tawsh
Level 1 (0 points)

Q: iMac Super Slow

I posted this not too long ago, thought it was quicker, but within a few days it was back to being super slow.

 

My iMac is Slow – No Idea Why

 

So basically, I have the exact same question again:

 

Product name: iMac

Processor 2.7 GHz Intel Core i5

Memory: 4 GB 1333 MHz DDR3

OS X: 10.9.4

 

--

 

My iMac is fairly new. Perhaps 3 years. All my programs are legal and I really only use my computer in the evening to work on freelance stuff. I feel as though ever since I updated to Mavericks, it's super slow doing the tiniest tasks. I'm a web developer/designer so I use Creative Cloud and often am switching between programs. Programs chug and even opening a browser is slower than it should be.

 

I've tried a few things to fix this.

 

1. I've rebooted my system and I always shut it off at night so it can clear it's cache.

2. I've disabled all my Google Chrome extensions (I read that that can slow things down)

3. My desktop is clean with only 3 folders on it.

4. I run verify disk/repair disk weekly.

5. I have the majority of my music on iMatch in the cloud and I regularly backup my photos on a hard drive.

6. All my working files for my work is located on a hard drive.

7. I unplug my hard drive when it's not in use and I don't work directly on it.

8. I've disabled most of my, 'open on restart' programs.

Posted on Sep 7, 2014 3:19 PM

by MichelPM,Solvedanswer
MichelPM MichelPM
Level 6 (13,653 points)
iPad
A:

I amazed that your computer wasn't running as slow on the previous OS X version you were using as 4 GBs of RAM is really a working, minimum RAM amount for just OS X, alone, nevermind running Adobe apps with just 4 GBs of RAM.

I believe you need to purchase and install more RAM to increase the amount of RAM in your system.

Your year and model iMac can take a grand total of 32 GBs of RAM.

I would increase your to, at. least, 12 GBs of RAM and 16 GBs of you can afford to do this. See if your iMac runs better on 15 GBs of RAM before even upgrading to even more RAM to make sure whether this is necessary to increase RAM to more the 16 GBs.

Correct, compatible and reliable Mac RAM can be purchased from online Mac RAM sources Crucial memory or OWC (macsales.com).

 

http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/memory/iMac/2011/DDR3_21.5_27

 

RAM is user upgradeable/installable and is, relatively, easy for new and novice users to install, themselves.

 

http://eshop.macsales.com/installvideos/imac_mid_2011_mem_h/

 

Good Luck!

Posted on Sep 8, 2014 7:39 PM

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tawsh

Q: iMac Super Slow

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  • by blackknife,

    blackknife blackknife Sep 9, 2014 1:06 PM in response to tawsh
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 9, 2014 1:06 PM in response to tawsh

    Sorry, I wasn't trying to hijack your post, it's just that I was having the same issue, and thought we could both get some advise.

     

    As far as my machine goes, I think I'll get a new HDD and install it myself. I just need to get the same Seagate 500 gb HDD so I'm sure it will have the same HDD temp sensor connector from what I've read online. I would really like to go with a solid state drive, but I think that's going to be a bit more difficlut

  • by MichelPM,

    MichelPM MichelPM Sep 9, 2014 5:19 PM in response to blackknife
    Level 6 (13,653 points)
    iPad
    Sep 9, 2014 5:19 PM in response to blackknife

    blackknife wrote:

     

    Sorry, I wasn't trying to hijack your post, it's just that I was having the same issue, and thought we could both get some advise.

     

    As far as my machine goes, I think I'll get a new HDD and install it myself. I just need to get the same Seagate 500 gb HDD so I'm sure it will have the same HDD temp sensor connector from what I've read online. I would really like to go with a solid state drive, but I think that's going to be a bit more difficlut

     

    I do not think that will be possible.

    The original drive is a special Apple branded Seagate drive only available through Apple and you cannot buy these drives from Apple as Apple does not sell parts to individuals or unlicensed partners.

    You can get an equivalent drive ,without the sensor,  or install an even larger storage. drive ( since you are opting to install this drive, yourself , as Apple will only replace with the same storage size drive) from OWC (macsales.com).

    They have a video showing how to install the new iMac hard drive yourself.

    You will have to install a software fan controller to manually control the fans in your Mac as these third party, replacement hard drives have no temp sensor control capability.

  • by blackknife,

    blackknife blackknife Sep 10, 2014 9:50 AM in response to MichelPM
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 10, 2014 9:50 AM in response to MichelPM

    Thanks, yes, I have watched several videos on replacing the drive. My understand was that if I replaced it with the same Seagate ST3500418AS that the HDD temp sender connection would be the same, but I might have a firmware issue, hence Apple proprietary firmware. I have a friend who works at the Apple Store here in RI, and I have asked him to inquire about replacing my HDD. I guess it will depend on how much they charge. I'd rather let Apple do it so I don't have to worry about anything but if it's going to be over 500 dollars I'll probably go the DIY route. I'm really not interested in increasing the size as I have a few fire wire drives with tons of space. I've actually restarted the iMac from my 2 Tb WD fire wire drive, and it's running great, but I'll still need to do something.

