Computer/Finder extremely slow since Mavericks

Question

I upgraded to Mavericks on day one.  Big mistake.  I have a 2.7 GHz Intel Core i5 iMac, that before 10.9 was plenty snappy.  After installing Mavericks though...  everything has slowed down and gotten very clunky.If I open a new Finder window, it can take up to 15-20 seconds for windows to evenually populate with apps or the icons are very slow to load (seconds).  Open apps seems slower -- if I open Disk Utility, the opening animation stalls halfway through and then stutters until the GUI finally appears and stablizes.  Everything is just slow, clumsy and feels very, very buggy.  Oftentimes, I&#x27;ll have to click something twice - links in Safari, opening folders, starting apps, you name it.I was hoping that today&#x27;s 10.9.1 would fix this (these) issue(s).  But everything is exactly the same as it has been since 10.9.0, which is to say, awful. I have zapped PRAM, repaired permissions, and anything else I can think of to get this computer back on it&#x27;s feet, but it&#x27;s just gone so pokey...  really disappointed.Do other people have this issue?  Is this a known bug?  Is there a fix?  Any help appreciated.  Thanks.  I want my snappy, newish iMac back!

ph47 · Answer

I should also add that it seems like connectivity is also flaky on a previously stellar connection (wired).  Youtube videos timeout, pages in Safari can stall when loading, etc., etc., etc...

nbar · Answer

It&#x27;s possible some software you are running is deprecated in Mavericks and slowing down your machine. Please download and run the program below and post the output in your reply.Etresoft: EtreCheck

ph47 · Answer

Here we go.Hardware Information:          iMac (21.5-inch, Late 2012)          iMac - model: iMac13,1          1 2.7 GHz Intel Core i5 CPU: 4 cores          8 GB RAMVideo Information:          NVIDIA GeForce GT 640M - VRAM: 512 MBAudio Plug-ins:          BluetoothAudioPlugIn: Version: 1.0 - SDK 10.9          AirPlay: Version: 1.9 - SDK 10.9          AppleAVBAudio: Version: 2.0.0 - SDK 10.9          iSightAudio: Version: 7.7.3 - SDK 10.9System Software:          OS X 10.9.1 (13B42) - Uptime: 0 days 0:2:17Disk Information:          APPLE HDD HTS541010A9E662 disk0 : (1 TB)                    EFI (disk0s1) &lt;not mounted&gt;: 209.7 MB                    Macintosh HD (disk0s2) /: 999.35 GB (539.22 GB free)                    Recovery HD (disk0s3) &lt;not mounted&gt;: 650 MBUSB Information:          Akai Akai MPK25          Apple Inc. iPhone          Apple Inc. FaceTime HD Camera (Built-in)          Apple, Inc. Keyboard Hub                    Apple, Inc Apple Keyboard          Apple Inc. BRCM20702 Hub                    Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host ControllerFireWire Information:Thunderbolt Information:          Apple Inc. thunderbolt_bus                    Apple Inc. Thunderbolt to FireWire AdapterKernel Extensions:          com.Apogee.driver.EnsembleFWOverideDriver          (1.4.4 - SDK 10.8)          com.paceap.kext.pacesupport.snowleopard          (5.9 - SDK 10.6)Problem System Launch Daemons:Problem