iMac Retina 5K, 27", 2017 has suddenly become very slow to at times unresponsive.

Question

iMac Retina 5K, 27", 2017 has suddenly become very slow to at times unresponsive.

My beautiful iMac has become incredibly slow to at times unresponsive. Some applications won't even run and all others are very slow.

I left my home in October 2024 on a vacation with few if any real complaints about my iMac. I was using it daily for admin and entertainment. I guess there were some aspects which were beginning to slow down which I thought were perhaps the main drive was becoming quite full. I arrived home on December 3rd to find it appeared as if the month long sleep had reduced it to "snail mode" and it needed more rest.

I've done a little research that has left my addled brain moving about as slowly as my desktop! Having read some reports with similar complaints, I downloaded the EtreCheckPro. I've bought the package and intend to share it here.

I'm wanting the bottom line. Do I just move as much stuff as I can to one of my external drives (I have one that is 10TBs) or does that statement "hard drive failing" mean it needs a new one?

Advice as to what I can move, can my 6TB cloud storage help, and what size hard drive must I get? Can I make it Sonoma or Sequoia compatible? Or must I use what little funds I have after recently retiring to get a new (last) Apple machine?

Any help would be appreciated.

PS ... How do I share the EtreCheck report? I must be getting old!

iMac 27″ 5K

Posted on Dec 19, 2024 10:18 AM

Reply

Answer 1

rkaufmann87

Level 10

144,814 points

Dec 19, 2024 10:34 AM in response to clivefromcape town

For instructions on how to download your EtreCheck report and attach it to your reply to this message please click How to use the Add Text Feature When Post… - Apple Community It is helpful to us if you download the report to your Desktop.

Reply

Answer 2

Dec 21, 2024 9:44 PM in response to clivefromcape town

Not trying to hijack the thread, but having almost identical issues.

Ran the EtreCheck report and will attach, along with the Drive DX. The only major issue my layperson eyes can see is I do not autoupdate the security updates from Apple.

Not opposed to spending money to regain performance, but want to make sure it goes to the best solution.

Thanks in advance.

Etre Check repost

Reply

Answer 3

rkaufmann87

Level 10

144,814 points

Dec 20, 2024 2:31 PM in response to clivefromcape town

Two major issues:

#1 Your HD is failing. Considering the computer is a vintage and obsolete machine I would not invest time or money into it. IMHO it is time to replace it.

#2 The computer has NORD VPN installed which is very bad stuff.

Going forward, please never install the following types of third parts apps:

Antivirus
Cleaning
VPN
Maintenance
Security

Reply

Answer 4

rkaufmann87

Level 10

144,814 points

Dec 20, 2024 10:06 PM in response to clivefromcape town

Yes, Nord is that bad. Please locate the developers uninstall instructions and uninstall. Then it would be wise to run a new EtreCheck report and look for any evidence of Nord. If you find any (look carefully) then download FindAnyFile and have it locate

Nord

and Trash all files and empty the Trash.

Reply

Answer 5

rkaufmann87

Level 10

144,814 points

Dec 21, 2024 10:17 PM in response to rickflies

Hi rickfles,

please create your own thread and we will be happy to look over your EtreCheck report.

Reply

Answer 6

Jack-19

Level 8

46,056 points

Dec 20, 2024 2:25 PM in response to clivefromcape town

Thanks for the EtreCheck report!

From the report, it appears that you might have a failing Fusion Drive. EtreCheck also indicates that you don't have an up-to-date backup, which is important if your Fusion Drive might be having issues. To check the health of your Fusion Drive, you can use DriveDx. The free edition/trial is fine for troubleshooting. If any errors appear, the Fusion Drive is failing.

Let us know what DriveDx says.

-Jack

Reply

Answer 7

Dec 20, 2024 9:28 PM in response to rkaufmann87

Thanks - my fears are confirmed. Is NORD that bad? As an airline pilot it helped when abroad. I must admit, the problems seemed only to occur after I installed it. I'm now retired and only travel whilst on vacation. Gimme an idea as to how I fully remove it from my system? Many thanks.

Reply

Answer 8

Jack-19

Level 8

46,056 points

Dec 20, 2024 9:49 PM in response to clivefromcape town

From my experience, VPN software, while not always necessary, does not harm a Mac as much as antivirus software does. Chances are, any negative performance effects from Nord VPN are minimal.

I suspect the reason you're Mac is slow is due to the Fusion Drive, as rkaufmann87 and I have pointed out. Let us know what DriveDx says. Most likely, moving forward as your solutions, you might be able to operate the Mac from an external SSD as your startup disk, but you might be better off with a new Mac, regrettably.

-Jack

Reply