Q: OS X Mavericks - Awful Performance

Will,

I believe what you will see, other than the problems the 10.9.2 has (SMB, Screen Sharing, MacMail) is a solid OS if you install fresh. Before adding other products, just check with the product vendor as to Mavericks compatibility, and of course check the boards to se if others have seen any issues with the product. My recommendation to all users is to stay on Mountain Lion; 10.8.5 is super solid. For me there is nothing Mavericks has that I need.

Mark

I find that for me, Mavericks 10.9.2 is a vast improvement over anything that came before. I find it to be much more snappy. I espeically find it run both smoother and fasterwith 10.9.2.

Allan

The very best thing to improve performance of OS X is memory and a solid state drive. I nicely revived my older MBP with an SSD. I never see the "pinwheel of death" anymore. As for the OS, I see absolutely no difference in speed between 10.8.5 and 10.9.2. It's fast either way.

Mark

Hi Drew,

I am going to erase and reinstall mavericks in a clean install.

You mentioned that I should use a carbon copy clone rather than a time machine back up? Why is this? Can I not copy the files and applications I need across from my time machine back up?

Also how does it work in terms of bringing across applications I need?

For example, Microsoft Office - can I just 'copy and paste' across the applications? Or would I need original installer disks or .dmg files for any programs I wish to install on the clean version of mavericks?

Thanks

Will

I prefer 'bootable' clones for several reasons.

• It's really easy to open a cloned disk & dig around to find a file you need 3 weeks down the line, Time Machine is painful if you need to restore something from your hidden library or from several different locations.
• Migration Assistant can copy data from that clone, it seems quicker than restoring from a Time Machine copy.
• Time Machine had a habit of letting me down a few years ago, the clones were always sound. This is hardly surprising when TM runs for years on end, adding & removing thousands of files and then cleaning them out many months later. My clones are updated less often than Time Machine.
• If the internal disk is failing you have a full copy of your data that can be used to boot another similar Mac. So you can go about your daily tasks after a quick reboot. The same is true if the clean install fails.
• Cleanly restoring from Time Machine involves installing a new OS & waiting for data to migrate. A clone can be restored when booted from a recovery partition or a bootable USB install stick.
• I'm unhappy trusting one backup disk or backup type, if the data is important, take the time to make 2 copies using different tools.

You need to be careful how you restore apps, avoid using Migration Assistant for Applications user data should be OK - MA will handle the permissions for Users. Just avoid reusing the same username when you setup the Mac so that MA can make a new account to copy your data into.

'Drag installed apps' should be OK for apps that were installed that way to start with, but frankly you should go and look for updates and download the latest versions otherwise you may have to update when the app runs & does it's next check.

Large apps like Microsoft Office install a lot of extra libraries & support files, so you really need to use the installer. Adobe Apps will generally use installers too.

System Profile will give you a full list of installed apps (inside the /Applications/Utilities folder). Save a PDF or print off a copy to make a checklist of the ones you need to install. It lists everything so don't worry about ones that you don't recognize .

I am a media developer and am VERY disappointed that Apple has withdrawn third party media support.

I have a large library of media developed for multi-platform support that Mavericks left out in the cold.

I can only hope that Apple will see the error of their ways an fold back in OS level support of wmv, avi, flv and other media formats "not invented here" that apple has cast to the wayside with Mavericks, thus leaving us multi platform developers with no choice other than staying with Moutain Lion.

Steve Jobs would NEVER have take this tact.

PLEASE reverse this negative trend Apple!

Until then, I will be forced to stay with Mountain Lion.

Apple is not here

This is user to user forum

If you wish to let Apple know, try posting at http://www.apple.com/feedback/macosx.html

Allan

Thank you Homer....

Apple may not "chime in" but I'd be surprised that they don't read a support forum hosted by Apple. Certainly they should care deeply about their customers. Just sayin'

Mark

PS - I know it is of little comfort to markr010001, but Mountain Lion is superior to Mavericks (stability wise)

markr010001 wrote:

 

I can only hope that Apple will see the error of their ways an fold back in OS level support of wmv, avi, flv and other media formats "not invented here" that apple has cast to the wayside with Mavericks, ...

OS X never included native support for WMV or FLV. AVI is a container that can use a number of different compression algorithms. Mavericks changed none of that. Stay with Mountain Lion if you choose. The world moves on.

There are too many problems with Mountain Lion, just have a look in their forums. A terrible OSX.

Pete

I see that not only are people drinking the coolaid, but they are serving it as well. Never upgrade for the sake of upgrading. As for Mountain Lion being buggy, please name one bug. I have seen zero. As for Mavericks, my standing issues are serious and still exist in 10.9.2:

(1) SMB

(2) Screen Sharing

(3) MacMail

Apple has had two chances to fix the bugs (10.9 -> 10.9.1 -> 10.9.2) and they have not. I will test 10.9.3 in my lab when it comes out. If stable we will make the switch.

Bottom line: use what works for you. Don't let someone tell you what you need. ML will be supported for quite some time yet; no need to hurry however all OS vendors want you to migrate asap, for the obvious reason ($$$).

Mark

Read the mountain Lion forums. Too many people are having trouble. It was like a beta of Mavericks. All sorts of trouble.

Pete

What is this cool aid thing? Some American term or something used by hipsters? Never heard of the term over here. Sounds pretty soft really.

Pete

'Drinking the kool-aid' came from the Jim Jones' and the People's Temple Guyana tragedy.

Here's one account: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guyana_Tragedy:_The_Story_of_Jim_Jones

In short, hundreds of Jones' followers perished after they were given a tainted beverage, allegedly "Kool-aid", a trademark of a brand of popular powdered drink mixes (to be mixed with sugar and water for consumption) in the US, and, years ago, marketed primarily to children and their parents through television advertising featuring an animated large glass pitcher with a smiley-face drawn in the moisture that collected.

Now 'drinking the kool-aid' is often used, especially in American politics, as a euphemism for blindly accepting and doing what the leader is saying.