What to consider BEFORE an OSX reinstall?

Question

Level 1

19 points

What to consider BEFORE an OSX reinstall?

My iMac (late 2009; 4GB memory, OS X 10.9.4) quite often seems to be slower than it used to be. I assume that one of the reasons for this slowness is that over the years whenever I updated the OS X (from OS X 10.4 or so) or got a new computer, I always took over the settings from earlier versions. Hence I thought a totally fresh re-installation of OS X (Maverick) would possibly speed things up again.

Is this assumption correct? And if correct, what issues do I have to consider such that I do not loose my data (which i backup through TimeMachine and much of it is in the cloud).

Or are there other methods to get back to "old speeds"?

Thanks in advance for your advice. Cheers, Veit

iMac, OS X Mavericks (10.9.3), iPhone 4S with iOS7

Posted on Jul 24, 2014 8:35 AM

Reply

Answer 1

Jul 24, 2014 8:40 AM in response to vburger

Just reinsatlling OS X isn't always the solution for issues with your Mac slowing down.

Not enough free storage space can slow your Mac down.

Click your Apple menu icon top left in your screen. From the drop down menu click About This Mac > More Info > Storage. Make sure there's at least 15% free disk space.

Repair permissions.

Launch Disk Utility located in your Applications > Utilities folder.

Select the startup disk on the left then select the First Aid tab.

Click: Repair Disk Permissions

This can take awhile so don't be alarmed.

Restart your Mac after Disk Utility is finished

Reindex Spotlight > Spotlight: How to re-index folders or volumes

Check to see if the startup disk needs repairing.

Launch Disk Utility located in HD > Applications > Utillities

Select the startup disk on the left then select the First Aid tab.

Click: Verify Disk (not Verify Disk Permissions)

If DU reports errors, restart your Mac while holding down the Command + R keys. From there you should be able to access the built in utilities in OS X Recoveryto repair the startup disk.

Make sure to back up all important data first before using OS X Recovery.

Anti virus software, as well as third party Mac cleaning utilities such as MacKeeper and CleanMyMac can also slow your Mac down.

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Answer 2

Paul_31

Level 6

14,160 points

Jul 24, 2014 8:44 AM in response to vburger

4gb of RAM is not really enough for OS X 10.9.4 together with a few applications running to run efficiently. I suspect you would see a considerable improvement in performance by adding more RAM. It's vital that the correct modules are installed - Macs can be very picky it the chips are out of spec. Good places to buy are Macsales and Crucial. They both guarantee their RAM will work and are well-trusted on here for excellent after sales service:

http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/apple/memory/iMac

http://www.crucial.com

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Answer 3

Old Toad

Level 10

207,547 points

Jul 24, 2014 9:22 AM in response to vburger

Do you have any antivirus software installed or have used cleaning or optimizing software like MacKeeper or CleanMyMac? If so then that's probably the reason for your lack of performance, on the computer I mean.

Download and run Etrecheck. Copy and paste the results into your next post. It's a diagnostic tool that was developed by one of the most respected users here in the ASC.

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Answer 4

Eric Root

Level 10

684,045 points

Jul 24, 2014 9:26 AM in response to vburger

Activity Monitor - Mavericks

Activity Monitor in Mavericks has significant changes

Performance Guide

Why is my computer slow

Why your Mac runs slower than it should

Slow Mac After Mavericks

Things you can do to resolve slowdowns see post by Kappy

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Answer 5

thomas_r.

Level 7

31,989 points

Jul 24, 2014 9:46 AM in response to vburger

It's not really about the settings that might have been carried over from older systems, it's about the software. Most likely, you have carried over old apps from your older systems, and some of those may not be very compatible with Mavericks... or may be altogether junk.

Also, note that you should not go out and buy more RAM just yet. Use Activity Monitor to keep an eye on your RAM usage. Don't worry if your RAM is full - that's normal. However, if the memory pressure graph goes up, and goes from green to yellow or red, then you're having low memory issues.

For more details, see my Mac Performance Guide.

If you decide that erasing and reinstalling the system is going to be the easiest way to clean up your system, be sure to have at least two completely separate backups, preferably made with two separate backup programs, before you start.

