Jonathan Boyd wrote:
The spotlight index was rebuild. After that there was still another 500 GB of writes over the course of about 2 days. That doesn’t seem normal.
Rebuilding the spotlight index isn't normal. If you are trying to get a baseline estimate for typical behaviour on this computer, you have to let everything settle down, at least a couple of days, then restart. Then use it normally for a week or so. Then look at your numbers.
Not entirely, as I explained. It used to be that there were 100-200 MB/s of writes on a constant basis. Imm not getting the constant write any more but at some point during the day when I’m not checking Activity Monitor there are still large unexplained writes going on.
The operating system doesn't explain anything that it does. Could this be Time Machine maybe?
I posted values from my computer. Those were significantly less than your number. But I also don't use this computer during the day. These kinds of issues can't be actively investigated or fixed. By that I mean, it gets worse the more you fiddle with it. You have to let it set for a while. Then check the data. Then compare that data to other, similar installations. I could post the values from my work computer on Friday, for example. I run Xcode all day, so if your I/O is more than mine, then you've probably got a problem.
> You haven't said anything about what you're doing with this computer.
> Now you offhandedly thrown out "VM". I wouldn't be surprised if VM use could cause that.
OK. Sorry. I interpreted that as "Virtual Machine". If you aren't running virtual machines, i.e. other operating systems on top of the current one, then that's not a factor.
> do you have any 3rd party system modifications installed.
Like what? The likes of Teams and Zoom install extensions but other than that sort of thing I haven’t modified the system in any way that I can think of.
> Just so you know, if you respond "no" to that last question, people will just think you're a liar.
I’m finding this a little confrontational.
I provided a fairly detailed lists of the top offenders. I also clearly explained why this was important. And you took the effort to remove said list and explanation from your quote when you accused me of being confrontational. As they say, "every accusation is a confession". 😄
So, before you take the time to try to let the computer settle down and get more accurate readings, I recommend uninstalling any 3rd party system modifications. In many cases, these can be difficult to remove. At least in Sequoia, it's no longer flat-out impossible. But it may take some time and effort.
In many cases, the easiest solution is still to erase the hard drive and reinstall the operating system. You can restore from backup, but you have to be careful about it. You can restore user files and user accounts. But don't restore any software, apps, system settings, or "other files". You can manually reinstall the apps that you absolutely have to have. You don't need anything on that list. I'll repeat it here to correct the earlier autocorrect mistake. Avoid "security" apps, "privacy" apps, clean up apps, boost-up apps, tune-up apps, haxies, customization apps, etc.
