Q: OS X Mavericks - Awful Performance

Ars Technica's article is good.

Sorry for banging on about the RAM so much but so many people are reading it wrong & it is infuriating .

It has changed so much that old tools don't understand & they lie. Clean up as above & it should help the OS run smoother.

Drew

Appreciate your great Feedback!

Will surely follow each step and see how it goes in a few days...

And I already got rid of Memory Scope from the System !!

Staying away from the RAM this time, like u strongly suggested ;-)

-Nitin

.

Joe Seidler wrote:

 

... For many of us, Mavericks has major issues. ...

Hi Joe,

No one can help you unless they know what those "issues" are.

Mavericks is no different from every other OS X release in history, in that a new version always results in hundreds of complaints ranging from accelerated battery depletion to slow performance, crashes and other miseries, everything short of an outbreak of hives. The overwhelming majority of those problems turn out to incompatible or otherwise poorly written software, and the challenge is to determine what that may be.

Apple has no control over software they do not develop or distribute. That accounts for a lot of unknowns, and it the main reason for such "issues". The relative proportion of problems caused by junk software compared to legitimate OS X bugs has remained unchanged for every OS X upgrade there has ever been, with the exception that Mavericks has actually resulted in fewer complaints than any OS X upgrade, all the way back to Tiger, despite the widespread proliferation of Macs since that time.

Experienced users understand it doesn't help you to say "my Mac runs fine, therefore you must be doing something wrong" but if Mavericks runs well on a system unmodified with software from unknown or inept developers then it can be reasonably asserted that the problem lies beyond anything Apple can control. Only you can control what you install on your Mac.

We all know that our problems may be unique to ourselves.

That's the reason for asking for specific details, so that your unique problems can be addressed. I haven't seen where you provided any, and tacking on "me too" responses to someone else's problem won't you help solve yours. The details required are described in the first page of this Discussion, and should be provided in a new Discussion originated by you.

To start a new Discussion click start a Discussion.

Hi John,

Earlier in this discussion I posted my EtreCheck as suggested, but I received no replies. I am posting it again. I've been a Mac user for a very long time and have upgraded to every new OS for over 10 years. After using 10.7 and 10.8 for over two years, it was very apparent when I upgraded to 10.9 that everything (yes every app) ran slower. I have a relatively clean Mac using mostly Apple apps and MS Office. For example, iPhoto now takes about 30 seconds to become active (after the opening screen is visible) where under 10.8 it took about 5 seconds. It seems every app needs a lot of time to "get ready" before they can be used.

Hardware Information:

          Mac Pro (Early 2008)

          Mac Pro - model: MacPro3,1

          2 2.8 GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon CPUs: 8 cores

          8 GB RAM

Video Information:

          NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT - VRAM: 512 MB

Audio Plug-ins:

          BluetoothAudioPlugIn: Version: 1.0

          AirPlay: Version: 1.9

          AppleAVBAudio: Version: 2.0.0

          iSightAudio: Version: 7.7.3

Startup Items:

          Qmaster - Path: /Library/StartupItems/Qmaster

System Software:

          OS X 10.9 (13A603) - Uptime: 0 days 3:13:41

Disk Information:

          ST3750640AS P disk0 : (750.16 GB)

                    EFI (disk0s1) <not mounted>: 209.7 MB

                    Macintosh HD (disk0s2) /: 749.3 GB (324.83 GB free)

                    Recovery HD (disk0s3) <not mounted>: 650 MB

          ST31000340AS disk1 : (1 TB)

                    EFI (disk1s1) <not mounted>: 209.7 MB

                    Movies&DVDs (disk1s2) /Volumes/Movies&DVDs: 999.86 GB (139.74 GB free)

          ST31000340AS disk2 : (1 TB)

                    EFI (disk2s1) <not mounted>: 209.7 MB

                    OS10.6 (disk2s2) /Volumes/OS10.6: 999.86 GB (882.88 GB free)

USB Information:

          Apple, Inc. Keyboard Hub

                    Apple, Inc Apple Keyboard

          NEC Corporation USB2.0 Hub Controller

                    Canon MX850 series

          Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller

FireWire Information:

