When I reinstall Mac OS X will all of my applications automatically reinstall?

Question

Level 1

20 points

When I reinstall Mac OS X will all of my applications automatically reinstall?

I am having some lagging issues with my MBP, mostly has to do with any web browser I use. I am mostly in the browser day in day out and I have major lag problems. I've cleared the cache for all browsers, I've used OnyX to run scrips to clean up my mac, rebooted multiple times, nothing is working to quit this lag I get so often. I've used Chrome, Firefox, Aurora and Safari. Safari is just a horrible browser, slow, doesn't load pages correctly a lot of the time, blah blah. I prefer Firefox or Chrome but I've had issues with Chrome not showing pages correctly either so that is why I am using Firefox. Currently using Firefox beta 20.0. My browsers are always up to date with the newest stable version available (minus the Firefox which I have been testing as beta to see if it fixed the lag).

I am thinking of reinstalling OS X to get a clean slate. I did it once before not long after I got my mac due to a bad install of an antivirus that ***** (Sophos). It royally screwed up my system. But I remember last time I did the restore over wifi/internet and it reinstalled all of my apps, luckily I had successfully uninstalled Sophos prior to to reinstallation of OS X.

How can I get a clean slate without the apps? I want to pick and choose which apps I install. I did make my flash drive the recovery disk so perhaps it won't force install all of my apps that I had through the Mac App Store.

If anyone has any suggestions as to what to do to fix this lag issue in web browsers I'd love to hear it. Otherwise, how can I reinstall OS X and get a clean slate so I can choose my apps all over again?

If you need more info, please don't hesitate to ask. I am not shy with the command line (long time linux user prior to OS X though I was never all that familliar with commands on my own, that's what google is for LOL).

I currently have open:

Firefox

Messages

Mail Pop Pro (email app that sits in the menu bar as an icon versus being in the dock)

Bandwith+ (monitoring my internet usage)

Avast AV

I have 6 tabs open in Firefox, nothing unusal for me. These problems didn't start suddenly after installing or using any of my apps. It seemed to get worse and worse as time went on.

Here are pics of my Activity Monitor:

MacBook Pro (13-inch, Mid 2012), OS X Mountain Lion (10.8)

Posted on Mar 7, 2013 10:15 AM

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Answer 1

Linc Davis

Level 10

209,541 points

Mar 7, 2013 11:12 AM in response to xdunlapx

"Avast" is perhaps the worst of the whole wretched lot of commercial "security" products for the Mac. It's worse than the imaginary "viruses" you were worried about when you installed it. Not only does it fail to protect you, it destabilizes and slows down your computer, and it sometimes or always corrupts the network settings and the permissions of files in your home folder. Removing it may not repair the damage, and neither will Disk Utility or even reinstalling OS X.

Back up all data, then remove "Avast" according to the developer's instructions:

avast! Support Center

Reboot.

If you tried to remove Avast by dragging an application to the Trash, you'll have to reinstall it and follow the instructions linked above.

If you still have problems after following those instructions, post again.

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Answer 2

xdunlapx Author

Level 1

20 points

Mar 7, 2013 11:17 AM in response to Linc Davis

Well thanks for jumping to conclusions but I know "viruses" are practically NILL on Mac. I mainly use it to protect myself from malware of all kinds. I know it's less likely to get malware on a mac but still. I will go ahead and follow your instructions to see if it helps. I like the seurity layer it provides though.

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Answer 3

xdunlapx Author

Level 1

20 points

Mar 7, 2013 11:36 AM in response to xdunlapx

Well that hasn't stopped the lagginess. I also uninstalled quite a few apps and games I didn't need or use. Now what? My disk permissions are properly set. I don't know what else to try to do to fix this lagginess. Perhaps it is mostly a web browser thing but what would cause that? I would think 8GB ram would be fine to handle 6 basic tabs in Firefox which I had never had a problem with before until this lagginess crept up on me for it to be enough to make me get ticked off and try to find an answer...

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Answer 4

Shootist007

Level 6

16,703 points

Mar 7, 2013 11:42 AM in response to xdunlapx

It really doesn't provide any security. First Mac rarely if ever get viruses, None that I know of, or Malware.

All that program is doing is Maybe giving you a False sense of security. As any New virus or malware written to infect a Mac none of the so called security programs have any reference to them so they can't protect against them.

xdunlapx wrote:

Well thanks for jumping to conclusions but I know "viruses" are practically NILL on Mac. I mainly use it to protect myself from malware of all kinds. I know it's less likely to get malware on a mac but still. I will go ahead and follow your instructions to see if it helps. I like the seurity layer it provides though.

