Q: El Capitan is slow???

The slowing may have to do with HD memory. OS 10.11.1 isn't a top performer when free mmory drops below 15% on my MBP, which is about 75GB with a 500GB HD. Curious if SSID users have detected slowing. HDs are the weakest component on Macs. Where Apple cuts corners to save a few bucks.

Bob, you mean free space on the start up drive, correct? That shouldn't apply to external drives, right?

In my case yes, the internal drive.

But the same routine may be governing external drives, too. If so, and if it's inefficient,  no drive would work right. Didn't an early poster in this topic have external HD problems?

Thanks Andrew the problem I have is I work from home and only have this Mac so a day of slow is killer for me, I think I will keep it off and on the weekend put it back on, is there a way of gauging percentage completed when its encrypting or its just a case of leaving it for a day - sorry to ask another question

I mistakenly upgraded, thinking this was actual software.   It takes 15 minutes to startup, 20-25 minutes for itunes.    Typing/mouse are likely to have huge lag time and USB audio device no longer works.    I am glad  to hear some people have experienced improved performance.    My MBP that is 2.5 years old shouldn't be killed by this, should it?    Do I have to have a clean install of yosemite and start over?    Is there a way to boot into yosemite?

> It takes 15 minutes to startup, 20-25 minutes for itunes.

You can add diagnostics for this by running `sudo spindump itunes` when it is in this state, or if you see a SPOD cursor, pasting the .spin file from ~/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports.

> USB audio device no longer works

Probably unrelated.

> My MBP that is 2.5 years old shouldn't be killed by this, should it?

No - you almost definitely have a specific bad app or bug.

> Do I have to have a clean install of yosemite and start over?

Unlikely.

> Is there a way to boot into yosemite?

Not if you upgraded.

hello

well I think I just joined the club.

after latest 10.11.3 (15D21) update

I have

1) spinning wheel every 3 to 5' on my iMac whatever I do
ie : Skype, Safari, Chrome, Finder, .. it's not particular to one application

2) sometimes typing just hang. nothing happens, no spinning wheels, nothing, just hanging there for 20" then resuming as if nothing happened

I have run disk utility and no errors are found on partition or disk

I have tried to reset NVRAM,

I have reduced some of the system preferences "fancy" stuff such as Scale effect or accessibility or notification

but nothing seems to fix this.

I have 600GB free on my 1TB iMac 2010 G5

iMac (27-inch, Mid 2011)

2.7 GHz Intel Core i5

12 GB 1333 MHz DDR3

AMD Radeon HD 6770M 512 MB

any idea anyone ?

thx

Phil

I have the same Problem.

Plus , with this last version El Capitan 10.11.3 my mac is always turning off with an error message in Chinese.

That does not sound like the same problem. You really should start your own thread and post all of the details on your problem there so that your problem gets the attention it deserves.

The problem has only gotten more acute for me with the latest Public Beta 4, 10.11.4 Beta (15E39d).

The beachball is rolling everytime I switch between applications, especially for the first time after restarting (regular or safe mode).

Also, something new:  every downloaded video file must be verified by (I guess) the Firewall (a window with a security logo announces, "Veryifying [name of file]," resulting in lengthy delays while everything just sits there, until the verification process is done.

I've run etrecheck and other diagnostics.  Few clues there. I reported this to Apple.  I'm waiting on a reply or at least, an acknowledgment.

so if 10.11.4 is making it worse .. this is really not good.

the weird stuff is that I have a MacBook Air that works just great with absolutely none of the patterns I see on the iMac .. so far
I should say.

I have been poking around with friends around the world and it seems pretty consistently bad.

everyone who has upgraded to El Capitan is now mostly playing beach ball

what annoys me more is to not be able to pinpoint the culprit.

Suggesting that someone upgrade to a beta copy of an operating system to solve a problem is always a bad suggestion. Beta code should always only be installed on a test system never the production system.

Please download and install EtreCheck from http://etrecheck.com/

Run it and post the report here. After we analyze the EtreCheck report, we might be able to give you some suggesting on how to solve your problem.

Do you have a backup that you made prior to the installation of the beta version of El Capitan?

thank you Allan but I am going to pass.

the only report (of that type) that I would run and post would be from and to Apple, who's very very good at keeping

our privacy safe as we know from the news .

but again, thanks.

yes, I do have TimeMachine backups to an external HD but I am not going into a restore op. I'll wait for next official

Apple update and will cross my fingers it will fix it. or not.

It is your privilege to refuse to use EtreCheck. Of course that will eliminate our being able to help you.

It has been my experience that hoping for the next upgrade of the operating system to fix your problem is usually a lost cause. In fact the problems tend to get worst after the next upgrade. It has been my experience that the best solution is to fix the problems before doing the upgrade.

Besides if you installed the beta code then you are already running the next release. You say that made your problems worst.