Q: 15" Macbook Pro running very slow: Beach ball of death

My old 2006 MBP 2.13 C2D has decided to slow right down to pain. I swapped out to a SSD just before Christmas and it was great, but now it's slowed down again. This would indicate software / directory structure, but I fear it's hardware. IO stats / memory and top look fine, I have 3GB (Max supported ram - Macsales website figures are wrong BTW, it looks like some scheme to get you to buy from them, buy crucial ram). I am not alarmingly paging out even with Photoshop running. Firefox does not help, I think it's still got a memory leak issue.

To be honest a laptop of this age is end of life, but it feels like Apple are hinting at that with every software update. I have run diagnostics (no errors), repaired the disk (yes usual stuff) reinstalled and stripped and cleaned all connectors, nothing helps.

I have spent 20 years in IT, but now I'm a conservation volunteer, this maybe my last Mac as I think it's nearly time to lay it to rest.

My slightly newer 2.33 MBP is doing the same too, this one is 7 years, the other is 6 1/2!

If anyone continues this thread I would be interested in how fast there internet is, I think it has something to do with it.

I am having slow mac too .  I runed disk utility starting from derifying rights on macintosh drive, also have bootcamp and i got this message:

it not english as you see i will translate starting from 1st row and down:

warning file SUID...... has changed and will not be repaired

rights differ at PRIVATE..... has to be --r......but is--rw....

user differ at APPLICATIOINS.... should be 0 but is 501

user rights differ at APPLICATIONS.... has to be -rw... but is -rw...

user rights differ at LIABRARY...has to be.... but is...

team differs at LIBRARY... has to be 80 but team is 0

i havent tried to run anything else from utility at the moment. Does anyone can tell me what all these means?

thanks a lot!

Message was edited by: sftmac

Message was edited by: sftmac

Here it is 2013, and i am still using my 2006 Macbook Pro.  I have taken great care of it and it still looks like new.  I just bought a new battery, and a new 128GB SSD Crucual M500 hard drive.  AMAZING is what I will tell you about the newer SSD drives.  My iPhoto library opens instantly, my login time is down from 15 seconds to 4.  Yep, 4 seconds.  BTW, I am running on 10.6.8 - as that is the latest OS I can run on my core duo 2.16.

I debated buying a new Macbook Pro, but the $$ are huge, and I can still do everything I need to do.  Streaming video is perfect, and I can edit pictures the same as I have ever been able to do.  I realize how much more vibrant and bright the new LED backlit displays are, but I think the contrast is tweaked too high on them, and when I need to be picky, I hook up my external 23" LCD to my full size DVI port.

So if anyone out there is struggling over deciding to spend a massive amount of dough or stay put with what you have, I will tell you there is no shame in keeping what you have.  Just spend 100 bucks on a current generation SSD hard drive, and make sure your battery is good and you'll feel like you have a new machine.

By the way, I am not knocking the sweet new MBP's and Air's, etc....but they are truly expensive, and not all of us can swing it, or are willing to go into debt for them.

Turn off icloud. Sign out completely. Your mac will return to normal speed. Try it. I will never sign into that crap again.