iMac 2019 slow after Sequoia 15.3.1 update

EtreCheckPro version: 6.8.8 (68072) Report generated: 2025-02-20 15:19:37 Download EtreCheckPro Runtime: 4:35 Performance: Below Average Problem: Apps are crashing Description: After update from Sequoia 15.3 to 15.3.1 my iMac (2109, 1) became slow to start: ~20 sec (remains about the same) until password dialog box, and from <5 to ~25 sec until UI is stable (top bar visible) The login screen shows the password dialog box in the center middle (as in older OS versions), not in the bottom middle of the screen (as in Sonoma, Sequoia). During safe boot, the password dialog box is at the bottom, as expected. After log off/ log on the same (also at bottom). BT keyboard and mouse are initially not working during PW entry, but can be woken up by pressing a key (multiple times) and clicking a mouse button. Both are fully responsive after completed start-up. After start up, computer appears to work normally, but according to EtreCheck it runs slow and there are numerous app crashes. Several third-party software installed. As far as I can tell, everything is compatible with Sequoia. Note: Same issue after originally upgrading from Sonoma to Sequoia (15.2). After formatting disk and trying to migrate from from time machine backup, same issue. When migrating only data (which includes the ~/Library folder) from time machine, same issue! Apparently, my old profile was corrupt. Note 2: After reformatting and installing Sequoia 15.3 and manually re-installing all software (not using time machine), the iMac worked perfectly (until this update to 15.3.1). I worry that the update to 15.3.1 corrupted it again. How do I identify the culprit? Note 3: My wife has an identical iMac which updated without problem to Sequoia 15 and now to 15.3.1 Major Issues: None 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. Low performance - EtreCheck report took an unusually long time to run. Hardware Information: iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2019) Status: Supported iMac Model: iMac19,1 3,1 GHz 6-Core Intel Core i5 (i5-8600) CPU: 6-core 48 GB RAM - Upgradeable BANK 0/ChannelA-DIMM0 - 8 GB DDR4 2667 BANK 1/ChannelA-DIMM1 - 8 GB DDR4 2667 BANK 2/ChannelB-DIMM0 - 16 GB DDR4 2667 BANK 3/ChannelB-DIMM1 - 16 GB DDR4 2667 Video Information: Radeon Pro 575X - VRAM: 4 GB iMac (built-in) 5120 x 2880 Drives: disk0 - Samsung SSD 870 EVO 4TB 4.00 TB (Solid State - TRIM: No) Internal SATA 6 Gigabit Serial ATA disk0s1 - EFI (MS-DOS FAT32) [EFI] 210 MB disk0s2 [APFS Container] 4.00 TB disk1 [APFS Virtual drive] 4.00 TB (Shared by 6 volumes) disk1s1 - M******************n (APFS) [APFS Virtual drive] (308.44 GB used) disk1s2 - Preboot (APFS) [APFS Preboot] (2.42 GB used) disk1s3 - Recovery (APFS) [Recovery] (1.31 GB used) disk1s4 (APFS) [APFS Container] (11.15 GB used) disk1s4s1 - Macintosh HD (APFS) [APFS Snapshot] (11.15 GB used) disk1s5 - Update (APFS) (4 MB used) disk1s6 - VM (APFS) [APFS VM] (1 MB used) Mounted Volumes: disk1s1 - M******************n [APFS Virtual drive] Filesystem: APFS Mount point: /System/Volumes/Data Encrypted Used: 308.44 GB Shared values Size: 4.00 TB Free: 3.68 TB Available: 3.73 TB disk1s2 - Preboot [APFS Preboot] Filesystem: APFS Mount point: /System/Volumes/Preboot Used: 2.42 GB Shared values Size: 4.00 TB Free: 3.68 TB disk1s4s1 - Macintosh HD [APFS Snapshot] Filesystem: APFS Mount point: / Read-only: Yes Used: 11.15 GB Shared