Why is macOS Monterey running slow on iMac with 32GB RAM?

Question

Gen_Z_1969 Author

Level 1

4 points

Why is macOS Monterey running slow on iMac with 32GB RAM?

Model Name: iMac

Model Identifier: iMac17,1

Processor Name: Quad-Core Intel Core i5

Processor Speed: 3.3 GHz

Number of Processors: 1

Total Number of Cores: 4

L2 Cache (per Core): 256 KB

L3 Cache: 6 MB

Memory: 32 GB

System Firmware Version: 529.120.1.0.0

OS Loader Version: 540.120.3~37

SMC Version (system): 2.34f3

Serial Number (system): C02_____GG7N

Hardware UUID: 34E85AB2-80AB-5DCF-9846-A65D7AF52B44

Provisioning UDID: 34E85AB2-80AB-5DCF-9846-A65D7AF52B44

How do I free up space to improve speed? Base System looks like 2GB Flash with <1GB remaining. Please Advise. Thx

[Re-Titled by Moderator]

iMac 27″, macOS 12.7

Posted on Dec 16, 2024 7:45 AM

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Answer 1

HWTech

Level 9

61,214 points

Dec 16, 2024 7:20 PM in response to Gen_Z_1969

Try deleting the .plist file listed in the Clean Up section at the end of the report:

~/Library/LaunchAgents/mega.mac.megaupdater.plist

It seems that "routined" has crashed 74 times. I'm not exactly sure what it does, but a quick search reveals lot of people having issues either with "routined" crashing or utilizing lots of CPU cycles. Here is what macOS says about it:

routined is a per-user daemon that learns historical location patterns of a user and predicts future visits to locations.

Have you tried booting into Safe Mode to see if that makes any difference?

Maybe another more knowledgeable contributor will chime in regarding "routined".

FYI, while the EtreCheck app does provide instructions for properly sharing the report, here is an article written by a respected forum contributor that describes how to post an EtreCheck report on this forum:

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

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Answer 2

Dec 16, 2024 11:41 PM in response to Gen_Z_1969

The CPU in an iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Late 2015) is not going to be a speed demon compared to those in Apple Silicon Macs, but a lot of the time, what gets people is either a slow disk or inadequate RAM or both.

Nothing jumps out at me in terms of

Not having enough RAM,
Not having enough free disk space, or
Having a 1 TB Fusion Drive that shipped with a measly 24 – 32 GB of SSD space

You have a 2 TB Fusion Drive with 128 GB of SSD space, and it looks like almost 90% of the space on the Fusion Drive is free. There is no need to "free up space to improve speed" – and installing a "cleaner" application might actually slow down your system. An external Thunderbolt 3 SSD might be faster – but this Fusion Drive should be plenty fast for most uses. If it is working.

The "Write speed: 544 MB/s, Read speed: 1911 MB/s" presumably indicates that at least some of the writes which EtreCheck used to test performance went into the write cache area on the SSD portion of the Fusion Drive. That's much higher write speed than you could expect to see if you had a mechanical hard drive, alone.

At the time you were running EtreCheck, memory was not under heavy load. The system had 25.42 GB of RAM it could allocate to applications at the drop of a hat. (7.63 GB of that was being "put to work" holding cached files, just in case that data was needed before the RAM was.). Swap used was 0 – so your system hadn't been forced to use space on the Fusion Drive to (slowly) simulate RAM.

Physical RAM: 32 GB

Free RAM: 17.79 GB

Used RAM: 6.58 GB

Cached files: 7.63 GB

Available RAM: 25.42 GB

Swap Used: 0 B

It's possible that if you ran heavy workloads at other times, you would see different results in Activity Monitor – but these results do not point to any shortage of RAM.

