I've read the Etrecheck report and it only highlights a few minor issues which I have dealt with since.
One was for unsigned drivers for my DocuPrint M225 dw Fuji Xerox printer.
Another was for Apple to remotely access my computer.
My iMac with masOS Monterey still runs very slowly even when the Activity Monitor shows over 60% idle??
iMac 21.5″ 4K, macOS 12.7
Well I see a couple of things, first is you bought a base model 2017 iMac with a glacially slow 5400 RPM HD and that means it will never be fast. I also noted it has not been restarted in at least 4 days, please consider restarting it.
If I was in your shoes though I would SERIOUSLY consider replacing it with a new or Apple refurbished 24" iMac which will be dramatically faster as all iMacs sold now have SSDs which make them much much much faster than your current machine. The bottleneck on pre-2020 iMacs were they still used hard disks on most configurations. On the 21.5 models they used the slowest HD there was, 5400 RPM HD's. Also, a 2017 is considered a legacy machine as it will not run current versions of Mac OS and parts for it are largely unavailable. Another option is to upgrade to a current Mac mini and simply add your monitor.
However if you want to keep the 2017 then your best bet to make it faster and eliminate beach balling is to take the internal HD out of the equation. How you do that is by adding an external SSD, to learn how please click How to setup an external SSD as your startup disk. The SSD I would recommend is the following:
https://eshop.macsales.com/shop/owc-envoy-pro-sx
The downside of keeping the 2017 and investing money into it is you will still have an obsolete iMac.
Best of luck and if you have any questions please let us know.
Well I see a couple of things, first is you bought a base model 2017 iMac with a glacially slow 5400 RPM HD and that means it will never be fast. I also noted it has not been restarted in at least 4 days, please consider restarting it.
If I was in your shoes though I would SERIOUSLY consider replacing it with a new or Apple refurbished 24" iMac which will be dramatically faster as all iMacs sold now have SSDs which make them much much much faster than your current machine. The bottleneck on pre-2020 iMacs were they still used hard disks on most configurations. On the 21.5 models they used the slowest HD there was, 5400 RPM HD's. Also, a 2017 is considered a legacy machine as it will not run current versions of Mac OS and parts for it are largely unavailable. Another option is to upgrade to a current Mac mini and simply add your monitor.
However if you want to keep the 2017 then your best bet to make it faster and eliminate beach balling is to take the internal HD out of the equation. How you do that is by adding an external SSD, to learn how please click How to setup an external SSD as your startup disk. The SSD I would recommend is the following:
https://eshop.macsales.com/shop/owc-envoy-pro-sx
The downside of keeping the 2017 and investing money into it is you will still have an obsolete iMac.
Best of luck and if you have any questions please let us know.
Hey there!
Your USB 3-equipped Mac with a hard disk can have improved system performance by connecting to an external solid-state drive (also known as an SSD). An external SSD as a startup disk can give your Mac additional performance for system responsiveness, apps, startup, and more.
To learn more, take a look at this user tip: Use an external SSD as your startup disk … - Apple Community.
If you'd prefer to replace your iMac, any of the new iMac models with the M3 chip will be a great upgrade! To lean more about iMac and the configurations, see: iMac - Apple.
-Jack
A USB SSD will work just fine and is less costly than a Thunderbolt SSD.
I really like LaCie external drives, and their Mobile SSD Secure should be a great option!
LaCie 500GB Mobile SSD Secure USB-C Drive - Gray - Apple
It includes the correct cable to connect to your iMac.
-Jack
They said that when I use an external hard drive as my startup disk the iMac still uses the internal hard drive to boot to the external start up disk and there would be some beach balling when the old internal hard drive is used. I'm not sure if I have explained this correctly???
For an Intel Mac, such as yours, this is incorrect information. When you use an external SSD as your startup disk with your iMac and migrate your data, the operating system and all your files are accessed from it. It even works if the internal disk has failed.
If you aren't able to obtain a LaCie Mobile SSD, there are other external SSD options available. If you let us know your country or general region, we may be able to point you in the right direction.
-Jack
I advised which SSD to purchase, they can deliver to your door assuming you are not in the middle of a forest or glacier where there is no delivery. Again, that SSD is:
https://eshop.macsales.com/shop/owc-envoy-pro-sx
Under no circumstances take the computer to the repair shop that wants to install it. If you ever need a Mac repaired, ONLY take it to an Apple Authorized Service Provider not some local joint that says they work on Macs. They are not correctly trained and do not have all the tools necessary to work on Macs.
Please post your EtreCheckPro report, as per > https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-250000211
Good work posting your EtreCheckPro.
It might help some to remove Chrome from your User Login Items and not use it, but other than that rkaufmann87 and Jack-19 are spot-on.
Hi Jack,
Thank you so much for taking the time to respond to my iMac problem.
After the initial Etrecheck report which listed my hard drive as possibly part of the problem I started considering an external SSD for a start up disk but wanted someone with expertise such as yours to point me in the right direction.
As far as I can tell my iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, 2017) has 4 USB ports and 2 thunderbolt ports so I'm assuming I will need an external SSD for a startup disk with a thunderbolt connection for my iMac.
Thanks,
M Fuhrmann
Hi rkaufmann87,
Thank you so much for taking the time help me with my slow iMac.
Your suggestions seem to be spot on so I will use them to decide my course of action.
Thanks for all your help,
M Fuhrmann
I have tried to buy the LaCie 500GB Mobile SSD Secure USB-C Drive online and have it delivered BUT the nearest place for delivery is about 200km away from me.
So I decided to ring the closest small place that sells and fixes Apple products to buy the LaCie 500GB Mobile SSD Secure USB-C Drive. BUT they have told me that I would be far better off having them install a new SSD. They said that when I use an external hard drive as my startup disk the iMac still uses the internal hard drive to boot to the external start up disk and there would be some beach balling when the old internal hard drive is used. I'm not sure if I have explained this correctly???
So the cost goes from around $150 to $350!
So if the internal hard drive fails will I still be able to use the LaCie 500GB Mobile SSD Secure USB-C Drive as my start up disk??
A little confused as to what to do now!
The store near by that advised me to install a new hard drive in my iMac is an Apple Authorised Reseller and Service Provider.
I live in rural Australia, a small town called Evans Head in NSW.
Thanks everyone for all your help!
I have eventually found a way to order the LaCie 500GB Mobile SSD Secure USB-C Drive - Gray - Apple in Australia delivered to my door. I will be receiving the hard drive on about the 29/01/2024.
I will be following the instructions on Learn how to use an external SSD as a startup disk with your iMac thanks to Jack-19.
All good! Thanks for your invaluable help!
Hi Jack-19,
My LaCie Mobile SSD has arrived and Im trying to follow your direction found on the web to format the LaCie Mobile SSD in the APFS format but I can only choose between 1. Mac OS (Journaled) 2. Mac OS ( case-sensitive, Journaled) 3. MS-DOS (FAT) or 4. ExFat.
I have erased and formatted the LaCie Mobile SSD with Mac OS Journaled and then tried to erase and format theLaCie Mobile SSD with APFS but APFS is still not available.
Do I just leave the LaCie Mobile SSD formatted in Mac OS Extended (Journaled) or is there a work around to format the disk in APFS format???
Thanks for your help,
M Fuhrmann
Hi Jack-19,
They say a picture is worth a thousand words!
Well a timely video is even more valuable!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZiFnhVU3aos
This YouTube video showed me where I was going wrong so I have not formatted the disk in APFS!
All good,
Thanks
Why is my 2017 iMac is so slow with constant beach balling?
