nguithi

Q: Experiencing frequentBeach balls after RAM upgrad

I have a Macbook pro 13'' early 2011. I replaced my hard drive and performed a clean install of OS X 10.9.5 and started experiencing constant beach balls and system freezing. theses issues occurred on new administrator accounts and my old admin account restored from a time machine back up. I upgraded my RAM from 4 GB to 8GB but I still get the beach balls. The system freezing is most frequent when I use transmission.

The RAM is from crucial and and the hard drive from OWC, both compatible with the mac. Is there any way to fix it?

MacBook Pro (13-inch Early 2011), OS X Mavericks (10.9.3)

Posted on Oct 29, 2014 5:41 AM

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Q: Experiencing frequentBeach balls after RAM upgrad

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  • by Eric Root,

    Eric Root Eric Root Oct 29, 2014 10:32 AM in response to nguithi
    Level 9 (72,013 points)
    iTunes
    Oct 29, 2014 10:32 AM in response to nguithi

    Try booting into the Safe Mode using your normal account.  Disconnect all peripherals except those needed for the test. Shut down the computer and then power it back up after waiting 10 seconds. Immediately after hearing the startup chime, hold down the shift key and continue to hold it until the gray Apple icon and a progress bar appear and again when you log in. The boot up is significantly slower than normal. This will reset some caches, forces a directory check, and disables all startup and login items, among other things. When you reboot normally, the initial reboot may be slower than normal. If the system operates normally, there may be 3rd party applications which are causing a problem. Try deleting/disabling the third party applications after a restart by using the application un-installer. For each disable/delete, you will need to restart if you don’t do them all at once.

     

    Safe Mode - Mavericks

     

    Safe Mode - About


    Spinning Beach Ball

     

    Spinning Beach ball (2)

     

    Spinning Beach ball (3)

     

    Spinning Beach ball (4)


    Kernel Panics - About

     

    Kernel Panics FAQ   

     

    Kernel Panics FAQ (2)

  • by nguithi,

    nguithi nguithi Oct 30, 2014 9:56 AM in response to Eric Root
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Oct 30, 2014 9:56 AM in response to Eric Root

    Thank you. The beach balls have reduced after the safe mode boot and regular boot up. However when I play large media files like 720p and 1080p the videos freeze often. Finder relaunches it self for some reason. The fan also makes a lot of noise associated with the mac overworking even when one or two programs are running, in some cases immediately after the mac boots up. Are these issues associated with the age of the mac or maverick's inability to handle large files?

  • by nguithi,

    nguithi nguithi Oct 31, 2014 10:20 AM in response to nguithi
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Oct 31, 2014 10:20 AM in response to nguithi

    I performed a scan of the mac and got this info about the hardware and software

     

    Problem description:

    slow mac

     

    EtreCheck version: 2.0.8 (95)

    Report generated October 31, 2014 at 7:52:00 PM GMT+3

     

    Hardware Information: ℹ️

        MacBook Pro (13-inch, Early 2011) (Verified)

        MacBook Pro - model: MacBookPro8,1

        1 2.3 GHz Intel Core i5 CPU: 2-core

        8 GB RAM Upgradeable

            BANK 0/DIMM0

                4 GB DDR3 1333 MHz ok

            BANK 1/DIMM0

                4 GB DDR3 1333 MHz ok

        Bluetooth: Old - Handoff/Airdrop2 not supported

        Wireless:  en1: 802.11 a/b/g/n

     

    Video Information: ℹ️

        Intel HD Graphics 3000 - VRAM: 512 MB

            Color LCD 1280 x 800

     

    System Software: ℹ️

        OS X 10.9.5 (13F34) - Uptime: 0:22:26

     

    Disk Information: ℹ️

        WDC WD10S12X-55JTET0 disk0 : (1 TB)

        S.M.A.R.T. Status: Verified

            EFI (disk0s1) <not mounted> : 210 MB

            Macintosh HD (disk0s2) /  [Startup]: 999.35 GB (577.02 GB free)

