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2011 macbook pro slow and freezes alot

I have had this Mac for about two weeks, I noticed it was running slow so i compared it to my Dell (5year old Inspiron $700) loading the same pages over the same internet connections the Mac is at least 5 or 10 seconds slower than the Dell, It will freeze and give me the rainbow spinny wheel doing SIMPLE SIMPLE multitasking, my iphone4 even loads pages faster using 3G internet. AND IT IS NOT THE INTERNET it freezes and slows at home and at my campus

this being my first Mac and spending almost $1300 total i am extremely UNimpressed by its performance and will likely return it, the sad part is i waited patiently for the 2011 model to come out

Only positives i can give it is its weight, slim design, battery life, everything else is terrible not just disappointing but TERRIBLE I have already advised several people to not buy one

mac book pro 2011

Posted on Mar 23, 2011 5:52 PM

Reply
34 replies

Mar 23, 2011 6:11 PM in response to MattWibisono

"with a new computer there will be some problems" I dont buy that. A new computer should have no problems otherwise whats the point of buying one then? I put Apple on sort of a high pedestall (they kind of put themselves their the way the brag about their products) I just expected that for $1300 I would love this machine or at least like it, but the poor performance is undeniable, when it freezes and goes slow i feel like i am back on my desktop using dial up internet circa 2003

Mar 23, 2011 6:53 PM in response to boch0803

I have seen through my times on Macs that if you have many things open that it may cause slower internet. I don't know why yours is slow because mine is extremely fast. Try making an appointment with a Genius or contacting Applecare because it shouldn't be going as slow as you said.

Try keeping Activity Monitor open in the grid bar, and set it to show usages to see what could be the issue.

Mar 24, 2011 9:03 AM in response to MattWibisono

So i got a suggestion that I should run a system update and that apple addresses this problem in the update, I ran it last night and am trying to put it through some of the same scenarios where it ran slow and froze on me earlier, so far there does seem to be a difference but I am still skeptical, I have a week or two left to return it so i am going to thoroughly test it and believe me if it slows or freezes for even a second i am returning it. (let it be noted that the tasks i am doing when it freezes are pretty easy im talking 3 interent windows open or less sometimes and it freezes and slows, no extreme multi tasking yet)

Apr 6, 2011 5:30 AM in response to MattWibisono

"Calm down buddy"

Just a wee bit patronising Matt? For those of us who are new to Apple and have had it drummed into us about how friggin awesome they are and 'oh no you won't have any issues with a mac' gubbins. Its extremely infuriating to find that your brand spanking new mac is freezing/ slow...as in slower than a PC.

You're no help 'buddy'.

Apr 6, 2011 6:21 AM in response to boch0803

Boch,

Sorry to hear you're having issues with your new mac. Which browser are you using? Not that the
browser should matter much, just curious. Have you tried re-installing your system? and updating
your software? Boch do you use any tools to monitor your system, and repair it if necessary? MainMenu, Drive Genius, iStats Menu? Tech Tool Pro 6? Disk Warrior? These are all very valuable tools to have and use. In my case I always monitor my system to see how it's performing. I just returned two mid 2010 iMacs because of a display issue, and opted for an early 2011 Mac Book Pro 15". So far it's running great.

Have you called tech support? or Googled your issue? Swapping out for another Mac Book? In some
cases if there are directory issues that could slow down your machine. Have you used disk util to verify and check the integrity of your hard drive?

Don't give up so quickly on your Mac. I understand your frustrations. Are Macs perfect? of course not.
No computer is. I've used Macs all of my life and had issues with some of them, but Apple stands
behind their products 110% If you hang in there with your Mac Book I'm sure Apple will work with
you to deliver the product that satisfies your needs.

Best,
Jaco

Apr 6, 2011 6:53 AM in response to boch0803

Boch,

I forgot to mention if you're doing any torrenting be careful what you're downloading. Use a tool like
Mac Scan to check for malware, spyware. Another good resource is Sophos anti-virus, it's free and is a great ant-virus program for Mac. If you're spending 1200 or 1800 dollars for a computer it's worth finding apps to protect your investment. Boch may I ask why you're so skeptical about Macs? Have you
ever had instances where your windows machines have frozen, slowed down or crashed?
Best,
Jaco

Apr 7, 2011 3:22 AM in response to boch0803

I googled and came across this thread hoping I could find help as well. My Macbook Pro is also as slow as anything. Mine too is about two weeks old and it is what I can only describe as an expensive a pile of junk. Unbelievably slow in every respect with spinning wheels on every application or task. Opening an image in photoshop takes minutes, safari constantly hangs to name but two. Apple support are completely utterly useless and unhelpful in my opinion.I would even say aloof and smug to the point that they dismiss the fact that Macs aren't superior. I too am extremely unimpressed by Apple and their promise that everything works better - it doesn't. This is not my first mac incidentally. I have used Macs for over 15 years at home and at work. I paid £1500 for this Macbook but I have a £300 Acer laptop running win7 that does everything faster, and doesn't hang. My 8 year old G3 does everything faster than this new Macbook.

