Very sluggish performance since installing Mavericks

Question

As with many other people, my MacBook is running really sluggishly, ever since I installed Mavericks.  It is running much slower than it was with OSX Lion that I had before.  This is a 2010 Macbook with 4 GB RAM.  I talked to someone this morning with an even older MacBook that is just flying along with Mavericks. Something must be wrong with mine.An example of sluggishness is that after clicking on a menu item, it may take several seconds for the drop-down menu to appear.Another problem I&#x27;m having, which I believe is a known problem that is presumably being addressed, is that my Apple Bluetooth mouse is unable to perform scrolling by dragging my finger along it, in some apps, some of the time.  Sometimes apps recover the ability to do scrolling.I tried disabling App Nap on all apps I keep running most of the time and it made no difference.  I&#x27;ve looked at Activity Monitor but there doesn&#x27;t seem to be any unusual load on the system.  I looked at Console and there are a lot of messages of many kinds, but at the moment no new activity.  However, at times there was rapid generation of an "Invalid display" message, with jillions of them present in the console list.  I suspect these may relate to the fact that I use a second monitor off and on during the day.  Right now the second monitor is plugged in, and no such messages are occurring, but the log shows a lot of them earlier.  They look like this:11/14/13 11:58:56.366 AM BBEdit[202]: CGSCopyDisplayUUID: Invalid display 0x2b3c49d511/14/13 11:58:56.399 AM BBEdit[202]: CGSCopyDisplayUUID: Invalid display 0x2b3c49d511/14/13 11:58:56.615 AM BBEdit[202]: CGSCopyDisplayUUID: Invalid display 0x2b3c49d511/14/13 11:58:56.832 AM BBEdit[202]: CGSCopyDisplayUUID: Invalid display 0x2b3c49d511/14/13 11:58:57.116 AM BBEdit[202]: CGSCopyDisplayUUID: Invalid display 0x2b3c49d5These are all from BBEdit, but earlier there were lots from Excel and Word too.I ran etrecheck (downloaded from http://www.etresoft.com/etrecheck) and got the following.  There are a lot of failed items in there, and for some of them I think I need to uninstall or disable certain things, but for others I&#x27;m not really sure what I&#x27;m looking at.Hardware Information:          MacBook (13-inch, Mid 2010)          MacBook - model: MacBook7,1          1 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo CPU: 2 cores          4 GB RAMVideo Information:          NVIDIA GeForce 320M - VRAM: 256 MBAudio Plug-ins:          BluetoothAudioPlugIn: Version: 1.0          AirPlay: Version: 1.9          AppleAVBAudio: Version: 2.0.0          iSightAudio: Version: 7.7.3Startup Items:          daemonic-mysql - Path: /Library/StartupItems/daemonic-mysqlSystem Software:          OS X 10.9 (13A603) - Uptime: 6 days 6:44:30Disk Information:          TOSHIBA MK5065GSXF disk0 : (500.11 GB)                    EFI (disk0s1) &lt;not mounted&gt;: 209.7 MB                    Mac OS HD (disk0s2) /: 499.25 GB (273.4 GB free)                    Recovery HD (disk0s3) &lt;not mounted&gt;: 650 MB          OPTIARC DVD RW AD-5970H USB Information:          Apple Inc. Built-in iSight          KINESIS CORPORATION KB700M Kinesis Freestyle for Mac          Apple Inc. BRCM2070 Hub                    Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller          Apple Inc. Apple Internal Keyboard / TrackpadFireWire Information:Thunderbolt Information:Kernel Extensions:          com.Cycling74.driver.Soundflower          (1.5.2)Problem System Launch Daemons:          [failed] com.apple.AOSNotificationOSX.plist          [failed] com.apple.installd.plist          [failed] com.apple.wdhelper.plistProblem System Launch Agents:Launch Daemons:          [loaded] com.adobe.fpsaud.plist          [loaded] com.barebones.authd.plist          [not loaded] com.barebones.bbedit.plist          [not loaded] com.barebones.textwrangler.plist          [failed] com.edb.launchd.apache.plist          [loaded] com.github.GitHub.GHInstallCLI.plist          [loaded] com.google.keystone.daemon.plist          [loaded] com.microsoft.office.licensing.helper.plist          [loaded] com.oracle.java.JavaUpdateHelper.plist          [failed] com.starfield.backupservice.plist          [failed] org.openafs.filesystems.afs.plistLaunch Agents:          [loaded] com.google.keystone.agent.plist          [loaded] org.tigris.scplugin.launch.plistUser Launch Agents:          [failed] com.apple.CSConfigDotMacCert-ted@me.com-SharedServices.Agent.plist          [failed] com.apple.SafariBookmarksSyncer.plist          [loaded] com.facebook.videochat.tedtoal.plist          [failed] it.infn.lnf.network.AFSBackgrounder.plistUser Login Items:          FamiliarHelper          Mail          Preview          BBEdit          Microsoft Word          SCToolbarButton          Google Drive          Dropbox          Calendar          Safari3rd Party Preference Panes:          Flash Player          Flip4Mac WMV          MacFUSEInternet Plug-ins:          Default Browser.plugin          DirectorShockwave.plugin          JavaAppletPlugin.plugin          Flash Player.plugin          FlashPlayer-10.6.plugin          Flip4Mac WMV Plugin.plugin          googletalkbrowserplugin.plugin          iPhotoPhotocast.plugin          JavaAppletPlugin.plugin          npgtpo3dautoplugin.plugin          o1dbrowserplugin.plugin          QuickTime Plugin.plugin          SharePointBrowserPlugin.plugin          Silverlight.plugin          Unity Web Player.pluginUser Internet Plug-ins:          Picasa.pluginBad Fonts:          NoneTime Machine:          Skip System Files: NO          Mobile backups: OFF          Auto backup: NO          Volumes being backed up:                    Mac OS HD: Disk size: 499.25 GB Disk used: 225.85 GB          Destinations:                    Time Machine Backups [Local] (Last used)                    Total size: 999.86 GB                    Total number of backups: 32                    Oldest backup: 2012-12-31 12:24:11 +0000                    Last backup: 2013-11-13 04:59:39 +0000                    Size of backup disk: Adequate                              Backup size 999.86 GB &gt; (Disk used 225.85 GB X 3)Top Processes by CPU:              11%          WindowServer               3%          Safari               3%          EtreCheck               2%          BBEdit               2%          hidd               1%          sysmond               1%          SystemUIServer               1%          Activity Monitor               1%          Microsoft Excel               0%          DropboxTop Processes by Memory:          102 MB             systemstats          98 MB              WindowServer          86 MB              Finder          78 MB              BBEdit          70 MB              Microsoft Excel          41 MB              com.apple.IconServicesAgent          41 MB              Mail          41 MB              Console          37 MB              Safari          33 MB              DockVirtual Memory Statistics:          159 MB             Free RAM          753 MB             Active RAM          646 MB             Inactive RAM          842 MB             Wired RAM          21.33 GB           Page-ins          828 MB             Page-outs

