Level 2

157 points

OS X 10.7 Lion - Slow to boot, run, launch Safari etc. etc.

I have serious regrets about installing Lion. If I thought I could go back to Snow Leopard without any risk of losing all my data, I would do it immediately.

After installing, there was a seriosly long boot up. I thought nothing of this as it is not uncommon after an OS upgrade. But then I tried to launch Mail only to find that it tried to import my accounts only to crash. After several attempts I used the new Mail Contacts & Calendars preference pane to delete all the account information. I relaunched Mail successfully and then imported the accounts via the File menu. Everything was acomplete mess and it took a few hours to sort all the mail into the correct mailboxes and folders. The rules I had set up were ineffective and foldershad been created all over the place. Not a good start.

I then discovered that I could no longer connect to my Time Machine volume on my ReadyNAS Duo because the version of AFP is no longer supported.

Having played around for a while and noticed lots of little annoyances - like bits of screensaver images breaking through as a video goes from a window to full screen, I though maybe I should reboot.

Not so long ago, I timed how long it would take to boot up in Snow Leopard to the login screen in terms of gearwheel spins - it used to take 19 spins, then for some reason it went up to 58. I managed to reduce it to 30 by carrying out a number of proceedures, exactly which I forget now.

Under Lion, it took 185 spins of the gearwheel to reach the login screen and seemed to take forever after that. I figured out how to prevent windows from being restored in the General preference pane and deselected the resore windows option when I rebooted. I repaired permissions, zapped the PRAM etc. etc. and decided to time startup wityh my iPhone stopwatch, as follows:

Start: 00.00

Chime: 00.02

Apple: 00.14

Apple + Geerwheel: 00.19

Login screen: 01.38

Desktop: 02.20 (allowing about ten seconds to click my account and enter password).

Mail (startup item): 02.54

Safari (launched manually when Mail was complete at 02.54): 04.40 stopped bouncing in Dock. No running indicator in Dock and could not be launched by clicking in Dock - needed to be forced to quit.

On relaunch, Safari took over two minutes to launch, then was unresponsive for a further two minutes. Pages did not load then partially loaded before stopping again. It was probably about six or seven minutes before I was able to load a page fully.

I am experiencing a lot of SBoDs doing the simplest thing, like opening folders, and I generally get the feeling that something is amiss. As I said at the start, I wish I had stuck with Snow Leopard. I think that Lion is an over hyped widget environment which does nothing worth the hassle it has caused and continues to cause.

MacBook Pro 17' 2.66GHz, Mac OS X (10.7), 8GB RAM, 500GB HD

Posted on Jul 21, 2011 9:01 AM

48 replies

Alf Megson Author

Level 2

157 points

Jul 22, 2011 9:49 AM in response to Sebastian Holmqvist

If you read one of my earlier posts, you will see that I already disabled the General Restore Windows option. This is something quite specific to Safari and a serch on here I carried out since my last post revealed that I am far from the only person experiencing this.

As for AFP, I installed a beta firmware on my ReadyNAS Duo whioch has enabled AFP logins and Time Machine is currently making a massive 18.5GB backup. I have already installed Lion twice and been through all the suggestions already made a number of times. I am not going to re-install it again.

Though it gives me no satisfaction to know that there are many other people having similar problems it offers some reassurance that this is a system/software fault and that it needs fixing. Even if most people are not having problems, there is a significant number of people who are. A glimpse at the density of posts in this section gives quite a good indication of that, even taking into consideration novel factors such as the download only installation.

Jul 22, 2011 3:08 PM in response to Alf Megson

As I'm merely trying to help you as a non-support-employee I have not managed to either read nor memorize everything you have or have not performed in your quest to solve your problems. It is quite a challenge actually to decrypt anything substantial from some of your rants towards Lion and Apple in this thread.

Now that I've gotten my hurt feelings out of the way I will try once more 🙂 You mentioned you had long experience from Mac OS X so I reccon you know the difference between upgrading and installing Lion? One implies an already existing base system and the other does not. So when I said that you should attempt to re-install Leopard (which takes like 40 min all in all?) on a clean disk I implied that some of your problems might be inherited from your old base system. If you already installed Lion on a clean disk (which sounds odd, especially as you said your backup disk wasn't available) I am fresh out of suggestions. Good luck to you then!