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Answer 6

vburger Author

Level 1

19 points

Jul 24, 2014 2:15 PM in response to Carolyn Samit

Thank you all for your very positive responses, am now busy to read the references and advice and to run the suggested tests. Will report back on these. Thanks in the meantime.

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Answer 7

vburger Author

Level 1

19 points

Jul 24, 2014 2:16 PM in response to Paul_31

Thank you all for your very positive responses, am now busy to read the references and advice and to run the suggested tests. Will report back on these. Thanks in the meantime.

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Answer 8

vburger Author

Level 1

19 points

Jul 24, 2014 2:25 PM in response to Old Toad

T's great to see you around, Old Toad, a trusted "helper" for many years!

Yes, I have Sophos Anti-Virus installed; I do NOT have MacKeeper and CleanMyMac (been warned against them).

There are three items in the EtreCheck diagnostics below, other than DynSysUpdater, which I do NOT recognize and which do NOT show up under SystemPreferences > User > LoginItems (hence I would not know how to delete them).

Here are the diagnostics:

QUOTE

EtreCheck version: 1.9.12 (48)

Report generated 24 Juli 2014, Donnerstag 22:43:01 MESZ

Hardware Information:

iMac (21.5-inch, Late 2009) (Verified)

iMac - model: iMac10,1

1 3.06 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo CPU: 2 cores

4 GB RAM

Video Information:

ATI Radeon HD 4670 - VRAM: 256 MB

iMac 1920 x 1080

System Software:

OS X 10.9.4 (13E28) - Uptime: 0 days 0:52:22

Disk Information:

ST31000528AS disk0 : (1 TB)

EFI (disk0s1) <not mounted>: 209,7 MB

VB Macintosh HD (disk0s2) / [Startup]: 999,35 GB (204,13 GB free)

Recovery HD (disk0s3) <not mounted>: 650 MB

HL-DT-ST DVDRW GA11N

USB Information:

Apple Inc. Built-in iSight

Western Digital Ext HDD 1021 2 TB

VB WD-HD 2TB (disk1s1) /Volumes/VB WD-HD 2TB: 2 TB (21,85 GB free)

Apple Internal Memory Card Reader

Apple Computer, Inc. IR Receiver

Apple Inc. BRCM2046 Hub

Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller

Gatekeeper:

Mac App Store and identified developers

Kernel Extensions:

[loaded] com.Cycling74.driver.Soundflower (1.6.6 - SDK 10.6) Support

[not loaded] com.ZTE.driver.ZTEUSBCDCACMData (1.3.2) Support

[not loaded] com.elgato.driver.DontMatchAfaTech (1.1) Support

[not loaded] com.elgato.driver.DontMatchCinergy450 (1.1) Support

[not loaded] com.elgato.driver.DontMatchCinergyXS (1.1) Support

[not loaded] com.elgato.driver.DontMatchEmpia (1.1) Support

[not loaded] com.elgato.driver.DontMatchVoyager (1.1) Support

[not loaded] com.markspace.iokit.IOMissingSyncMassStorage (199) Support

[not loaded] com.markspace.missingsync.palmos.classicseize (1) Support

[loaded] com.sophos.kext.sav (9.0.61 - SDK 10.7) Support

[loaded] com.sophos.nke.swi (9.0.53 - SDK 10.8) Support

[loaded] com.squirrels.airparrot.framebuffer (3 - SDK 10.8) Support

[loaded] com.squirrels.driver.AirParrotSpeakers (1.8 - SDK 10.8) Support

[not loaded] com.tomtom.driver.UsbEthernetGadget (1.0.0d1) Support

Startup Items:

DynDNSUpdater: Path: /Library/StartupItems/DynDNSUpdater

HP IO: Path: /Library/StartupItems/HP IO

HP Trap Monitor: Path: /Library/StartupItems/HP Trap Monitor

MissingSyncMounting: Path: /Library/StartupItems/MissingSyncMounting

Launch Daemons:

