which is now "rw" in above, it means "allow read & write" mode access into (external-drive) filesystem . this field can have comma separated mount/unmount options (w/o any "space") , see here . it can also be "ro" ("read only") . Other various options are : "sw" ("swap") , "rq" , "nfs" , "net" , "async" , "force" , "noasync" , "noauto" , "nodev" , "noexec" , "noowners" , "nosuid" , "rdonly" , "sync" , "update" , "union" , "noatime" , "strictatime" , "nobrowse" , "nofollow" , etc . Some of the previous options can have "no" in front of them to invert the meaning/function . I made a mistake, when in previous instruction here earlier i said to use "auto" , but other parts of earlier instructions are right . i need to add link of second post (part-2) at bottom of previous instruction (part-1) , but only forum mod can do that correction.

I have received help from user "atErik" for writing these.

Thanks.

you can also try "Waterfox" (based on Firefox) ... in my/our test, its faster than firefox for sure, uses lesser computing resources than firefox.

but users who are dependent on Brave web-browser's privacy features, etc,

for such users, to switch into other better software (than Google's Chrome), is very tough,

because, lots of configurations, adding addons & configurations, etc are needed in a different web-browser, which most want to avoid.

So for some users, alternative is, use the TOR-BROWSER, & then further configure it, add addons/extensions to bring it close to brave like functions, Some users disable the tor SOCK5 proxy (aka: tor proxy) to disable anonymity support, as they need PRIVACY, not ANONYMITY . This browser is based on Firefox & it also uses less computing resources, it respects your privacy-rights.

Load uBLOCK-ORIGIN type of addons in web-browser, that actually blocks COMPUTING RESOURCE HUNGRY advertisements, web-page components, etc, etc

... did those advertisers paid you to use your video/graphics-card your RAM your cpu your internet data capacities ? did they take fully aware consented permission in early from you, before showing ADs ?

thats why uBlock-origin is best/better addon/extension, & better than AdBlocker type addons/externsions.

Which addon is working for you & to protect your computing resources, and working to protect your privacy-rights, from being abusively used/stolen by external entities ?

if you use this type of addon/extension, then web-browser's memory uses will reduce, it will use less cpu, & perform better, & will be more responsive.

Hi mc8 . the "swap" is very much related to your issues : when your Mac computer starts then its relative running fine/normal , then slowly over time it starts to crawl (becomes super slow) ... is a VERY clear symptom , your Mac needs either more RAM or faster "swap" operations ... its using massive amounts of swap ... because your all apps are open on screen (and your background apps,) began to use massive amounts of PAGE MEMORY that is switching/swapping in between RAM & current existing swap files , inside your Mac computer's internal "Macintosh HD" drive & RAM.

And its having very hard time to cope with all the demands from all open apps and/or background apps, that are running or displayed all over on your screen ... when any open app's window will be visible on screen , then those each app will start to use more RAM & more swap (when computer does not have lots of RAM) ... and macOS's "WindowsServer" process will be very busy handling these tasks.

macOS itself uses massive amount of RAM.

So to enhance your mac computer's swap operations , i have writen all various options, for a faster swap solution for you.

But these are all suggestions , among other earlier suggestions.

It may not be useful for you , but who-ever else is in a situation similar to you , now or later , may see the instructions & data/info to understand whats happening , why happening , and may decide to do a solution that fits that user's need & budget.

you should get a separate & FASTER external drive (NVMe drive + Thunderbolt enclosure) , even if its only 256 GB or 512 GB , it will be very helpful ... if you put macOS monterey's swap VM into the external fast drive , then swap will be very fast , computer will be responsive.

( by the way, pls wait for the fstab instructions bit more , i will try to post in my-side night . current config line need multiple corrections. )

Having so many windows open could cause the problem. How much RAM do you have installed?

i would suggest to get a different brand & size of actual/full SSD drive.

similar happened long time ago with a drive from an amazon seller,

seller was untrustworthy/fraud ... it internally used a HYBRID type of solution of 3 different types of storage technologies, it was actually not a full SSD drive.

i myself used external USB HDD drive on macOS 10.12.6 on old Macbook Air with near 800 TABS open in firefox with 15+ addons ... works fine.

But does slow down over time of usage, but never crashed or completely-halted.

Some drives rely on a small cache and once that gets filled they slow down. But I have never had it slow down as much as your drive. I use Samsung and WD SSD's and have no issue. I also have a Sandisk SSD that will slow down after a few file transfers so I try not to use that drive. It is not a garbage collection issue with only 50GB used out of 500.

ofcourse seagate is reliable.

but pls check, if its from an authorized reseller of seagate, or directly from seagate,

or just any other re-seller who obtained stock from a authorized-reseller or just obtained few, etc, & then selling online.

there are drive specific special parameters, that can be highly different , from outside look it will appear same as some model , but actually it can have big internal content differences ... internal cache can be very low, (quality)-difference in production level semiconductor, etc etc etc.