Jul 23, 2011 2:20 AM in response to Alf Megson

I am having the same problem that you are facing now, wish that I can go back to the earlier version. My Macbook Pro took approximately 60 sec to start (compared with Snow Leo, it only look 15 sec to start), and a lot of thing not working, my Mac Office 2011 excel file cannot open (opened with a mess of script), and is so fxxk up. Do you have any resolution on this matter yet?

Alf Megson Author

Level 2

157 points

Jul 23, 2011 5:38 AM in response to Sebastian Holmqvist

I'm sure you are only trying to be humorous, Seb, so I won't take your comments to heart. I'm assuming, having looked at all my posts in this thread, that your reference to 'some of your rants towards Apple and Lion in this thread' actually only refers to one post in which I used the parenthetical [EXPLETIVE] in an attempt to retain a little sense of humour myself. If you were experincing the frustration of an OS which feels like it installed treacle in the System folder, maybe you would understand the desire to swear. 😉

If you could not follow the gist of the thread, I posit that it may either be an illustration of the complexity and frustration of having multiple symptoms appearing simultaneously or the unhelpful way that the discussions GUI organises responses in a non-chronological fashion.

Incidentally, I did not bring up my 26 years as a Mac user as a measure of authority - I would not be here with problems if that were the case - it was, if anything, meant to indicate my loyalty to Apple. I don't have 26 years experience with Mac OS X, I doubt if anybody has! 😎

And I just realised that I should have typed 27 years.

Please don't try to be pedantic about upgrading and installing. I may have been able to upgrade OS X to Lion but it would not have been possible to upgrade Lion unless I had a previous version of Lion installed. I didn't. In an attempt to avoid such pedantry, I used the word install because that is the word which Apple use in the name of the installer.

Alf Megson Author

Level 2

157 points

Jul 23, 2011 5:55 AM in response to Mac_greenie

Mac_g,

I spent several hours last night going through various processes. I reset the PRAM, repaired permissions and reset the SMC. I used Lion Cache Cleaner to deep clean all caches and repair permissions once more.

I booted in Safe Mode, which seemed to have a bad effect on graphics performance - screen redraw made the GUI display in broken chunks whenever anything was moved.

I disabled Suitcase Fusion which was configured to as a startup item and was taking a long time to launch.

I checked Font Book for conflicts/duplicates, there were none.

After all this, I rebooted twice more. The first time was just as slow as previously, if not slower. I managed to read two full pages of text in a news magazine and I'm not a fast reader without my glasses at 2.00am!

The second time was somewhat faster - but still about three times the Snow Leopard boot time - and Spotlight started indexing again.

I am giving up for now. I'll keep checking the discussions for a miracle cure but otherwise, I just hope that the extent of the problem instigates an Apple fix.

Sairoong

Level 1

20 points

Jul 24, 2011 3:18 AM in response to Mac_greenie

Hi,

I had the some problem with my Macbook Air + time boot problem after upgrade to Lion and I spend two days to find the solution - I try all what you wrote here, all what the others write on internet, but nothing help.

After many hours of checking I found temporary solution (because this is real serious bug inside Lion) as following :

Go to the System preferences-Users and Groups and just delete all what is under settings for Network Account Server till comes back "Join" button in UsersxGroups screen.

After restart your computer and all is WORKING WELL ! and your notebook will start fast again. OK, you will lost the usage of Network Account Server future, but this bug is so big, that I am sure Apple will fix it very fast and after you can Join back to Network Account Server.

You can see more information here on ASC uder article "slow boot after upgrading".

I really spend two days with analyzation boot procedure of Lion, network analyze and this is the reason for BOOT TIME problem - some serious bug inside Lion and Network Account Server.

Try this and let me know, I am sure, you will be suprise as fast will start your Lion after you delete all under Network Account Server settings... This BUG, but hopefully this will solve your problem with starting time till upgrade from Apple come.

Alf Megson Author

Level 2

157 points

Jul 24, 2011 6:25 AM in response to Sairoong

Thanks for the tip, Salroong, however, there is nothing red under the Network Account Server on my Mac - it only says Join...

Sairoong

Level 1

20 points

Jul 24, 2011 6:54 AM in response to Alf Megson

Hi Alf,

If you used before the Network Account Server future you can see all the used Network Account Servers and you see the status - if red you are not connected to the server, if green you are on-line, if you have more accounts you see more information for each account. But this you can see only if you previously used this future by pressing button "Join" and adding account.

Network Account Server section have two possibilites:

If the Join button appears, you haven’t connected to a network account server.