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Answer 5

Linc Davis

Level 10

209,541 points

Mar 7, 2013 11:44 AM in response to xdunlapx

First, back up all data immediately, as your boot drive might be failing.

There are a few other possible causes of generalized slow performance that you can rule out easily.

If you have many image or video files on the Desktop with preview icons, move them to another folder.
If applicable, uncheck all boxes in the iCloud preference pane.
Disconnect all non-essential wired peripherals and remove aftermarket expansion cards, if any.

Otherwise, take the steps below when you notice the slowdown.

Step 1

Launch the Activity Monitor application in any of the following ways:

☞ Enter the first few letters of its name into a Spotlight search. Select it in the results (it should be at the top.)

☞ In the Finder, select Go ▹ Utilities from the menu bar, or press the key combination shift-command-U. The application is in the folder that opens.

☞ Open LaunchPad. Click Utilities, then Activity Monitor in the icon grid.

Select the CPU tab of the Activity Monitor window.

Select All Processes from the menu in the toolbar, if not already selected.

Click the heading of the % CPU column in the process table to sort the entries by CPU usage. You may have to click it twice to get the highest value at the top. What is it, and what is the process? Also post the values for % User, % System, and % Idle at the bottom of the window.

Select the System Memory tab. What values are shown in the bottom part of the window for Page outs and Swap used?

Next, select the Disk Activity tab. Post the approximate values shown for Reads in/sec and Writes out/sec (not Reads in and Writes out.)

Step 2

If you have more than one user account, you must be logged in as an administrator to carry out this step.

Launch the Console application in the same way you launched Activity Monitor. Make sure the title of the Console window is All Messages. If it isn't, select All Messages from the SYSTEM LOG QUERIES menu on the left. If you don't see that menu, select

View ▹ Show Log List

from the menu bar.

Select the 50 or so most recent entries in the log. Copy them to the Clipboard (command-C). Paste into a reply to this message (command-V). You're looking for entries at the end of the log, not at the beginning.

When posting a log extract, be selective. Don't post more than is requested.

Please do not indiscriminately dump thousands of lines from the log into this discussion.

Important: Some personal information, such as your name, may appear in the log. Anonymize before posting. That should be easy to do if your extract is not too long.

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Answer 6

xdunlapx Author

Level 1

20 points

Mar 7, 2013 11:57 AM in response to Linc Davis

Highest CPU usage is jumping between Firefox and kernel_task. (Firefox highest is 7.6, kernel_task highest is 1.3)

User: 2.5

System: 1.38

Idle: 98

(they keep jumping around so it's roughly what they are)

Page out: 0 bytes

swap: 0 bytes

Reads in/sec: 0

Writes out/sec: 0

***Looking at the below logs I did uninstall quite a few apps prior to replying to this message. So I don't know if that will screw up anything you are hoping to help me with... I see a lot of those apps listed below that I did get rid of.***

3/7/13 2:29:50.184 PM defaults[1041]:

The domain/default pair of (/Users/brittany/Library/Preferences/com.apple.dashboard, mcx-disabled) does not exist

3/7/13 2:29:50.205 PM defaults[1042]:

The domain/default pair of (com.apple.remotedesktop, IncludeDebugMenu) does not exist

3/7/13 2:29:50.226 PM defaults[1043]:

The domain/default pair of (/Users/brittany/Library/Preferences/com.apple.iCal, IncludeDebugMenu) does not exist

3/7/13 2:29:50.249 PM defaults[1044]:

The domain/default pair of (/Users/brittany/Library/Preferences/com.apple.iChat, EnableDataDetectors) does not exist

3/7/13 2:29:50.294 PM defaults[1045]:

The domain/default pair of (/Users/brittany/Library/Preferences/com.apple.Terminal, FocusFollowsMouse) does not exist

3/7/13 2:29:50.315 PM defaults[1046]:

The domain/default pair of (com.apple.NetworkBrowser, BrowseAllInterfaces) does not exist

3/7/13 2:30:12.890 PM authexec[1054]: executing /System/Library/ScriptingAdditions/StandardAdditions.osax/Contents/MacOS/uid

3/7/13 2:30:12.942 PM com.apple.launchd.peruser.501[137]: ([0x0-0x41041].com.titanium.Deeper[933]) Exited: Terminated: 15

