How to resolve unresponsive and freezing issues on my iMac running Ventura 13.6.7

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Level 1

4 points

How to resolve unresponsive and freezing issues on my iMac running Ventura 13.6.7

I have an iMac Retina 5, 27", 2017 running Ventura 13.6.7 that is usually very responsive with great download times. Over the past few weeks it has started freezing intermittently in Safari and in other programs as well. It will show that the mouse and/or the keyboard has lost contact then 5-10 seconds later will show they have reconnected but the screen and cursor will often remain unresponsive for much longer periods.

I have rebooted 2 times, rebooted in Safe mode once and then rebooted again. Downloaded and run new copies of Ventura. All with limited benefit.

I am ready to download and run Etrecheck if that will give me some answers. I'm not deep into the programming world so this is pushing my boundaries. Any help? Any chance this is aggravated by using iCloud for backup or additional storage?

[Re-Titled by Moderator]

iMac 27″ 5K

Posted on Jul 28, 2024 4:20 PM

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Answer 1

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Tesserax

Level 10

160,224 points

Jul 29, 2024 12:45 PM in response to eyeski-2

Ok, I had a chance to go through the report.

Short synopsis:

Fusion Drive low write speed
Numerous app/process crashes

A bit more details:

Fusion Drive low write speed - The HDD portion of Fusion drives are notorious for failing. The low write speed may indicate future failure may be pending, but its speed alone is not the only reason for concern. There is an excellent app, called DriveDX, that does a through job of evaluating drives. I suggest that you get a copy and test both the HDD & SSD portions of your Mac's Fusion drive.
Numerous app/process crashes - This one will be a bit more tricker to diagnose as there are multiples here.
- biomed - With 214 crashes within the last 60 days, this one needs to be evaluated further. Ref: https://eclecticlight.co/2022/06/27/biome-isnt-about-biometrics-but-suggestions/
- bluetoothd - 86 crashes. Bluetoothd is a daemon that manages Bluetooth devices. Do you have numerous Bluetooth devices paired with this Mac? It could be possible one or more of them may be problematic.
- I typically am not concerned with single app crashes as most of the other ones are. However, looking at what app/process has crashed does help narrow down where to troubleshoot next.

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Answer 2

Tesserax

Level 10

160,224 points

Jul 30, 2024 8:39 AM in response to eyeski-2

Thanks for the uploading the report. The report covers the SSD portion of your Mac's Fusion drive. It looks healthy. The only thing to point out is that it reports that this SSD has used up 35% of it useful life, with 65% remaining. Not too bad for a 2017 Mac's Fusion drive. Yes, SSDs, like HDDs, wear out over time.

The report does not include the HDD portion of the Fusion drive, and the item most likely to fail. Please try running DriveDX again, but focus on the HDD this time so we can see those results.

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Answer 3

Tesserax

Level 10

160,224 points

Jul 28, 2024 5:09 PM in response to eyeski-2

I concur that you should run a EtreCheck report. Optionally you can post it here if you need assistance with interpreting its results. No programming required!

Ref: Using EtreCheck to Troubleshoot Potential Mac Issues

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Answer 4

eyeski-2 Author

Level 1

4 points

Jul 30, 2024 8:05 AM in response to Tesserax

OK, I ran DriveDx and the report it attached. I'm in over my ability to interpret or intervene unless I get simple instructions.

My iMac is running better (but way not normal) this morning and I will be shutting down for 2 weeks after tomorrow. I ran it twice, no significant changes, this is the latest report.

Thanks again for your help.

DriveDxReport

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Answer 5

eyeski-2 Author

Level 1

4 points

Jul 30, 2024 1:47 PM in response to Tesserax

OK, here's another DriveDx report that I just took. I'm not sure how to focus on the HDD section. I just see the whole report as a document.

I tried running a Drive Short Self-test but it appeared to get hung up at 90% and never finished - status is "read failure".

Another fresh DriveDxReport

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Answer 6

eyeski-2 Author

Level 1

4 points

Jul 30, 2024 6:15 PM in response to John Galt

Sorry, I disrupted the sequence by replying to an earlier comment. Please look at my entries in chronological order, particularly the last 2 today. It certainly appears my iMac is failing, I had to power down and force close Safari because it had become unresponsive to mouse and keyboard commands.

I'm now working from my even older MacBook that I was preparing to abandon!

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