Help me clean my slow MBP?

The computer could use an upgrade in memory, the unit can use up to 16GB RAM total.

There is an EFI Firmware Update 2.7 for your computer that may help it, too. In some

versions, the Firmware update can enable the use of more RAM, or other function.

See this: •MacBook Pro EFI Firmware Update 2.7

Maximum Memory 16 GB (Actual) 8 GB (Apple)

Memory Slots 2 - 204-pin PC-10600 (1333 MHz) DDR3 SO-DIMM

•MacBook Pro: How to remove or install memory - Apple Support

An example of correct-spec quality RAM for upgrade, from reputable source:

http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/memory/Apple_MacBook_MacBook_Pro/Upgrade/DDR3_133 3MHz_SDRAM

Also, you may want to see about removing any adware or other junkware including any

bits of kromtech, zeobit, MacKeeper; as these do not help the Mac or its OS X function.

See: http://www.thesafemac.com/?s=mackeeper

You could check & see methods on how to find & remove these kinds of things by use

of information in the site: The Safe Mac. See adware removal guide, malware guide,

and the performance guide. Also note a helper application Adware Medic, is there.

This is free information from http://www.thesafemac.com/

AdwareMedic

Tech Guides

• Mac Malware Guide
• Adware Removal Guide
• Mac Performance Guide

Hopefully this helps somewhat.

Good luck & happy computing! 🙂

When you see a beachball cursor or the slowness is especially bad, note the exact time: hour, minute, second.

These instructions must be carried out as an administrator. If you have only one user account, you are the administrator.

Launch the Console application in any of the following ways:

☞ Enter the first few letters of its name into a Spotlight search. Select it in the results (it should be at the top.)

☞ In the Finder, select Go ▹ Utilities from the menu bar, or press the key combination shift-command-U. The application is in the folder that opens.

☞ Open LaunchPad and start typing the name.

The title of the Console window should be All Messages. If it isn't, select

SYSTEM LOG QUERIES ▹ All Messages

from the log list on the left. If you don't see that list, select

View ▹ Show Log List

from the menu bar at the top of the screen.

Each message in the log begins with the date and time when it was entered. Scroll back to the time you noted above.

Select the messages entered from then until the end of the episode, or until they start to repeat, whichever comes first.

Copy the messages to the Clipboard by pressing the key combination command-C. Paste into a reply to this message by pressing command-V.

The log contains a vast amount of information, almost all of it useless for solving any particular problem. When posting a log extract, be selective. A few dozen lines are almost always more than enough.

Please don't indiscriminately dump thousands of lines from the log into this discussion.

Please don't post screenshots of log messages—post the text.

Some private information, such as your name, may appear in the log. Anonymize before posting.

As K Shaffer indicated, you're definitely having memory-related issues. 4 GB of RAM is not really adequate for a recent version of Mac OS X plus memory-hungry apps like Photoshop.

Your hosts file is also corrupt. To fix it, see:

Fixing a hacked /etc/hosts file

You also have MacKeeper installed, which is garbage. It should never be used, and should be uninstalled immediately!

There's some other software that should go as well. SIMBL is old and no longer getting updates, so it should be removed. The installer here will also include an uninstaller:

http://www.culater.net/software/SIMBL/SIMBL.php

You also have some Seagate software installed. Hard drive software should never be used, and has in some cases caused serious problems - even data loss - following system updates. A hard drive that cannot be used without installing some third-party software should not be used at all. Remove that software.

If you are not still using VirtualBox, you should uninstall that as well. If you are still using it, it can stay.

You are being urged to install more memory. I don't know how much memory you really have because I don't believe "etrecheck" output, but if it's 4 GB or more as shown in the "About This Mac" window, that's enough to run Yosemite with good performance for basic usage. You might run into problems if you use memory-intensive applications such as photo or video editors. In that case, adding more memory may help. But if the problem is caused by a memory leak—a type of bug—then adding more memory won't help at all. There is no way to determine from the information provided whether that's the case. You certainly should not spend money on an upgrade merely because of "etrecheck" stuff. I should add that there's also no way to determine whether your problem has anything at all to do with memory.

Linc Davis wrote:

I don't know how much memory you really have because I don't believe "etrecheck" output

I've never seen EtreCheck give erroneous output about the amount of memory installed, nor have I ever heard of such a thing. Unless you have hard data to support the implication you're making, I think that ItsJordan should be counseled to ignore this statement.