[loaded] com.adobe.fpsaud.plist Support

[running] com.elgato.EyeConnect.plist Support

[loaded] com.google.keystone.daemon.plist Support

[loaded] com.oracle.java.Helper-Tool.plist Support

[loaded] com.oracle.java.JavaUpdateHelper.plist Support

[not loaded] com.robohippo.HippoConnectDaemon.plist Support

[loaded] com.sharpcast.xfsmond.plist Support

[running] com.sophos.autoupdate.plist Support

[running] com.sophos.configuration.plist Support

[running] com.sophos.intercheck.plist Support

[running] com.sophos.notification.plist Support

[running] com.sophos.scan.plist Support

[running] com.sophos.sxld.plist Support

[running] com.sophos.webd.plist Support

[loaded] com.teamviewer.Helper.plist Support

[not loaded] com.teamviewer.teamviewer_service.plist Support

Launch Agents:

[running] com.brother.LOGINserver.plist Support

[not loaded] com.cooliris.SetLaunchArch.plist Support

[loaded] com.google.keystone.agent.plist Support

[loaded] com.oracle.java.Java-Updater.plist Support

[running] com.robohippo.HippoConnectAgent.plist Support

[running] com.sophos.uiserver.plist Support

[not loaded] com.teamviewer.teamviewer.plist Support

[not loaded] com.teamviewer.teamviewer_desktop.plist Support

User Launch Agents:

[not loaded] 3DataManager

[running] ca.indev.MailTagsHelper.agent.plist Support

[loaded] com.adobe.ARM.[...].plist Support

[running] com.ecamm.printopia.plist Support

[failed] WebToGo.BOB-100.plist Support

[running] ws.agile.1PasswordAgent.plist Support

User Login Items:

FreeSpace

HardwareGrowler

Skype

iTunes

Dropbox

iAntiVirus

Internet Plug-ins:

Google Earth Web Plug-in: Version: 6.0 Support

Default Browser: Version: 537 - SDK 10.9

Flip4Mac WMV Plugin: Version: 3.2.0.16 - SDK 10.8 Support

CoolirisWebKitPlugin: Version: (null) Support

Loki: Version: 3.4.2.20 Support

AdobePDFViewerNPAPI: Version: 11.0.07 - SDK 10.6 Support

FlashPlayer-10.6: Version: 14.0.0.145 - SDK 10.6 Support

OfficeLiveBrowserPlugin: Version: 12.3.6 Support

Silverlight: Version: 5.1.10411.0 - SDK 10.6 Support

Flash Player: Version: 14.0.0.145 - SDK 10.6 Support

iPhotoPhotocast: Version: 7.0

QuickTime Plugin: Version: 7.7.3

AdobePDFViewer: Version: 11.0.07 - SDK 10.6 Support

CANONiMAGEGATEWAYDL: Version: 3.1.0.2 Support

GoogleOneClickPluginDeluxe: Version: 1.0 Support

JavaAppletPlugin: Version: Java 7 Update 65 Check version

Safari Extensions:

Save to Pocket: Version: 1.9.1

Evernote Web Clipper: Version: 6.1.3

Clip to DEVONthink: Version: 1.2.1

Ghostery: Version: 5.3.0

Awesome Screenshot: Version: 1.4.3

1Password: Version: 3.9.20

SafariKeywordSearch: Version: 2.2.5

AdBlock: Version: 2.7.8

Audio Plug-ins:

BluetoothAudioPlugIn: Version: 1.0 - SDK 10.9

AirPlay: Version: 2.0 - SDK 10.9

AppleAVBAudio: Version: 203.2 - SDK 10.9

iSightAudio: Version: 7.7.3 - SDK 10.9

iTunes Plug-ins:

Quartz Composer Visualizer: Version: 1.4 - SDK 10.9

User Internet Plug-ins:

Picasa: Version: 1.0 Support

3rd Party Preference Panes:

Flash Player Support

Flip4Mac WMV Support

FUSE for OS X (OSXFUSE) Support

Growl Support

Java Support

MacFUSE Support

Perian Support

Printopia Support

Time Machine:

Skip System Files: NO

Mobile backups: OFF

Auto backup: NO - Auto backup turned off

Volumes being backed up:

VB Macintosh HD: Disk size: 930.71 GB Disk used: 740.60 GB

Destinations:

VB WD-HD 2TB [Local] (Last used)

Total size: 2

Total number of backups: 14

Oldest backup: 2013-02-21 12:14:36 +0000

Last backup: 2014-06-26 09:43:15 +0000

Size of backup disk: Too small

Backup size 2 < (Disk used 740.60 GB X 3)

VB Proworx 3TB [Local]

Total size: 3

Total number of backups: 2

Oldest backup: 2014-06-28 21:02:21 +0000

Last backup: 2014-06-29 08:01:15 +0000

Size of backup disk: Excellent

Backup size 3 > (Disk size 930.71 GB X 3)

Time Machine details may not be accurate.

