2019 27"mac extremely slow since sonoma

The report does not document a drive problem.

Your Apple Fusion (hybrid) drive is running within the nominals for that drive config and is too fast to be your problem. Were it a mech-only system—evenm a mecha t 100% fundtion—max possible speeds are under 200MB/sec which WOULD feel slow. Your drive is not the issue.

The report DOES document this bit of nastiness:

Top Processes Snapshot by CPU:

Process (count) CPU (Source - Location)

com.apple.MobileSoftwareUpdate.UpdateBrainService 45.94 % ⚠️ (Not signed -/private/var/db/com.apple.xpc.roleaccountd.staging/exec/16777226.72828767.xpc/Contents/MacOS)

Anything eating up nearly HALF your processing capacity WILL slow the computer. That process appears to be part of the update system. You can find a lot by web-searching for

com.apple.MobileSoftwareUpdate.UpdateBrainService

The upshot is that it is part of the post-Catalina system update system that continues to do some work after the update is shown as installed. There are numerous reports that goes away after it finishes it housekeeping but could be 30 mins to aon hour. If it is "stuck," you can try a reboot and, that failing, a Safe Mode boot.

I'd run another Etrecheck report and see if that process is still being the fat hog at the trough.

hcsitas wrote:

Your intentions are not in doubt - but this Etre 😁 troubleshooting stuff is really ancient!

It's only been a few months since I've updated EtreCheckPro. I don't want to be like Apple or Google. I've got a number of issues for a 6.8.5 update "real soon".

Save OP the trouble and help OP move to an SSD - that IMO would be more helpful.

iMacs are not upgradeable. The Fusion Drive appears to be working fine. A 3rd party SSD wouldn't provide any improvement in performance and would only make the OP's life more difficult.

Don't get me wrong, in some cases, some of these old iMacs are candidates for an external SSD boot drive. But it's got to be pretty bad for that.

+1, specifically OneDrive - uninstalling might get immediate results. If OP can’t do without it, settings that minimize sync and as the “go to” location for everything (like screenshots for example) would be the next option.

In this case, OneDrive has already been uninstalled. Google Drive is still installed, however. These 3rd party cloud provides have struggled to adopt Apple's new cloud API. I think they may be responsible for many cases of mysterious slow downs. In this case, I think Allan Jones is right about that Apple update task running. That's definitely the kind of thing that can bog down the entire system.

I recently added a new "app extensions" section in EtreCheck. Apple is pushing developers away from launchd task towards app extensions. Modern 3rd party cloud services often only show up in app extensions.

I was frustrated by Microsoft's constant updates and launchd tasks too. I discontinued my Office 365 subscription and then downloaded the Mac App Store version instead and resubscribed that way. I'm very happy with the results. I don't have the constant updates anymore. I no longer have the "verifying" dialogs all the time. The Mac App Store version puts me in control instead of Microsoft.

+1, specifically OneDrive - uninstalling might get immediate results. If OP can’t do without it, settings that minimize sync and as the “go to” location for everything (like screenshots for example) would be the next option.

It’s the mechanical drive - obsolete tech that needs replacing . I’d replace the entire iMac but others can guide you to external so-called “SSD”s. Take a call after more replies are posted. All the best!

“Heavy I/O usage - Your system is under heavy I/O use. This will reduce your performance”

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

Never mind the process, the obsolete drive is the problem. Needs to go.

To which I would add:

Drives:

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

Internal SATA 6 Gigabit Serial ATA

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

disk0s2 [APFS Fusion Drive] 1000.00 GB 👈🏻

That mech drive is software-linked to a small SSD creteign a hybrid drive and resulting in a very large speed improvement over Mech only.

OP's drive scores per the report:

Performance:

System Load: 1.60 (1 min ago) 1.90 (5 min ago) 1.80 (15 min ago)

Nominal I/O usage: 27.01 MB/s

File system: 17.38 seconds

Write speed: 624 MB/s

Read speed: 1436 MB/s

I have a collection of drive scores from EtreCheck and that is within normal performance for Fusion drives. The Writes for Fusions are always lower than the reads, usually in the 600-900MB/sec range.

As I stated, a mech only system would run at best at only 200MB/sec on its best day even.

In searching the process, the other reports say it slowed the computers.

I am trying to save the OP from unneeded expenses.

hcsitas wrote:

Yes, but those are Etre’s numbers - gotten by abusive testing

Generating an EtreCheck report can be an intense test for the computer. It really exercises the operating system and can highlight problems that might otherwise remain nagging annoyances in everyday use.

Any disk test is "abusive" to some extent. The whole idea is to push it to its limits to see what those limits are.

wholly unverifiable.

It's just a simple disk test. It copies some big files and measures how long that takes. If you want to verify it, you can run another other disk performance test like Black Magic or Aja and compare.

Personally, I don't like those other tests because I think they're confusing. They are full of video terminology or something. I just want to know how long it takes to copy big files. As far as "abuse" goes, EtreCheck's disk speed check is less abusive than those other tools. It doesn't test multiple file sizes at all. It is more of a "count the digits" kind of test. 4 digits means you've got a modern SSD. 3 digits means an older SSD or really fast HDD. 2 digits means you're suffering.

