El Capitan running slowly?

I do not agree. I've an Apple MacBook Pro Mid 2009 and after installing El Capitan my computer is a very fast en smoothly working system. In fact, it is like having a completely new computer, instead of a 7 year-old one. The performance is so much increased that I hardly believe it myself. And I did not do a clean install, just upgrading and getting everything back I had installed. Nice job done, Apple, you made me happy again. So I guess something is wrong with your computer, maybe a hardware problem?

Vapresto wrote:

Does anyone know of an easy way to unwind all of this awful mess and get a usable Mac again?

The easiest way is to erase your drive and reinstall the backup you made before updating to El Capitan. There will still be no guarantees though that installing the OS hasn't spurred on Hard Drive failure which has been known to happen with updates to later, more CPU demanding OSs. Otherwise you need to backup now and then reinstall the OS X that your computer came with through the Recovery Partition.

Cheers

Pete

After a bit more googling, I fear this may be the case - hard drive failing as a result of the upgrade 😟

Luckily, I still have my iMac at Yosemite and it will stay that way, for the foreseeable future!

Seriously contemplating a PC to replace the Macbook now... I am a professional photographer whose main motivation to go Apple in the first place was for Aperture! Now that's gone, I'm struggling to find reasons to justify continuing to battle with incorrectly formatted MS Office documents, still used by the vast majority of corporations around the world! Powerpoint - Keynote and vice-versa is a particular problem, that cost me a lucrative contract once, when the slides pitching for a design job looked like a train-crash!

Has anyone else 'gone back' to a PC with no regrets?

I'm happy with El Capitan in general, just Mail seems to have a massive problem dealing with my several (Google-based) IMAP accounts. Beach balls every time I switch to Mail, switch between views in Mail, type more than a couple of sentences etc etc. First it hits accountsd with 100% during which I see the beach ball and I am unable to do anything for 5-15 seconds, then the ball disappears and Mail.app has CPU at 80-90%, during which time Mail is sluggish but not totally unusable.

I've also got a problem where if I click on an unread mail to read it, the blue "unread" dot doesn't go away. Sometimes I have to click twice or three times.

I'm running a Macbook Pro 15" Retina mid-2012, 10.11.3.

Same issue hear .. Beach balls are everywhere and it's so **** laggy that gets me mad every time I run my MacBook Air I couldn't reach this page to leave a comment until I restarted my Mac and chose Windows 10 .. lately I started thinking about switching to PC

I'm in the same boat. All the recent updates have done nothing to resolve the spinning beachball issue.

I recall some folks stating they did something with their Mail app log files (or something related to Mail) that helped.

Can someone remind me what steps can be taken that may be related to the Mail app that may have a positive impact (without any adverse effect to my emails -- I don't want them to be deleted!).

Thanks.

John

I don't think this is a Mail problem in my case. I watch a Beachball show always a few seconds after startup and then it happens suddenly at anytime. Usually external connections are slow and this thing looks like a connection attempt in foreground instead of background as the system should do. All apps are affected as the system hangs for 5 to 10 seconds. It happens often when I select a new text field to fill in any app.

Turning off Spotlight fixed everything for me. It's no big deal for me because I never use it. Just read on Macrumors.com that Apple is current being accused of bloated software. This is not the only problem that I have had with Apple OSs. iOS 9 has rendered two of my iOS devices useless and they are suppose to be compatible according to Apple. We're told that each OS is faster than the last which I will never believe again. My devices will not update any farther.

Here is the section of this discussion that deals with the Mail problem.

Re: El Capitan running slowly?

The way to check is by starting the Activity Monitor in your Utilities folder. Look at Memory to see if Mail is using way too much. If it is here's the solution:

Try to delete your log file manually in the following folder (Command + Shift + G):

~/Library/Containers/com.apple.mail/Data/Library/Logs/Mail/

You may see huge size log files in the folder ...just delete all *.log and restart your Mail App. Then, things should back to normal

I can't find a file path like that on my computer. No Containers folder when I navigate to the Library folder.

Is there another way to find it. Search didn't help either.

Did Activity Monitor indicate that your computer is using a lot of memory for Mail?

As for the path to the Mail Logs, Do you know how to access the Library files?

Here is the data EtreCheck identified. Can anyone tell me what I need to do to delete adware and unknown files and increase RAM?

