Snow Leopard very slow to boot

Question

Snow Leopard very slow to boot

I have an older Macbook with a 2.16Ghz Intel core duo processor 2Gb 667 DDR2 SDRAM and a 120Gb HD (111 Gb free)

I have just installed Snow Leopard over Tiger from DVD. After the install the boot-up time was 15mins! After backing everything up I repartioned the drive and did a clean install, the boot-up time is now 10mins!

Once up and running the computer is fine, everything work as expected, although I have not yet installed any other software so it is currently "factory fresh".

I've checked the HD (as best I can) and can find no errors, it runs quietly without abnormal vibration etc. and disk utility reports it as fine.

Can anyone sugest what the problem is? 10 minutes to boot up cannot be normal, my old 1986 Amstrad, booting from a floppy drive, only took a minute to boot so I'm sure that Apple could beat that.

MacBook, Mac OS X (10.4.11)

Posted on Jan 8, 2014 8:47 AM

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Answer 1

madrich

Level 1

124 points

Jan 8, 2014 9:09 AM in response to Andrew Turnham

Did you install the Combo Update and have repaired Permissions?

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Answer 2

Jan 8, 2014 1:10 PM in response to madrich

I installed an update sent by Apple once I'd installed SL I don't know if it was the Combo Update. I've checked Permissions and they are OK (as I'd expect with a clean install) as is the volume etc.

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Answer 3

madrich

Level 1

124 points

Jan 8, 2014 1:41 PM in response to Andrew Turnham

I would run the results from this Apple Expert and post the results here.

http://www.etresoft.com/etrecheck

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Answer 4

Jan 8, 2014 3:47 PM in response to Andrew Turnham

Some additional information. I have just reinstalled OS Tiger and the computer boots up just as I'd expect it to. This means that the problem is in the installation of Snow Leopard and nothing to do with hardware. Whilst it is satisfying to know my original premiss was right it still leaves me with the problem of how to overcome it!

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Answer 5

seventy one

Level 7

27,424 points

Jan 8, 2014 4:03 PM in response to Andrew Turnham

It is unlikely that Apple would put the Combo update version in Software update. You have always had to go looking for it.

I suggest you first go to the Apple Logo > About this Mac and tell us what version of Snow Leopard is installed and how much RAM (memory) you have.

IF ... you have 10.6.0 to 10.6.3 then you have the basic Snow Leopard. That would need updating using the 10.6.8 Combo updater followed by Software Update as many as show (probably 4 or 5 to include security and iTunes updates).

At this point you will also have the App Store.

This is a big update and could take half an hour or more, time that has no connection with the current slowness you are experiencing.

OS X 10.6.8 Update Combo v1.1

Then, providing you have more than 1GB of RAM you should see an improvement. but in reality, you could do with 4GB.

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Answer 6

Jan 8, 2014 4:25 PM in response to seventy one

It is 10.6.3 and I have 2Gb ram, however I ran the software update and ran the SL update which I assumed would bring it up to the latest release. That aside I have now reinstalled Tiger and the computer boots up just as it should. I'm now very wary of reinstalling SL.

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Answer 7

seventy one

Level 7

27,424 points

Jan 8, 2014 4:31 PM in response to Andrew Turnham

Yes. I thought that 10.6.3 may be the case. I don't want to encourage you into something that troubles you but if you want Snow leopard I would buy 2GB more of Ram, reinstall your Snow Leopard (10.6.3) then follow my guidance to update it via the Conbo updater and Software update. You'll be pleased with the outcome.

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Answer 8

Eric Root

Level 10

684,021 points

Jan 10, 2014 11:26 AM in response to Andrew Turnham

The 2 places I’ve seen recommended most to buy reliable RAM are below. I have purchased RAM several times from Other World Computing and have always been very satisfied with the product and service.

Crucial

Other World Computing

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Answer 9

Jan 13, 2014 7:42 AM in response to seventy one

Ok, so I have now tried everything suggested so far and still SL 10.6.8 takes 10 minutes to boot up. I know it's not hardware because re-installing Tiger corrects this problem, it is something screwy in the combination of SL and an older Intel Macbook. I don't think I'm inclined to invest more $$$ in memory unless I was 100% certain that was the issue.

My solution, unless someone has any more to offer, is to accept I've been screwed-over by Apple and go back to solid old Tiger with my faith in Apple very dented, or maybe Linux is the answer?

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Answer 10

seventy one

Level 7

27,424 points

Jan 13, 2014 7:58 AM in response to Andrew Turnham

Hi Andrew,

My thoughts of upgrading your memory are based on my own experience. I run SL 10.6.8 on a 2007 Mac using 6GB of memory. One of the key problems when you have minimum memory (I would think of 2GB as minimum) is that some people have a lot going on in the background ... or anti virus facilities that are not needed.

The latter is a regular feature that causes machines to slow down.

No-one here can guarantee more memory will work but it is a small investment in terms of getting the best from your machine. Suggest you review the usage of memory courtesy of the Activity monitor.

I don't think I can offer more help as I am not acquainted with the foibles of Mac- Books.

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Answer 11

Jan 13, 2014 8:43 AM in response to seventy one

I hear you say about the memory but this is a bare-bones clean install on a freshly formatted drive, so no anti virus and no programs running (or even installed). I've re-installed this three times so far following ideas by contributors but it's always the same, 10 minutes (almost to the second) to boot up. Yet when I re-install the old Tiger it as fast as you would expect.

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