System Launch Agents:Launch Daemons:          [loaded] com.adobe.fpsaud.plist          [loaded] com.EnsembleDaemon.plist          [loaded] PACESupport.plistLaunch Agents:          [loaded] com.ApogeePopup.plistUser Launch Agents:          [loaded] com.valvesoftware.steamclean.plistUser Login Items:          iTunesHelper          NIHardwareAgent3rd Party Preference Panes:          Flash Player          Native Instruments USB AudioInternet Plug-ins::          FlashPlayer-10.6: Version: 11.9.900.170 - SDK 10.6          Flash Player: Version: 11.9.900.170 - SDK 10.6          QuickTime Plugin: Version: 7.7.3          Default Browser: Version: 537 - SDK 10.9User Internet Plug-ins::          Aspera Web 3.1.2.72265: Version: (null) - SDK 10.6Bad Fonts:          NoneOld applications:          AuthAssistant:          Version: 1.0 - SDK 10.5                    /Library/Application Support/iZotope/Ozone 5/AuthAssistants/Main/AuthAssistant.app          AuthAssistant:          Version: 1.0 - SDK 10.5                    /Library/Application Support/iZotope/Stutter Edit/AuthAssistant.app          DC1A:          Version: 1.2.1 - SDK 10.5                    /Applications/DC1A.app          DC8C:          Version: 1.3.0 - SDK 10.5                    /Applications/DC8C.app          EasyFind:          Version: 4.9 - SDK 10.5                    /Applications/EasyFind.app          Frozen Synapse:          Version: Copyright 2011 Mode 7 Games Inc. All rights reserved. - SDK 10.5                    /Users/Nod/Library/Application Support/Steam/SteamApps/common/Frozen Synapse/Frozen Synapse.app          InterLok Helper:          Version: 5.9 - SDK 10.4                    /Library/Application Support/PACE Anti-Piracy/InterLok Helper.app          Keynote:          Version: 5.3 - SDK 10.5                    /Applications/iWork &#x27;09/Keynote.app          MemServerUI:          Version: 1.1 - SDK 10.5                    /Library/Application Support/Native Instruments/Kontakt 5/kxm/MemServerUI.app          Numbers:          Version: 2.3 - SDK 10.5                    /Applications/iWork &#x27;09/Numbers.app          Pages:          Version: 4.3 - SDK 10.5                    /Applications/iWork &#x27;09/Pages.app          Transmit:          Version: 4.2 - SDK 10.5                    /Applications/Transmit.app          minimoog V Original:          Version: 2.5.3 - SDK 10.5                    /Applications/Arturia/minimoog V Original.appTime Machine:          Time Machine not configured!Top Processes by CPU:               1%          WindowServer               1%          EtreCheck               0%          mds_stores               0%          imagentTop Processes by Memory:          139 MB          mds_stores          123 MB          com.apple.IconServicesAgent          74 MB          com.apple.WebKit.WebContent          49 MB          Dock          49 MB          WindowServerVirtual Memory Statistics:          6.07 GB          Free RAM          1.03 GB          Active RAM          211 MB          Inactive RAM          709 MB          Wired RAM          203 MB          Page-ins          0 B          Page-outs

