Mac Studio slow and freezing in apps and media

Question

Level 1

18 points

Mac Studio slow and freezing in apps and media

Hello,

My Mac Studio seems to have slowed down for reasons unknown. Video/music sourced online or from internal/external drives continually freezes for several seconds until it catches up. Typing in online apps like email, Safari, or Messages or using internal drive apps like Pages and Numbers continually freeze after a few typed words before catching up. Using advanced software like iMovie is horribly slow. The pinwheel is constantly making an appearance.

I ran a hardware diagnostic and everything looked fine. I tried re-indexing (I think I did it right). I deleted Corespotlight and that helped greatly for a few weeks (currently at 940MB). I updated all software. Still, no change.

Mac Studio

Chip: Apple M2 Max

Memory: 64GB

macOS: Tahoe 26.5.2

Monitor: Apple Studio Display

HD: 2TB (1.15TB available)

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Mike

Posted on Jul 2, 2026 5:27 PM

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Answer 1

Jul 2, 2026 11:36 PM in response to shadow2350

Hello shadow2350,

With such a configuration, this type of blocking often hides an application or process in the background that saturates your system. To find the culprit, first try to start your Mac in safe mode : Start up your Mac in safe mode - Apple Support. If the gels disappear in this mode, it is because an installed software blocks everything. Also remember to open the Activity Monitor (CPU tab) to identify which application consumes abnormally energy continuously, and disable unnecessary launches in System Settings > General > Opening. Have a nice day :)

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Answer 2

den.thed

Level 10

95,840 points

Jul 3, 2026 7:20 AM in response to shadow2350

EtreCheckPro is an excellent tool for identifying slowness, freezing and other issues.

Download and run the free version of EtreCheckPro, from > https://etrecheck.com/en/index.html

Then post back here with your Report, as per > How to use the Add Text Feature When Post… - Apple Community

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Answer 3

Jul 10, 2026 10:25 AM in response to shadow2350

Welcome and thank you for reaching out. 🤗

If you have any antivirus software installed, then remove it A.S.A.P. as they interfere with the system operations and performance.

If you don’t have anything like that installed, then try the following:

First, let’s see if this issue happens in Safe Mode:

Shut down your Mac.
Press and hold the power button on your Mac. As you continue to hold the power button, your Mac turns on and loads startup options. When you see Options, release the power button.
Select your startup disk. It's named Macintosh HD, unless you changed its name.
Press and hold the Shift key, then click the “Continue in Safe Mode” button below your startup disk.
Log in to your Mac. You might be asked to log in again.

If the strange behaviors do not occur, then it may possibly be a software issue.

If the issue doesn't continue in safe mode:

Leave safe mode by restarting your Mac normally, then try to reproduce the issue.

If the issue doesn't return, it might have been resolved by the other things that safe mode did at startup, such as checking your disk and clearing caches.

If the problem persists, then let’s try this:

Need more help?

Good luck! 👋🏼😉

Smiliñ 😎 Brian | Community Volunteer

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