With iMovie or Aperture open, why do I have incredibly slow internet?

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With iMovie or Aperture open, why do I have incredibly slow internet?

I recently purchased an iMac with a 4GB memory upgraded to Lion, and my interent has been running incredibly slow. When iMovie or Aperture is launched, it is almost impossible to navigate in Safari. Even simple clicks to open programs or even type in programs like Word seem to take forever and I see the rainbow wheel much more than I would like - on a regular basis, every time I use my computer.

What could be making all of these programs so slow? I expected that a brand new computer would not have these issues, but it is becoming increasingly frustrating and taking much too long to do simple tasks.

Thank you for all of your help!

iMac (21.5-inch Mid 2011), Mac OS X (10.7.3)

Posted on Apr 21, 2012 8:43 PM

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Answer 1

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BDAqua

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239,225 points

Apr 21, 2012 9:22 PM in response to EAVill

Hi, though Apple lists 2 GB as minimal RAM, that's laughable, 6 GB on my iMac is still not enough. 😟

Open Activity Monitor, Show:>All Processes, sort on CPU%, see if anything using too much CPU% when this happens, click on Memory tab, do you have many Pageouts?

Open Console in Utilities & see if there are any clues or repeating messages when this happens.

Also, open console in Applications>Utilities, check the system log for the date/time of the last problem for clues.

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Answer 2

rkaufmann87

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140,568 points

Apr 21, 2012 10:29 PM in response to EAVill

BDAqua is spot on, your iMac is starving for RAM. I would recommend upgrading to 12 or 16 GB of RAM. You can buy very high quality RAM from dependable vendor such as OWC (www.macsales.com) or Crucial for as low as $50 to get it to 12GB. To upgrade to 16GB that will be closer to $100 and is something you can do at a later date.

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Answer 3

EAVill Author

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May 7, 2012 3:16 PM in response to EAVill

I apologize in advance, but I am no computer guru, and I just thought that buying this big computer would be more than enough of what I needed to edit video and pictures.

It is slow with EVERY click I make throughout the day. Trying to open word and save a document seems to take forever. Trying to click back on the "events" tab in iPhoto is longer than a second of a task. I could go on and on...

BDAqua, what do you mean by Pageouts?

After spending so much money on my computer, I hate investing even more, but what does it mean to buy more RAM? And if this makes my computer speed up, then I will for sure purchase it. Can I get this straight from Apple?

Thank you to everyone for your help. It is greatly apprecaited!

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Answer 4

BDAqua

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239,225 points

May 7, 2012 4:19 PM in response to EAVill

After spending so much money on my computer, I hate investing even more, but what does it mean to buy more RAM? And if this makes my computer speed up, then I will for sure purchase it. Can I get this straight from Apple?

I quite understand, we're not certain it's the only problem, but working video really needs more RAM.

It is slow with EVERY click I make throughout the day. Trying to open word and save a document seems to take forever. Trying to click back on the "events" tab in iPhoto is longer than a second of a task. I could go on and on...

Now that bothers me that there may be other problems. Did you open Console in Utilities yet?

And if this makes my computer speed up, then I will for sure purchase it. Can I get this straight from Apple?

Yes, but much cheaper here or elsewhere...

http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/memory/iMac/2011/DDR3_21.5_27

BDAqua, what do you mean by Pageouts?

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Answer 5

EAVill Author

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May 7, 2012 5:21 PM in response to BDAqua

It says I am over 344 MB of page outs!

Someone give this screen shot a once over and let me know what you think.

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Answer 6

BDAqua

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239,225 points

May 7, 2012 6:00 PM in response to EAVill

The Pageouts is from the last startup, how long ago was that?

Your Free Memory is really low, so more RAM would help, but sort on Real Memory to see what is taking so much, I see Safari is using almost 2 GB itself.

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Answer 7

EAVill Author

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May 7, 2012 6:04 PM in response to BDAqua

What do you mean by last startup? Like the last time I restarted the computer (which was multiple times today...)?

Here is a screen shot of the Activity Monitor with Real Memory listed.

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Answer 8

BDAqua

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239,225 points

May 7, 2012 6:32 PM in response to EAVill

Yes, restarted computer... Pageouts are over 100 MB more than your last pic.

So, you do need more RAM for what you're doing.

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Answer 9

EAVill Author

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May 7, 2012 6:45 PM in response to EAVill

Thank you so much, BDAqua, for helping me solve this problem. It has been an ongoing issue since I bought the computer, so I appreciate all of your help.

I am a little grumpy that I need to invest more $$ in the computer, but it better just last me a LONG time.

Thanks again!! 🙂

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Answer 10

BDAqua

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239,225 points

May 7, 2012 6:54 PM in response to EAVill

Great news, thanks & good luck! 🙂

PS. If you can afford it I'd go for the 16 GB Upgrade at the very least.

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