Why is Lion so slow?

As soon as I start using Safari my Mac is starting to hang, not only safari but everything. If I stay away from safari I can run anything heavy stuff for days! New safari a couple of days ago did not help me.

The original post needs to be edited, because that is not the "Correct Answer" listed in it.

I have tried every suggestion made on this thread and none has worked.

I did the upgrade from SL to Lion the day after it was listed in iTunes.

My MBP is now acting like it is running Windows ME.

W.T.H.

It is not hardware or software. No 3rd party software booting in background, minimal services, not connected to a network even. It is so slow. I can start the mac and go make coffee and come back and the screen will still be booting. I have tried all applicable boot commands offered by Apple support as well, in an effort to fix any problems

I was hoping the update provided by apple the other day would fix this, but it does not.

I have since purchased 13 MacBook Airs with Lion pre installed on them, and they flat out fly. I manage over 60 Apple products in my company and also at home. This problem with the slow-booting MBP is the only one with the problem of slow boot and it is the only one that has had the upgrade via iTunes from SL to Lion

Dear Apple, please find a fix.

"The original post needs to be edited, because that is not the "Correct Answer" listed in it."

The original poster marked it as answered so obviously it was the correct answer for him.

"I did the upgrade from SL to Lion the day after it was listed in iTunes."

???

Lion has never been listed in iTunes.

I don't like to get into personal comments on support site threads, it detracts from the goal. But as you brought this up, I feel I can reply;

Then the thread should have been closed after the OP signed it as fixed.

And yes, I meant to post "App Store", obviously.

Did you have anything to contribute to this Support thread in an attempt to assist with finding a fix for what seems to be a widespread problem? I would really like to remain on topic.

There have been dozens of fixes posted in the is thread...

Have you booted from the Lion Recovery disk and repaired your boot drive using Disk Utility?

Hold Command R while booting.

After reading all these posts I got totally overwhelmed, not being the most technically skilled person... I was afraid to do a clean install or a lot of these other fixes... but I have rebooted my mac three times... and now Lion seems to be running just as fast as Snow Leopard... I don't know why, but it made a difference... I hope I am not speaking too soon...

You don't need to do a clean install. You can reinstall on top of your existing system and nothing will be removed.

APierce24 : This fixed the problem for me thanks!

I just did what you suggested, Apierce, and so far it does seem to have made a big difference, so thank you! And whoever is monitoring this discussion should elevate your answer to the top.

A cpl minor pts: the key to hold down during Startup is primarily the Option key although it is also the Alt key if one uses the Function key simultaneously. And yes, it is "Recovery Disk", that one chooses as the startup disk after boot.

Re the other answers: Spotlight Indexing can be a factor too, yes. But it should be finished after after a day or two and several restarts. If the machine is still slow after that, do what Apierce suggests BEFORE bothering with a clean install, which might work also, but would be a major time drag, since you would then need to restore all docs, pics, tunes, flix, reinstall all apps, reset up email accts, printers, networks, etc etc

Upgraded to Lion last week, Since then have been watching the spinning wheel tryng to open aplications and files. I was so frustrated I was ready to go back to Snow Leopard. Then I saw your solutilon. I just went through the steps you listed and so far - fantasic. Thanks a million for sharing your experience.

hmmmm, I tried some of these suggestions my self on my MBP 2009 (now downgraded to Snow Leopard) but after some days Im back where I was with the spinning ball. 😟

I just backed down to Snow and my computer is running 100x better, smoother, everything works... I was CONSTANTLY getting the spinning beach ball with safari, mail, pretty much everything.. was like I was back on a PC...

running all the same software... so that's not the issue.. had done a clean install of Lion, so that's not the issue, computer isn't even a yr old, so that's not the issue.... only issue... LION.... just get rid of it. 😟

Then you have a problem with your install. Millions haven't.

D. Thomas Lamourine wrote:

running all the same software... so that's not the issue.. had done a clean install of Lion, so that's not the issue, computer isn't even a yr old, so that's not the issue.... only issue... LION.... just get rid of it. 😟

Running all the same software. Well PPC programs no longer run on Lion, so could be an issue

Clean install of Lion, was it installed properly? Could be an issue

Computer not even a year old? No computer is immune to some sort of hardware issue, so could be an issue.

Only issue? Your opinion of, and inability to use Lion.

Cheers

Neil, its got nothing to do with someones 'inability' to use Lion.

I've had two computers, and 1 is behaving totally different to the other one, both are running Lion.

The difference is the hardware of the computer.

One is a 4 year old macbook, the other a brand new macbook air. Lion seems to be optimised for newer hardware. The Air is flying on Lion, whereas the older macbook is really struggling. And before you blame the hardware itself as opposed to the ability of Lion to run on older hardware, the older macbook was really a lot faster running Snow Leopard.

This is not to say that there will not be a fix for older hardware running Lion, only that there definately is an issue with Lion on older hardware - and people are having issues with far newer computers than my old macbook.

What really needs to be done here is a place for people to report what hardware they are having trouble with on Lion.

carlomac wrote:

Neil, its got nothing to do with someones 'inability' to use Lion.

I've had two computers, and 1 is behaving totally different to the other one, both are running Lion.

The difference is the hardware of the computer.

One is a 4 year old macbook, the other a brand new macbook air. Lion seems to be optimised for newer hardware. The Air is flying on Lion, whereas the older macbook is really struggling. And before you blame the hardware itself as opposed to the ability of Lion to run on older hardware, the older macbook was really a lot faster running Snow Leopard.

This is not to say that there will not be a fix for older hardware running Lion, only that there definately is an issue with Lion on older hardware - and people are having issues with far newer computers than my old macbook.

What really needs to be done here is a place for people to report what hardware they are having trouble with on Lion.

https://discussions.apple.com/community/notebooks/macbook_pro

or

http://www.apple.com/feedback/macosx.html

Lion runs fine on my 2007 MacBook Pro with 3GB RAM, so don't see how you can say it's optimised for newer hardware.

Cheers