My iMac is extremely slow lately.

A

Some of your user files (not system files) have incorrect permissions or are locked. This procedure will unlock those files and reset their ownership, permissions, and access controls to the default. If you've intentionally set special values for those attributes, they will be reverted. In that case, either stop here, or be prepared to recreate the settings if necessary. Do so only after verifying that those settings didn't cause the problem. If none of this is meaningful to you, you don't need to worry about it, but you do need to follow the instructions below.

Back up all data before proceeding.

Step 1

If you have more than one user, and the one in question is not an administrator, then go to Step 2.

Enter the following command in the Terminal window in the same way as before (triple-click, copy, and paste):

sudo find ~ $TMPDIR.. -exec chflags -h nouchg,nouappnd,noschg,nosappnd {} + -exec chown -h $UID {} + -exec chmod +rw {} + -exec chmod -h -N {} + -type d -exec chmod -h +x {} + 2>&-

You'll be prompted for your login password, which won't be displayed when you type it. Type carefully and then press return. You may get a one-time warning to be careful. If you don’t have a login password, you’ll need to set one before you can run the command. If you see a message that your username "is not in the sudoers file," then you're not logged in as an administrator.

The command may take several minutes to run, depending on how many files you have. Wait for a new line ending in a dollar sign ($) to appear, then quit Terminal.

Step 2 (optional)

Take this step only if you have trouble with Step 1, if you prefer not to take it, or if it doesn't solve the problem.

Start up in Recovery mode. When the OS X Utilities screen appears, select

Utilities ▹ Terminal

from the menu bar. A Terminal window will open. In that window, type this:

resetp

Press the tab key. The partial command you typed will automatically be completed to this:

resetpassword

Press return. A Reset Password window will open. You’re not going to reset a password.

Select your startup volume ("Macintosh HD," unless you gave it a different name) if not already selected.

Select your username from the menu labeled Select the user account if not already selected.

Under Reset Home Directory Permissions and ACLs, click the Reset button.

Select

 ▹ Restart

from the menu bar.

B

Back up all data.

Run the following command in the same way as before. It moves to the Trash "semaphore" files that have not been cleaned up by the system and may be interfering with normal operation. The files are empty; they contain no data. There will be no output this time.

find L*/{Con*/*/Data/L*/,}Pref* -type f -size 0c -name *.plist.??????? -exec mv {} .Trash/ \; 2>&-

Log out or restart the computer and empty the Trash.

C

Though I don't like to make this suggestion, the system is so heavily modified by third-party software that, instead of trying to remove the modifications piecemeal, you should erase the startup volume, reinstall OS X, and then go through the initial setup process, restoring only user data and settings from a backup—not applications or other files. This course of action will be the easiest and most reliable.

Back up all data to at least two different storage devices, if you haven't already done so. One backup is not enough to be safe. The backups can be made with Time Machine or with Disk Utility. Preferably both.

Erase and install OS X. This operation will destroy all data on the startup volume, so you had be better be sure of the backups. If you upgraded from an older version of OS X, you'll need the Apple ID and password that you used, so make a note of those before you begin.

When you restart, you'll be prompted to go through the initial setup process in Setup Assistant. That’s when you transfer the data from a backup.

Select only users and Computer & Network Settings in the Setup Assistant dialog—not Applications or Other files and folders. Don't transfer the Guest account, if it was enabled.

After that, check the App Store for software updates.

If the problem is resolved after the clean installation, reinstall third-party software selectively. I can only suggest general guidelines. Self-contained applications that install into the Applications folder by drag-and-drop or download from the App Store are usually safe. Anything that comes packaged as an installer or that prompts for an administrator password is suspect, and you must test thoroughly after reinstalling each such item to make sure you haven't restored the problem.

I strongly recommend that you never reinstall commercial "security" products or "utilities," nor any software that changes the user interface or the behavior of built-in applications such as Safari. If you do that, the problem is likely to recur. Never reinstall useless garbage such as "Elmedia Player." Only with great reluctance should you install any third-party software that modifies the system.

Any system modifications that you do choose to install must be kept up to date. None is required for normal operation.

Before installing any software, ask yourself the question: "Am I sure I know how to uninstall this without having to wipe the volume again?" If the answer is "no," stop.

Never install any third-party software unless you know how to uninstall it.

D

You're on an unsecured Wi-Fi network. If it's your network, that's very dangerous. Change your router's settings so that it uses WPA 2 Personal encryption. If it doesn't support that standard, it should be replaced. I can't give you specific instructions for changing the setting, because all routers are different. Refer to the manufacturer's documentation.

Hold down the option key and select the Wi-Fi menu in the menu bar. What values is shown for "Security"?

You can copy both Library files to the LaCie. When you launch the apps, hold down the Option key. It will ask where the Library file is located. Point to the file on the LaCie.

Your questions about a new Mac...

A new Mac can use the DVD drive on one of your older Macs. You can get a hub or connectors for your older FW drives, but it might be cheaper to just buy new USB 3.0 drives that will be much faster.

USB 1.1 = 12 Mbit/s

Firefire 400 = 400 Mbit/s

USB 2.0 = 480 Mbit/s

FireWire 800 = 800 Mbit/s

USB 3.0 = 5 Gbit/s

Thunderbolt = 10 Gbit/s

Thunderbolt 2 = 20 Gbit/s <---on the new Macs now

USB 3.0 is 10x faster than USB 2.0

Thunderbolt is 12 times faster than FireWire 800 and up to 20 times faster than USB 2.0.

http://www.macworld.com/article/2083257/what-you-need-to-know-about-thunderbolt- 2.html

You can buy a Thunderbolt-to-FW800 adapter in the Apple Store:

http://store.apple.com/us/product/MD464ZM/A/apple-thunderbolt-to-firewire-adapte r?fnode=51

OWC Thunderbolt Dock has connectors for FW.

/Previous Systems.localized/2010-04-09_0916/Library/Frameworks/HPServicesInterface.framew ork/Versions/B/Libraries/libHPIOnetsnmp.5.dylib

/Previous Systems.localized/2010-04-09_0916/Library/Printers/hp/aio/libAiOHPUtils.11.3.dy lib

/Previous Systems.localized/2010-04-09_0916/Library/Printers/hp/business-inkjet/libbijHPU tils.12.1.dylib

/Previous Systems.localized/2010-04-09_0916/Library/Printers/hp/designjet/libdjHPUtils.13 .2.dylib

/Previous Systems.localized/2010-04-09_0916/Library/Printers/hp/deskjet/libdj1HPUtils.11. 3.dylib

/Previous Systems.localized/2010-04-09_0916/Library/Printers/hp/deskjet/libdjHPUtils.10.3 .dylib

/Previous Systems.localized/2010-04-09_0916/Library/Printers/hp/laserjet/2600Series/lib_a gipp.dylib

/Previous Systems.localized/2010-04-09_0916/Library/Printers/hp/laserjet/librlHPUtils.11. dylib

/Previous Systems.localized/2010-04-09_0916/Library/Printers/hp/photosmart/libHPUtils.13. 1.dylib

It looks like you have some really old files here that are no longer needed.

Drives do die and considering the age of your drives, you are lucky they have lasted this long. I suspect you would be surprised at how inexpensive the new drives are now.

Most 2T drives will run you around $99.

FYI. LaCie is now owned my Seagate.