You might run into problems if you use memory-intensive applications such as photo or video editors.

He has said he's using Adobe CS6. That qualifies.

Yosemite performs very poorly on older machines with 4 GB RAM and traditional hard drives. Your machine can support up to 8 GB RAM. Plus, notebook hard drives tend to fail after 3 years or so. I have a late 2011 MacBook Pro and I'm already on my 3rd or 4th hard drive. I strongly suggest you upgrade your RAM to 8 GB and get an SSD at the same time. SSD drives have never been as inexpensive as they are now.

As others have said, 4 GB is not sufficient for Adobe CS. You are running VirtualBox too. I know that likes the RAM. I have seen an older 2009 3 Ghz iMac running Yosemite stop dead in its tracks from nothing more than Chrome.

etresoft wrote:

Yosemite performs very poorly on older machines with 4 GB RAM and traditional hard drives. Your machine can support up to 8 GB RAM. Plus, notebook hard drives tend to fail after 3 years or so. I have a late 2011 MacBook Pro and I'm already on my 3rd or 4th hard drive. I strongly suggest you upgrade your RAM to 8 GB and get an SSD at the same time. SSD drives have never been as inexpensive as they are now.

As others have said, 4 GB is not sufficient for Adobe CS. You are running VirtualBox too. I know that likes the RAM. I have seen an older 2009 3 Ghz iMac running Yosemite stop dead in its tracks from nothing more than Chrome.

All of the above. If an SSD is not an option because of the cost, a larger HD could still help some. Photoshop needs large amounts of free space for its scratch disk needs. While there is a fair amount of room left on the current HD, it is likely not enough if the OP is working with big files. Certainly the installed RAM is not up to the task.

Not running Yosemite would also probably help. Is there a backup with an earlier OS to which the OP can revert?

kahjot wrote:

Not running Yosemite would also probably help. Is there a backup with an earlier OS to which the OP can revert?

Honestly, reverting to an older OS wouldn't help much, if at all, unless it were a MUCH older OS, like Snow Leopard (Mac OS X 10.6). Yosemite will do just fine on 4 GB. It's stuff like Adobe CS6 and VirtualBox that wants more RAM, and that's going to be the same no matter what OS you're using. I wouldn't consider using such apps with anything less than 8 GB of RAM.

The reason why I suggest upgrade in memory RAM capacity, is that with the transition

in OS X from Mountain Lion through Mavericks to Yosemite, and beyond, the demand

on the hardware is greater. I have a recent computer that shipped with Mavericks direct

from Apple last month, I'd hoped it would've had Mountain Lion as some of them did.

Mavericks runs OK with only 4GB RAM, yet looking to Console system logs, I see it is

not quite adequate even with almost nothing running. And there hasn't been much new

installed. I do not use the main included applications.

Between an upgrade in RAM to nearer the Maximum proven compatible total allowed,

and perhaps a carefully installed (by an expert? who'd guarantee their work) SSD of

sufficient capacity, to replace a slower acting hard disk drive, these would help when

you have applications that are top-heavy and an OS X version that can use more than

it says. Or doesn't say exactly where it is using those resources, on automatic demand.

Since my recent computer can use up to 16GB, and would benefit from one or two

SSDs instead of slower spin rate hard disk drives (it has two) the reliance on HDDs

could be seen as a possible bottle-neck in an instance where the hard drive rate of

data transfer may be improved upon. For my hardware, that'd be a major investment

on top of a $1,000. computer that essentially is doing nothing. But I don't need Yosemite

and its demands to make a bad expensive situation worse. Not just yet. Mine does OK

with 4GB RAM and I bought the computer because I can upgrade it to 16GB. And it has

two hard drives factory installed. I'd probably have to get some Apple certified shop to

upgrade these to SSDs, to keep extended AppleCare plan in place (w/ any SSD issues.)

So my suggestion on a RAM upgrade, is based upon your information disclosure of 4GB

RAM installed, and Yosemite. No matter or concern to me how you communicated this,

in that I have no irons in the fire. There is a lot about the newer OS X & recent hardware

that I do not know. Been several years since I was actually near a cutting edge w/ Macs.