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

     

        MATSHITADVD-R   UJ-8A8 

     

    USB Information: ℹ️

        Apple Inc. BRCM2070 Hub

            Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller

        Apple Inc. Apple Internal Keyboard / Trackpad

        Apple Inc. FaceTime HD Camera (Built-in)

        Apple Computer, Inc. IR Receiver

     

    Thunderbolt Information: ℹ️

        Apple Inc. thunderbolt_bus

     

    Gatekeeper: ℹ️

        Anywhere

     

    Kernel Extensions: ℹ️

            /Library/Application Support/Avast/components/fileshield/unsigned

        [loaded]    com.avast.AvastFileShield (2.1.0 - SDK 10.9) Support

     

            /Library/Application Support/Avast/components/proxy/unsigned

        [loaded]    com.avast.PacketForwarder (1.4 - SDK 10.9) Support

     

            /Library/Application Support/Hotspot Shield

        [not loaded]    com.anchorfree.tun (1.1.1 - SDK 10.8) Support

     

            /System/Library/Extensions

        [loaded]    com.netralia.driver.VBMicDriver (1.0.0 - SDK 10.7) Support

        [loaded]    com.netralia.driver.VBSpeakerDriver (1.0.0 - SDK 10.7) Support

        [not loaded]    com.paceap.kext.pacesupport.master (5.9 - SDK 10.6) Support

        [not loaded]    com.wacom.kext.pentablet (5.3.3 - SDK 10.8) Support

     

            /System/Library/Extensions/PACESupportFamily.kext/Contents/PlugIns

        [not loaded]    com.paceap.kext.pacesupport.leopard (5.9 - SDK 10.4) Support

        [not loaded]    com.paceap.kext.pacesupport.panther (5.9 - SDK 10.-1) Support

        [loaded]    com.paceap.kext.pacesupport.snowleopard (5.9 - SDK 10.6) Support

        [not loaded]    com.paceap.kext.pacesupport.tiger (5.9 - SDK 10.4) Support

     

    Launch Agents: ℹ️

        [not loaded]    com.adobe.AAM.Updater-1.0.plist Support

        [loaded]    com.avast.userinit.plist Support

        [loaded]    com.divx.dms.agent.plist Support

        [loaded]    com.divx.update.agent.plist Support

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

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

        [running]    com.wacom.pentablet.plist Support

        [loaded]    org.macosforge.xquartz.startx.plist Support

     

    Launch Daemons: ℹ️

        [loaded]    com.adobe.fpsaud.plist Support

        [invalid?]    com.adobe.SwitchBoard.plist Support

        [loaded]    com.anchorfree.ajaxserver.plist Support

        [loaded]    com.avast.init.plist Support

        [loaded]    com.avast.uninstall.plist Support

        [loaded]    com.avast.update.plist Support

        [loaded]    com.barebones.authd.plist Support

        [not loaded]    com.barebones.textwrangler.plist Support

        [running]    com.cleverfiles.cfbackd.plist Support

        [invalid?]    com.eset.esets_daemon.plist Support

        [not loaded]    com.fernlightning.fseventer.plist Support

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

        [running]    com.magican.castle.plist Support

        [loaded]    com.microsoft.office.licensing.helper.plist Support

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

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

        [invalid?]    com.prosoftnet.idrivedaemon.plist Support

        [invalid?]    com.prosoftnet.idwebdaemon.plist Support

        [loaded]    com.sharpcast.xfsmond.plist Support

        [loaded]    org.macosforge.xquartz.privileged_startx.plist Support

        [loaded]    PACESupport.plist Support

     

    User Launch Agents: ℹ️

        [loaded]    com.adobe.AAM.Updater-1.0.plist Support

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

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

        [invalid?]    com.avast.home.userinit.plist Support

        [invalid?]    org.virtualbox.vboxwebsrv.plist Support

        [invalid?]    uk.co.markallan.clamxav.freshclam.plist Support

     