          Apple Computer, Inc. iSight 200mbit - 400mbit max

Thunderbolt Information:

Kernel Extensions:

Problem System Launch Daemons:

Problem System Launch Agents:

Launch Daemons:

          [loaded] com.adobe.fpsaud.plist

          [loaded] com.adobe.SwitchBoard.plist

          [loaded] com.google.keystone.daemon.plist

          [loaded] com.microsoft.office.licensing.helper.plist

Launch Agents:

          [not loaded] com.adobe.AAM.Updater-1.0.plist

          [loaded] com.adobe.CS4ServiceManager.plist

          [loaded] com.google.keystone.agent.plist

User Launch Agents:

          [loaded] com.adobe.AAM.Updater-1.0.plist

          [loaded] com.adobe.ARM.[...].plist

          [loaded] com.adobe.ARM.[...].plist

User Login Items:

          iTunes

          Mail

3rd Party Preference Panes:

          Flash Player

          Flip4Mac WMV

          Growl

          Java

          Perian

Internet Plug-ins:

          AdobePDFViewer.plugin

          AdobePDFViewerNPAPI.plugin

          Default Browser.plugin

          EPPEX Plugin.plugin

          Flash Player.plugin

          FlashPlayer-10.6.plugin

          Flip4Mac WMV Plugin.plugin

          GarminGpsControl.plugin

          Google Earth Web Plug-in.plugin

          googletalkbrowserplugin.plugin

          iPhotoPhotocast.plugin

          JavaAppletPlugin.plugin

          npgtpo3dautoplugin.plugin

          o1dbrowserplugin.plugin

          OfficeLiveBrowserPlugin.plugin

          QuickTime Plugin.plugin

          RealPlayer Plugin.plugin

          SharePointBrowserPlugin.plugin

          Silverlight.plugin

User Internet Plug-ins:

          CitrixOnlineWebDeploymentPlugin.plugin

          WebEx.plugin

Bad Fonts:

          None

Time Machine:

          Skip System Files: NO

          Auto backup: YES

          Volumes being backed up:

                    Macintosh HD: Disk size: 749.3 GB Disk used: 424.47 GB

                    Movies&DVDs: Disk size: 999.86 GB Disk used: 860.12 GB

          Destinations:

                    Data [Network] (Last used)

                    Total size: 3 TB

                    Total number of backups: 74

                    Oldest backup: 2012-12-18 07:58:20 +0000

                    Last backup: 2013-11-10 18:23:52 +0000

                    Size of backup disk: Too small

                              Backup size 3 TB < (Disk used 1.28 TB X 3)

Top Processes by CPU:

               1%          WindowServer

               1%          EtreCheck

               0%          fontd

               0%          ps

               0%          aosnotifyd

Top Processes by Memory:

          393 MB             iTunes

          377 MB             mds_stores

          246 MB             com.apple.MediaLibraryService

          131 MB             com.apple.IconServicesAgent

          90 MB              Mail

          57 MB              com.apple.WebKit.WebContent

          49 MB              soagent

          41 MB              WindowServer

          41 MB              mds

          41 MB              Safari

Virtual Memory Statistics:

          4.71 GB            Free RAM

          2.32 GB            Active RAM

          209 MB             Inactive RAM

          776 MB             Wired RAM

          382 MB             Page-ins

          0 B                Page-outs

All the usual caveats apply, backup before you modify the system, delete the items (or move them to another disk or folder if you are worried about deleting the wrong thing) but ensure the originals are gone or updated.

Use the Finders "Go menu > Go to Folder…" to open the hidden ~/Library (your users library).

Reboot for the system changes to take effect.