3/7/13 2:30:19.960 PM Dock[156]: no information back from LS about running process

3/7/13 2:30:20.171 PM Bubble[1057]: pxIn inited

3/7/13 2:30:20.191 PM Bubble[1057]: Image size:320.0x480.0

3/7/13 2:30:24.861 PM helpd[181]: Task at /usr/bin/hiutil failed with error 6. Arguments (

"--create",

"--anchors",

"--generate-summaries",

"--file",

"/Users/brittany/Library/Caches/com.apple.helpd/Generated/com.bitdefender.Bitde fenderVirusScanner.help/en.helpindex",

"--min-term-length",

3,

"--lowered-priority",

"/Applications/Bitdefender Virus Scanner.app/Contents/Resources/en.lproj/Help"

)

3/7/13 2:31:00.985 PM helpd[181]: Task at /usr/bin/hiutil failed with error 6. Arguments (

"--create",

"--anchors",

"--generate-summaries",

"--file",

"/Users/brittany/Library/Caches/com.apple.helpd/Generated/com.peternoriega.unra rx.help/com.peternoriega.unrarx.help.helpindex",

"--min-term-length",

3,

"--lowered-priority",

"/Applications/UnRarX.app/Contents/Resources/UnRarX Help"

)

3/7/13 2:31:22.571 PM Bubble[1064]: pxIn inited

3/7/13 2:31:22.582 PM Bubble[1064]: Image size:320.0x480.0

3/7/13 2:31:39.121 PM helpd[181]: Task at /usr/bin/hiutil failed with error 6. Arguments (

"--create",

"--anchors",

"--generate-summaries",

"--file",

"/Users/brittany/Library/Caches/com.apple.helpd/Generated/de.danholt.Calories2. 0.help/English.helpindex",

"--min-term-length",

3,

"--lowered-priority",

"/Applications/Calories 2.app/Contents/Resources/English.lproj/Calories Help"

)

3/7/13 2:31:54.267 PM Bubble[1070]: pxIn inited

3/7/13 2:31:54.279 PM Bubble[1070]: Image size:320.0x480.0

3/7/13 2:32:09.584 PM firefox[1076]: invalid drawable

3/7/13 2:33:15.772 PM mdworker[1083]: Unable to talk to lsboxd

3/7/13 2:33:15.776 PM mdworker[1082]: Unable to talk to lsboxd

3/7/13 2:33:15.851 PM sandboxd[1084]: ([1083]) mdworker(1083) deny mach-lookup com.apple.ls.boxd

3/7/13 2:33:15.859 PM sandboxd[1084]: ([1082]) mdworker(1082) deny mach-lookup com.apple.ls.boxd

3/7/13 2:33:16.000 PM kernel[0]: Sandbox: sandboxd(1084) deny mach-lookup com.apple.coresymbolicationd

3/7/13 2:33:21.000 PM kernel[0]: AppleSRP started.

3/7/13 2:33:30.000 PM kernel[0]: ASP_TCP asp_tcp_usr_control: invalid kernelUseCount 0

3/7/13 2:33:30.000 PM kernel[0]: AFP_VFS afpfs_mount: /Volumes/Time Capsule, pid 1092

3/7/13 2:33:30.000 PM kernel[0]: AFP_VFS afpfs_mount : succeeded on volume 0xffffff80fee94008 /Volumes/Time Capsule (error = 0, retval = 0)

3/7/13 2:33:48.470 PM CalendarAgent[184]: *** -[IADomainCache init]: IA domains cache is out of date.

3/7/13 2:34:30.533 PM lsboxd[209]: @AE relay 4755524c:4755524c

3/7/13 2:35:26.560 PM mdworker[1117]: Unable to talk to lsboxd

3/7/13 2:35:26.571 PM mdworker[1116]: Unable to talk to lsboxd

3/7/13 2:35:26.638 PM sandboxd[1118]: ([1117]) mdworker(1117) deny mach-lookup com.apple.ls.boxd

3/7/13 2:35:26.645 PM sandboxd[1118]: ([1116]) mdworker(1116) deny mach-lookup com.apple.ls.boxd

3/7/13 2:35:27.000 PM kernel[0]: Sandbox: sandboxd(1118) deny mach-lookup com.apple.coresymbolicationd

3/7/13 2:38:24.354 PM firefox[1076]: invalid drawable

3/7/13 2:38:54.000 PM kernel[0]: firefox (map: 0xffffff803ffe8ed0) triggered DYLD shared region unnest for map: 0xffffff803ffe8ed0, region 0x7fff8f000000->0x7fff8f200000. While not abnormal for debuggers, this increases system memory footprint until the target exits.