EtreCheck version: 2.9.3 (253)

Report generated 2016-02-14 07:56:59

Download EtreCheck from http://etrecheck.com

Runtime 2:31

Performance: Excellent

Click the [Support] links for help with non-Apple products.

Click the [Details] links for more information about that line.

Click the [Remove] links to remove adware.

Click the [Check files] link for help with unknown files.

Problem: Computer is too slow

Hardware Information: ⓘ

MacBook Pro (13-inch, Mid 2012)

[Technical Specifications] - [User Guide] - [Warranty & Service]

MacBook Pro - model: MacBookPro9,2

1 2.5 GHz Intel Core i5 CPU: 2-core

4 GB RAM Upgradeable - [Instructions]

BANK 0/DIMM0

2 GB DDR3 1600 MHz ok

BANK 1/DIMM0

2 GB DDR3 1600 MHz ok

Bluetooth: Good - Handoff/Airdrop2 supported

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

Battery: Health = Normal - Cycle count = 547 - SN = W033044F5D3BB

Video Information: ⓘ

Intel HD Graphics 4000

Color LCD 1280 x 800

System Software: ⓘ

OS X El Capitan 10.11.3 (15D21) - Time since boot: about 5 days

Disk Information: ⓘ

WDC WD5000LPLX-00ZNTT0 disk0 : (500.11 GB) (Rotational)

EFI (disk0s1) <not mounted> : 210 MB

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

Macintosh HDD (disk1) / : 498.88 GB (179.09 GB free)

Encrypted AES-XTS Unlocked

Core Storage: disk0s2 499.25 GB Online

MATSHITADVD-R UJ-8A8 ()

USB Information: ⓘ

Apple Inc. FaceTime HD Camera (Built-in)

Apple Inc. Apple Internal Keyboard / Trackpad

Apple Computer, Inc. IR Receiver

Apple Inc. BRCM20702 Hub

Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller

Thunderbolt Information: ⓘ

Apple Inc. thunderbolt_bus

Gatekeeper: ⓘ

Mac App Store and identified developers

Adware: ⓘ

/Library/LaunchAgents/com.WebShoppers.agent.plist

~/Library/Internet Plug-Ins/ConduitNPAPIPlugin.plugin

~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.WebShoppers.agent.plist

3 adware files found. [Remove]

Unknown Files: ⓘ

/Library/LaunchAgents/com.webshoppers.agent.plist

~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.webshoppers.agent.plist

2 unknown files found. [Check files]

Kernel Extensions: ⓘ

/Applications/Utilities/DiskWarrior.app

[not loaded] com.alsoft.Preview (4.2) [Support]

/System/Library/Extensions

[loaded] com.rim.driver.BlackBerryUSBDriverInt (0.0.68) [Support]

[not loaded] com.rim.driver.BlackBerryUSBDriverVSP (0.0.68) [Support]

System Launch Agents: ⓘ

[killed] com.apple.CallHistoryPluginHelper.plist

[killed] com.apple.CallHistorySyncHelper.plist

[killed] com.apple.FolderActionsDispatcher.plist

[killed] com.apple.SafariPlugInUpdateNotifier.plist

[killed] com.apple.cmfsyncagent.plist

[killed] com.apple.gamed.plist

[killed] com.apple.icloud.fmfd.plist

[killed] com.apple.telephonyutilities.callservicesd.plist

[loaded] 148 Apple tasks

[running] 80 Apple tasks

8 processes killed due to insufficient RAM

System Launch Daemons: ⓘ

[killed] com.apple.emond.aslmanager.plist

[killed] com.apple.icloud.findmydeviced.plist

[killed] com.apple.periodic-monthly.plist

[killed] com.apple.periodic-weekly.plist

[killed] com.apple.softwareupdate_download_service.plist

[killed] com.apple.system_installd.plist

[killed] com.apple.wdhelper.plist

[killed] com.apple.xpc.smd.plist

[loaded] 190 Apple tasks

[running] 89 Apple tasks

8 processes killed due to insufficient RAM

Launch Agents: ⓘ

[failed] com.adobe.ARMDCHelper.cc24aef4a1b90ed56a...plist [Support]

[running] com.canon.MFManager.plist [Support]

[running] com.flipvideo.FlipShare.AutoRun.plist [Support]

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

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

[running] com.rim.BBAlbumArtCacher.plist [Support]

[running] com.rim.BBLaunchAgent.plist [Support]

[failed] com.webshoppers.agent.plist [Support]