ph47 · Answer

I can also add that I&#x27;ve:Run the Hardware Test (started with D held down) - no problems found.Started in Single-User mode (started w/ Apple+S) and did the sbin/fsck -y thing - no trouble found.Started in Apple+R (or R?) mode and run disk utilites there to repair permissions.All no help.

ph47 · Answer

I&#x27;ve unistalled some of the things that were in the etrecheck...  here&#x27;s the new log.  Should I be looking at "old applications"???  Problem persists.  (I even unistalled Flash...)Hardware Information:          iMac (21.5-inch, Late 2012)          iMac - model: iMac13,1          1 2.7 GHz Intel Core i5 CPU: 4 cores          8 GB RAMVideo Information:          NVIDIA GeForce GT 640M - VRAM: 512 MBAudio Plug-ins:          BluetoothAudioPlugIn: Version: 1.0 - SDK 10.9          AirPlay: Version: 1.9 - SDK 10.9          AppleAVBAudio: Version: 2.0.0 - SDK 10.9          iSightAudio: Version: 7.7.3 - SDK 10.9System Software:          OS X 10.9.1 (13B42) - Uptime: 0 days 0:9:43Disk Information:          APPLE HDD HTS541010A9E662 disk0 : (1 TB)                    EFI (disk0s1) &lt;not mounted&gt;: 209.7 MB                    Macintosh HD (disk0s2) /: 999.35 GB (539.75 GB free)                    Recovery HD (disk0s3) &lt;not mounted&gt;: 650 MBUSB Information:          Akai Akai MPK25          Apple Inc. FaceTime HD Camera (Built-in)          Apple, Inc. Keyboard Hub                    Apple, Inc Apple Keyboard          Apple Inc. BRCM20702 Hub                    Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host ControllerFireWire Information:Thunderbolt Information:          Apple Inc. thunderbolt_bus                    Apple Inc. Thunderbolt to FireWire AdapterKernel Extensions:Problem System Launch Daemons:Problem System Launch Agents:Launch Daemons:Launch Agents:User Launch Agents:          [loaded] com.valvesoftware.steamclean.plistUser Login Items:          iTunesHelper          NIHardwareAgent3rd Party Preference Panes:          Native Instruments USB AudioInternet Plug-ins::          Default Browser: Version: 537 - SDK 10.9          QuickTime Plugin: Version: 7.7.3Bad Fonts:          NoneOld applications:          AuthAssistant:          Version: 1.0 - SDK 10.5                    /Library/Application Support/iZotope/Ozone 5/AuthAssistants/Main/AuthAssistant.app          AuthAssistant:          Version: 1.0 - SDK 10.5                    /Library/Application Support/iZotope/Stutter Edit/AuthAssistant.app          DC1A:          Version: 1.2.1 - SDK 10.5                    /Applications/DC1A.app          DC8C:          Version: 1.3.0 - SDK 10.5                    /Applications/DC8C.app          EasyFind:          Version: 4.9 - SDK 10.5                    /Applications/EasyFind.app          Frozen Synapse:          Version: Copyright 2011 Mode 7 Games Inc. All rights reserved. - SDK 10.5                    /Users/Nod/Library/Application Support/Steam/SteamApps/common/Frozen Synapse/Frozen Synapse.app          Keynote:          Version: 5.3 - SDK 10.5                    /Applications/iWork &#x27;09/Keynote.app          MemServerUI:          Version: 1.1 - SDK 10.5                    /Library/Application Support/Native Instruments/Kontakt 5/kxm/MemServerUI.app          Numbers:          Version: 2.3 - SDK 10.5                    /Applications/iWork &#x27;09/Numbers.app          Pages:          Version: 4.3 - SDK 10.5                    /Applications/iWork &#x27;09/Pages.app          Transmit:          Version: 4.2 - SDK 10.5                    /Applications/Transmit.app          minimoog V Original:          Version: 2.5.3 - SDK 10.5                    /Applications/Arturia/minimoog V Original.appTime Machine:          Time Machine not configured!Top Processes by CPU:               1%          com.apple.WebKit.WebContent               1%          WindowServer               1%          Safari               0%          hidd               0%          pbsTop Processes by Memory:          166 MB          com.apple.WebKit.WebContent          82 MB          Finder          82 MB          Safari          74 MB          mds_stores          66 MB          WindowServerVirtual Memory Statistics:          5.24 GB          Free RAM          1.68 GB          Active RAM          337 MB          Inactive RAM          771 MB          Wired RAM          194 MB          Page-ins          0 B          Page-outs

ph47 · Answer

Do you see anything amiss in the first or second Etre-dumps?  The problem persists.

nbar · Answer

Not particularly...you aren&#x27;t paging out and you cleaned up the majority of third party launch items.  No third party software screams "problem." The &#x27;old applications&#x27; is a new feature of etrecheck. 1) I would first verify that these applications are 1) up to date and 2) Supported on 10.9, if third party. You can usually find this information by visiting the developer&#x27;s website. 2) Test the problem by logging into another user account. Guest account is fine. I believe that after a safe boot/recovery mode boot, your machine will reindex the HDD, which would account for slow behavior within the first hour of regular use again. I could be wrong about this. Additionally, mds_stores is not using an inordinate amount of CPU % in either snapshot, so reindexing is probably not related.