values Size: 4.00 TB Free: 3.68 TB Available: 3.73 TB disk1s5 - Update Filesystem: APFS Mount point: /System/Volumes/Update Used: 4 MB Shared values Size: 4.00 TB Free: 3.68 TB disk1s6 - VM [APFS VM] Filesystem: APFS Mount point: /System/Volumes/VM Used: 1 MB Shared values Size: 4.00 TB Free: 3.68 TB disk3s1 - Creedence11M6270.SECUREPKITRUSTSTOREASSETS_SECUREPKITRUSTSTORE_Cryptex Filesystem: APFS Disk Image Mount point: /System/Library/A******2/c*********************************e/p**********o/6********************************************t/.********a Read-only: Yes Size: 4 MB USB: USB 3.1 bus Apple Inc. - FaceTime HD Camera (Built-in) USB 3.1 bus <Empty> Network: Interface en0: Ethernet Interface bridge0: Thunderbolt Bridge Interface en1: Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac Firewall: Blocked apps: None System Software: macOS Sequoia 15.3.1 (24D70) Time since boot: Less than an hour Notifications: EtreCheckPro.app 8 notifications Security: Gatekeeper: App Store and identified developers System Integrity Protection: Enabled Antivirus software: Apple System Launch Daemons: [Not Loaded] 39 Apple tasks [Loaded] 199 Apple tasks [Running] 169 Apple tasks [Other] 4 Apple tasks System Launch Agents: [Not Loaded] 21 Apple tasks [Loaded] 234 Apple tasks [Running] 191 Apple tasks Launch Daemons: [Not Loaded] com.microsoft.OneDriveStandaloneUpdaterDaemon.plist (Microsoft Corporation - installed 2025-02-01) Executable: /Applications/OneDrive.app/Contents/StandaloneUpdaterDaemon.xpc/Contents/MacOS/StandaloneUpdaterDaemon [Not Loaded] com.microsoft.OneDriveUpdaterDaemon.plist (Microsoft Corporation - installed 2025-02-18) Executable: /Applications/OneDrive.app/Contents/OneDriveUpdaterDaemon.xpc/Contents/MacOS/OneDriveUpdaterDaemon [Not Loaded] com.microsoft.autoupdate.helper.plist (Microsoft Corporation - installed 2025-01-30) Executable: /Library/PrivilegedHelperTools/com.microsoft.autoupdate.helper Location: /Library/Application Support/Microsoft/MAU2.0/Microsoft AutoUpdate.app [Loaded] com.microsoft.autoupdate.helper.plist (Microsoft Corporation - installed 2025-01-30) Executable: /Library/PrivilegedHelperTools/com.microsoft.autoupdate.helper [Loaded] com.microsoft.office.licensingV2.helper.plist (Microsoft Corporation - installed 2025-01-30) Executable: /Library/PrivilegedHelperTools/com.microsoft.office.licensingV2.helper Launch Agents: [Not Loaded] com.apple.dt.xcode.xcbackgrounddownloader.plist (Apple - installed 2024-12-07) Command: /Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer/usr/bin/xcodebuild -downloadAllPreviouslySelectedPlatforms Location: /Applications/Xcode.app [Not Loaded] com.microsoft.OneDriveStandaloneUpdater.plist (Microsoft Corporation - installed 2025-02-01) Executable: /Applications/OneDrive.app/Contents/StandaloneUpdater.app/Contents/MacOS/OneDriveStandaloneUpdater [Loaded] com.microsoft.SyncReporter.plist (Microsoft Corporation - installed 2025-02-01) Executable: /Applications/OneDrive.app/Contents/SyncReporter.app/Contents/MacOS/SyncReporter [Not Loaded] com.microsoft.update.agent.plist (Microsoft Corporation - installed 2024-12-20) Command: /Library/Application Support/Microsoft/MAU2.0/Microsoft AutoUpdate.app/Contents/MacOS/Microsoft Update Assistant.app/Contents/MacOS/Microsoft Update Assistant --launchByAgent Location: /Library/Application Support/Microsoft/MAU2.0/Microsoft AutoUpdate.app [Loaded] com.microsoft.update.agent.plist (Microsoft