User profile for user: Cknight1982
Cknight1982 Author
User level: Level 1
4 points

UNBELIEVABLY SLOW 2017 REFURBISHED iMac 21.5" Etracheck report PLEASE HELP

EtreCheckPro version: 6.8.8 (68072)

Report generated: 2025-02-06 18:54:18

Download EtreCheckPro from https://etrecheck.com

Runtime: 7:38


Performance: Good


Problem: Computer is too slow


Major Issues:

    Anything that appears on this list needs immediate attention.


    Hard drive too slow - The hard drive in this computer is too slow.


Minor Issues:

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


    System extensions installed - This computer has system extensions installed. System extensions can be difficult to uninstall.

    Apps crashing - There have been numerous app crashes.

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

    Kernel extensions present - This computer has kernel extensions that may not work in the future.


Hardware Information:

    iMac (21.5-inch, 2017)

        Status: Supported

    iMac Model: iMac18,1

    2.3 GHz Dual-Core Intel Core i5 (i5-7360U) CPU: 2-core

    8 GB RAM - Upgradeable by an Apple Authorized Service Provider

        BANK 0/DIMM0 - 4 GB DDR4 SO-DIMM 2133

        BANK 1/DIMM0 - 4 GB DDR4 SO-DIMM 2133


Video Information:

    Intel Iris Plus Graphics 640 - VRAM: 1536 MB

        iMac 1920 x 1080


Drives:

    disk0 - APPLE HDD HTS541010A9E632 1.00 TB (Mechanical - 5400 RPM)

    Internal SATA 3 Gigabit Serial ATA

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

        disk0s2 [APFS Container] 999.86 GB

            disk1 [APFS Virtual drive] 999.86 GB (Shared by 6 volumes)

                disk1s1 - Macintosh HD - Data (APFS) [APFS Virtual drive] (30.68 GB used)

                disk1s2 - Preboot (APFS) [APFS Preboot] (2.12 GB used)

                disk1s3 - Recovery (APFS) [Recovery] (1.15 GB used)

                disk1s4 - VM (APFS) [APFS VM] (1.07 GB used)

                disk1s5 (APFS) [APFS Container] (9.35 GB used)

                    disk1s5s1 - Macintosh HD (APFS) [APFS Snapshot] (9.35 GB used)

                disk1s6 - Update (APFS) (12 MB used)


    disk2 - WD My Passport 2629 2.00 TB

    External USB Up to 5 Gb/s USB

        disk2s1 - EFI (MS-DOS FAT32) [EFI] 210 MB

        disk2s2 [APFS Container] 2.00 TB

            disk5 [APFS Virtual drive] 2.00 TB

                disk5s2 - E***R (APFS) (35.53 GB used)


    disk3 - Lexar USB Flash Drive 7.87 GB

    External USB Up to 480 Mb/s USB

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

        disk3s2 [APFS Container] 7.66 GB

            disk4 [APFS Virtual drive] 7.66 GB

                disk4s2 - E****L (APFS) (59 MB used)


Mounted Volumes:

    disk1s1 - Macintosh HD - Data [APFS Virtual drive]

        Filesystem: APFS

        Mount point: /System/Volumes/Data

        Encrypted

        Used: 30.68 GB

        Shared values

            Size: 999.86 GB

            Free: 955.27 GB

            Available: 962.53 GB


    disk1s2 - Preboot [APFS Preboot]

        Filesystem: APFS

        Mount point: /System/Volumes/Preboot

        Used: 2.12 GB

        Shared values

            Size: 999.86 GB

            Free: 955.27 GB


    disk1s4 - VM [APFS VM]

        Filesystem: APFS

        Mount point: /System/Volumes/VM

        Used: 1.07 GB

        Shared values

            Size: 999.86 GB

            Free: 955.27 GB


    disk1s5s1 - Macintosh HD [APFS Snapshot]

        Filesystem: APFS

        Mount point: /

        Read-only: Yes

        Used: 9.35 GB

        Shared values

            Size: 999.86 GB

            Free: 955.27 GB

            Available: 962.53 GB


    disk1s6 - Update

        Filesystem: APFS

        Mount point: /System/Volumes/Update

        Used: 12 MB

        Shared values

            Size: 999.86 GB

            Free: 955.27 GB


    disk4s2 - E****L

        Filesystem: APFS

        Mount point: /Volumes/E****L

        Owners enabled: No

        Used: 59 MB

        Shared values

            Size: 7.66 GB

            Free: 7.57 GB


    disk5s2 - E***R

        Filesystem: APFS

        Mount point: /Volumes/E***R

        Used: 35.53 GB

        Shared values

            Size: 2.00 TB

            Free: 1.96 TB


USB:

    USB 3.0 bus

        Western Digital - My Passport 2629

        SINO WEALTH - USB TOUCHPAD KEYBOARD

        Microsoft - Microsoft Nano Transceiver v1.0

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

        Lexar - USB Flash Drive


    USB 3.1 bus

        <Empty>



End of report

UNBELIEVABLY SLOW iMac Etracheck report


iMac 21.5″, macOS 13.7

Posted on Feb 8, 2025 11:08 AM

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User profile for user: MrHoffman
MrHoffman
User level: Level 10
146,581 points

Posted on Feb 8, 2025 1:01 PM

The configuration of this iMac can manage photos and mail and not much more, and the add-on security and cleaning apps aren’t going to help.


Why is my hard disk drive iMac so slow? - Apple Community


A hard disk might do 200 I/O operations a second. An SSD is closer to a million. Or far more. It’s not even close.


Here, the hard disk speeds are low for what is already a slow hard disk too, though whether that’s the add-ons further reducing performance, or a problem with the HDD?


If you can still return this iMac for a refund, return it, and get a Mac with better capabilities.


Otherwise, you’ll want an external SSD. (Link included in the why-so-slow article.)

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8 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply
User profile for user: MrHoffman
MrHoffman
User level: Level 10
146,581 points

Feb 8, 2025 1:01 PM in response to Cknight1982

The configuration of this iMac can manage photos and mail and not much more, and the add-on security and cleaning apps aren’t going to help.


Why is my hard disk drive iMac so slow? - Apple Community


A hard disk might do 200 I/O operations a second. An SSD is closer to a million. Or far more. It’s not even close.


Here, the hard disk speeds are low for what is already a slow hard disk too, though whether that’s the add-ons further reducing performance, or a problem with the HDD?


If you can still return this iMac for a refund, return it, and get a Mac with better capabilities.


Otherwise, you’ll want an external SSD. (Link included in the why-so-slow article.)

Reply
User profile for user: Servant of Cats
Servant of Cats
User level: Level 8
35,393 points

Feb 8, 2025 8:12 PM in response to Cknight1982

Apple released two 21.5" iMacs in 2017 – one with a Retina screen and a quad-core CPU … and another with just a 1080p screen and a dual-core CPU. Apple aimed the latter model at institutional buyers who favored saving a few bucks at the cost of giving up a lot of value – and the latter model is the one that you have.


Your Mac has a slow 2.5" 5400 rpm mechanical hard drive. This might not be the only cause of slowness, but once you cleaned up the other stuff, it might help to get, and start up off of, an external SSD.


Note that this iMac cannot run anything more recent than Ventura. Ventura is one of "the most recent three" which vendors like Microsoft and Adobe support. However, if Apple keeps releasing new versions of macOS on the same schedule they've followed for the last ten years, Ventura will fall off that list some time in September – November.

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User profile for user: MrHoffman
MrHoffman
User level: Level 10
146,581 points

Feb 8, 2025 2:50 PM in response to John Galt

John Galt wrote:

You wrote that Mac was "refurbished". It has been many years since Apple sold refurbished 2017 Macs.


In the common parlance of many used-equipment vendors, “refurbished” can mean “used, probably de-dusted, with the Cheezy Poof crumbs and visible dirt banished”, of course.


These iMacs 8GB/HDD models being more likely to get passed around by folks unhappy about the performance, too.


And fixing the performance problems being an involved process.


DriveDx will show how long the HDD has been powered on too, and by implication whether the HDD has been replaced during refurbishment, or if it remains original. For a price-focused refurbishment, the HDD probably won’t get replaced.


But you JG know all that.


As for the OP, if there’s a return window for the vendor, maybe use it?

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User profile for user: Tom Gewecke
Tom Gewecke
User level: Level 10
122,252 points

Feb 8, 2025 12:50 PM in response to Leigh7h

Leigh7h wrote:

I had one of those and the Hard Drive is very slow compared to the SSD of today. I eventually moved my operating system to an external SSD and left the internal hard drive as a data drive. That helped quite a bit. I just recently retired it.

Exactly the same situation here. Boot from external ssd is the way to go if you want to keep using this 8 year old hardware .

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UNBELIEVABLY SLOW 2017 REFURBISHED iMac 21.5" Etracheck report PLEASE HELP

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