Launch Daemons: ⓘ

[loaded] com.adobe.ARMDC.Communicator.plist [Support]

[loaded] com.adobe.ARMDC.SMJobBlessHelper.plist [Support]

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

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

[loaded] com.microsoft.autoupdate.helpertool.plist [Support]

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

[loaded] com.microsoft.office.licensingV2.helper.plist [Support]

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

[running] com.rim.BBDaemon.plist [Support]

User Launch Agents: ⓘ

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

[failed] com.apple.CSConfigDotMacCert-[...]@me.com-SharedServices.Agent.plist

[running] com.spotify.webhelper.plist [Support]

[failed] com.webshoppers.agent.plist [Support]

User Login Items: ⓘ

Dropbox Application (/Applications/Dropbox.app)

Other Apps: ⓘ

[running] com.apple.xpc.launchd.oneshot.0x1000001e.EtreCheck

[running] com.canon.SLRuntimeLoader.88672

[running] com.getdropbox.dropbox.54112

[running] com.iOSinstaller.updd

[running] org.mozilla.firefox.55072

Internet Plug-ins: ⓘ

o1dbrowserplugin: Version: 5.41.3.0 - SDK 10.8 [Support]

Default Browser: Version: 601 - SDK 10.11

Flip4Mac WMV Plugin: Version: 3.3.1.3 - SDK 10.8 [Support]

RealPlayer Plugin: Version: Unknown

AdobePDFViewerNPAPI: Version: 15.010.20056 - SDK 10.8 [Support]

FlashPlayer-10.6: Version: 20.0.0.306 - SDK 10.6 [Support]

Silverlight: Version: 5.1.41212.0 - SDK 10.6 [Support]

QuickTime Plugin: Version: 7.7.3

Flash Player: Version: 20.0.0.306 - SDK 10.6 [Support]

googletalkbrowserplugin: Version: 5.41.3.0 - SDK 10.8 [Support]

SharePointBrowserPlugin: Version: 14.6.0 - SDK 10.6 [Support]

AdobePDFViewer: Version: 15.010.20056 - SDK 10.8 [Support]

JavaAppletPlugin: Version: Java 8 Update 73 build 02 Check version

User internet Plug-ins: ⓘ

ConduitNPAPIPlugin: Version: 1.0 - SDK 10.6 [Support]

WebEx64: Version: 1.0 - SDK 10.6 [Support]

Google Earth Web Plug-in: Version: Unknown

3rd Party Preference Panes: ⓘ

3ivx MPEG-4 [Support]

Flash Player [Support]

Flip4Mac WMV [Support]

Java [Support]

Perian [Support]

Time Machine: ⓘ

Auto backup: YES

Volumes being backed up:

Macintosh HDD: Disk size: 498.88 GB Disk used: 319.79 GB

Destinations:

LaCie [Local]

Total size: 1.00 TB

Total number of backups: 20

Oldest backup: 5/11/14, 11:51 AM

Last backup: 1/1/16, 12:35 PM

Size of backup disk: Adequate

Backup size 1.00 TB > (Disk used 319.79 GB X 3)

Top Processes by CPU: ⓘ

75% mdworker(18)

5% WindowServer

2% kernel_task

1% fontd

0% BBLaunchAgent

Top Processes by Memory: ⓘ

663 MB kernel_task

373 MB firefox

176 MB mdworker(18)

61 MB Finder

57 MB softwareupdated

Virtual Memory Information: ⓘ

666 MB Free RAM

3.35 GB Used RAM (1.02 GB Cached)

212 MB Swap Used

Diagnostics Information: ⓘ

Feb 13, 2016, 12:32:08 PM ~/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/Finder_2016-02-13-123208_[redacted].crash

/System/Library/CoreServices/Finder.app/Contents/MacOS/Finder

Feb 13, 2016, 10:04:06 AM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/iTunes_2016-02-13-100406_[redacted].cpu_resourc e.diag [Details]

/Applications/iTunes.app/Contents/MacOS/iTunes

Feb 11, 2016, 08:53:46 PM ~/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/cloudd_2016-02-11-205346_[redacted].crash

/System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/CloudKitDaemon.framework/Support/cloudd

I've had the slow El Capitan issue ever since I upgraded. I have a Mac Mini 2012 with a 2.4 Ghz Core i7, 16 GB of RAM and the original Apple 1 TB drive, not a fusion drive. Same as other people have detailed here, slow boot up, spinning beachball doing anything, even typing on Mail was latency filled. Very frustrating as this machine is my daily driver desktop wise. Running the Disk Utility First Aid didn't help although I did do some repairs. t reset the NVRAM and almost all the latency is gone. I still see the beachball when launching Office apps, but it's momentary and over all the machine feels much more crisp and a pleasure to use one again. This was not a clean install, just an upgrade from Yosemite. I did the NVRAM reset this morning and it made such a difference, I had to post here.

