iMac 2019 experiencing slow startup and app issues

There are 2 iMacs from 2019

iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, 2019) - Technical Specifications

iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2019) - Technical Specifications

In either case, suggest disconnecting any and all external drives

Then, restart the computer

Does the machine boot up any faster

If not >>

Part 1 of 2

Restart the computer in Safe Mode 

Do the issues persist ?

Sometimes a Safe Boot followed by a Normal Boot will just put things right.

If not - there could be something in the main User Account playing up. To further isolate this - Set up users, guests, and groups on Mac. Then log out of the Main User account and log into the dummy account and test again if the issue persists.

If the issue is present in the dummy account - then, this appears to be a System Wide issue on the computer.

Part 2 of 2

To Drill Down further and to avoid a session of Q&A, Q&A  and Q&A  

Download the Application Etrecheck  ( External Link ) directly from the Developer.

The Application is Not a " Silver Bullet "  and is  only a tool to examine the Hardware / Software used on this computer 

This is a Diagnostic Tool that makes no changes to the computer Hardware / Software used on this computer 

The application is free or paid from added features. 

The Report will Not Reveal Any Personal Information. 

Post back the Full Report - copy and paste - >>>> using the Additional Text Icon ( 3rd Icon to last ) <<<<

allenz wrote:

Thanks. I'm familiar with Etrecheck.

Only 1 external drive but it's turned off. Only stors some old video ediding stuff I used to do.

I'll print your reply and report back. Hopefully I cn get it done this weekend.

Thanks again

Allen

You are welcome

When time permits from you end

We are usually around most days to lend assistance

For a long time now re-starting my iMac takes 30 minutes or longer.

This is a common symptom of a failing hard drive. Be sure you have an up-to-date back up.

Replacing the HD in your Mac is one option. It involves at least a partial teardown of the computer to get the job done and has some risk.

Another, much simpler option is to connect an external drive to a Thunderbolt/USB3 port, install macOS on that and use it as the startup device to run your Mac. Much less expensive than option 1 and zero risk of doing internal damage to the computer.

This is Apple’s guidance on how to: Install macOS on an external storage device and use it as a startup disk - Apple Support

Please also see this great user authored tip: Use an external SSD as your startup disk - Apple Community (Thanks, Jack-19!)

A third option is replacement of the whole computer.

Sorry if I butt in here

But is it not a bit premature to arrive at the conclusion the Drive has failed

In both versions of iMacs for 2019 there is the possibility the Fusion Drive ( if configured with one ) has become Un-Fused

Meaning the Rotational Drive and the SSD Drive are no longer presented to the OS as One Drive

Owl-53 wrote:

Sorry if I butt in here

But is it not a bit premature to arrive at the conclusion the Drive has failed

Agree.

Probably getting ahead of things here.

Carry on. 🙂

D.I. Johnson wrote:

Owl-53 wrote:

Sorry if I butt in here

But is it not a bit premature to arrive at the conclusion the Drive has failed

Agree.

Probably getting ahead of things here.

Carry on. 🙂

Not at ALL my friend 👍

Very reasonable and possible the drive itself is kaput

In which case your suggestions would be a brilliant solution 😎

You can confirm a Fusion Drive has split by checking how the drives appear in Finder or System Settings/Disk Utility, which will show two separate drives instead of a single one.

A split drive will be visible as a "Flash Storage" drive and a larger capacity drive (usually 1TB or more), rather than a single volume labeled "Fusion Drive". 

Thank you.

I do invite ALL others appearing in your question to chip in on this

The more eyes, the better 👍

A very quick look 👀 - ok

Regarding a Fusion Drive

Yes it is a Fusion Drive

APPLE HDD ST1000DM003 1.00 TB (Mechanical - 7200 RPM)

disk1 - APPLE SSD SM0032L 28.00 GB (Solid State - TRIM: Yes)

Though, it appears NOT to be Split drive which is good news

Unsigned files - There are unsigned software files installed. These files could be old, incompatible, and cause problems. They should be reviewed.

System modifications - There are a large number of system modifications running in the background.

Runaway user process - A user process is using a large percentage of your CPU.

There's software installed dating back 2007, 2013, 2011, 2019, 2017 etc

Added to all this is, an un-need Malwarebytes and Google Chrome

Both of which are known to be CPU and Memory Hogs