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Etrecheck identifies a major problem

Etrecheck identifies a major problem. Can anybody help me how to solve this?


or should I not trust Etrecheck?


iMac 27″, macOS 13.2

Posted on Apr 2, 2023 6:22 AM

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Question marked as Best reply

Posted on Apr 2, 2023 4:01 PM

First, there is no reason to ever install or run any 3rd party "cleaning", "optimizing", "speed-up", anti-virus, VPN or security apps on your Mac.  This documents describe what you need to know and do in order to protect your Mac: Effective defenses against malware and other threats - Apple Community and Recognize and avoid phishing messages, phony support calls, and other scams - Apple Support.  


There are no known viruses, i.e. self propagating, for Macs.  There are, however, adware and malware which require the user to install although unwittingly most of the time thru sneaky links, etc.   


Anti Virus developers try to group all types as viruses into their ad campaigns of fear.  They do a poor job of the detecting and isolating the adware and malware.  Since there are no viruses these apps use up a lot of system resources searching for what is non-existent and adversely affect system and app performance.


There is one app, Malwarebytes, which was developed by a long time contributor to these forums and a highly respected member of the computer security community, that is designed solely to seek out adware and known malware and remove it.  The free version is more than adequate for most users.  


That being said uninstall Bitdefender, CleanMyDrive and Cleaner One according to the developer's instructions.


11 replies
Question marked as Best reply

Apr 2, 2023 4:01 PM in response to azakmurer57

First, there is no reason to ever install or run any 3rd party "cleaning", "optimizing", "speed-up", anti-virus, VPN or security apps on your Mac.  This documents describe what you need to know and do in order to protect your Mac: Effective defenses against malware and other threats - Apple Community and Recognize and avoid phishing messages, phony support calls, and other scams - Apple Support.  


There are no known viruses, i.e. self propagating, for Macs.  There are, however, adware and malware which require the user to install although unwittingly most of the time thru sneaky links, etc.   


Anti Virus developers try to group all types as viruses into their ad campaigns of fear.  They do a poor job of the detecting and isolating the adware and malware.  Since there are no viruses these apps use up a lot of system resources searching for what is non-existent and adversely affect system and app performance.


There is one app, Malwarebytes, which was developed by a long time contributor to these forums and a highly respected member of the computer security community, that is designed solely to seek out adware and known malware and remove it.  The free version is more than adequate for most users.  


That being said uninstall Bitdefender, CleanMyDrive and Cleaner One according to the developer's instructions.


Apr 4, 2023 7:15 AM in response to HWTech

After enabling Trim :


Performance:

    System Load: 6.12 (1 min ago) 4.34 (5 min ago) 1.93 (15 min ago)

    Nominal I/O usage: 8.63 MB/s

    File system: 23.95 seconds

    Write speed: 487 MB/s

    Read speed: 524 MB/s


Seems te make a big difference.

Thanks!


I still need to figure out if it makes sense to re-install the Fusion set-up.

Apr 3, 2023 10:36 AM in response to azakmurer57

Definitely agree with the others regarding BitDefender and other anti-virus apps, cleaning/optimizer apps, and third party security software as these types of apps interfere with the normal operation of macOS and are not needed on a Mac. macOS already provides great built-in security especially when combined with the user practicing safe computing habits as outlined in this article written by a respected forum contributor:

Effective defenses against malware and other threats - Apple Community


I see you don't have TRIM enabled on the internal Samsung SSD which is more important to have enabled as you fill the SSD (now with just about 145GB free). Launch the Terminal app and issue the following command to enable TRIM:

sudo  trimforce  enable


You will be prompted for your admin password, but nothing will appear on the screen as you type it. Press the "Return" key to submit the password. You will need to reboot the Mac for it to take effect.


Unless you have EtreCheck automatically check for updates, EtreCheck does not have anything running unless the app is opened by the user. Apps with installers or apps which prompt you to authorize other components like "helpers" are the ones which install parts into the lower levels of macOS and will likely run automatically at boot and/or login.


Apr 3, 2023 11:35 AM in response to azakmurer57

HWTech caught the problem I suspected you have: TRIMforce is not enabled on the SSD.


However, this computer appears to have shipped with an Apple FUSION drive originally, with the Samsung replacing the original SATA 6, 7200rpm mechanical drive. The software connection between the two drives is now broken. The Apple SSD and the Samsung are not linked as a Fusion drive. See:


How to fix a split Fusion Drive - Apple Support


Instructions to enable TRIMforce on the Samsung:


https://eshop.macsales.com/blog/31619-how-to-execute-trimforce-command-with-your-owc-ssd/


NOTE: With the help of our amazing Grant Bennet-Alder, I found that Safe Boot following enabling TRIM requires some time to work though this. Let the computer sit in Safe Mode for 1-2 hours, then restart in regular mode and use EtreCheck again to see if the Write speed has improved. It should be at or near the READ speed of ~500MB/sec.


