Imac running slow.

Question

Level 1

8 points

Imac running slow.

macOS Monterey, 24 gig memory

after a os up grade the machine slowed. I brought memory up to 24 but not very much improvement. my other imac with out upgrades running rings around this one.

???

thank you

Don P

Posted on Feb 2, 2023 9:26 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Jack-19

Level 8

46,008 points

Feb 2, 2023 3:17 PM in response to DonPatterson

Macube Cleaner - /Applications/Macube Cleaner.app/ -- ⚠️

MacCube Cleaner should be removed. Mac computers do not need any sort of anti-virus or cleaning software. These "utilities" can cause performance issues, security issues, and make macOS appear buggy. Your Mac is worse with these types of Apps installed.

disk0 - APPLE HDD ST1000DM003 1.00 TB (Mechanical - 7200 RPM) -- ⚠️

Performance:

Write speed: 83 MB/s

Read speed: 108 MB/s

However, the main reason your iMac is slow is due to the 7200-rpm hard drive. While this hard drive found in your Mac is perfectly suited to light tasks, such as email, web browsing, etc., for more advanced tasks, and for users who want the maximum performance from their Mac, this hard drive does have its limitations. 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 40 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.

Jack

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Answer 2

DonPatterson Author

Level 1

8 points

Feb 2, 2023 1:58 PM in response to Old Toad

performance: Good

Problem: Computer is too slow

Major Issues: None

Minor Issues:

These issues do not need immediate attention but they may indicate future problems or opportunities for improvement.

Unsigned files - There are unsigned software files installed. These files could be old, incompatible, and cause problems. They should be reviewed.

Limited permissions - More information may be available with Full Disk Access.

Kernel extensions present - This computer has kernel extensions that may not work in the future.

Hardware Information:

iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Late 2015)

Status: Supported

iMac Model: iMac17,1

3.2 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i5 (i5-6500) CPU: 4-core

24 GB RAM - Upgradeable

BANK 0/DIMM0 - 4 GB DDR3 1867

BANK 0/DIMM1 - 8 GB DDR3 1867

BANK 1/DIMM0 - 4 GB DDR3 1867

BANK 1/DIMM1 - 8 GB DDR3 1867

Video Information:

AMD Radeon R9 M380 - VRAM: 2 GB

iMac (built-in) 4096 x 2304

Drives:

disk0 - APPLE HDD ST1000DM003 1.00 TB (Mechanical - 7200 RPM)

Internal SATA 3 Gigabit Serial ATA

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

disk0s2 [APFS Container] 1000.00 GB

disk1 [APFS Virtual drive] 1000.00 GB (Shared by 6 volumes)

disk1s1 - Macintosh HD - Data (APFS) [APFS Virtual drive] (278.25 GB used)

disk1s2 - Preboot (APFS) [APFS Preboot] (878 MB used)

disk1s3 - Recovery (APFS) [Recovery] (1.12 GB used)

disk1s4 - VM (APFS) [APFS VM] (4.30 GB used)

disk1s5 (APFS) [APFS Container] (21.48 GB used)

disk1s5s1 - Macintosh HD (APFS) [APFS Snapshot] (21.48 GB used)

disk1s6 - Update (APFS) (112 MB used)

disk2 - WD My Book 25EE 4.00 TB

External USB 5 Gbit/s USB

disk2s1 - EFI (MS-DOS FAT32) [EFI] 210 MB

disk2s2 - M*****k (Mac OS Extended (Case-sensitive, Journaled)) 4.00 TB (799.96 GB used)

disk3 - PNY USB 2.0 FD 15.49 GB

External USB 480 Mbit/s USB

disk3s1 - U*****D (MS-DOS FAT32) 15.49 GB (2.24 GB used)

Mounted Volumes:

disk1s1 - Macintosh HD - Data [APFS Virtual drive]

Filesystem: APFS

Mount point: /System/Volumes/Data

Used: 278.25 GB

Shared values

Size: 1000.00 GB

Free: 693.65 GB

Available: 711.77 GB

disk1s2 - Preboot [APFS Preboot]

Filesystem: APFS

Mount point: /System/Volumes/Preboot

Used: 878 MB

Shared values

Size: 1000.00 GB

Free: 693.65 GB

disk1s4 - VM [APFS VM]

Filesystem: APFS

Mount point: /System/Volumes/VM

Used: 4.30 GB

Shared values

Size: 1000.00 GB

Free: 693.65 GB

disk1s5 [APFS Container]

Filesystem: APFS

Mount point: /System/Volumes/Update/mnt1

Used: 21.48 GB

Shared values

Size: 1000.00 GB

Free: 693.65 GB

disk1s5s1 - Macintosh HD [APFS Snapshot]

Filesystem: APFS

Mount point: /

Read-only: Yes

Used: 21.48 GB

Shared values

Size: 1000.00 GB

Free: 693.65 GB

Available: 711.77 GB

disk1s6 - Update

Filesystem: APFS

Mount point: /System/Volumes/Update

Used: 112 MB

Shared values

Size: 1000.00 GB

Free: 693.65 GB

disk2s2 - M*****k

Filesystem: Mac OS Extended (Case-sensitive, Journaled)

Mount point: /Volumes/M*****k

Used: 799.96 GB

Size: 4.00 TB

Free: 3.20 TB

disk3s1 - U*****D

Filesystem: MS-DOS FAT32

Mount point: /Volumes/U*****D

thanks again

slow2

Slow1

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Answer 3

Allan Jones

Level 9

72,032 points

Feb 2, 2023 9:59 AM in response to DonPatterson

Welcome Don!

What sub-model iMac, including screen size? Those are in "About this Mac..." under your Apple menu:

That's important because Apple used a variety of drive options—some slow—depending on sub-model. And this:

...I brought memory up to 24 but not very much improvement.

suggests you have a drive problem, not a RAM problem. If a base-level unit with a mech hard drive, 21.5-inch iMacs made from 2012 through 2019 are constrained by a slow and under-spec drive.

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Answer 4

Old Toad

Level 10

210,425 points

Feb 2, 2023 11:35 AM in response to DonPatterson

Download and run Etrecheck. Copy and paste the results into your reply. Etrecheck is a diagnostic tool that was developed by one of the most respected users here in the ASC and recommended by Apple Support to provide a snapshot of the system and help identify the more obvious culprits that can adversely affect a Mac's performance.

Copy the report

and use the Additional Text button to paste the report in your reply.

Then we can evaluate the report to see if we can determine the cause of the problem.

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Answer 5

Feb 2, 2023 10:15 AM in response to Allan Jones

I have same situation. Can anything be done to document drive is causing the slow speed? If this is the case, can anything be done to improve the speed? iMac - 21.5-inch, 2017 running Ventura 13.1. Processor: 3GHz Quad-Core intel Core i5

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