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Answer 3

Gen_Z_1969 Author

Level 1

4 points

Dec 16, 2024 9:30 AM in response to HWTech

EtreCheckPro version: 6.8.7 (68068)

Report generated: 2024-12-16 12:17:38

Download EtreCheckPro from https://etrecheck.com

Runtime: 2:26

Performance: Excellent

Problem: Computer is too slow

Description:

Model Name: iMac

Model Identifier: iMac17,1

Processor Name: Quad-Core Intel Core i5

Processor Speed: 3.3 GHz

Number of Processors: 1

Total Number of Cores: 4

L2 Cache (per Core): 256 KB

L3 Cache: 6 MB

Memory: 32 GB

System Firmware Version: 529.120.1.0.0

OS Loader Version: 540.120.3~37

SMC Version (system): 2.34f3

Serial Number (system): C02_____GG7N

Hardware UUID: 34E85AB2-80AB-5DCF-9846-A65D7AF52B44

Provisioning UDID: 34E85AB2-80AB-5DCF-9846-A65D7AF52B44

Now running unbelievably slow. Was running normal 2 months ago.

Major Issues:

Anything that appears on this list needs immediate attention.

Unsigned files - There are unsigned software files installed that could be malicious and should be reviewed.

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Answer 4

Gen_Z_1969 Author

Level 1

4 points

Dec 16, 2024 9:30 AM in response to HWTech

Minor Issues:

These issues do not need immediate attention but they may indicate future problems or opportunities for improvement.

Apps crashing - There have been numerous app crashes.

Apps with heavy CPU usage - There have been numerous cases of apps with heavy CPU usage.

Clean up - There are orphan files that could be removed.

Vintage hardware - This computer may be considered vintage.

Limited permissions - More information may be available with Full Disk Access.

Sharing enabled - This computer has sharing services enabled that could be a security risk.

Hardware Information:

iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Late 2015)

Status: Vintage

iMac Model: iMac17,1

3.3 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i5 (i5-6600) CPU: 4-core

32 GB RAM - At maximum

BANK 0/DIMM0 - 8 GB DDR3 1867

BANK 0/DIMM1 - 8 GB DDR3 1867

BANK 1/DIMM0 - 8 GB DDR3 1867

BANK 1/DIMM1 - 8 GB DDR3 1867

Video Information:

AMD Radeon R9 M395 - VRAM: 2 GB

iMac (built-in) 5120 x 2880

Drives:

disk0 - APPLE HDD ST2000DM001 2.00 TB (Mechanical - 7200 RPM)

Internal SATA 6 Gigabit Serial ATA

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

disk0s2 [APFS Fusion Drive] 2.00 TB

disk2 [APFS Virtual drive] 2.12 TB (Shared by 6 volumes)

disk2s1 (APFS) [APFS Container] (15.42 GB used)

disk2s1s1 - Macintosh HD (APFS) [APFS Snapshot] (15.42 GB used)

disk2s2 - Preboot (APFS) [APFS Preboot] (298 MB used)

disk2s3 - Recovery (APFS) [Recovery] (1.12 GB used)

disk2s4 - VM (APFS) [APFS VM] (1 MB used)

disk2s5 - Macintosh HD - Data (APFS) [APFS Virtual drive] (228.22 GB used)

disk2s6 - Update (APFS) (10 MB used)

disk1 - APPLE SSD SM0128G 121.33 GB (Solid State - TRIM: Yes)

Internal PCI 8.0 GT/s x4 Serial ATA

disk1s1 - EFI (MS-DOS FAT32) [EFI] 210 MB

disk1s2 [APFS Fusion Drive] 121.12 GB

disk2 [APFS Virtual drive] 2.12 TB (Shared by 6 volumes)

disk2s1 (APFS) [APFS Container] (15.42 GB used)

disk2s1s1 - Macintosh HD (APFS) [APFS Snapshot] (15.42 GB used)

disk2s2 - Preboot (APFS) [APFS Preboot] (298 MB used)

disk2s3 - Recovery (APFS) [Recovery] (1.12 GB used)

disk2s4 - VM (APFS) [APFS VM] (1 MB used)

disk2s5 - Macintosh HD - Data (APFS) [APFS Virtual drive] (228.22 GB used)

disk2s6 - Update (APFS) (10 MB used)

disk3 - TOSHIBA EXTERNAL_USB 4.00 TB

External USB Up to 5 Gb/s USB

disk3s1 - EFI (MS-DOS FAT32) [EFI] 210 MB

disk3s2 [APFS Container] 4.00 TB

disk4 [APFS Virtual drive] 4.00 TB

disk4s2 - T**********e (APFS) (290.86 GB used)

