Mac running super slow

Go to activity moniter and check your cpu and ram usage.

Hmm check your computer for viruses

Please download, install and run Etrecheck.

Etrecheck is a small, unobstrusive app that compiles a snapshot of your entire Mac hardware system and installed software.

http://www.etresoft.com/etrecheck

Copy/paste and post its report here in another reply thread so that we have a complete profile of your Mac's hardware and installed software so we can to more accurately troubleshoot and solve your Mac's performance issues.

If your version of Microsoft Word is old, chances are that version was an old PowerPC application that won't work any longer. Old PowerPC software stopped being able to run with the introduction of OS X 10.7 Lion.

If you have any other very old apps, chance are they will not run on OS X 10.9 Mavericks, either.

You will either need to upgrade to newer versions of these types of software or find other free or cheaper alternatives.

Download and run Etrecheck.

How much RAM installed?

How many applications do you run simultaneously in the background while working in another application?

Do you run any antivirus software on your Mac? Antivirus software can slow down the normal operation of OS X.

Do you run any "crapware" like Mackeeper or any other type of so called hard drive "cleaning" or "tune up" apps?

Have you upgraded all of your Apple and third party software by going to the third party software developers' websites to software to OS X Mavericks compatible versions?

Have you updated any third party device drivers for any third party devices connected to your Mac?

Please read this whole message before doing anything.

This procedure is a test, not a solution. Don’t be disappointed when you find that nothing has changed after you complete it.

Step 1

The purpose of this step is to determine whether the problem is localized to your user account.

Enable guest logins* and log in as Guest. Don't use the Safari-only “Guest User” login created by “Find My Mac.”

While logged in as Guest, you won’t have access to any of your personal files or settings. Applications will behave as if you were running them for the first time. Don’t be alarmed by this; it’s normal. If you need any passwords or other personal data in order to complete the test, memorize, print, or write them down before you begin.

Test while logged in as Guest. Same problem?

After testing, log out of the guest account and, in your own account, disable it if you wish. Any files you created in the guest account will be deleted automatically when you log out of it.

*Note: If you’ve activated “Find My Mac” or FileVault, then you can’t enable the Guest account. The “Guest User” login created by “Find My Mac” is not the same. Create a new account in which to test, and delete it, including its home folder, after testing.

Step 2

The purpose of this step is to determine whether the problem is caused by third-party system modifications that load automatically at startup or login, by a peripheral device, by a font conflict, or by corruption of the file system or of certain system caches.

Disconnect all wired peripherals except those needed for the test, and remove all aftermarket expansion cards, if applicable. Start up in safe mode and log in to the account with the problem. You must hold down the shift key twice: once when you boot, and again when you log in.

Note: If FileVault is enabled, or if a firmware password is set, or if the boot volume is a software RAID, you can’t do this. Ask for further instructions.

Safe mode is much slower to boot and run than normal, with limited graphics performance, and some things won’t work at all, including sound output and Wi-Fi on certain models. The next normal boot may also be somewhat slow.

The login screen appears even if you usually log in automatically. You must know your login password in order to log in. If you’ve forgotten the password, you will need to reset it before you begin.

Test while in safe mode. Same problem?

After testing, reboot as usual (i.e., not in safe mode) and verify that you still have the problem. Post the results of steps 1 and 2.

Back up all data.

This procedure will unlock all your user files (not system files) and reset their ownership and access-control lists to the default. If you've set special values for those attributes on any of your files, they will be reverted. In that case, either stop here, or be prepared to recreate the settings if necessary. Do so only after verifying that those settings didn't cause the problem. If none of this is meaningful to you, you don't need to worry about it.

I've tested these instructions only with the Safari web browser. If you use another browser, they may not work as described.

Step 1

If you have more than one user account, and the one in question is not an administrator account, then temporarily promote it to administrator status in the Users & Groups preference pane. To do that, unlock the preference pane using the credentials of an administrator, check the box markedAllow user to administer this computer, then reboot. You can demote the problem account back to standard status when this step has been completed.

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

{ sudo chflags -R nouchg,nouappnd ~ $TMPDIR.. ; sudo chown -R $UID:staff ~ $_ ; sudo chmod -R u+rwX ~ $_ ; chmod -R -N ~ $_ ; } 2>&-

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 after pasting.

You'll be prompted for your login password. Nothing will be displayed when you type it. You may get a one-time warning to be careful. If you don’t have a login password, you’ll need to set one before you can run the command. If you see a message that your username "is not in the sudoers file," then you're not logged in as an administrator.

The command may take a few minutes to run, or perhaps longer if you have literally millions of files in your home folder. Wait for a new line ending in a dollar sign (“$”) to appear, then quit Terminal.

Step 2 (optional)

Take this step only if you have trouble with Step 1 or if it doesn't solve the problem.

Boot into Recovery. When the OS X Utilities screen appears, select

Utilities ▹ Terminal

from the menu bar. A Terminal window will open.

In the Terminal window, type this:

res

Press the tab key. The partial command you typed will automatically be completed to this:

resetpassword

Press return. A Reset Password window will open. You’re not going to reset a password.

Select the startup volume ("Macintosh HD," unless you gave it a different name) if it's not already selected.

Select your username from the menu labeled Select the user account if it's not already selected.

Under Reset Home Directory Permissions and ACLs, click the Reset button.

Select

 ▹ Restart

from the menu bar.

Looking at your Etrecheck output,

In additon to updating all of your software to Mavericks compatible versions, you need to update all of your web browser plugins. You have two versions of Adobe Flash Player. Update Flash Player to the most current version and eliminate the two older plugins. Also, Google Drive could be an issue for you on OS X Mavericks. There have been a lot of posted issues with Google Drive and OS X Mavericks. Check for updates for Google Drive.

Good Luck!