ghamsle

Q: MBP 8,1 Slow Startup with SSD

Hi,

 

I have an early 2011 macbook pro 8,1. It came with a 256gb ssd drive and when I first got it it would boot up very fast. I've noticed over time this slow down (still relatively fast by hdd standards). It slowed some over time, but I think I noticed it slow down a lot more right after I had a drive failure. Well, the ssd drive didn't fail itself, but there was apparently an issue with a connector and they replaced it at the apple store, but they wiped my drive before they figured out the connector issue (I had a recent time machine backup so no big deal). They ended up keeping the original SSD in there though and replacing a connector (really not sure what it was exactly).

 

Since I got it back that day (a few months ago) it seemed to boot more slowly and I've been on the edge of my seat thinking it won't ever load as it hovered on the blue screen for maybe 30 seconds, but it always boots up (i don't shut it off very often though). I was constantly filling my drive up to near capacity (12 to 5 gb free, at times) so I thought this might have something to do with it. Today,  I installed a larger crucial SSD and replaced the 4gb of ram with 8gb of ram. Since doing so the boot time is even longer and it hovers on a grey screen before showing the apple logo, then hovers on blue screen before booting up. It takes about 30-45 seconds total, I'd guess. Then today, for the first time ever, after leaving my laptop unattended for a few minutes I received an alert message (in multiple languages) that I need to restart my laptop. It gave instructions to hold the button down and then press again after it shuts down. When I restarted I received a message my laptop had been forced to shut down ("You shut down the computer because of a problem") and offered me an error report, which I could post if it would be helpful. I've never had this happen before today.

 

Once booted everything seems to be working fine. Any ideas what's going on? I really want to figure out while I'm still under applecare (I realize now that I've replaced the drive & ram those are no longer covered).

 

Any feedback would be appreciated. Thank you! (I should also mention - I'm still running snow leopard and would definitely prefer to stay using it for now)

MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.6.8)

Posted on May 22, 2014 8:55 PM

Close

Q: MBP 8,1 Slow Startup with SSD

  • All replies
  • Helpful answers

Previous Page 2
  • by ghamsle,

    ghamsle ghamsle Jun 13, 2014 11:46 AM in response to OGELTHORPE
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jun 13, 2014 11:46 AM in response to OGELTHORPE

    Hi,

     

    So I've done all of the above. My macbook pro has been running well since the kernel panic, so I think it was just a fluke (hopefully).

     

    *But* I've continued to have issues with the long boot time. It's a SSD that takes about 30-40 seconds to boot up (compared to 10 seconds with fresh install OSX and on my coworker's comparable macbook). I reset the PRAM which reduced the amount of time on the grey screen to normal. However, during boot it continues to hover on the blue screen for 30 seconds or so.

     

    Could you tell me how to delete the kexts com.paceap.kext.pacesupport.snowleopard and

    com.Cycling74.driver.Soundflower ?

     

    I found 2 files in the system->library-> extensions folder called PACESupportFamily.kext and Soundlower.kext. I deleted them and restarted my computer but the boot up still took the same, slow amount of time. Were these the right kext files? If not, how can I locate the ones logged by EtreCheck and the kernel panic log.

     

    I'm convinced it is a software issue because I tried erasing my internal drive and doing a fresh install of snow leopard OSX and then it booted up perfectly! But then when I used a time machine backup to put everything back on the internal SSD it began to boot up slowly again, hovering on that blue screen.

     

    Also the apple hardware test came back clean.

     

    Are there any apps I could use to try to find which piece of software might be causing the slow boot time?

     

    Any help or advice would be appreciated!!

     

    Thank you!

  • by OGELTHORPE,

    OGELTHORPE OGELTHORPE Jun 14, 2014 3:35 AM in response to ghamsle
    Level 9 (52,521 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jun 14, 2014 3:35 AM in response to ghamsle

    ghamsle wrote:

     

    Could you tell me how to delete the kexts com.paceap.kext.pacesupport.snowleopard and

    com.Cycling74.driver.Soundflower ?

     

    I mentioned previously that first the developers web site should be checked for an un-installer.  If found, use that, if not found then you have to find the pieces, searching your Library, using Spotlight and EasyFind (a third party software that often works when Spotlight fails).

     

    I'm convinced it is a software issue because I tried erasing my internal drive and doing a fresh install of snow leopard OSX and then it booted up perfectly! But then when I used a time machine backup to put everything back on the internal SSD it began to boot up slowly again, hovering on that blue screen.

    That does strongly suggest that it is a third party application issue.  The only way I know of identifying the 'problem child' is to delete ALL third party applications and then reinstall them in a systematic way until the problem is discovered.  This can be tedious.

     

    Ciao.

  • by ghamsle,

    ghamsle ghamsle Jun 14, 2014 6:20 AM in response to OGELTHORPE
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jun 14, 2014 6:20 AM in response to OGELTHORPE

    Hi OGLETHORPE,

     

    Thank you for the advice. I may just live with the slow boot up time since I think (I'll have to double check) I use all the applications I have installed though some more frequently than others.

     

    My main concern with the slow startup was that it was indicitive of something failing or a problem that will get worse. If there's an application that's slowing up my boot up time is this a concern outside of the slow start up? I mean, could this lead to bigger problems down the line? Or is it safe that if an app is causing a slow boot then that could be all it ever does, in which case I can live with it.

     

    Thanks again!

  • by OGELTHORPE,

    OGELTHORPE OGELTHORPE Jun 14, 2014 7:05 AM in response to ghamsle
    Level 9 (52,521 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jun 14, 2014 7:05 AM in response to ghamsle

    ghamsle wrote:

     

    If there's an application that's slowing up my boot up time is this a concern outside of the slow start up? I mean, could this lead to bigger problems down the line? Or is it safe that if an app is causing a slow boot then that could be all it ever does, in which case I can live with it.

    It probably is not a serious issue, but that is only an educated guess on my part.  If you do decide to change you mind, try this approach in identifying the culprit:

     

    Assuming you have 8 applications, delete 4 apps and test.  Boot time the same, it is one of the 4.  delete 2 and test, if the boot time improves, then it is one of the two deleted apps.  This system is a lot quicker than a one by one approach.

     

    Ciao.

  • by ghamsle,

    ghamsle ghamsle Jun 14, 2014 2:55 PM in response to OGELTHORPE
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jun 14, 2014 2:55 PM in response to OGELTHORPE

    Hi,

     

    That's funny you mentioned that approach because that's exactly what I tried after I posted my last reply. I went through a few at a time until I actually had deleted everything in my Applications folder other than the standard apps that came with my mac and I *still* had a slow boot up. I used an app called AppCleaner to delete everything, maybe it wasn't catching all the related files.

     

    I decided to just erase my internal drive and reinstall my OS from a clone I had made ahead of time using chronosync. After restarting my cloned OS I realized startup was a bit slower than it had been after I restored from a time machine back up (maybe by 15 seconds or so), but not a huge difference.

     

    It would be nice to locate the problem. Maybe I'll go through and reinstall everything in the near future but it would be a tedious process. I know there's at least one app I use regularly that I no longer have the installation disc for that apple no longer make, so that would be disappointing.

     

    Thanks again for all your help!

Previous Page 2