Carolyn Samit · Answer

Open the Finder. From the Finder menu bar click Go &gt; Go to FolderType or copy paste the following:/Library/StartupItemsClick Go then move the  daemonic-mysql  file from the StartupItems folder to the Trash.Restart your Mac to test.If that didn&#x27;t help, open System Preferences &gt; Users &amp; Groups &gt; Login ItemsMove the apps listed below to the Trash.FamiliarHelperSCToolbarButtonGoogle DriveRestart your Mac to test.This is problematic also:     com.Cycling74.driver.Soundflower       That driver has caused incompatibility issues as noted from the results of an ASC search &gt; Community Search: Apple Support Communities

tedtoal2 · Answer

I removed daemonic-mysql, FamiliarHelper (and Familiar app), and SCToolbarButton.  I don&#x27;t want to remove Google Drive as I use it.  I don&#x27;t know what app might be using the Soundflower driver, and I don&#x27;t know how I could remove that.  I rebooted.  So far it seems to be perkier.  But it seems to usually work fairly well after a reboot but gradually slows down.  Let me see how it does.

downtownbarber · Answer

I&#x27;m having problems myself but am hesitant to do the same post as tedtoal2 because I&#x27;m unfamiliar with the etresoft, is there not a way to post from activity monitor or console? My issues are 1. pinching to launch launchpad the first time after turning on my mac or first time after waking it up, the dock shows but the apps in launchpad are barley visible and show up when I pinch outward to leave lp. 2. when I open a finder window from any app, for example Command+O from iTunes, the contents of my Mac&#x27;s drive take a while to load, but if I click on the external they show right away and then back to say the desktop, then they load. Very odd behavior. I have a 2012 15&#x27;&#x27; MacBook Pro w/retina running 10.9Thanks,Peter

tedtoal2 · Answer

My system seems to be much better now.  It does still seem to bog down at times, but nothing like before.  The etresoft app from http://www.etresoft.com/etrecheckis a small benign app that just captures a bunch of screen info.  If you post it you should do so to a new discussion.ted

tedtoal2 · Answer

I still get the jillions of invalid-display messages in the console, from Word, Excel, BBEdit.  That can&#x27;t be right.  I&#x27;m also still getting mouse scrolling lockouts in various apps, including Finder.  And often when I switch to an app and choose a menu item, it takes a LONG time for the menu item to open up.

MichelPM · Answer

I couldn&#x27;t find a lot of issues with your system, but I suggest that you find software updates for all your third party installed software and any third party device drivers for any third party devices that maybe connected to your Mac, ( LIke mice, drawing tablets, third party keyboards, USB hubs, etc.) that have been update for OS X 10.9 Mavericks.This may, also, help to speed up your Mac some and, perhaps, eliminate some of your lingering issues.Good Luck!

Gochugogi · Answer

I suffered sluggish behavior under OS 10.9--slow startup (like 10 times as long), icons taking a couple minutes to appear after the desktop appears, etc--and a permissions repair and disk repair in recovery mode fixed it after a restart.

tedtoal2 · Answer

I did a permissions repair and disk repair early on when the sluggish Mavericks behavior started, and it made no difference.