And there are low-quality rejects from main manufacturers, old shelf returns, etc from retailers, etc , which are "obtained" by some re-seller to be sold as different drive or counterfeit drive, on online (online markets), etc.

by the way, macOS monterey & ventura , both last versions are having lots of bugs, as of now (Dec 2022, Jan 2023),

problematic symptoms can be becoz of some bugs that has triggered in your specific configurations,

allow apple devs to debug & fix these.

some other software very likely using up ram/cpu/swap, etc resources ... so its slowing down ... try to investigate more ... what items has highest drive usage , cpu, ram etc.

try to use external drive as fstab pre-declared drive for more stable op, keep that drive always connected in same USB port, etc.

PLEASE SEE FIRST PART OF THIS MESSAGE : 2 of 3 :

...

•2: if your Mac computer's internal drive is SSD (SATA-3) (max 600 Mbps = 600 MB/s) based, then you dont have to read/follow steps in next paragraph on HDD , but go to the next para below the next.

SSD (SATA) drives can access any memory location almost 4 to 10 times faster than HDD (SATA) drive.

So do not use "swap" in external-drive, if external drive is based on HDD , because, then "swap" solution will be slower , as mac's internal SSD (SATA-3) drive is much faster than external HDD (SATA-3) drive.

•3: in HDD (SATA-3) ( or HDD (SAS-2) ) type of disk ( max ~ 60 to ~ 180 MB/s) , outer rim/edge area of internal spinning disk, has fastest r/w speed, so swap-partition or swap-volume is usually created there, or you suppose to create/place there, after leaving last 10 to 20 GB of outermost rim/edge area free , etc.

if you create/use swap-file inside another volume/partition, then you can position it there by using some advanced Partition-Manager software, & by reserving the swap-file's location near the spinning disk's outer rim/edge area . See partition manager software list here(4).

Or Else, you should use a dedicated swap-partition (aka: swap volume), for this you need to reduce existing last partition's size by atleast 150 GB, use Partition Manager (aka: Volume Manager) software for that.

Then from macOS, use Disk-Utility to create MacOS-Extended (APFS) partition in the empty space, inside your "Macintosh HD" drive, or follow instructions shown inside URL "this(1)" in above.

If you are not a tech-savvy person to follow do advanced stuff, then just follow the URL page in "this(1)" in above, that is required minimum, you dont have to do advanced stuff related to "swap" in HDD drive even if your drive is HDD.

•4: if you have SSD (SATA-3) (max 600 Mbps = 600 MB/s) external drive, & if that is using a Thunderbolt interface based ENCLOSURE, & if you connect the enclosure into Mac computer's Thunderbird port ( which can be max 10 Gbps (1.25 GB/s = 1250 MB/s) to 40 Gbps (5 GB/s = 5000 MB/s) speed , but max speed depends on Thunderbolt port version ) , then moving the "swap" (file or partition) into such external drive still can be usually better , if Thunderbolt port's data Tx/Rx bandwidth is not over-used / exceeded (by other TB devices in same TB port) . Separate channels, one for swap, & another for data , can help often.

•5: If your external drive is SSD (SATA-3) (max 600 Mbps = 600 MB/s), & if you have a drive ENCLOSURE that uses USB 3.0 based interface (max 5 Gbps = 500 MB/s), or uses USB 3.1 gen1 (max 5 Gbps = 500 MB/s) interface, and if you connect such enclosure into Mac computer's USB 3.0 or USB 4.0 port, or if you connect into a USB to Thunderbolt 2 / 3 adapter or into a USB-to-Thunderbolt 4 adapter & connect into Mac , then such USB external drive will be SLOWER than your internal SSD (SATA) (max 600 Mbps = 600 MB/s) drive , because external-drive is using slower-speed (500 Mbps = 500 MB/s) interface connection , so do not use "swap" in such external drive in this way.

•6: If your external drive is SSD (SAS3) (max 12 Gbps = 1200 MB/s = 1.2 GB/s), & if it has a Thunderbolt interface based ENCLOSURE, & if you connect it into Thunderbolt interface/port (max 1.2 to 5 GB/s) on Mac , then such external drive will be FASTER than your internal SSD (SATA-3) (max 600 Mbps = 600 MB/s) drive , so swap will perform much much better.

...

SEE NEXT LAST PART OF THIS MESSAGE : here.