3/7/13 2:38:56.985 PM firefox[1141]: invalid drawable

3/7/13 2:39:27.427 PM mdworker[1144]: Unable to talk to lsboxd

3/7/13 2:39:27.433 PM mdworker[1145]: Unable to talk to lsboxd

3/7/13 2:39:27.527 PM sandboxd[1146]: ([1144]) mdworker(1144) deny mach-lookup com.apple.ls.boxd

3/7/13 2:39:27.548 PM sandboxd[1146]: ([1145]) mdworker(1145) deny mach-lookup com.apple.ls.boxd

3/7/13 2:39:27.000 PM kernel[0]: Sandbox: sandboxd(1146) deny mach-lookup com.apple.coresymbolicationd

3/7/13 2:39:44.154 PM lsboxd[209]: @AE relay 4755524c:4755524c

3/7/13 2:39:50.000 PM kernel[0]: Sandbox: sandboxd(1150) deny mach-lookup com.apple.coresymbolicationd

3/7/13 2:39:52.319 PM sandboxd[1150]: ([210]) MailPop Pro for (210) deny file-read-data /Users/brittany/Library/Preferences/com.apple.DownloadAssessment.plist

3/7/13 2:40:13.390 PM lsboxd[209]: @AE relay 4755524c:4755524c

3/7/13 2:43:28.219 PM mdworker[1153]: Unable to talk to lsboxd

3/7/13 2:43:28.223 PM mdworker[1154]: Unable to talk to lsboxd

3/7/13 2:43:28.298 PM sandboxd[1155]: ([1153]) mdworker(1153) deny mach-lookup com.apple.ls.boxd

3/7/13 2:43:28.304 PM sandboxd[1155]: ([1154]) mdworker(1154) deny mach-lookup com.apple.ls.boxd

3/7/13 2:43:28.000 PM kernel[0]: Sandbox: sandboxd(1155) deny mach-lookup com.apple.coresymbolicationd

3/7/13 2:50:09.224 PM mdworker[1189]: Unable to talk to lsboxd

3/7/13 2:50:09.228 PM mdworker[1190]: Unable to talk to lsboxd

3/7/13 2:50:09.303 PM sandboxd[1191]: ([1189]) mdworker(1189) deny mach-lookup com.apple.ls.boxd

3/7/13 2:50:09.311 PM sandboxd[1191]: ([1190]) mdworker(1190) deny mach-lookup com.apple.ls.boxd

3/7/13 2:50:09.000 PM kernel[0]: Sandbox: sandboxd(1191) deny mach-lookup com.apple.coresymbolicationd

3/7/13 2:52:13.193 PM login[1287]: USER_PROCESS: 1287 ttys000

3/7/13 2:52:52.796 PM login[1287]: DEAD_PROCESS: 1287 ttys000

Linc Davis wrote:

.....

Click the heading of the % CPU column in the process table to sort the entries by CPU usage. You may have to click it twice to get the highest value at the top. What is it, and what is the process? Also post the values for % User, % System, and % Idle at the bottom of the window.

Select the System Memory tab. What values are shown in the bottom part of the window for Page outs and Swap used?

Next, select the Disk Activity tab. Post the approximate values shown for Reads in/sec and Writes out/sec (not Reads in and Writes out.)

Step 2

If you have more than one user account, you must be logged in as an administrator to carry out this step.

Launch the Console application in the same way you launched Activity Monitor. Make sure the title of the Console window is All Messages. If it isn't, select All Messages from the SYSTEM LOG QUERIES menu on the left. If you don't see that menu, select

View ▹ Show Log List

from the menu bar.

Select the 50 or so most recent entries in the log. Copy them to the Clipboard (command-C). Paste into a reply to this message (command-V). You're looking for entries at the end of the log, not at the beginning.

When posting a log extract, be selective. Don't post more than is requested.

Please do not indiscriminately dump thousands of lines from the log into this discussion.

Important: Some personal information, such as your name, may appear in the log. Anonymize before posting. That should be easy to do if your extract is not too long.