I'm trimming the report back to the items I think are worth looking into…

Joe Seidler wrote:

 

Startup Items:

          Qmaster - Path: /Library/StartupItems/Qmaster

 

Launch Daemons:

          [loaded] com.adobe.fpsaud.plist

          [loaded] com.adobe.SwitchBoard.plist

          [loaded] com.google.keystone.daemon.plist

          [loaded] com.microsoft.office.licensing.helper.plist

 

Launch Agents:

          [not loaded] com.adobe.AAM.Updater-1.0.plist

          [loaded] com.adobe.CS4ServiceManager.plist

          [loaded] com.google.keystone.agent.plist

 

User Launch Agents:

          [loaded] com.adobe.AAM.Updater-1.0.plist

          [loaded] com.adobe.ARM.[...].plist

          [loaded] com.adobe.ARM.[...].plist

 

User Login Items:

          iTunes

          Mail

 

3rd Party Preference Panes:

          Flash Player

          Flip4Mac WMV

          Growl

          Java

          Perian

 

Internet Plug-ins:

          AdobePDFViewer.plugin

          AdobePDFViewerNPAPI.plugin

          Default Browser.plugin

          EPPEX Plugin.plugin

          Flash Player.plugin

          FlashPlayer-10.6.plugin

          Flip4Mac WMV Plugin.plugin

          GarminGpsControl.plugin

          Google Earth Web Plug-in.plugin

          googletalkbrowserplugin.plugin

          iPhotoPhotocast.plugin

          JavaAppletPlugin.plugin

          npgtpo3dautoplugin.plugin

          o1dbrowserplugin.plugin

          OfficeLiveBrowserPlugin.plugin

          QuickTime Plugin.plugin

          RealPlayer Plugin.plugin

          SharePointBrowserPlugin.plugin

          Silverlight.plugin

 

User Internet Plug-ins:

          CitrixOnlineWebDeploymentPlugin.plugin

          WebEx.plugin

Random notes:

It does look pretty clean.

Is Qmaster up to date, do you use it?

Is Googles updater (com.google.keystone…) there for Google Drive? That has been updated if you use that.

Maybe remove one of the adobe updater jobs (com.adobe.ARM…) Perhaps remove all your user ones?

I'd remove or update the web plugins if Safari is slow?

If this has no effect try safe boot (some items won't work but check for general speed & perfomance). 

https://support.apple.com/kb/HT1455

Startup Items:

Inside /Library/StartupItems/

These have been discontinued by Apple since Mac OS 10.4. They are responsible for making changes at a system level. Remove them all or spend time ensuring ALL related software is up to date. You need a very good reason to have anything installed in here.

Kernel Extensions:

Inside /Library/Extensions/

These also load third party code, but they insert it into the 'core' of the OS. These can be safe, however you must ensure the related tools or apps are up to date, otherwise the system is basically built upon quicksand. Remove them all & see if the OS works better.

Launchd jobs: several types

LaunchAgents          - Stored in /Library/LaunchAgents

LaunchDaemons      - Stored in /Library/LaunchDaemons

User LaunchAgents  - Stored in ~/Library/LaunchAgents

These are all background jobs, they are not necessarily bad, but if they are loading old code it could be doing untold damage to the performance & stability of the entire OS. Focus on the System level jobs (the ones inside /Library - the system level) also look at 'failed' jobs.

EtreCheck gives a status on launchd jobs…

[loaded]                  - a running job

[not loaded]            - jobs that are set not to run, basically harmless, remove them unless you plan to use the associated software (if it is up to date)

[failed]                   - jobs in a crashed or unknown state, it could be forking processes or using all the system resources, remove these.

User login items:

Applications and helpers that are managed inside 'Systems Preferences > Users and groups > Login Items tab'.

These are loaded at the 'User level', consider removing all of them whilst you troubleshoot.  When you decide to re-add them ensure the software is up to date.

3rd Party Preference Panes: & Internet Plug-ins:

/Library/PreferencePanes/ and ~/Library/PreferencePanes/

/Library/Internet Plug-Ins/ and ~/Library/Internet Plug-Ins/

Once again these items all must be up to date, or remove them from your system. If the prefpanes manage additional software use the uninstaller or see the developers site for uninstall instructions.

Read the list of Internet plug-ins carefully, there are often duplicate Flash player versions that won't help stability, it's just wasted space too.

Don't forget to also update Safari's extensions in it's preferences (if you have any).

Re-run EtreCheck after cleaning up to see if items have returned (some apps will reload the background jobs when re-opened, so either update or remove the software).

Joe Seidler wrote:

 

Earlier in this discussion I posted my EtreCheck as suggested, but I received no replies.