Corporation - installed 2025-01-30) Command: /Library/Application Support/Microsoft/MAU2.0/Microsoft AutoUpdate.app/Contents/MacOS/Microsoft Update Assistant.app/Contents/MacOS/Microsoft Update Assistant --launchByAgent User Login Items: [Not Loaded] Launcher Disabler (Microsoft Corporation - installed 2025-02-18) Modern Login Item /Applications/OneDrive.app/Contents/Library/LoginItems/Launcher Disabler.app [Not Loaded] OneDrive Launcher (Microsoft Corporation - installed 2025-02-18) Modern Login Item /Applications/OneDrive.app/Contents/Library/LoginItems/OneDrive Launcher.app [Not Loaded] PasswordsMenuBarExtra (Apple - installed 2025-02-04) Modern Login Item /System/Applications/Passwords.app/Contents/Library/LoginItems/PasswordsMenuBarExtra.app [Not Loaded] WeatherMenu (Apple - installed 2025-02-04) Modern Login Item /System/Applications/Weather.app/Contents/Library/LoginItems/WeatherMenu.app Applications: 801 Apple apps 89 3rd party apps 11 x86-only apps No unsigned apps App Extensions: Widgets: [Loaded] ExcelWidgetKit - /Applications/Microsoft Excel.app [Loaded] WordWidgetKit - /Applications/Microsoft Word.app [Loaded] PowerPointWidgetKit - /Applications/Microsoft PowerPoint.app Photo editing extensions: [Loaded] Edit in Affinity Photo - /Applications/Affinity Photo 2.app File providers: [Loaded] OneDrive File Provider - /Applications/OneDrive.app Share services: [Loaded] OneNote - /Applications/Microsoft OneNote.app Finder sync extensions: [Not Loaded] OneDrive Finder Integration - /Applications/OneDrive.app Action services: [Loaded] LaTeXiT App Extension - /Applications/TeX/LaTeXiT.app QuickLook Previews: [Loaded] QuickLookShareExtension - /Applications/Affinity Photo 2.app com.seriflabs.affinity *.fh10 com.seriflabs.affinitydesigner.document *.afdesign com.seriflabs.affinityphoto.document *.afphoto com.seriflabs.affinitypublisher.document *.afpub com.seriflabs.affinitypublisher.book *.afbook com.seriflabs.affinity.package *.afpackage com.seriflabs.affinity.template *.aftemplate [Loaded] EtreCheckQuickLook - /Applications/EtreCheckPro.app com.etresoft.etrecheck4 *.etrecheck QuickLook Thumbnails: [Loaded] ThumbnailShareExtension - /Applications/Affinity Photo 2.app com.seriflabs.affinity *.fh10 com.seriflabs.affinitydesigner.document *.afdesign com.seriflabs.affinityphoto.document *.afphoto com.seriflabs.affinitypublisher.document *.afpub com.seriflabs.affinitypublisher.book *.afbook com.seriflabs.affinity.package *.afpackage com.seriflabs.affinity.template *.aftemplate Backup: Destinations: M*****************c [Local] Total size: 5.00 TB Total number of backups: 184 Oldest backup: 2021-07-27 10:31:46 Last backup: 2025-01-31 18:17:35 i*******o [Local] (Last used) Total size: 2.00 TB Total number of backups: 28 Oldest backup: 2025-01-31 19:23:16 Last backup: 2025-02-20 09:23:20 10 local snapshots Oldest local snapshot: 2025-01-31 16:57:52 Last local snapshot: 2025-02-20 14:52:22 Performance: System Load: 1.21 (1 min ago) 1.26 (5 min ago) 1.28 (15 min ago) Nominal I/O usage: 0.00 MB/s File system: 18.82 seconds Write speed: 493 MB/s Read speed: 525 MB/s CPU Usage Snapshot: Type Overall System: 1 % User: 7 % Idle: 92 % Top Processes Snapshot by CPU: Process (count) CPU (Source - Location) EtreCheckPro 38.38 % (Etresoft, Inc.) WindowServer 6.08 % (Apple) kernel_task 0.96 % (Apple) Activity Monitor 0.88 % (Apple) socketfilterfw 0.26 % (Apple) Top Processes Snapshot by Memory: Process (count) RAM usage (Source - Location) EtreCheckPro 1.39 GB (Etresoft, Inc.) mediaanalysisd 197 MB (Apple) mds_stores 162 MB (Apple) Spotlight 156 MB (Apple) WindowServer 133 MB (Apple) Top Processes Snapshot by Network Use: Process Input / Output (Source - Location) mDNSResponder 775 KB / 217 KB (Apple) rapportd 56 KB / 68 KB (Apple) nsurlsessiond 25 KB / 9 KB (Apple) netbiosd 30 KB / 0 B (Apple) apsd 6 KB / 14 KB (Apple) Top Processes Snapshot by Energy Use: Process (count) Energy (0-100) (Source - Location) WindowServer 4 (Apple) Activity Monitor 1 (Apple) launchd 0 (Apple) sysmond 0 (Apple) bluetoothd 0 (Apple) Virtual Memory Information: Physical RAM: 48 GB Free RAM: 31.02 GB Used RAM: 8.59 GB Cached files: 8.40 GB Available RAM: 39.41 GB Swap Used: 0 B Software Installs (past 60 days): Install Date Name (Version) 2025-01-29 macOS 15.3 (15.3) 2025-01-30 MRTConfigData (1.93) 2025-01-30 XProtectPayloads (149) 2025-01-30 Gatekeeper Compatibility Data (1.0) 2025-01-30 Canon IJScanner2 (4.1.4) 2025-01-30 Microsoft 365 and Office for Mac (16.94.25020927) 2025-01-30 Adobe Acrobat 2017 (Classic) (0) 2025-01-30 ARMDCAgentInstaller (1.0.0) 2025-01-30 JSesh-7.6.1-dist (7.6.1) 2025-01-30 R 4.4.2 for macOS (X86_64) (4.4.2) 2025-01-30 Command Line Tools for Xcode (15.3) 2025-02-01 Xcode (16.2) 2025-02-01 MacTeX (10.03.0) 2025-02-02 Adobe Acrobat DC (17.012.30262) (17.012.30262) 2025-02-03 Hex Fiend (2.15) 2025-02-06 XProtectCloudKitUpdate (5287) 2025-02-06 XProtectPlistConfigData (5287) 2025-02-12 Microsoft Excel (16.94.25020927) 2025-02-12 Microsoft OneNote (16.94.25020927) 2025-02-12 Microsoft PowerPoint (16.94.25020927) 2025-02-12 Microsoft Teams (25016.1904.3401.2239) 2025-02-12 Microsoft Word (16.94.25020927) 2025-02-18 Microsoft OneDrive (25.10.119) 2025-02-18 macOS 15.3.1 (15.3.1) Diagnostics Information (past 60 days): 2025-02-20 14:51:54 DeveloperStorageExtension - Crash Executable: /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/StorageManagement.framework/PlugIns/DeveloperStorageExtension.appex/Contents/MacOS/DeveloperStorageExtension 2025-02-20 14:26:00 apfsd - High CPU Use (13 times) First occurrence: 2025-02-13 10:05:47 Executable: /usr/libexec/apfsd 2025-02-20 12:04:59 spotlightknowledged - High CPU Use (12 times) First occurrence: 2025-02-13 10:06:50 Executable: /System/Library/Frameworks/CoreSpotlight.framework/spotlightknowledged 2025-02-20 09:38:01 suggestd - High CPU Use (2 times) First occurrence: 2025-02-17 11:12:51 Executable: /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/CoreSuggestions.framework/Versions/A/Support/suggestd 2025-02-19 09:14:42 mds_stores - High CPU Use Executable: /System/Library/Frameworks/CoreServices.framework/Versions/A/Frameworks/Metadata.framework/Versions/A/Support/mds_stores 2025-02-18 10:10:19 lsd - Crash (3 times) First occurrence: 2025-02-18 10:10:06 Executable: /usr/libexec/lsd 2025-02-14 12:26:03 signpost_reporter - High CPU Use Executable: /usr/libexec/signpost_reporter 2025-02-13 14:14:08 com.apple.MobileSoftwareUpdate.CleanupPreparePathService - Crash (2 times) Executable: /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/MobileSoftwareUpdate.framework/Versions/A/XPCServices/com.apple.MobileSoftwareUpdate.CleanupPreparePathService.xpc/Contents/MacOS/com.apple.MobileSoftwareUpdate.CleanupPreparePathService 2025-02-13 12:28:35 Finder - Crash Executable: /System/Library/CoreServices/Finder.app End of report