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Answer 5

Gen_Z_1969 Author

Level 1

4 points

Dec 16, 2024 9:32 AM in response to HWTech

MINOR ISSUES CONT: pg 2

Mounted Volumes:

disk2s1s1 - Macintosh HD [APFS Snapshot]

Filesystem: APFS

Mount point: /

Fusion drive

Read-only: Yes

Used: 15.42 GB

Shared values

Size: 2.12 TB

Free: 1.87 TB

Available: 1.89 TB

disk2s2 - Preboot [APFS Preboot]

Filesystem: APFS

Mount point: /System/Volumes/Preboot

Fusion drive

Used: 298 MB

Shared values

Size: 2.12 TB

Free: 1.87 TB

disk2s4 - VM [APFS VM]

Filesystem: APFS

Mount point: /System/Volumes/VM

Fusion drive

Used: 1 MB

Shared values

Size: 2.12 TB

Free: 1.87 TB

disk2s5 - Macintosh HD - Data [APFS Virtual drive]

Filesystem: APFS

Mount point: /System/Volumes/Data

Fusion drive

Used: 228.22 GB

Shared values

Size: 2.12 TB

Free: 1.87 TB

Available: 1.89 TB

disk2s6 - Update

Filesystem: APFS

Mount point: /System/Volumes/Update

Fusion drive

Used: 10 MB

Shared values

Size: 2.12 TB

Free: 1.87 TB

disk4s2 - T**********e

Filesystem: APFS

Mount point: /Volumes/T**********e

Used: 290.86 GB

Shared values

Size: 4.00 TB

Free: 3.71 TB

USB:

USB 3.0 bus

TOSHIBA - EXTERNAL_USB

EPSON - ET-3710 Series

Broadcom Corp. - Bluetooth USB Host Controller

Apple Inc. - FaceTime HD Camera (Built-in)

USB 2.0 Hub

Network:

Interface en0: Ethernet

Interface en1: Wi-Fi

802.11 a/b/g/n/ac

Interface en4: iPhone

Interface bridge0: Thunderbolt Bridge

Interface bridge0: Thunderbolt Bridge 2

Remote Management: Enabled

Screen sharing: Enabled

Remote login: Enabled

Firewall:

Blocked apps:

System Software:

macOS Monterey 12.7.6 (21H1320)

Time since boot: About 3 hours

Security:

Gatekeeper: App Store and identified developers

System Integrity Protection: Enabled

Antivirus software: Apple

Remote Management: Enabled

Screen sharing: Enabled

Remote login: Enabled

Unsigned Files:

Launchd: ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.adobe.GC.Invoker-1.0.plist

Command: /Library/Application Support/Adobe/AdobeGCClient/agcinvokerutility -mode=scheduled

Details: Exact match found in the legitimate list - probably OK

Launchd: ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.adobe.ccxprocess.plist

Command: /Applications/Utilities/Adobe Creative Cloud Experience/CCXProcess/CCXProcess.app/Contents/MacOS/CCXProcess --openAtBoot

Apps: 1

System Launch Daemons:

[Not Loaded] 36 Apple tasks

[Loaded] 196 Apple tasks

[Running] 149 Apple tasks

[Other] One Apple task

System Launch Agents:

[Not Loaded] 16 Apple tasks

[Loaded] 178 Apple tasks

[Running] 163 Apple tasks

User Launch Agents:

[Loaded] com.adobe.GC.Invoker-1.0.plist (Not signed - installed 2024-04-02)

Command: /Library/Application Support/Adobe/AdobeGCClient/agcinvokerutility -mode=scheduled

[Loaded] com.adobe.ccxprocess.plist (Not signed - installed 2024-11-25)

Command: /Applications/Utilities/Adobe Creative Cloud Experience/CCXProcess/CCXProcess.app/Contents/MacOS/CCXProcess --openAtBoot

[Other] mega.mac.megaupdater.plist (Not signed - installed 2024-02-27)

Executable: /Applications/MEGAsync.app/Contents/MacOS/MEGAupdater

User Login Items:

[Not Loaded] ScreenColorFilterHelper (App Store - installed 2024-10-03)

Modern Login Item

~/Desktop/Screen Colors Filter — Color Tint & Dim HEV Block.app/Contents/Library/LoginItems/ScreenColorFilterHelper.app