All volumes being backed up may not be listed.

Top Processes by CPU:

4% backupd

2% WindowServer

1% iPhoto

0% mds

0% FreeSpace

Top Processes by Memory:

156 MB Safari

139 MB SophosScanD

135 MB iPhoto

119 MB com.apple.WebKit.WebContent

98 MB backupd

Virtual Memory Information:

47 MB Free RAM

1.37 GB Active RAM

1.34 GB Inactive RAM

625 MB Wired RAM

1.47 GB Page-ins

115 MB Page-outs

UNQUOTE

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Answer 9

Old Toad

Level 10

207,547 points

Jul 24, 2014 2:35 PM in response to vburger

I would remove Sophos as it's just not needed and is know to slow down Macs as witnessed by the many posts to that effect.

I looked up DynSysUpdater and I don't know what it is either. Someone else might pop in and help there.

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Answer 10

vburger Author

Level 1

19 points

Jul 24, 2014 2:53 PM in response to Old Toad

Thanks!

I will remove Sophos AntiVirus, as well as iAntiVirus

Sorry for the misspelling: it is DynDNSUpdater (a utility to keep a fixed URL in sync with a changing DNS number (or some such thing)), but I don't need that anymore.

How do I remove the 4 items in the

Startup Items:

DynDNSUpdater: Path: /Library/StartupItems/DynDNSUpdater

HP IO: Path: /Library/StartupItems/HP IO

HP Trap Monitor: Path: /Library/StartupItems/HP Trap Monitor

MissingSyncMounting: Path: /Library/StartupItems/MissingSyncMounting

Should I just delete them in the indicated path???

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Answer 11

Old Toad

Level 10

207,547 points

Jul 24, 2014 3:10 PM in response to vburger

See if there's an uninstaller for those items from the developer's site. Or you can download and run Find Any File to search for files with "DynDNSUpdater", "HP IO", HP Trap Monitor" and "MissingSync Mounting " in the file name. If you know the name of the developer search for files with that name also and see if they relate to those items. Once found the files can be dragged from the search results window to the Desktop for deletion.

It would be best to use an uninstaller provided by the developer if there is one.

FAF can search areas that Spotlight can't like invisible folders, system folders and packages. If there's a library hiding somewhere on your hard drive FAF will find it.

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Answer 12

vburger Author

Level 1

19 points

Jul 24, 2014 3:14 PM in response to Old Toad

Do I need a specific Uninstaller for each of these, or is it enough if I delete each item in the StartUpItems folder? (Sorry for the ignorance).

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Answer 13

Old Toad

Level 10

207,547 points

Jul 24, 2014 3:16 PM in response to vburger

You should use a specific uninstalled if they are available. There may be multiple files in various locations that need to be removed in addition to those in the StartupItems folder.

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Answer 14

vburger Author

Level 1

19 points

Jul 24, 2014 3:37 PM in response to Old Toad

Thanks for this important clarification.

This begs the question: would a complete reinstallation of the OSX, followed by a re-installation of those additional applications which I acquired over time, and recognize that I need them, be a "cleaner" solution by getting rid (or rather not installing) these by now unnecessary files? Which, by the way, is indeed the easiest way to find out what kind of programs/apps one has installed over time in addition to the original OSX. The Applications folder, alas, mixes original OSX files with user installed applications, and there are many applications where it is not clear whether they are part of the necessary operating system. Any pointers there?

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Answer 15

vburger Author

Level 1

19 points

Jul 24, 2014 3:38 PM in response to Old Toad

Bed time in Europe at half past midnight, be back tomorrow.

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