iMac slow boot-up with SSD boot drive

Question

MCBernard9 Author

Level 1

4 points

iMac slow boot-up with SSD boot drive

Ventura 13.5.1

iMac Retina 5k, 27", 2017 (the info from Apple is reporting an older iMac, the info I posted here is correct)

Press the power button

White logo with status bar appears and remains on screen for approximately 1.5 minutes

Desktop appears and loads instantly

I tried using an SSD drive for my boot drive. This worked for about a month, booted up quickly. The system is back to booting as noted above. It seems like the process running during the logo/status bar time is getting bogged down.

NOTE: Before the SSD drive the desktop would also take a long time to load the images and file icons on the desktop. After the SSD drive, the only slow part is the logo/status bar screen as noted above, the desktop loads instantly.

There is 796GB of free space on Macintosh (SSD)HD

I have removed all unused applications and files (accept what Apple won't allow)

Oracle JAVA is the only thing set to run in the background

Unplugged everything from iMac (accept boot drive) - no change

Same boot time with Safe Mode (don't know if Safe Mode usually boots slowly)

Any ideas?

iMac 27″

Posted on Sep 2, 2023 10:47 AM

Reply

Answer 1

Allan Jones

Level 10

82,452 points

Sep 2, 2023 3:41 PM in response to MCBernard9

Perfect. Thank you.

When you installed the SSD, did you check to see if TRIMforce was engaged? You may need to run an EtreCheck report to find out, but that will show actual drive speeds in situ as well. At this point, an EtreCheck report may will be the best tools for working this out without our playing a protracted game of "20 Questions" that could go on for days.

We can quickly and within the confines of these forums better help you determine what issues are at play if you use EtreCheck Pro, available here:

https://etrecheck.com/index

The free version will do nicely for this purpose, although the app is worthy of our financial support.

We can see hard data about drive performance, software issues, and RAM usage. Etrecheck is the development of a long-serving and trusted contributor here expressly for displaying information in these forums to help us help you. It will not reveal any personal or secure information.

Please see this excellent user tip on posting long text reports like EtreCheck's.

How to use the Add Text Feature When Post… - Apple Community

Reply

Answer 2

Allan Jones

Level 10

82,452 points

Sep 2, 2023 12:15 PM in response to MCBernard9

More info will help us better help you:

What original drive option did the iMac have? Fusion drive? Factory SSD only?
When you say "I tried using an SSD drive for my boot drive." is that an external? If so, is it on USB or ThunderBolt? What model external?

If you had either a Fusion drive or a factory SSD, either if healthy would be far faster than an external USB3 SSD. External USB3 SATA 6GB SSDs have a max xfer rate of about 400MB/sec. A healthy Fusion Drive on your model should do Writes of 600-1000 mb/sec and reads at up to 2000 MB/sec.

If you have the "pure" factory SSD-only option, both reads and writes will be well over 2000mb/sec.

NOTE: Before the SSD drive the desktop would also take a long time to load the images and file icons on the desktop.

That sounds like an Apple FusionDrive that became "split," meaning the software link between the two Fusion components (a mech HDD and a small SSD) has become lost. See:

How to fix a split Fusion Drive - Apple Support

This does not apply to the Apple "pure SSD" drive option.

Reply

Answer 3

MCBernard9 Author

Level 1

4 points

Sep 2, 2023 12:53 PM in response to Allan Jones

The original drive: 1TB Fusion Drive. *This drive is no longer in use* Wiped it clean.

I am using an external SSD Drive: SAMSUNG T7 Shield 1TB, Portable SSD, up to 1050MB/s, USB 3.2 Gen2

To clarify.

The factory 1TB Fusion Drive began booting slowly over time. *This drive is no longer in use* Wiped it clean.
I replaced it with the above noted Samsung SSD drive. Reinstalling everything. This resulted in a boot up speed of less than 30 seconds.
Over time the boot up speed slowed to what I experience now. Approximately 1.5 minutes.

I'm trying to figure out why the boot up time with the Samsung SSD drive has now slowed down, like the original drive.

Reply

iMac slow boot-up with SSD boot drive

Similar questions