MBP slow after Mavericks update

Do you know what the jmicron kernel extension is for? Update or remove if you don't use it. The same applies to all the system level launchd jobs.

Adobe has a failing job see if updates can fix it, [failed] com.adobe.CS5ServiceManager.plist otherwise check Adobe's forums / support

The failed dotmac job can be removed from your ~/Library/LaunchAgents, just delete it (dotmac isn't coming back 😟)

[failed] com.apple.CSConfigDotMacCert-[redacted]@me.com-SharedServices.Agent.plist

Google apps can cause issues on 10.9 so ensure they are updated, or remove them to see if they are the problem (don't forget to remove the .plists & reboot)

Check your login items are up to date or remove them, there is no point loading old code that causes performance issues.

Hopefully the notes below will help to see what to clear up.

benjaminmielke wrote:

Kernel Extensions:

com.jmicron.driver.jmPeripheralDevice (2.0.2)

Launch Daemons:

[loaded] com.adobe.fpsaud.plist

[loaded] com.adobe.SwitchBoard.plist

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

[loaded] org.macosforge.xquartz.privileged_startx.plist

Launch Agents:

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

[failed] com.adobe.CS5ServiceManager.plist

[loaded] com.divx.dms.agent.plist

[loaded] com.divx.update.agent.plist

[loaded] com.epson.eventmanager.agent.plist

[loaded] com.rosettastone.rosettastonedaemon.plist

[loaded] org.macosforge.xquartz.startx.plist

User Launch Agents:

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

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

[failed] com.apple.CSConfigDotMacCert-[redacted]@me.com-SharedServices.Agent.plist

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

[loaded] uk.co.markallan.clamxav.freshclam.plist

User Login Items:

iTunesHelper

MacLWSLauncher

Matrox PowerDesk

Dropbox

3rd Party Preference Panes:

Flash Player

Growl

Java

Perian

Internet Plug-ins:

AdobeExManDetect.plugin

AdobePDFViewer.plugin

AdobePDFViewerNPAPI.plugin

AmazonMP3DownloaderPlugin1016264.plugin

Default Browser.plugin

DivX Web Player.plugin

Flash Player.plugin

FlashPlayer-10.6.plugin

JavaAppletPlugin.plugin

OVSHelper.plugin

QuickTime Plugin.plugin

SharePointBrowserPlugin.plugin

Red items are loaded at the system level (not necessarily bad, but they have the potential to modify the OS).

Blue items are loaded at the user level

Cleanup:

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…" when you need to open the hidden ~/Library (your users library).

Reboot for the system changes to take effect.

How to find updates:

The critical launchd jobs & kernel extensions use reverse domain notation e.g.

com.logmein.hamachi.plist means look at http://logmein.com for updates (if you don't recognize it removing it may be appropriate)

In short: You want to try to update or remove all the system level items.

Startup Items: Stored in /Library/StartupItems/

Startup Items 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. The developers are ignoring Apple guidelines by installing these - not a good sign.

Kernel Extensions: Stored in /Library/Extensions/

Kernel Extensions 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 remove ['failed'], non-system 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. You can also right click to remove 3rd party preference panes in System preferences

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).

Hope that isn't too daunting, the OS should be better if there are less old items running at the system level.

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

Step 1

This diagnostic procedure will query the log for messages that may indicate a system issue. It changes nothing, and therefore will not, in itself, solve your problem.

If you have more than one user account, these instructions must be carried out as an administrator.

Triple-click anywhere in the line below on this page to select it:

syslog -k Sender kernel -k Message CReq 'GPU |hfs: Ru|I/O e|find tok|n Cause: -|NVDA\(|timed? ?o' | tail | open -ef

Copy the selected text to the Clipboard by pressing the key combination command-C.

Launch the Terminal 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 Terminal in the icon grid.

Paste into the Terminal window (command-V). I've tested these instructions only with the Safari web browser. If you use another browser, you may have to press the return key.

The command may take a noticeable amount of time to run. Wait for a new line ending in a dollar sign (“$”) to appear.

A TextEdit window will open with the output of the command. Normally the command will produce no output, and the window will be empty. If the TextEdit window (not the Terminal window) has anything in it, stop here and post it — the text, please, not a screenshot. The title of the TextEdit window doesn't matter, and you don't need to post that.

Step 2

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

• Disconnect all non-essential wired peripherals and remove aftermarket expansion cards, if any.
• Reset the System Management Controller.
• Run Software Update. If there's a firmware update, install it.
• If you're booting from an aftermarket SSD, see whether there's a firmware update for it.
• If you have a portable computer, check the cycle count of the battery. It may be due for replacement.
• 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. See whether there's any change.
• Check your keychains in Keychain Access for excessively duplicated items.
• Boot into Recovery mode, launch Disk Utility, and run Repair Disk.
• If you have a MacBook Pro with dual graphics, disable automatic graphics switching in the Energy Saverpreference pane for better performance at the cost of shorter battery life.

Step 3

When you notice the problem, 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 View menu or 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 Memory tab. What value is shown in the bottom part of the window for Swap used?

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

Step 4

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 by pressing the key combinationcommand-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.