Labanfromvt wrote:

Here is the data EtreCheck identified. Can anyone tell me what I need to do to delete adware and unknown files and increase RAM?

EtreCheck version: 2.9.3 (253)

Report generated 2016-02-14 07:56:59

Download EtreCheck from http://etrecheck.com

Runtime 2:31

Performance: Excellent

Click the [Support] links for help with non-Apple products.

Click the [Details] links for more information about that line.

Click the [Remove] links to remove adware.

Click the [Check files] link for help with unknown files.

Problem: Computer is too slow

Hardware Information: ⓘ

MacBook Pro (13-inch, Mid 2012)

[Technical Specifications] - [User Guide] - [Warranty & Service]

MacBook Pro - model: MacBookPro9,2

1 2.5 GHz Intel Core i5 CPU: 2-core

4 GB RAM Upgradeable - [Instructions]

BANK 0/DIMM0

2 GB DDR3 1600 MHz ok

BANK 1/DIMM0

2 GB DDR3 1600 MHz ok

Bluetooth: Good - Handoff/Airdrop2 supported

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

Battery: Health = Normal - Cycle count = 547 - SN = W033044F5D3BB

Video Information: ⓘ

Intel HD Graphics 4000

Color LCD 1280 x 800

System Software: ⓘ

OS X El Capitan 10.11.3 (15D21) - Time since boot: about 5 days

Disk Information: ⓘ

WDC WD5000LPLX-00ZNTT0 disk0 : (500.11 GB) (Rotational)

EFI (disk0s1) <not mounted> : 210 MB

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

Macintosh HDD (disk1) / : 498.88 GB (179.09 GB free)

Encrypted AES-XTS Unlocked

Core Storage: disk0s2 499.25 GB Online

MATSHITADVD-R UJ-8A8 ()

USB Information: ⓘ

Apple Inc. FaceTime HD Camera (Built-in)

Apple Inc. Apple Internal Keyboard / Trackpad

Apple Computer, Inc. IR Receiver

Apple Inc. BRCM20702 Hub

Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller

Thunderbolt Information: ⓘ

Apple Inc. thunderbolt_bus

Gatekeeper: ⓘ

Mac App Store and identified developers

Adware: ⓘ

/Library/LaunchAgents/com.WebShoppers.agent.plist

~/Library/Internet Plug-Ins/ConduitNPAPIPlugin.plugin

~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.WebShoppers.agent.plist

3 adware files found. [Remove]

Unknown Files: ⓘ

/Library/LaunchAgents/com.webshoppers.agent.plist

~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.webshoppers.agent.plist

2 unknown files found. [Check files]

Kernel Extensions: ⓘ

/Applications/Utilities/DiskWarrior.app

[not loaded] com.alsoft.Preview (4.2) [Support]

/System/Library/Extensions

[loaded] com.rim.driver.BlackBerryUSBDriverInt (0.0.68) [Support]

[not loaded] com.rim.driver.BlackBerryUSBDriverVSP (0.0.68) [Support]

System Launch Agents: ⓘ

[killed] com.apple.CallHistoryPluginHelper.plist

[killed] com.apple.CallHistorySyncHelper.plist

[killed] com.apple.FolderActionsDispatcher.plist

[killed] com.apple.SafariPlugInUpdateNotifier.plist

[killed] com.apple.cmfsyncagent.plist

[killed] com.apple.gamed.plist

[killed] com.apple.icloud.fmfd.plist

[killed] com.apple.telephonyutilities.callservicesd.plist

[loaded] 148 Apple tasks

[running] 80 Apple tasks

8 processes killed due to insufficient RAM

System Launch Daemons: ⓘ

[killed] com.apple.emond.aslmanager.plist

[killed] com.apple.icloud.findmydeviced.plist

[killed] com.apple.periodic-monthly.plist

[killed] com.apple.periodic-weekly.plist

[killed] com.apple.softwareupdate_download_service.plist

[killed] com.apple.system_installd.plist

[killed] com.apple.wdhelper.plist

[killed] com.apple.xpc.smd.plist

[loaded] 190 Apple tasks

[running] 89 Apple tasks

8 processes killed due to insufficient RAM

Launch Agents: ⓘ

[failed] com.adobe.ARMDCHelper.cc24aef4a1b90ed56a...plist [Support]