downtownbarber · Answer

Here&#x27;s my EtreCheck report: Hardware Information:          MacBook Pro (Retina, Mid 2012)          MacBook Pro - model: MacBookPro10,1          1 2.3 GHz Intel Core i7 CPU: 4 cores          8 GB RAMVideo Information:          Intel HD Graphics 4000 - VRAM: 1024 MB          NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M - VRAM: 1024 MBAudio Plug-ins:          BluetoothAudioPlugIn: Version: 1.0          AirPlay: Version: 1.9          AppleAVBAudio: Version: 2.0.0          iSightAudio: Version: 7.7.3Startup Items:          ProTec6b - Path: /Library/StartupItems/ProTec6bSystem Software:          OS X 10.9 (13A603) - Uptime: 0 days 0:10:27Disk Information:          APPLE SSD SD256E disk0 : (251 GB)                    EFI (disk0s1) &lt;not mounted&gt;: 209.7 MB                    Macintosh HD (disk0s2) /: 250.14 GB (92.26 GB free)                    Recovery HD (disk0s3) &lt;not mounted&gt;: 650 MBUSB Information:          Apple Inc. FaceTime HD Camera (Built-in)          Apple Inc. Apple Internal Keyboard / Trackpad          Apple Inc. BRCM20702 Hub                    Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host ControllerFireWire Information:Thunderbolt Information:          Apple Inc. thunderbolt_busKernel Extensions:          com.avatron.AVExVideo          (1.7)          com.globaldelight.driver.BoomDevice          (1.1)          com.logmein.driver.LogMeInSoundDriver          (1.0.2)          com.jft.driver.PdaNetDrv          (1.0.64)          com.avatron.AVExFramebuffer          (1.7)Problem System Launch Daemons:Problem System Launch Agents:Launch Daemons:          [loaded] com.adobe.fpsaud.plist          [not loaded] com.adobe.SwitchBoard.plist          [loaded] com.bombich.ccc.plist          [not loaded] com.logmein.logmeinblanker.plist          [loaded] com.logmein.logmeinserver.plist          [loaded] com.sharpcast.xfsmond.plistLaunch Agents:          [not loaded] com.adobe.AAM.Updater-1.0.plist          [loaded] com.adobe.AdobeCreativeCloud.plist          [loaded] com.logmein.logmeingui.plist          [loaded] com.logmein.logmeinguiagent.plist          [not loaded] com.logmein.logmeinguiagentatlogin.plist          [loaded] com.wacom.pentablet.plistUser Launch Agents:          [loaded] com.adobe.AAM.Updater-1.0.plistUser Login Items:          iTunesHelper          SpeechSynthesisServer          FruitJuice3rd Party Preference Panes:          Air Display Preferences          Flash Player          Perian          PenTabletInternet Plug-ins:          AdobeAAMDetect.plugin          AdobeExManCCDetect_x86_64.plugin          AdobeExManDetect.plugin          Default Browser.plugin          Flash Player.plugin          FlashPlayer-10.6.plugin          JavaAppletPlugin.plugin          LogMeIn.plugin          LogMeInSafari32.plugin          LogMeInSafari64.plugin          QuickTime Plugin.plugin          WacomNetscape.plugin          WacomTabletPlugin.pluginUser Internet Plug-ins:Bad Fonts:          NoneTime Machine:          Skip System Files: NO          Mobile backups: OFF          Auto backup: NO          Volumes being backed up:                    Macintosh HD: Disk size: 250.14 GB Disk used: 157.88 GB          Destinations:                    Seagate 1TB [Local] (Last used)                    Total size: 999.86 GB                    Total number of backups: 25                    Oldest backup: 2013-01-06 06:25:52 +0000                    Last backup: 2013-10-14 14:18:43 +0000                    Size of backup disk: Excellent                              Backup size 999.86 GB &gt; (Disk size 250.14 GB X 3)          Time Machine details may not be accurate.          All volumes being backed up may not be listed.Top Processes by CPU:               3%          WindowServer               1%          EtreCheck               1%          fontd               0%          LogMeIn               0%          configd               0%          LogMeInGUI               0%          aosnotifydTop Processes by Memory:          156 MB             com.apple.IconServicesAgent          106 MB             WindowServer          98 MB              Dock          82 MB              mds_stores          66 MB              Finder          41 MB              PenTabletDriver          33 MB              ocspd          33 MB              soagent          33 MB              CalendarAgent          25 MB              SystemUIServerVirtual Memory Statistics:          5.64 GB            Free RAM          1.19 GB            Active RAM          152 MB             Inactive RAM          1.01 GB            Wired RAM          285 MB             Page-ins          0 B                Page-outsIs there anything I need to remove that&#x27;s an obvious problem or not compatible with Mavericks? Thank you

MichelPM · Answer

I suggest that you find software updates for all your third party installed software and any third party device drivers for any third party devices that maybe connected to your Mac, ( LIke mice, drawing tablets, third party keyboards, USB hubs, etc.) that have been update for OS X 10.9 Mavericks.Good Luck!

