Legally_Red

Q: mac running very slow

My mac is running very slow. 

It runs Mac OS X 10.6.8.

2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo

1 GB 800 MHz DDR2 SDRAM

 

I ran etrecheck and here are the results:

EtreCheck version: 1.9.12 (48)

Report generated August 2, 2014 11:36:53 AM EDT

 

Hardware Information:

  iMac (20-inch, Early 2008) (Verified)

  iMac - model: iMac8,1

  1 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo CPU: 2 cores

  1 GB RAM

 

Video Information:

  ATI Radeon HD 2400 - VRAM: 128 MB

  iMac 1680 x 1050

  spdisplays_display_connector

 

System Software:

  Mac OS X 10.6.8 (10K549) - Uptime: 7 days 2:49:54

 

Disk Information:

  WDC WD2500AAJS-40VWA0 disk0 : (232.89 GB)

  - (disk0s1) <not mounted>: 200 MB

  Macintosh HD (disk0s2) / [Startup]: 232.57 GB (151.83 GB free)

 

USB Information:

  Apple Inc. Built-in iSight

  HP Officejet 6300 series

  Apple Inc. BRCM2046 Hub

  Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller

  Apple Computer, Inc. IR Receiver

 

Kernel Extensions:

  [loaded] com.Logitech.Control Center.HID Driver (3.0.0) Support

  [not loaded] com.Logitech.Unifying.HID Driver (1.0) Support

  [not loaded] com.aliph.driver.jstub (1.1.2 - SDK 10.7) Support

 

Startup Items:

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

 

Launch Daemons:

  [failed] com.adobe.fpsaud.plist Support

  [running] com.backblaze.bzserv.plist Support

 

Launch Agents:

  [loaded] com.hp.help.tocgenerator.plist Support

 

User Launch Agents:

  [loaded] com.yahoo.YahooContactSyncAgent.plist Support

 

User Login Items:

  iTunesHelper

  Jawbone Updater

  Box Edit

  bzbmenu

  Logitech Control Center Daemon

  HP Product Research

  HP Scheduler

 

Internet Plug-ins:

  JavaAppletPlugin: Version: 13.9.8 - SDK 10.6 Check version

  FlashPlayer-10.6: Version: 14.0.0.145 - SDK 10.6 Support

  QuickTime Plugin: Version: 7.6.6

  Flash Player: Version: 14.0.0.145 - SDK 10.6 Support

  CANONiMAGEGATEWAYDL: Version: 3.1.0.2 Support

  OfficeLiveBrowserPlugin: Version: 12.3.6 Support

  iPhotoPhotocast: Version: 7.0

 

iTunes Plug-ins:

  Quartz Composer Visualizer: Version: 1.2

 

User Internet Plug-ins:

  Box Edit: Version: BoxEdit 1.1.36.0 - SDK 10.0 Support

 

3rd Party Preference Panes:

  Backblaze Backup  Support

  Flash Player  Support

  Logitech Control Center  Support

 

Top Processes by CPU:

      1% bzfilelist

      1% WindowServer

      0% ps

      0% fontd

      0% mds

 

Top Processes by Memory:

  151 MB Safari

  98 MB WebProcess

  70 MB mds

  31 MB WindowServer

  27 MB System Profiler

 

Virtual Memory Information:

  114 MB Free RAM

  580 MB Active RAM

  168 MB Inactive RAM

  162 MB Wired RAM

  13.02 GB Page-ins

  5.64 GB Page-outs

 

Any help would be very much appreciated.

iMac (20-inch Early 2008), Mac OS X (10.6.8)

Posted on Aug 2, 2014 9:27 AM

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Q: mac running very slow

  • All replies
  • Helpful answers

  • by Old Toad,

    Old Toad Old Toad Aug 2, 2014 9:42 AM in response to Legally_Red
    Level 10 (141,557 points)
    Mac OS X
    Aug 2, 2014 9:42 AM in response to Legally_Red

    If you only have 1 GB of RAM it's not wonder the Mac is running slow.  That particular model can use 4 GB of memory.  I suggest yuou go to Crucial.com or otherworldcomputing.com and order two 2 GB memory modules and install them.  You'll see a tremendous improvement in system and application performance.

     

    Also turn off Blackblaze for a while to see if there's any noticeable improvement.

    OTsig.png

  • by Legally_Red,

    Legally_Red Legally_Red Aug 2, 2014 11:10 AM in response to Old Toad
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Aug 2, 2014 11:10 AM in response to Old Toad

    Thanks Old Toad.  Is memory something that is very easy to install by someone who has never done it (like me)?  Also, if I log in to my mac as a guest it runs much faster than when Im logged in to my account. 

  • by Old Toad,

    Old Toad Old Toad Aug 2, 2014 11:27 AM in response to Legally_Red
    Level 10 (141,557 points)
    Mac OS X
    Aug 2, 2014 11:27 AM in response to Legally_Red

    Yes.  On the underside of your iMac is a small plate held by two screws.  Under it are the 4 slots.  This Apple document shows how with schematics: iMac: How to remove or install memory

  • by K Shaffer,

    K Shaffer K Shaffer Aug 2, 2014 1:24 PM in response to Legally_Red
    Level 6 (14,523 points)
    Desktops
    Aug 2, 2014 1:24 PM in response to Legally_Red

    The upgrade RAM total capacity likely would require each slot to get a new larger size

    (capacity) memory chip, so that would replace any older chips of less capacity. A kit

    to upgrade the computer fully, would include a chip for each slot.

     

    Depending on how the 1024MB (1GB) RAM already in the computer was arrived at,

    the existing chips may be of low capacity each and performance would be enhanced

    if all of them were replaced at the same time; the two cited examples of RAM source

    are preferred and the vendors offer compatible and guaranteed to work in Mac parts.

     

    PS: according to MacTracker, your model iMac8.1 20-inch, early 2008 can take up to

    6GB RAM, has two slots,  specs slightly are different than suggested above... But that

    is nominal in that 4GB certainly is better than 1GB.

     

    http://mactracker.ca

    http://everymac.com

     

    Maximum Memory    6.0 GB (Actual) 4.0 GB (Apple)

    Memory Slots    2 - 200-pin PC2-6400 (800MHz) DDR2 SO-DIMM

     

    edited

     

    Good luck & happy computing!