Q: Unbearably slow Mavericks performance

Try these in order testing your system after each to see if it's back to normal:

1. a. Resetting your Mac's PRAM and NVRAM

    b. Intel-based Macs: Resetting the System Management Controller (SMC)

2. Restart the computer in Safe Mode, then restart again, normally. If this doesn't help, then:

     Boot to the Recovery HD: Restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the

     COMMAND and R keys until the Utilities menu screen appears. Alternatively, restart the computer and

     after the chime press and hold down the OPTION key until the boot manager screen appears.

     Select the Recovery HD and click on the downward pointing arrow button.

3. Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions: Upon startup select Disk Utility from the Utilities menu. Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions as follows.

When the recovery menu appears select Disk Utility. After DU loads select your hard drive entry (mfgr.'s ID and drive size) from the the left side list.  In the DU status area you will see an entry for the S.M.A.R.T. status of the hard drive.  If it does not say "Verified" then the hard drive is failing or failed. (SMART status is not reported on external Firewire or USB drives.) If the drive is "Verified" then select your OS X volume from the list on the left (sub-entry below the drive entry,) click on the First Aid tab, then click on the Repair Disk button. If DU reports any errors that have been fixed, then re-run Repair Disk until no errors are reported. If no errors are reported click on the Repair Permissions button. Wait until the operation completes, then quit DU and return to the main menu. Select Restart from the Apple menu.

     Reinstall the 10.9.2 update: OS X Mavericks 10.9.2 Update (Combo).

4. Reinstall Lion/Mountain Lion, Mavericks: Reboot from the Recovery HD. Select Reinstall Lion/Mountain Lion, Mavericks from the Utilities menu, and click on the Continue button.

Note: You will need an active Internet connection. I suggest using Ethernet if possible because it is three times faster than wireless.

Reinstall the 10.9.2 update: OS X Mavericks 10.9.2 Update (Combo).

Spotlight seems to be constantly indexing or trying to index. It's ALWAYS estimating index time. When it seems to have finished (ie i can do a search) coming out and going back in prompts it to start indexing again. Is this normal?

No, not at all. Nor is "very high CPU readings for kernel activity" which can be due to a number of causes, some of them hardware-related. You can use Apple Hardware Test to verify the system's cooling fan is working properly, which can be one cause, as can anything else that impedes proper cooling including too much dust within the case.

Reset the SMC to rule that out as another potential cause.

Then, rebuild the Spotlight database by following these instructions:

Spotlight: How to re-index folders or volumes

I tried to do a permissions check (in safe mode as well) but it fails.

What fails, specifically? What does Disk Utility's log file show? To read it, select Window > Show Log.

Rebuilding the Spotlight index may not help if disk permissions have been corrupted and Disk Utility can't repair them, in which case you'll need more in-depth assistance.

Spinfaster wrote:

 

I tried to do a permissions check (in safe mode as well) but it fails. Doing a disk check says there are no problems.

I'm unsurprised it failed to repair in safe mode - volume repair needs to be done when that volume is not mounted & in use. Safe mode still uses the boot volume, which is why starting in recovery mode has been suggested.

The recovery partition should exist on your main boot disk (most tools hide it).

See this for more info on recovery mode…

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4718

This should clarify what safe mode is…

https://support.apple.com/kb/HT1455

You don't seem to have any red flags in terms of obviously old software, but it is worth checking that it's up to date, especially the ones labeled [system].

It's worth noting if you boot from the installer & select the default option ('reinstall OS X') it will not erase the users & Applications, it will replace the system files only, so it can sometimes help in the case where an installation is corrupted or damaged in some way. Back up first

Spinfaster wrote:

 

Configuration files:

          /etc/hosts - Count: 29

 

That struck me as intriguing. It looks like EtreCheck is counting up the hosts that you have in there.

It may not be the reason for your issues but it could wreak havoc with networking if you have pointed certain domains to localhost or somewhere else.

Hopefully you know how to remove/comment out the entries for testing? Post the output of …

cat /etc/hosts

…if you need help - some of those entries will kill the OS if you remove them.

Spinfaster wrote:

Configuration files:

          /etc/hosts - Count: 29

I think this is the number of lines that are active reroutes in your hosts file. Not the count of reroutes.

If you follow Drew's advice in terminal you should be able to count 32 lines of routes after the last commented line (#)

Just my two cents.

I have the same macbook Pro in our fleet and it has same issues as yours. I have done a nuke and pave and pulled data from time machine only and reloaded apps by hand - Three days of work overall and we have near same performance. Talking with Apple (again) now...

Drew Reece wrote:

 

Spinfaster wrote:

 

Configuration files:

          /etc/hosts - Count: 29

That struck me as intriguing. It looks like EtreCheck is counting up the hosts that you have in there.

Yes, I noticed that myself in an issue being worked last week.  The number is consistent with a series of entries involving 127.0.0.1 and various Adobe license registration databases world wide. It's often provided in conjuction with certain Torrent sites which offer Adobe products for download.

I don't see any additional evidence here, so it may be something migrated from some time ago.

MadMacs0 wrote:

It's often provided in conjuction with certain Torrent sites which offer Adobe products for download.

I remember doing that to stop CS3 downloading updates on every individual Mac where I worked once. It was legit software, but our internet was slow at the time and it seemed like the easy way to fix it

I would see if things are better if you uninstall Google Chrome per unistall instructions on Google's website.

Google software isn't playing well with OS X Mavericks, right now.

If you do not like Safari, as an alternative browser, try Mozilla FireFox.

Also, there is now a Mavericks compatible version of Little Snitch that you may want to update to.

Also, make sure all installed Apple AND third party software is updated to Mavericks compatible versions.

Make sure all of you Web browser Internet plugins and extensions are all up to date with Mavericks versions.

MichelPM wrote:

 

Google software isn't playing well with OS X Mavericks, right now.

Do you have details or references?

I know there were some initial issues, but I was under the impression that those had been worked.  I know it's still a 32-bit app, which will always limit it to some extent.  I haven't been using it much, but have never seen any issues when I do.

Both Google Drive and Chrome are still causing issues with some Macs running Mavericks.

I am not, currently, aware of any recent updates from Google that have resolved the performance issues of their software  on Mavericks.

That is why I still recomend users, temporarily unistall these and stop using them until Google resolves its compatibility issues with OS X Mavericks.

If you have a link or evidence Google has fixed its issues, I'll stop recommending that users, temporarily, uninstall these apps.

Boot to the Recovery HD:

Restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the COMMAND and R keys until the menu screen appears. Alternatively, restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the OPTION key until the boot manager screen appears. Select the Recovery HD and click on the arrow button below the icon.

MichelPM wrote:

 

Both Google Drive and Chrome are still causing issues with some Macs running Mavericks.

I am not, currently, aware of any recent updates from Google that have resolved the performance issues of their software  on Mavericks.

I have never been a Google Drive user, but am aware of what seem to be continuing issues there. If I have some time I might check that out for you.

My Google Chrome has probably been updated more than a dozen times since Mavericks arrived and that plus the relative silence concerning Chrome recently, both here and in another Apple forum that I've been participating in.

If you have a link or evidence Google has fixed its issues, I'll stop recommending that users, temporarily, uninstall these apps.

No, I was hoping you might have something. The only thing I could locate today from Google was recognition of two issues: Avast! with all of OS X and Mavericks scrolling issues that they show a workaround for. Details at Known Issues under "+ Mac Issues".