tedtoal2 · Answer

Sluggishness has now returned to my system.  I&#x27;m seeing lots and lots of Console messages that I haven&#x27;t seen before, from Word.  Here&#x27;s a sample.  I realize these could be caused by a problem with Word, or they could be related to the Maverick&#x27;s upgrade and in fact be a problem with Mavericks.  I&#x27;m inclined to think it is the latter.  Bare Bones software said as much when I reported the "Invalid display" console entries from BBEdit, saying that quick web search showed many other apps having the same problem after Mavericks upgrade.11/21/13 1:46:12.955 PM Microsoft Word[3513]: Menu: 0x79f98810 Item: 16 Info:11/21/13 1:46:12.955 PM Microsoft Word[3513]:  Text: 11/21/13 1:46:12.956 PM Microsoft Word[3513]:  Mark:                              &lt;none&gt;11/21/13 1:46:12.956 PM Microsoft Word[3513]:  Cmd Key:                     V (0x56)11/21/13 1:46:12.957 PM Microsoft Word[3513]:  Icon:                              &lt;none&gt;11/21/13 1:46:12.957 PM Microsoft Word[3513]:  Style Normal11/21/13 1:46:12.957 PM Microsoft Word[3513]:  Command ID:            0 (0x00000000)11/21/13 1:46:12.957 PM Microsoft Word[3513]:  Modifiers:             0x0311/21/13 1:46:12.958 PM Microsoft Word[3513]:  Icon Type:             0, Icon Handle: 0x011/21/13 1:46:12.958 PM Microsoft Word[3513]:  Text Encoding:   4294967294 (0xFFFFFFFE)11/21/13 1:46:12.958 PM Microsoft Word[3513]:  Hierarchical ID: 0 (0x0000)11/21/13 1:46:12.959 PM Microsoft Word[3513]:  Font:                              0 Lucida Grande11/21/13 1:46:12.959 PM Microsoft Word[3513]:  RefCon:                      0 (0x0)11/21/13 1:46:12.959 PM Microsoft Word[3513]:  Key Glyph:             0 (0x0000)11/21/13 1:46:12.959 PM Microsoft Word[3513]:  Enabled?:                    No11/21/13 1:46:12.960 PM Microsoft Word[3513]:  Icon Enabled?:   Yes11/21/13 1:46:12.960 PM Microsoft Word[3513]: Menu: 0x79f98810 Item: 18 Info:11/21/13 1:46:12.960 PM Microsoft Word[3513]:  Text:                              Select All11/21/13 1:46:12.961 PM Microsoft Word[3513]:  Mark:                              &lt;none&gt;11/21/13 1:46:12.961 PM Microsoft Word[3513]:  Cmd Key:                     &lt;none&gt;11/21/13 1:46:12.961 PM Microsoft Word[3513]:  Icon:                              &lt;none&gt;11/21/13 1:46:12.962 PM Microsoft Word[3513]:  Style Normal11/21/13 1:46:12.962 PM Microsoft Word[3513]:  Command ID:            756 (0x000002F4)11/21/13 1:46:12.962 PM Microsoft Word[3513]:  Modifiers:             0x0011/21/13 1:46:12.963 PM Microsoft Word[3513]:  Icon Type:             0, Icon Handle: 0x011/21/13 1:46:12.963 PM Microsoft Word[3513]:  Text Encoding:   4294967294 (0xFFFFFFFE)11/21/13 1:46:12.963 PM Microsoft Word[3513]:  Hierarchical ID: 0 (0x0000)11/21/13 1:46:12.963 PM Microsoft Word[3513]:  Font:                              0 Lucida Grande11/21/13 1:46:12.964 PM Microsoft Word[3513]:  RefCon:                      0 (0x0)11/21/13 1:46:12.964 PM Microsoft Word[3513]:  Key Glyph:             0 (0x0000)11/21/13 1:46:12.964 PM Microsoft Word[3513]:  Enabled?:                    Yes

Bob Novy · Answer

Are you trying to run Mavericks with _just_ 4 GB of RAM?  (I have 4 GB of RAM too, on my iMac.)I advise you to increase your RAM to at-least 8 GB.

tedtoal2 · Answer

My Macbook is maxed out at 4 GB.  I really really wish it would hold 16 GB.  Before upgrading to Mavericks, I checked that it was ok to upgrade this machine, which is now 3 years old.  Yes, it was ok.  But now I think maybe not.

MichelPM · Answer

It is not RAM related, necessarily, but it maybe an incompatibilty with Microsoft.As I stated to another OP here. You need to see if the are third party software updates to all of your software that may solve any incompatibilty issue with OS X Mavericks.Not all of your third party software may have updates to Mavericks, as yet.

tedtoal2 · Answer

I&#x27;ve checked for 3rd party updates, but nothing available yet.  Word and Excel especially seem like they might need updates, and in fact I did install an update the other day, but it was a security update and didn&#x27;t seem to improve performance.  BBEdit claims compatibility with Mavericks and says the excessive Console log messages from BBEdit are Apple&#x27;s problem.