All that being said, EtreCheck file system check is more interesting. I don't know of other tools that perform this kind of test. Here, EtreCheck creates and deletes lots of directories and small files. On a Mac, every time an app "saves" a file, it goes through a convoluted system of creating directories, new files, and swapping them out for the old ones. EtreCheck's file system test is designed to mimic this, in an abusive kind of way. This is a good way to see if some 3rd party antivirus, backup, or cloud sync system is interfering is these kinds of small file creation and deletion activities that are constantly occurring in the background. In some cases, this can also show a hardware problem that the disk speed test totally misses. Early MacBook Airs were statistically more likely to show this specific kind of failure.

Which is why you won’t find Etre on Apple Store - they’re forbidden.

No, not forbidden at all. I've had other apps in the Apple App Store before and after EtreCheck. I'm a big fan of Apple's App Stores.

You probably weren't around for the EtreCheck-App Store "incident". It was my own fault, really. I was actually trying to help. A few years ago, Apple first big test of XProtect was a mess. In many cases, it would lock up people's computers with "XYZ will damage your computer" dialogs that users couldn't dismiss. Its "delete" and "show in finder" buttons were ineffective. It turned out that Apple only disabled the executable, not the launchd task that tried to run said executable.

I wanted to help people with this problem. But the limitations of the Mac App Store version of EtreCheck meant that if XProtect had blocked the executable from launching, EtreCheck couldn't detect the launchd plist at all. So I asked for a tiny little entitlement exception so I could look in that folder and see which launchd config files were present, but not loaded. I figured it couldn't hurt to ask. Right? Wrong! Apple demanded that I remove the malware detection features from EtreCheck or demonstrate that I had an antivirus certification. And Apple wouldn't tell me which certifications they would accept. So I pulled the app from the App Store entirely rather than remove this key feature.

While annoying and financially painful, but it was the right thing to do. Those same Mac App Store limitations made it very difficult to remove the malware anyway. Plus, I was really naive back then. I had no idea the kind of mess I was getting involved with regarding "security". You have no idea. Come to an ASC meetup one day and I'll tell you the whole story, given enough alcohol. My only regret is that Apple didn't reject the app in the first place. My new apps will have nothing to do with "security" and one day, with any luck, I'll be able to finally pull the plug on EtreCheck altogether.

Yes, but those are Etre’s numbers - gotten by abusive testing and otherwise wholly unverifiable. Which is why you won’t find Etre on Apple Store - they’re forbidden.

Your intentions are not in doubt - but this Etre 😁 troubleshooting stuff is really ancient! Save OP the trouble and help OP move to an SSD - that IMO would be more helpful.

Those are decent iMac's. The problem is, they are bogged down with MS software, Google Chrome and the MobilSoftwareUpdate process that Allan spoke of.

If they are office computers, then you might want to consider replacing them with PC's when that time comes.

If they are personally home computers, then you should wean yourself away from gobs of MS software and Google Chrome.

Etrecheck is not forbidden from the App Store, the developer pulled it because the changes that Apple wanted him to make would have emasculated the app. It's the best app for reviewing the health of the system.

And the read and write speeds of the Author's Fusion drive are perfectly acceptable:

Write speed: 624 MB/s

Read speed: 1436 MB/s

There won’t (ever) be a 27” iMac in future - for that you’d need a Mac mini + external monitor - discrete graphics + Mx GPU graphics boasts for whatever they are worth. Not much IMO.

Keep the external SSD in the back burner - could be the best wait-and-see solution. All the best!

It’s your long story against this one, also long but IMO more convincing https://sites.google.com/site/howtotellifyourmacishacked/is-etrecheck-malware.

You’re quibbling with words: your App is indeed forbidden by Apple, thanks for confirming.

Who needs the “whole story”? I have yet to see Etre being put to good use here except to make old timers look wiser than they actually are. That’s good enough for me.

Fact is, your app is a piece of forbidden junk designed to bait people to buy “Pro”. Which is why I won’t hesitate to call it & it’s awkward social engineering out. Sorry! Bye!

hcsitas wrote:

It’s your long story against this one, also long but IMO more convincing https://sites.google.com/site/howtotellifyourmacishacked/is-etrecheck-malware.

Maybe you should do a closer reading of that long story. I admit to being verbose. Everybody's got a weakness, eh?

But if you think that site is at all convincing, then it say more about your reasoning skills than my conciseness. If you want to read more from the author, there's plenty here on this site. Start here: Translating binary executable file langua… - Apple Community

You’re quibbling with words: your App is indeed forbidden by Apple, thanks for confirming.

I could remove the malware logic from EtreCheck and re-post it on the App Store anytime I want. Ironically enough, Apple still hasn't fixed its malware logic: I'm unable to remove "MainSignalSearchDae… - Apple Community

Who needs the “whole story”? I have yet to see Etre being put to good use here except to make old timers look wiser than they actually are. That’s good enough for me.

Fact is, your app is a piece of forbidden junk designed to bait people to buy “Pro”. Which is why I won’t hesitate to call it & it’s awkward social engineering out. Sorry! Bye!

Well that's going to make the ASC meetup an awkward affair.

hcsitas wrote:

The “developer” pulled it from the Apple Store because Apple banned it. It’s a complete piece of junk.

You've already stated that you have no interest in learning relevant details. That's fine. Everyone is allowed to ignore topics that don't interest them. But in those cases, it would be better to avoid expressing an uninformed opinion.

Otherwise, you risk drawing more attention to EtreCheck. And as they say, there is no such thing as bad publicity.