Reply

Answer 7

Linc Davis

Level 10

209,541 points

Mar 7, 2013 12:25 PM in response to xdunlapx

You have yet another worthless commercial "anti-virus" product installed, "BitDefender." Please remove that too, and if there's no improvement, repeat step 2.

Reply

Answer 8

xdunlapx Author

Level 1

20 points

Mar 7, 2013 12:28 PM in response to Linc Davis

I did remove that a few reboots ago. It's gone. It was not an on access scanner, similar to how ClamXAV works, just open it and scan then close it.

Reply

Answer 9

Linc Davis

Level 10

209,541 points

Mar 7, 2013 12:57 PM in response to xdunlapx

Please read this whole message before doing anything.

This procedure is a test, not a solution. Don’t be disappointed when you find that nothing has changed after you complete it.

Step 1

The purpose of this step is to determine whether the problem is localized to your user account.

Enable guest logins* and log in as Guest. For instructions, launch the System Preferences application, select Help from the menu bar, and enter “Set up guest users” (without the quotes) in the search box. Don't use the Safari-only “Guest User” login created by “Find My Mac.”

While logged in as Guest, you won’t have access to any of your personal files or settings. Applications will behave as if you were running them for the first time. Don’t be alarmed by this; it’s normal. If you need any passwords or other personal data in order to complete the test, memorize, print, or write them down before you begin.

Test while logged in as Guest. Same problem?

After testing, log out of the guest account and, in your own account, disable it if you wish. Any files you created in the guest account will be deleted automatically when you log out of it.

*Note: If you’ve activated “Find My Mac” or FileVault, then you can’t enable the Guest account. The “Guest User” login created by “Find My Mac” is not the same. Create a new account in which to test, and delete it, including its home folder, after testing.

Step 2

The purpose of this step is to determine whether the problem is caused by third-party system modifications that load automatically at startup or login.

Disconnect all wired peripherals except those needed for the test, and remove all aftermarket expansion cards. Boot in safe mode* and log in to the account with the problem. The instructions provided by Apple are as follows:

Shut down your computer, wait 30 seconds, and then hold down the shift key while pressing the power button.
When you see the gray Apple logo, release the shift key.
If you are prompted to log in, type your password, and then hold down the shift key again as you click Log in.

Safe mode is much slower to boot and run than normal, and some things won’t work at all, including wireless networking on certain Macs. The next normal boot may also be somewhat slow.

The login screen appears even if you usually log in automatically. You must know your login password in order to log in. If you’ve forgotten the password, you will need to reset it before you begin.

*Note: If FileVault is enabled, or if a firmware password is set, or if the boot volume is a software RAID, you can’t boot in safe mode.

Test while in safe mode. Same problem?

After testing, reboot as usual (i.e., not in safe mode) and verify that you still have the problem. Post the results of steps 1 and 2.

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Answer 10

xdunlapx Author

Level 1

20 points

Mar 7, 2013 1:23 PM in response to Linc Davis

Well I'm not having any problem with lagginess in the newly created user profile in Firefox. I've been testing it via google image search, typing in great dane and just scrolling down the page as i would if i were quickly looking for a specific picture. I've done that all along during these tests since it's always a problem with scrolling down or up a web page. I figured a highly graphical page would be the trigger if nothing else. And yes this shows that it's something in my user account that is not working right.

I think I will install my typical (few) firefox addons (adblock and WOT) one at a time and see how it performs. I do wonder if it's WOT now that I think about it... I'll try that one first since adblock would probably not be using so many resources since it simply doesn't allow those ads to populate. WOT is integrative and always on teh lookout for EVIL! 😝

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Answer 11

xdunlapx Author

Level 1

20 points

Mar 7, 2013 3:25 PM in response to xdunlapx

Well I created a new account, copied my pictures and documents to the new user. I am not using Mail Pop Pro for my email but instead using Mail. I do not have WOT installed in Firefox. So far so good without lagginess. I don't know why my original user account was having issues after I thought I resolved it and tried it out. Firefox on that username is just stuck in the past I guess.

So for now my computer is working well. Everything seems snappy and perfect. I"ll just have to get used to not being able to hit CMD+N whenever I want to create a new email message since that was a feature of Mail Pop Pro. MPP was quite buggy though. And they never responded to my requests for help via email. NEVER. So unfortunately I spent a few dollars on that app and I won't use it anymore. I'll be writing a review on the MAS.

So for now, I'm not having any more issues. Thank you so much for trying to help me.

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