If the first attempt does not restore full speed, I found this is a "wash, rinse, repeat" situation. I had to safe boot my aftermarket SSD multiple times with time to "soak" before it returned to full speed. However, once there it has stayed up to speed.


The unfortunate thing here is that an SATA SSD replacing the mech hard drive AND the Fusion link being broken means the computer will still be moving data slower the with the original FUSION setup. I collect EtreCheck drive results that show "normal" performance. That collection shows a 2017 iMac 27" 5K with a healthy Fusion drive doing Writes of about 700-800MB/sec and Reads at an astounding 2500+MB/sec. So it behooves you to reengage the Fusion setup if possible.


Others have offered wise counsel about the dungware problem. I see one "high CPU usage" flag that is fairly easy to manage: photoanalysisd. Please see this magazine article for information and how to deal with it:


https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/310594/what-is-photoanalysisd-and-why-is-it-using-77-of-my-cpu







Apr 2, 2023 10:47 AM in response to azakmurer57

Welcome!


We can be more effective if you post the entire instead of the summary. The full report, among other diagnostic clues, shows your exact sub-model which is a critical part of troubleshooting, and should identify the runaway process


Long blocks of text here are a problem but the "Additional Text" tool lets us post longer blocks:


1 — With the Etrecheck report open, scroll down the left-hand page to "Report"



2 — WITHOUT HIGHLIGHTING the report, go to Etrecheck's Share menu and select "copy report":



3 — Now, back in the forum box, select the "Additional Text" tool:


4 — That brings up this field where your enter the copied report:



If you do it right, it will expand to look like the report posted in this 2020 thread:



That is the way Etrecheck's author—a long-serving and trusted contributor here—intended it to be used, including stripping out any personal or security information


In the very abbreviated version you posted, I see a concern. It is hard to read in that format but portends a serious drive problem. Reformatted:


Nominal I/O speed:9.82 MB/s

File system:36.01 seconds

Write speed:41 MB/s ⚠️

Read speed:483 MB/s


First, the Read speed suggests an aftermarket solid-state drive (SSD) is installed. Second, the miserably slow Write speed suggests a serious issue with the drive. If an SSD, that may be fixable but we won't know without the full report.


As we can neither see nor touch your computer, we cannot help without details. EtreCheck is trusted and the single diagnostic tool for you to provide critical details without our playing a protracted game of "20 Questions" with you that could go on for days.


Apr 2, 2023 6:25 AM in response to dialabrain

Runaway process A process is using a large percentage of your CPU.


Performance


System Load:Runtime:3:20 (minutes:seconds)Nominal I/O speed:9.82 MB/sFile system:36.01 secondsWrite speed:41 MB/sRead speed:483 MB/sPerformance:GoodAboutCompare…

Your Mac’s overall performance. The graph shows system load from 15 minutes ago, 5 minutes ago, and 1 minute ago. System load is a measure of how hard your system is working. The graph includes a range of normal values for typical use, but your normal may be different.


Also included is EtreCheck’s own performance measures of your filesystem and disk speed. A discrepancy between EtreCheck’s performance rating and your own experience is an important clue that might help identify a problem.


Click the About button to learn more about what EtreCheck’s performance rating means and how it is calculated.


Click the Compare button to use EtreCheck Insights to see how your computer’s performance compares to the performance shown in other EtreCheck reports.

CPU Usage Snapshot


TypeOverallIndividual coresSystem

User

Idle16 %

14 %

69 %     

Your Mac's CPU usage, separated by system and user tasks. Also included are the usages of individual cores in your CPU. 

Top Processes Snapshot by CPU


Process (count)SourceCPUOther processes?95.01 %Activity MonitorOneDriveMicrosoft Corporation66.22 %Show in FinderEtreCheckApp Store8.52 %Show in FinderDropboxDropbox, Inc.4.73 %Show in FinderfileproviderdApple4.29 %About

A list of processes using the highest amount of your computer’s processing capacity. Any value over 50% may indicate a problem. Any value over 100% may indicate a serious problem. 


If Other processes are listed, click the Activity Monitor button to launch the Activity Monitor app and see what they are. Make sure to choose All Processes from the View menu in Activity Monitor.


If any 3rd party apps are listed, click the Show in Finder button to find the app.

Top Processes Snapshot by Memory


Process (count)SourceRAM usageEtreCheckApp Store958 MBShow in FinderOneDriveMicrosoft Corporation553 MBShow in FinderDropboxDropbox, Inc.337 MBShow in FinderFinderApple215 MBCCXProcessAdobe Inc.170 MBShow in Finder

A list of processes using the highest amount of your computer’s RAM memory. A value over 2 GB may indicate a problem such as a memory leak. 


If any 3rd party apps are listed, click the Show in Finder button to find the app.

Etrecheck identifies a major problem

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