Apple Mac Photos app delete photo is sometimes very slow

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Level 1

4 points

Apple Mac Photos app delete photo is sometimes very slow

I've noticed recently that deleting photos is very very slow, it takes approximately 4 seconds for the photo to actually delete, but this behaviour is not consistent as sometimes deleting is instant.

This is very frustrating as deleting photos in a large library is a crucial user requirement to manage their library.

I noticed that this issue is intermittent and only happens sometimes so after some testing I can see that it always happens after a photo(s) import. So the pattern is this:

Launch Photos, delete a photo - delete is instant and consistently instant for any further deleting
Import new photo, delete any photo - delete is slow, and consistently slow for any further deleting
Restart Photos - deleting is instant again and consistently instant for any further deleting
Import new photo, delete any photo - delete is slow, and consistently slow for any further deleting
Restart Photos - deleting is instant again and consistently instant for any further deleting
Import new photo, delete any photo - delete is slow, and consistently slow for any further deleting
And so on…

So the finding is that importing a new photo or multiple photos causes deleting to slow down.

I tried importing from my hard disk and importing directly from my iPhone and the same happens.

iMac: Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2020

Processor: 3.8 GHz 8-Core Intel Core i7

Graphics: AMD Radeon Pro 5500 XT 8 GB

Memory: 40 GB 2667 MHz DDR4

Startup Disk: 25GB free

macOS: Sonoma 14.1.1 (23B81)

Photos Library: 570GB, 57,000 items, located in Users folder on hard disk

If anyone else has this problem, maybe they could also try my steps above to see if the same behaviour happens for them?

Posted on Feb 14, 2024 2:52 AM

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Answer 1

Old Toad

Level 10

216,190 points

Feb 14, 2024 9:50 AM in response to Beeezer

Have you installed and run any "cleaning", "optimizing", "speed-up", anti-virus or VPN apps on your Mac?

Give this a try: boot into Safe Mode according to How to use safe mode on your Mac and test to see if the problem persists. Reboot normally and test again.

NOTE 1: Safe Mode boot can take up to 3 - 5 minutes as it's doing the following;

• Verifies your startup disk and attempts to repair directory issues, if needed

• Loads only required kernel extensions (prevents 3rd party kernel/extensions from loading)

• Prevents Startup Items and Login Items from opening automatically

• Disables user-installed fonts

• Deletes font caches, kernel cache, and other system cache files

NOTE 2: if you have a wireless keyboard with rechargeable batteries connect it with its charging cable before booting into Safe Mode. This makes it act as a wired keyboard as will insure a successful boot into Safe Mode.

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Answer 2

Old Toad

Level 10

216,190 points

Mar 3, 2024 10:12 AM in response to Beeezer

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 examine the report and see if we can determine the cause of the problem.

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Answer 3

Beeezer Author

Level 1

4 points

Mar 3, 2024 10:06 AM in response to Old Toad

yes after normal reboot the problem persists but at least it is behaving consistently as I now know what to do to fix it temporarily. Like I said above, just quite Photos and the problem goes away until you do the next import, then it returns but then just quit Photos and restart and so on...

This seems like something that Apple should be able to track down fairly easily and fix

Thanks a gain for your suggestions :)

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Answer 4

Beeezer Author

Level 1

4 points

Mar 4, 2024 7:10 AM in response to Old Toad

I recreated the problem by importing a new photo and then ran the software and generated a report:

Photos - slow delete after importing new photo

then I restarted Photos and deleting was back to normal with instant delete times

Photos - instant delete after restart

When you compare the two reports you can see that the first one (slow delete) has the following:

Heavy Photos CPU usage - Photos processes are using large amounts of CPU.

Which seems to confirm that something is happening to photos when an import is done that slows it down considerably.

thanks for the tips on the scan software etc

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Answer 5

Old Toad

Level 10

216,190 points

Feb 16, 2024 11:31 AM in response to Beeezer

That's OK if it doesn't run in Safe Mode. It's the fixing while booting that is important. After the normal reboot does the problem persist?

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Answer 6

Beeezer Author

Level 1

4 points

Feb 16, 2024 6:10 AM in response to Old Toad

Thanks for the suggestions.

I've never had any "cleaning" or "optimising" software and I use a wired keyboard and tried Safe Mode but Photos was behaving strangely in safe mode. The Library option was gone in safe mode so I decided not to try anything as I don't really want to break anything so I didn't get to try that suggestion.

Thanks again

Beezer

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Apple Mac Photos app delete photo is sometimes very slow

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