  • by tawsh,

    tawsh tawsh Sep 11, 2014 3:47 PM in response to MichelPM
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 11, 2014 3:47 PM in response to MichelPM

    I just popped in my new RAM. Holy cow I wish I did this 3 years ago. Major difference. Even in my browser searching which I was surprised by. I thought it would only affect applications. Thanks a bunch for those links.

  • by MichelPM,

    MichelPM MichelPM Sep 11, 2014 3:55 PM in response to tawsh
    Level 6 (13,653 points)
    iPad
    Sep 11, 2014 3:55 PM in response to tawsh

    You're very welcome!!!

     

  • by eastwest02,

    eastwest02 eastwest02 Sep 23, 2014 8:30 AM in response to Allan Eckert
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 23, 2014 8:30 AM in response to Allan Eckert

    My iMac is running so SLOW! The only thing I did was update my iPhone to IOS 8 (which crashed and I had to restore my phone!). Coincidence? Love some help with this. Here's my EtreCheck:


    EtreCheck version: 1.9.15 (52)

    Report generated September 23, 2014 at 8:21:33 AM PDT

     

    Hardware Information: ?

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

      iMac - model: iMac8,1

      1 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo CPU: 2 cores

      3 GB RAM

     

    Video Information: ?

      ATI Radeon HD 2400 - VRAM: 128 MB

      iMac 1680 x 1050

     

    System Software: ?

      OS X 10.9.5 (13F34) - Uptime: 0 days 18:34:48

     

    Disk Information: ?

      Hitachi HDP725025GLA380 disk0 : (250.06 GB)

      S.M.A.R.T. Status: Verified

      EFI (disk0s1) <not mounted>: 209.7 MB

      Julie Adam iMac (disk0s2) / [Startup]: 249.2 GB (70.92 GB free)

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

     

    USB Information: ?

      Apple, Inc. Keyboard Hub

      Mitsumi Electric Apple Optical USB Mouse

      Apple, Inc Apple Keyboard

      Apple Inc. Built-in iSight

      Apple Inc. BRCM2046 Hub

      Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller

      Apple Computer, Inc. IR Receiver

     

    Gatekeeper: ?

      Mac App Store and identified developers

     

    Kernel Extensions: ?

      [not loaded] com.olympus.CamBlockCommandsDeviceUP (2.0.2) Support

     

    Problem System Launch Daemons: ?

      [failed] com.apple.softwareupdated.plist

      [failed] com.apple.wdhelper.plist

     

    Launch Daemons: ?

      [failed] com.adobe.fpsaud.plist Support

     

    User Launch Agents: ?

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

     

    User Login Items: ?

      Garmin Express Service

      iTunesHelper

      Microsoft Database Daemon

      Dropbox

     

    Internet Plug-ins: ?

      JavaAppletPlugin: Version: 14.8.0 - SDK 10.9 Check version

      FlashPlayer-10.6: Version: 15.0.0.152 - SDK 10.6 Support

      Default Browser: Version: 537 - SDK 10.9

      AdobePDFViewerNPAPI: Version: 10.1.10 Support

      AdobePDFViewer: Version: 10.1.10 Support

      Flash Player: Version: 15.0.0.152 - SDK 10.6 Support

      QuickTime Plugin: Version: 7.7.3

      Unity Web Player: Version: UnityPlayer version 3.5.6f4 - SDK 10.6 Support

      Silverlight: Version: 5.1.10411.0 - SDK 10.6 Support

      iPhotoPhotocast: Version: 7.0

     

    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 ?

      WebEx64: Version: 1.0 - SDK 10.5 Support

     

    3rd Party Preference Panes: ?

      Flash Player  Support

     

    Time Machine: ?

      Skip System Files: NO

      Mobile backups: OFF

      Auto backup: NO - Auto backup turned off

      Volumes being backed up:

      Julie Adam iMac: Disk size: 232.09 GB Disk used: 166.03 GB

      Destinations:

      WD External Drive [Local] (Last used)

      Total size: 465.44 GB

      Total number of backups: 84

      Oldest backup: 2009-04-08 16:24:57 +0000

      Last backup: 2014-09-23 05:28:33 +0000

      Size of backup disk: Too small

      Backup size 465.44 GB < (Disk used 166.03 GB X 3)

      Time Machine details may not be accurate.

      All volumes being backed up may not be listed.

     

    Top Processes by CPU: ?

          11% mds

          2% WindowServer

          0% fontd

          0% Dropbox

          0% imagent

     

    Top Processes by Memory: ?

      845 MB Safari

      18 MB com.apple.WebKit.WebContent

      18 MB Calendar

      15 MB mds_stores

      15 MB com.apple.WebKit.Networking

     

    Virtual Memory Information: ?

      962 MB Free RAM

      975 MB Active RAM

      348 MB Inactive RAM

      346 MB Wired RAM

      1.29 GB Page-ins

      98 MB Page-outs

  • by Allan Eckert,

    Allan Eckert Allan Eckert Sep 23, 2014 8:57 AM in response to eastwest02
    Level 9 (53,445 points)
    Desktops
    Sep 23, 2014 8:57 AM in response to eastwest02

    Check into the possibility of increasing the RAM in iMac

     

    3 GB of RAM is a minimal amount of RAM for any workload under Mavericks

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