If the Edit button appears, you previously connected to a network account server.Click Edit and after you can see the status.

One note for the others - I am testing more this a little problematic future on Lion and that seems are more problems there, not only time-boot troubles - I make more tests and I have the some results as you can found here under article "Network Account Server problem"

Jul 24, 2011 11:26 AM in response to Alf Megson

Hi,

I share your grief and really really wish if there was a way to go back to snow leopard.

After initial installation and everything my MacBook pro worked just fine for 24 hrs, in fact I was so happy. And boom, as soon as the indexing finished, and i started my computer say 4th time after update, it was dragging like a really fat "window*" . Spinning wheel after almost every click or word type. Safari crash and Bluetooth error, network lost and screwed up multi-touch gesture. I have never ever been so frustrated ( even not when I was using vista). It is like the most unfinished, buggy and confused OS ever made.

First I thought I have some hardware issues but its definitely not so. Apple needs to rectify the problems soon or this will be their "vista".

Alf Megson Author

Level 2

157 points

Jul 24, 2011 4:35 PM in response to Alf Megson

There are rumours of a 10.7.2 update in the pipeline - who knows what happened to 10.7.2.

In fact, I'd say that they are more than rumours because I have a link to the combo update on the Apple Developers site - the disk image is clearly called Mac OS X Lion Combo Update, i.e:

mac_os_x_lion_10.7.2_combo_update.dmg

I have enough issues with things as they are without risking installing a dodgy beta update but hope is on the horizon.

Can't come soon enough!

Jul 25, 2011 10:02 AM in response to chinmaybhalke

Update.....

It has started behaving well. No more gliteches or waiting colored wheels, i just left it on its own for something like 12 hrs (some thing like ;;; Go stand in the corner ;;;).

On a serious note, probably it was the indexing issue only. Every thing is working fine.

macmend

Level 2

289 points

Jul 26, 2011 2:17 AM in response to Alf Megson

Just to add on the spotlight issue, it has been reported that spotlight does reindex each time you start up for the first few times, this could be related to the new finder set up? If you set your mac to startup and shut down early enough you will never know

see here for other bugs and get arounds:

http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,26122436

etny

Level 1

0 points

Jul 26, 2011 1:55 PM in response to macmend

I have the latest Mac Mini Server. Under OSX, it's a dog. Under Windows 7 64 in bootcamp, it's a champ.

So right now, I have a nice, compact, great looking PC. Thanks, guys.

Markw63

Level 1

4 points

Sep 2, 2011 7:26 AM in response to Sairoong

That network thing was great for me. Thanks. And working on power usage on MacBook air now, as the i7 and speed are great, but can burn through battery if you let it

Thanks again.

lba1961

Level 1

0 points

Oct 7, 2011 1:59 PM in response to Alf Megson

Hi there,

I am suffering the same problems:

Current boot time is more than one hour

Colored spinning wheels in many applications, especially Safari. Sometimes the wheel disappaears autonomiously, sometimes the spinning wheel results into a hanging system where even Activity Monitor doesn't start up.

The first time I encountered this problem and I called Apple support I was forced to order and pay an Apple support contract to fix this problem. I bought my Macbook 6 months ago and I ordered and paid Lion a few weeks after the release date.. I spend last half year almost 2000 euro for this Macbook. What about warrenty?

Under guidance of Apple support I also:

Reset the PRAM and SMC (didn't solve the problem)
Repaired file permissions and verified the Haq disk in my Macbook (didn't solve the problem)
Checked for problems in the font database. There were no problems in the font database.
Re-installed Lion in a non-destructive way (did not solve the problems)
Re-initialized / cleaned the Haq disk on the Macbook (this distroyed my Photobook in which I had invested multiple hours of work, but Apple changed the AFP protocol so Time Keeper and my network drive from Western digital didn't cooporate together any more)
Re-installed Lion on this clean disk But the problrems still exists...

So, 2000 euro later and some lost weekends trying to solve this problem autonomiously and with the paid support of Apple and another bunch of lost days that I had spend on my Photobook I am still suffering this problem. Are you irritated by this problem? You bet that I am really annoyed by Apple and their support.. I am really ****** off....

For your information: I am writing this post with a Lenovo based Windows 7 notebook supplied by my employer while I am awaiting my 2000 euro Macbook to reboot.. The Macbook still hasn't show the login screen yet.....

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OS X 10.7 Lion - Slow to boot, run, launch Safari etc. etc.