ph47 · Answer

I cleaned up the old applications as much as possible.  Some of them were actually added after I updgraded to Mavericks, so I know they aren&#x27;t the root of the problem, which began on day-one of 10.9.I&#x27;ve started in Command-R, reinstalled Mavericks twice now, to no avail.  Problems persist.  Animations of windwow, launching apps, not smoothe, but jerky.  If I open a new Finder window, it can take up to 20 seconds to populate.  If I open the applications folder, the icons populate very slowly.  Apps take 2-3 seconds to launch, whereas pre-Mavericks, they were nearly instant.It feels almost as if something is either running that is hogging all the resoruces, or the computer suddenly can&#x27;t multi-task.  It&#x27;s like it can only do one thing at a time, and even that, at greatly reduced efficiency.  I don&#x27;t know any other way to describe it.  I&#x27;ve searched now (slow Mavericks, etc.) and see that other have the same issues, but I haven&#x27;t seen any solutions.  Surely Apply wouldn&#x27;t let a point-release out w/out addressing this issue.  I&#x27;ve done everything I can think of to fix it.  I&#x27;m not sure I can go through the pain (and hassle) of downgrading the OS to Mountain Lion, but I might have to just bite the bullet and do it.  This has been driving me crazy.Any more help or insight would be appreciated.  Latest Etrecheck log pasted below.  Thanks.Hardware Information:          iMac (21.5-inch, Late 2012)          iMac - model: iMac13,1          1 2.7 GHz Intel Core i5 CPU: 4 cores          8 GB RAMVideo Information:          NVIDIA GeForce GT 640M - VRAM: 512 MBAudio Plug-ins:          BluetoothAudioPlugIn: Version: 1.0 - SDK 10.9          AirPlay: Version: 1.9 - SDK 10.9          AppleAVBAudio: Version: 2.0.0 - SDK 10.9          iSightAudio: Version: 7.7.3 - SDK 10.9System Software:          OS X 10.9.1 (13B42) - Uptime: 0 days 0:12:37Disk Information:          APPLE HDD HTS541010A9E662 disk0 : (1 TB)                    EFI (disk0s1) &lt;not mounted&gt;: 209.7 MB                    Macintosh HD (disk0s2) /: 999.35 GB (550.73 GB free)                    Recovery HD (disk0s3) &lt;not mounted&gt;: 650 MBUSB Information:          Akai Akai MPK25          Apple Inc. iPhone          Apple Inc. FaceTime HD Camera (Built-in)          Apple, Inc. Keyboard Hub                    Apple, Inc Apple Keyboard          Apple Inc. BRCM20702 Hub                    Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host ControllerFireWire Information:Thunderbolt Information:          Apple Inc. thunderbolt_bus                    Apple Inc. Thunderbolt to FireWire AdapterKernel Extensions:Problem System Launch Daemons:Problem System Launch Agents:Launch Daemons:Launch Agents:User Launch Agents:          [loaded] com.valvesoftware.steamclean.plistUser Login Items:          iTunesHelper          NIHardwareAgent3rd Party Preference Panes:          Native Instruments USB AudioInternet Plug-ins::          Default Browser: Version: 537 - SDK 10.9          QuickTime Plugin: Version: 7.7.3Bad Fonts:          NoneOld applications:          AuthAssistant:          Version: 1.0 - SDK 10.5                    /Library/Application Support/iZotope/Ozone 5/AuthAssistants/Main/AuthAssistant.app          AuthAssistant:          Version: 1.0 - SDK 10.5                    /Library/Application Support/iZotope/Stutter Edit/AuthAssistant.app          Frozen Synapse:          Version: Copyright 2011 Mode 7 Games Inc. All rights reserved. - SDK 10.5                    /Users/Nod/Library/Application Support/Steam/SteamApps/common/Frozen Synapse/Frozen Synapse.app2          Frozen Synapse:          Version: Copyright 2011 Mode 7 Games Inc. All rights reserved. - SDK 10.5                    /Users/Nod/Library/Application Support/Steam/SteamApps/common/Frozen Synapse/Frozen Synapse.app          MemServerUI:          Version: 1.1 - SDK 10.5                    /Library/Application Support/Native Instruments/Kontakt 5/kxm/MemServerUI.appTime Machine:          Time Machine not configured!Top Processes by CPU:              16%          com.apple.WebKit.Networking               6%          Safari               4%          WindowServer               1%          launchservicesd               0%          configdTop Processes by Memory:          131 MB          com.apple.IconServicesAgent          123 MB          mds_stores          90 MB          Safari          90 MB          WindowServer          90 MB          com.apple.WebKit.WebContentVirtual Memory Statistics:          4.52 GB          Free RAM          2.39 GB          Active RAM          308 MB          Inactive RAM          803 MB          Wired RAM          182 MB          Page-ins          0 B          Page-outs

Ardego · Answer

Hi ph47.I&#x27;m just starting with 10.9 today, so cannot tell you much about this particular OS,but I just have a general suggestion, that you could try.In many cases my Macs seem to take quite some time with different things when the network is not as the system expects it (like being away from it &amp; trying to log into a mobile account, takes 3 minutes waiting here)1)So, you might try to temporary disable all network devices (WiFi, Bluetooth &amp; LAN)If it helps, narrow it down to one.Then check the settings of this device.The whole new Apple world (e.g. iCloud &amp; overall interconnectivity seems to expect a perfect network environment at all times.My Safari in 10.8 for example "finishes" a larger downloading file every time on this slow connection, on random file sizes, never reaching more than 10MB. Firefox does fine.2)I trust you tried disconnecting ALL periphical devices from the Mac to rule out a hardware incompatibility?3)Repair the file permissions from the Recovery partition (CMD+"R" on bootup) not only from inside the running system as the system files cannot be changedHappy holidays to everyone!