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Answer 6

Gen_Z_1969 Author

Level 1

4 points

Dec 16, 2024 9:35 AM in response to Gen_Z_1969

MINOR: Pg 3

Applications:

489 Apple apps

13 3rd party apps

10 x86-only apps

One unsigned app

Backup:

Time Machine information is limited without Full Disk Access

Destinations:

T**********e [Local] (Last used)

5 local snapshots

Oldest local snapshot: 2024-12-16 07:31:11

Last local snapshot: 2024-12-16 12:07:16

Performance:

System Load: 2.07 (1 min ago) 1.72 (5 min ago) 1.34 (15 min ago)

Nominal I/O usage: 0.00 MB/s

File system: 17.15 seconds

Write speed: 544 MB/s

Read speed: 1911 MB/s

CPU Usage Snapshot:

Type Overall

System: 2 %

User: 4 %

Idle: 94 %

Top Processes Snapshot by CPU:

Process (count) CPU (Source - Location)

EtreCheckPro 13.46 % (Etresoft, Inc.)

WindowServer 4.66 % (Apple)

com.apple.WebKit.WebContent (2) 1.64 % (Apple)

kernel_task 1.36 % (Apple)

Safari 0.36 % (Apple)

Top Processes Snapshot by Memory:

Process (count) RAM usage (Source - Location)

EtreCheckPro 769 MB (Etresoft, Inc.)

com.apple.WebKit.WebContent (2) 654 MB (Apple)

mds_stores 337 MB (Apple)

com.apple.appkit.xpc.openAndSavePanelService (2) 237 MB (Apple)

Safari 192 MB (Apple)

Top Processes Snapshot by Network Use:

Process Input / Output (Source - Location)

rapportd 18 MB / 117 KB (Apple)

mDNSResponder 17 MB / 399 KB (Apple)

exchangesyncd 360 KB / 15 KB (Apple)

CalendarAgent 59 KB / 27 KB (Apple)

apsd 29 KB / 10 KB (Apple)

Top Processes Snapshot by Energy Use:

Process (count) Energy (0-100) (Source - Location)

WindowServer 4 (Apple)

Safari 1 (Apple)

com.apple.WebKit.WebContent (2) 1 (Apple)

Screen Colors Filter — Color Tint & Dim HEV Block 1 (App Store)

com.apple.WebKit.GPU 0 (Apple)

Virtual Memory Information:

Physical RAM: 32 GB

Free RAM: 17.79 GB

Used RAM: 6.58 GB

Cached files: 7.63 GB

Available RAM: 25.42 GB

Swap Used: 0 B

Software Installs (past 60 days):

Install Date Name (Version)

2024-12-12 macOS 12.7.4 (12.7.4)

2024-12-12 XProtectPlistConfigData (5283)

2024-12-12 MRTConfigData (1.93)

2024-12-12 XProtectPayloads (147)

2024-12-13 Safari (17.6)

2024-12-13 macOS 12.7.6 (12.7.6)

Clean up:

~/Library/LaunchAgents/mega.mac.megaupdater.plist

/Applications/MEGAsync.app/Contents/MacOS/MEGAupdater

Executable not found

Diagnostics Information (past 60 days):

2024-12-16 09:07:22 mdsync - High CPU Use (6 times)

First occurrence: 2024-12-13 07:13:17

Executable: /System/Library/Frameworks/CoreServices.framework/Versions/A/Frameworks/Metadata.framework/Versions/A/Support/mdsync

2024-12-16 08:20:47 routined - Crash (74 times)

First occurrence: 2024-12-13 08:06:51

Executable: /usr/libexec/routined

Details:

libsystem_c.dylib: abort() called

2024-12-16 07:38:47 com.apple.WebKit.WebContent - High CPU Use

2024-12-14 06:53:08 ThumbnailExtension_macOS - High CPU Use

Executable: /System/Library/Frameworks/QuickLookThumbnailing.framework/Versions/A/PlugIns/ThumbnailExtension_macOS.appex/Contents/MacOS/ThumbnailExtension_macOS

2024-12-12 23:13:14 secd - Crash (2 times)

Executable: /usr/libexec/secd

2024-12-12 19:54:54 systemmigrationd - High CPU Use

Executable: /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/SystemMigration.framework/Versions/A/Resources/systemmigrationd

End of report