Thanks Joe, no I didn't see it but a well-known and longstanding Apple Discussions bug sometimes causes posts to mysteriously remain hidden to an individual user, until that user posts a response. That is another good reason to start a new Discussion, which you should still do and remain with until your problem is solved, or at least adequately addressed, before drawing a conclusion that it is not something you will be able to fix.

Read this Discussion regarding Qmaster: Qmaster 3.5.3 conflict with OS X 10.9 Mavericks

Read this Apple Support document regarding potentially outdated or incompatible Internet Plug-ins, of which there are many in your report: Safari: Unsupported third-party add-ons may cause Safari to unexpectedly quit or have performance issues

There may still be additional troubleshooting steps you can take, including posting the results of Safe Mode and repairing permissions. Though it is not as likely to help as it was in previous OS X iterations, it is harmless to try and that simple step may alleviate the slow launch times you described.

By posting a new Discussion you are far more likely to attract competent attention that is likely to result in an eventual resolution. Unlike you, the originator of this Discussion hasn't posted a single response to his initial post, despite numerous requests for additional information that may have helped. That is the usual behaviour of someone who just came here to rant without actually wanting to actively participate in anything productive, and it has largely resulted in similarly unproductive activity.

I was really happy with the upgrade to 10.8. I've a MacPro 2,66 GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon, 10gb, it ran super speed, no problems except for having to change the monitor lead.Then Apple wanted me to upgrade to Mavericks; I wish I had never clicked on the yes. Now I get the beachball half the time, it's slow, can freeze mid-task, the sound is distorted through iTunes and Firefox, I've had to change the mouse and now I discover I have to use iCloud to sync my contacts and calendar. I just don't want to go via iCloud and give NSA my data.

So anyone know how I can go back to 10.8 ?

Simon

Try https://discussions.apple.com/message/23672167#23672167

Allan

I'm having sluggish performance issues as well as constant beachball, with this MBP as well as a MacBook and an iMac. In fact, everyone I know in my community who has upgraded has the sluggish issues. Hopefully it gets corrected soon, in the meantime any help is appreciated to restore my performance. I'm losing way too much productivity with this issue, it feels like I've reverted back to Windows. Here is the etrecheck output. Thanks in advance for the assist.

Hardware Information:

          MacBook Pro (13-inch, Early 2011)

          MacBook Pro - model: MacBookPro8,1

          1 2.3 GHz Intel Core i5 CPU: 2 cores

          8 GB RAM

Video Information:

          Intel HD Graphics 3000 - VRAM: 512 MB

Audio Plug-ins:

          BluetoothAudioPlugIn: Version: 1.0

          AirPlay: Version: 1.9

          AppleAVBAudio: Version: 2.0.0

          iSightAudio: Version: 7.7.3

Startup Items:

          FanControlDaemon - Path: /Library/StartupItems/FanControlDaemon

System Software:

          OS X 10.9 (13A603) - Uptime: 0 days 0:31:12

Disk Information:

          Hitachi HTS545032B9A302 disk0 : (320.07 GB)

                    EFI (disk0s1) <not mounted>: 209.7 MB

                    Macintosh HD (disk0s2) /: 319.21 GB (50.54 GB free)

                    Recovery HD (disk0s3) <not mounted>: 650 MB

          MATSHITADVD-R   UJ-8A8 

USB Information:

          Apple Computer, Inc. IR Receiver

          Apple Inc. FaceTime HD Camera (Built-in)

          Apple Inc. Apple Internal Keyboard / Trackpad

          Apple Inc. BRCM2070 Hub

                    Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller

FireWire Information:

Thunderbolt Information:

          Apple Inc. thunderbolt_bus

Kernel Extensions:

          com.sierrawireless.driver.SierraVSP          (1.0.0)

          com.Cycling74.driver.Soundflower          (1.4.4)

          net.telestream.driver.TelestreamAudio          (1.0.5)

          com.sophos.kext.sav          (8.0.14)

Problem System Launch Daemons:

Problem System Launch Agents:

          [loaded] com.paragon.NTFS.auth.plist

Launch Daemons:

          [loaded] com.adobe.fpsaud.plist

          [loaded] com.adobe.SwitchBoard.plist

          [loaded] com.adobe.versioncueCS3.plist

          [loaded] com.atomicbird.macaroni.launchd.plist

          [loaded] com.bjango.istatserver.plist

          [loaded] com.carbonite.launchd.carbonitedaemon.plist

          [loaded] com.ciscosystems.ciscoconnect.daemon.plist

          [loaded] com.fitbit.galileod.plist

          [loaded] com.google.keystone.daemon.plist

          [loaded] com.livescribe.PenCommService.plist

          [loaded] com.microsoft.office.licensing.helper.plist

          [loaded] com.rim.BBDaemon.plist

          [loaded] com.sophos.autoupdate.plist

          [loaded] com.sophos.intercheck.plist

          [loaded] com.sophos.notification.plist

          [loaded] com.stclairsoft.AppTamerAgent.plist

Launch Agents:

          [not loaded] com.adobe.AAM.Updater-1.0.plist

          [loaded] com.adobe.AdobeCreativeCloud.plist

          [loaded] com.carbonite.launchd.carbonitealerts.plist

          [loaded] com.carbonite.launchd.carbonitestatus.plist

          [loaded] com.flipvideo.FlipShare.AutoRun.plist

          [loaded] com.google.keystone.agent.plist

          [failed] com.hidden.startup.plist

          [loaded] com.rim.BBLaunchAgent.plist

          [loaded] com.seagate.SeagateStorageGauge.plist

          [loaded] com.sierrawireless.SwitchTool.plist

          [loaded] com.sophos.uiserver.plist

User Launch Agents:

          [loaded] com.adobe.ARM.[...].plist

          [loaded] com.adobe.ARM.[...].plist

          [loaded] com.facebook.videochat.leecollins.plist

          [loaded] com.microsoft.LaunchAgent.SyncServicesAgent.plist

          [loaded] com.zeobit.MacKeeper.Helper.plist

User Login Items:

          Jing

          Dropbox

3rd Party Preference Panes:

          Adobe Version Cue CS3

          Carbonite

          RCDefaultApp

          Fan Control

          Flash Player

          Flip4Mac WMV

          Java

          Macaroni

          MacFUSE

          Paragon NTFS for Mac ® OS X

          Perian

Internet Plug-ins:

          AdobeAAMDetect.plugin

          AdobePDFViewer.plugin

          AdobePDFViewerNPAPI.plugin

          AmazonMP3DownloaderPlugin.plugin

          Default Browser.plugin

          Flash Player.plugin

          FlashPlayer-10.6.plugin

          Flip4Mac WMV Plugin.plugin

          GlancePlugIn.plugin

          googletalkbrowserplugin.plugin

          iPhotoPhotocast.plugin

          JavaAppletPlugin.plugin

          npgtpo3dautoplugin.plugin

          o1dbrowserplugin.plugin

          OfficeLiveBrowserPlugin.plugin

          QuickTime Plugin.plugin

          SharePointBrowserPlugin.plugin

          Silverlight.plugin

          wkDimdimControl.plugin

User Internet Plug-ins:

          CitrixOnlineWebDeploymentPlugin.plugin

Bad Fonts:

          None

Time Machine:

          Skip System Files: NO

          Mobile backups: ON

          Auto backup: YES

          Volumes being backed up:

                    Macintosh HD: Disk size: 319.21 GB Disk used: 268.67 GB

          Destinations:

                    Data [Network] (Last used)

                    Total size: 2 TB

                    Total number of backups: 15

                    Oldest backup: 2013-11-06 04:18:26 +0000

                    Last backup: 2013-11-10 03:02:32 +0000

                    Size of backup disk: Excellent

                              Backup size 2 TB > (Disk size 319.21 GB X 3)

          /sbin excluded from backup!

          /usr excluded from backup!

          /System excluded from backup!

          /bin excluded from backup!

          /private excluded from backup!

          /Library excluded from backup!

          /Applications excluded from backup!