The method suggested to go into the OS X system by using command line, may yield

some information or at least allow you to become aware of how to use that means to

learn more about the inner workings. If you have time & feel comfortable enough to do it.

Otherwise, and in any case, be sure to make suitable and duplicate+ backups of your

computer content (including system clone on external enclosed HDD) so you aren't out

anything should there be a failure or an accidental erasure of your important files.

Anyway, I am spinning my wheels here, with slow internet and dubious newer gear.

But my newest is still faster than my other currently-on system configuration that is

at its maximum with only 1024MB RAM, by hardware limit, and a PowerPC.

Hopefully the upgrade and exploratory removal of untoward extras works out for you.

Good luck & happy computing! 🙂

Again, you are being given false information, as well as a dose of contemptible ad-hominem nonsense, by members of the "etrecheck" contingent on this site.

Apple sells new Macs with an internal hard drive and 4 GB of memory, neither of which can be upgraded by the user after purchase. Those Macs come with Yosemite preinstalled, and it can't be downgraded to an older version. Draw your own conclusions as to how much sense it makes to argue that no computer with those specifications can possibly run Yosemite with good performance. The fact that it makes no sense will not stop the argument from being repeated, of course.

That said, all else being equal, Adobe apps may perform better if you install more memory. There's no need for "etrecheck" to draw that conclusion. All you need to do is open the "About This Mac" box to see how much memory you have.

It may also be that your computer is performing poorly for reasons that have nothing to do with the amount of memory installed. That is certainly the case if performance is bad all the time, even when no memory-intensive apps are running. If that's what is happening, please ask for further instructions.

Linc Davis wrote:

Again, you are being given false information

So you say, yet you don't provide anything to back up your claims about EtreCheck. If you cannot do so, please take your trolling elsewhere.

Those Macs come with Yosemite preinstalled, and it can't be downgraded to an older version. Draw your own conclusions as to how much sense it makes to argue that no computer with those specifications can possibly run Yosemite with good performance.

Nobody has said that, so I don't know why you keep bringing it up. The recommendations for more RAM come from the information about the kind of software that ItsJordan is using, both from his own description and the EtreCheck results, not solely from the fact that he's running Yosemite.

It may also be that your computer is performing poorly for reasons that have nothing to do with the amount of memory installed.

Certainly that may be the case. However, as physicians are taught in medical school, "when you hear hoofbeats on the plains of North America, don't go looking for zebras." Meaning, don't go looking for unlikely, exotic causes for a problem that can be explained by more prosaic means, until you have information that says otherwise.

There are some very obvious problems with ItsJordan's system based on the EtreCheck results. The only reason you don't want to listen to that is because he used EtreCheck and not your own horribly convoluted and obfuscated shell script.

Understand that Linc Davis omits a couple of important hardware criteria in his reference to the new MBPs. One: they have higher frequency RAM than your MBP and Two: The storage is PCIe flash drive. Both of these features in combination make the newer crop of retina MBPs much faster than your MBP.

Also EtreCheck does not draw any conclusions. All it does is examine your MBP and reports on what is present in terms of some hardware and software (and accurately I might add). Conclusions may only be drawn by someone interpreting the data. Data it self cannot come to any conclusions.

Ciao.

The bogus information just doesn't quit, as usual in an "etrecheck" thread. To repeat what I wrote earlier, Apple sells computers today with 4 GB of memory and a spinning hard drive, not an SSD. Here is one:

http://store.apple.com/us/buy-mac/macbook-pro?product=MD101LL/A&step=config

Here's another:

http://store.apple.com/us/buy-mac/mac-mini?product=MGEM2LL/A&step=config

Now, if a poster on this site tells you that a Mac with those specifications can't run Yosemite with good performance, then either he's wrong, or Apple is selling products that are permanently crippled right out of the box. Take your choice.

Linc Davis wrote:

Apple sells new Macs with an internal hard drive and 4 GB of memory, neither of which can be upgraded by the user after purchase.

These by definition have to be retina MBP models which cannot have storage or RAM altered. The MBP that you now refer to can have RAM and HDDs upgraded consequently they were omitted earlier by yourself.

In light of these facts, my comment is correct and you seem to be evading the facts you presented your prior post. Also allow me to point out that this is the Macbook Pro forum so I fail to see the relevance of including a Mac Mini in this discussion.

Ciao.