    User Login Items: ℹ️

        AdobeResourceSynchronizer    ApplicationHidden (/Applications/Adobe Reader.app/Contents/Support/AdobeResourceSynchronizer.app)

     

    Internet Plug-ins: ℹ️

        JavaAppletPlugin: Version: Java 8 Update 25 Check version

        WacomNetscape: Version: 2.1.0-1 - SDK 10.8 Support

        OVSHelper: Version: 1.1 Support

        Default Browser: Version: 537 - SDK 10.9

        AdobeExManDetect: Version: AdobeExManDetect 1.1.0.0 - SDK 10.7 Support

        WacomTabletPlugin: Version: WacomTabletPlugin 2.1.0.2 Support

        AdobePDFViewerNPAPI: Version: 11.0.09 - SDK 10.6 Support

        FlashPlayer-10.6: Version: 15.0.0.152 - SDK 10.6 Support

        DivX Web Player: Version: 3.2.3.1164 - SDK 10.6 Support

        Silverlight: Version: 5.1.20913.0 - SDK 10.6 Support

        Flash Player: Version: 15.0.0.152 - SDK 10.6 Mismatch! Adobe recommends 15.0.0.189

        QuickTime Plugin: Version: 7.7.3

        SharePointBrowserPlugin: Version: 14.2.0 - SDK 10.6 Support

        AdobePDFViewer: Version: 11.0.09 - SDK 10.6 Support

        DirectorShockwave: Version: 11.6.8r638 Support

     

    User Internet Plug-ins: ℹ️

        Folx3Plugin: Version: 3.0.1 - SDK 10.6 Support

     

    Safari Extensions: ℹ️

        AdBlock

        iTube Studio

        Avast Online Security

        OpenIE

     

    3rd Party Preference Panes: ℹ️

        Fan Control  Support

        Flash Player  Support

        FUSE for OS X (OSXFUSE)  Support

        Java  Support

        Perian  Support

        Tuxera NTFS  Support

        PenTablet  Support

     

    Time Machine: ℹ️

        Time Machine not configured!

     

    Top Processes by CPU: ℹ️

            34%    firefox

             8%    WindowServer

             4%    Transmission

             2%    mds

             1%    com.avast.daemon

     

    Top Processes by Memory: ℹ️

        481 MB    firefox

        198 MB    com.apple.IconServicesAgent

        137 MB    com.avast.daemon

        129 MB    Transmission

        112 MB    mds_stores

     

    Virtual Memory Information: ℹ️

        2.65 GB    Free RAM

        2.71 GB    Active RAM

        1.76 GB    Inactive RAM

        1.47 GB    Wired RAM

        1.67 GB    Page-ins

        0 B    Page-outs

  • by John_M_,

    John_M_ John_M_ Apr 18, 2015 9:33 PM in response to nguithi
    Level 1 (10 points)
    Apr 18, 2015 9:33 PM in response to nguithi

    You said that the problems started after you replaced your hard drive. What you didn't say is that you replaced it with a Western Digital first generation hybrid drive which your system scan reveals as a WD10S12X-55JTET0. Unlike the Seagate and Toshiba SSHDs, which control the NAND caching in the drive firmware and therefore appear to the OS as a conventional hard drive and are compatible with OS X straight out of the box, WD decided to have the OS manage the NAND by means of a special driver. It's explained here. These are OEM drives, intended for slim Windows laptops, so at best you'll only be using the mechanical part of your drive. At worst it could well be causing the problems you see. Note that this is the first generation, slim WD Black device, not the newer WD Black2 hybrid drive, which also needs special configuration and was initially only supported by Windows but is now OS X compatible and behaves like a Fusion drive.

  • by babowa,

    babowa babowa Apr 18, 2015 10:35 PM in response to nguithi
    Level 7 (32,078 points)
    iPad
    Apr 18, 2015 10:35 PM in response to nguithi

    Additionally, I would attribute some of the beachballs to your AV software. You might want to consider uninstalling it.