Top Processes by CPU:

               7%          mds

               3%          WindowServer

               1%          Adobe Photoshop CS6

               1%          EtreCheck

               1%          Google Chrome

               1%          Creative Cloud

               1%          BBLaunchAgent

               1%          mds_stores

               0%          SophosUIServer

               0%          AdobeCrashDaemon

Top Processes by Memory:

          385 MB             Adobe Photoshop CS6

          164 MB             Google Chrome

          164 MB             com.apple.IconServicesAgent

          156 MB             firefox

          147 MB             InterCheck

          115 MB             Skype

          98 MB              WindowServer

          90 MB              Dock

          90 MB              CarboniteDaemon

          82 MB              mds_stores

Virtual Memory Statistics:

          1.99 GB            Free RAM

          3.28 GB            Active RAM

          1.39 GB            Inactive RAM

          1.32 GB            Wired RAM

          1.17 GB            Page-ins

          48 KB              Page-outs

I would definitely un-install MacKeeper. The OS has built in maintenance programs, which generally negate the need for 3rd party applications to houseclean.

MacKeeper – Do Not Install

MacKeeper – Do Not Install (2)        See  SDW2001’s post

MacKeeper Removal

Sophos also causes problems for some, although others use it successfully.

Sophos Uninstaller

Done. Thank you. I uninstalled several other potential junk programs as well and will monitor to see if it helps, but thus far still pretty sluggish. Uninstalling Sophos next to see if that helps. Will report back.

Lee Collins wrote:

 

I'm having sluggish performance issues as well as constant beachball, with this MBP as well as a MacBook and an iMac. In fact, everyone I know in my community who has upgraded has the sluggish issues, including over 40 people at the conference I just attended (it was actually asked from stage "how many of you regret upgrading to Mavericks"). Hopefully it gets corrected soon, in the meantime any help is appreciated to restore my performance. I'm losing way too much productivity with this issue, it feels like I've reverted back to Windows. Here is the etrecheck output. Thanks in advance for the assist.

You can't possibly expect your Mac to run well with all the junk you have installed. Get rid of the execrable MacKeeper and all the other outdated software too numerous to mention.

JG - I guess this would be where I reply with the obligatory "it actually ran great before I upgraded to Mavericks" but I won't do that. I am instead busily removing software I can identify as definitely not needed and request that if there are any specific apps you find to be outdated it would be helpful. Thanks.

No Mac as extensively modified as yours will run well. Its performance using Mountain Lion would have been radically better without the junk. Upgrading to Mavericks revealed problems that should have been addressed long ago. Removing all the components that may be contributing to the problem can be a daunting task.

Start by uninstalling MacKeeper:

MacKeeper belongs to a broad category of time- and money-wasters capable of causing system corruption that can only be rectified by reinstalling OS X, restoring from a backup, or completely erasing your system and rebuilding it from the ground up. Get rid of it and test your Mac for operation. If it does not perform normally, the possibility that using MacKeeper resulted in system corruption must be considered.

Uninstall MacKeeper by following these instructions exactly as written. They have been tested with the most recent version of MacKeeper (v 2.8) and last year's version.

Earlier versions than the one released in 2012 require more extensive work to uninstall all its components.

• If you used MacKeeper to encrypt any files or folders, use MacKeeper to un-encrypt themfirst.
• Quit the MacKeeper app if it is running.
• Open your Applications folder: Using the Finder's Go menu, select Applications.
• Drag the MacKeeper icon from your Applications folder (not the Dock) to the Trash.

You will be asked to authenticate (twice):

You do not need to provide a reason for uninstalling it:

• Just Click the Uninstall MacKeeper button. You will be asked to authenticate again.

After it uninstalls you may empty the Trash and restart your Mac. All that will remain is an inert log file that does nothing but occupy space on your hard disk.

In addition:

Adobe Creative Cloud will conflict with iCloud, unless Adobe has addressed that problem within the last few days.

Soundflower appears frequently in crash reports and its support forum is moribund.

Carbonite runs poorly on Macs to begin with, and may need to run for several days after a system upgrade as it uploads hundreds of thousands of new files at the upload speed provided by your ISP.

Sophos has resulted in problems for many users. Check their website for updates or uninstall it.

System modifications installed by Blackberry, "atomicbird", "fitbit", "AppTamer" and others must be verifed for Mavericks compatibility, or uninstalled.

There may be other programs and system modifications contributing to the instability you describe, or the instability may be the result of having used them. There are so many such modifications present that it may be easier for you to completely erase your Mac and reconfigure your work environment from the ground up.