Eric Root · Answer

Did you try the new user account and the Safe Mode?Isolating an issue by using another user accountSafe ModeSafe Mode - About

ph47 · Answer

Hi.  Sorry for the late reply.  Yes, I did that.  Didn&#x27;t help.  Thanks!

ph47 · Answer

Hi Ardego.  Yeah, I&#x27;ve done all those things, and more.  It was suggested in another thread that I may have a failing GPU.  At first, I thought that might be it, but upon reflection, and a little bit of research I found that there are many others (thousands of posts here at ASC) with the same exact issues, that all coincided with Mavericks.  I&#x27;m not saying my problem isn&#x27;t a failing GPU - it may be, but it seems awfully suspicious that my problem started Day 1 w/ Mavericks, and that there are many, many others with the same problem - just google "mavericks slow" and the hits line up.My guess is that this is simply a Mavericks bug that only affects certain configurations and will hopefully be solved w/in the next couple of months.  Until then, it&#x27;s an extremely shoddy and unrefined iteration of OS X, at least in my personal experience.

ph47 · Answer

In fact, here&#x27;s some of what is in my console round about the time I get the slowdown:1/8/14 9:52:08.543 AM Finder[152]: FIXME: IOUnserialize has detected a string that is not valid UTF-8, " ��z".1/8/14 9:52:08.584 AM Finder[152]: FIXME: IOUnserialize has detected a string that is not valid UTF-8, " ��z".1/8/14 9:52:16.230 AM Finder[152]: FIXME: IOUnserialize has detected a string that is not valid UTF-8, " ��z".1/8/14 9:52:25.000 AM kernel[0]: Network delay is not specified! Defaulting to 0x3841/8/14 9:52:27.574 AM com.apple.IconServicesAgent[176]: Icon filename entry missing from bundle info dictionary for bundle at URL: file:///System/Library/CoreServices/Dock.app/Contents/XPCServices/com.apple.doc k.extra.xpc/1/8/14 9:52:27.587 AM com.apple.IconServicesAgent[176]: Icon filename entry missing from bundle info dictionary for bundle at URL: file:///System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/InternetAccounts.framework/Versions/A/ XPCServices/com.apple.internetaccounts.xpc/1/8/14 9:52:27.588 AM com.apple.IconServicesAgent[176]: Icon filename entry missing from bundle info dictionary for bundle at URL: file:///System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/MailService.framework/Versions/A/XPCSe rvices/com.apple.MailServiceAgent.xpc/1/8/14 9:52:27.722 AM com.apple.IconServicesAgent[176]: Icon filename entry missing from bundle info dictionary for bundle at URL: file:///System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/WebKit2.framework/Versions/A/XPCServic es/com.apple.WebKit.WebContent.xpc/1/8/14 9:52:27.754 AM com.apple.IconServicesAgent[176]: Icon filename entry missing from bundle info dictionary for bundle at URL: file:///System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/ShareKit.framework/Versions/A/XPCServi ces/com.apple.ShareKitHelper.xpc/1/8/14 9:52:47.777 AM Finder[152]: FIXME: IOUnserialize has detected a string that is not valid UTF-8, " ��z".1/8/14 9:52:49.264 AM Finder[152]: FIXME: IOUnserialize has detected a string that is not valid UTF-8, " ��z".1/8/14 9:52:50.974 AM Finder[152]: FIXME: IOUnserialize has detected a string that is not valid UTF-8, " ��z".Any ideas?

ph47 · Answer

Also this:1/8/14 10:42:34.189 AM com.apple.IconServicesAgent[204]: main Failed to composit image for binding VariantBinding [0x483] flags: 0x8 binding: FileInfoBinding [0x39b] - extension: mp3, UTI: public.mp3, fileType: ????.1/8/14 10:42:34.190 AM quicklookd[270]: Warning: Cache image returned by the server has size range covering all valid image sizes. Binding: VariantBinding [0x603] flags: 0x8 binding: FileInfoBinding [0x503] - extension: mp3, UTI: public.mp3, fileType: ???? request size:32 scale: 1So these console messages...  anything?

ph47 · Answer

More:1/8/14 4:18:05.713 PM WindowServer[108]: disable_update_timeout: UI updates were forcibly disabled by application "Finder" for over 1.00 seconds. Server has re-enabled them.1/8/14 4:18:05.831 PM WindowServer[108]: common_reenable_update: UI updates were finally reenabled by application "Finder" after 1.12 seconds (server forcibly re-enabled them after 1.00 seconds)