If anyone has any idea how to speed this thing up I would greatly appreciate it

Apr 7, 2011 9:10 PM in response to sb1202

sb


while i'm far from being an expert i've used macs for the most part forever. but for what it's worth
i can offer some suggestions. have you tried wiping the mac book clean and reinstalling? with wiping
the drive zero out data then do a fresh install. have you looked into purchasing disk warrior? it is the best util for correcting and rebuilding your entire directory. often times what plagues macs are directory issues. and disk warrior is best for repairing directories. i myself have just purchased a new mbp 15". I go lightly with it installing my software a little at a time to see that i'm not having issues with anything. macs are good machines, but are far from perfect, no computer is perfect mac or otherwise. sometimes a bad lot goes out with some issues out of the box. but i wouldn't give up on
macs because of that fact.

make use of activity monitor to see what apps are running and soaking up memory and cpu usage.
another nice little utility is called mainmenu, it performs all system maintenance including repairing permissions and corrupt preferences. another util is drive genius which does just about everything.
just be careful when using disk warrior and drive genius that you don't lose any data.

for me personally i use drive genius which has what is called drive pulse that runs in the background
and sits in the menubar it verifies the s.m.a.r.t status of your drive on boot up. and will alert you to any drive issues that may be going on. i also use sophos ani-virus which is free of charge and is very good at what it does. i also have macscan to scan for malware and spyware, key loggers and the like.
as i was telling boch if i invest money i want to protect my investment.

if i were you i would do a fresh install and then make sure you have a stable system and add software
a little at a time to see how your system is responding. look into some of the programs i mentioned, it certainly couldn't hurt. and remember a mac book is not like a desktop in that using it improperly can
affect system performance i.e, letting it run very hot, not having proper ventilation for the fans. i use istats menu to monitor all systems on my mac book. i keep my mac book on a hard table surface. i don't carry it around or set it on my lap, or set it on the bed.

i don't know these are just some things i do to maintain my mac. hope they can help you as well.

Apr 8, 2011 3:16 AM in response to boch0803

I agree with you Boch.. It's my first Mac too, Macbook Pro 15" 2011.. It freezes like **** with the rainbow thingy.. Apple should address the issue to users, instead of busying with their launching with the iPhone 5 at June..

The only thing I like about this Macbook Pro is that, it runs smoothly when I'm using Google Chrome to surf the net, I don't have faith in Safari, it lags, all the time. Even Macbook Air, with a 1.4Gz dual core Intel processor can load faster than my 2Gz quad core Intel processor.. What is this? Yaya, Intel's Sandy Bridge is facing problems.. It's not under Apple's coverage.. Then, where is Apple's "number one customer's satisfaction"?

If Apple is so fond with the launching of iPhone 5, maybe they should stick with what they're good at. Making "iToys", like the iPods, iPhones and iPads..

I'm impress with what can Macbook Air can do.. I should have get a cheaper "Hyundai Macbook Air", that performs better than this "Mercedes Benz Macbook Pro 15" Pro 2011"..

You disappointed me Apple.. =(

Apr 13, 2011 7:41 AM in response to jaco23

Jaco

Thanks for your reply - but I've got more experience with Macs than most people have had hot dinners. I know all about reinstalling, monitoring etc etc. The plain fact is that these new MacBook's are expensive piles of junk. There's lots of problems with them and Apple don't seem to give a toss.

There are plenty people experiencing lots of problems with the new MacBook and Apple aren't doing anything about it.

Why should I have to reinstall the OS or purchase half a dozen apps and install them on something straight out of the box. You wouldn't install an extra set of wheels on a Rolls Royce before taking it out for a drive.

Is anyone from Apple reading this or going to do anything about these problems?

Jun 12, 2011 5:17 PM in response to boch0803

Same with my new macbook pro that we bought for family. It is incredibly slow when switching windows esp internet. Safari is slow. The "thinking" bar appears in almost every browser. when switching tabs, there can be lag of upto 1 seconds. The scrolling is jerking. I am thinking was 2010 model actually better than 2011. I believe that is true.


The worse thing is I sold my 2010 model to get the 2011 for its i5 processor and HD camera (which really is not HD but just a better camera). I have to replace my macbook with 2011 model yet but when I look at this, it is not a good example at all. I have really old dell laptop and this macbook is just a little better than that one.


Apple, if I buy a new laptop and it is jerky like this and the round thinking bar appears even in safari and firefox, what is the fix?


Thank you

2011 macbook pro slow and freezes alot

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