[running] com.canon.MFManager.plist [Support]

[running] com.flipvideo.FlipShare.AutoRun.plist [Support]

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

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

[running] com.rim.BBAlbumArtCacher.plist [Support]

[running] com.rim.BBLaunchAgent.plist [Support]

[failed] com.webshoppers.agent.plist [Support]

Launch Daemons: ⓘ

[loaded] com.adobe.ARMDC.Communicator.plist [Support]

[loaded] com.adobe.ARMDC.SMJobBlessHelper.plist [Support]

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

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

[loaded] com.microsoft.autoupdate.helpertool.plist [Support]

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

[loaded] com.microsoft.office.licensingV2.helper.plist [Support]

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

[running] com.rim.BBDaemon.plist [Support]

User Launch Agents: ⓘ

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

[failed] com.apple.CSConfigDotMacCert-[...]@me.com-SharedServices.Agent.plist

[running] com.spotify.webhelper.plist [Support]

[failed] com.webshoppers.agent.plist [Support]

User Login Items: ⓘ

Dropbox Application (/Applications/Dropbox.app)

Other Apps: ⓘ

[running] com.apple.xpc.launchd.oneshot.0x1000001e.EtreCheck

[running] com.canon.SLRuntimeLoader.88672

[running] com.getdropbox.dropbox.54112

[running] com.iOSinstaller.updd

[running] org.mozilla.firefox.55072

Internet Plug-ins: ⓘ

o1dbrowserplugin: Version: 5.41.3.0 - SDK 10.8 [Support]

Default Browser: Version: 601 - SDK 10.11

Flip4Mac WMV Plugin: Version: 3.3.1.3 - SDK 10.8 [Support]

RealPlayer Plugin: Version: Unknown

AdobePDFViewerNPAPI: Version: 15.010.20056 - SDK 10.8 [Support]

FlashPlayer-10.6: Version: 20.0.0.306 - SDK 10.6 [Support]

Silverlight: Version: 5.1.41212.0 - SDK 10.6 [Support]

QuickTime Plugin: Version: 7.7.3

Flash Player: Version: 20.0.0.306 - SDK 10.6 [Support]

googletalkbrowserplugin: Version: 5.41.3.0 - SDK 10.8 [Support]

SharePointBrowserPlugin: Version: 14.6.0 - SDK 10.6 [Support]

AdobePDFViewer: Version: 15.010.20056 - SDK 10.8 [Support]

JavaAppletPlugin: Version: Java 8 Update 73 build 02 Check version

User internet Plug-ins: ⓘ

ConduitNPAPIPlugin: Version: 1.0 - SDK 10.6 [Support]

WebEx64: Version: 1.0 - SDK 10.6 [Support]

Google Earth Web Plug-in: Version: Unknown

3rd Party Preference Panes: ⓘ

3ivx MPEG-4 [Support]

Flash Player [Support]

Flip4Mac WMV [Support]

Java [Support]

Perian [Support]

Time Machine: ⓘ

Auto backup: YES

Volumes being backed up:

Macintosh HDD: Disk size: 498.88 GB Disk used: 319.79 GB

Destinations:

LaCie [Local]

Total size: 1.00 TB

Total number of backups: 20

Oldest backup: 5/11/14, 11:51 AM

Last backup: 1/1/16, 12:35 PM

Size of backup disk: Adequate

Backup size 1.00 TB > (Disk used 319.79 GB X 3)

Top Processes by CPU: ⓘ

75% mdworker(18)

5% WindowServer

2% kernel_task

1% fontd

0% BBLaunchAgent

Top Processes by Memory: ⓘ

663 MB kernel_task

373 MB firefox

176 MB mdworker(18)

61 MB Finder

57 MB softwareupdated

Virtual Memory Information: ⓘ

666 MB Free RAM

3.35 GB Used RAM (1.02 GB Cached)

212 MB Swap Used

Diagnostics Information: ⓘ

Feb 13, 2016, 12:32:08 PM ~/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/Finder_2016-02-13-123208_[redacted].crash

/System/Library/CoreServices/Finder.app/Contents/MacOS/Finder

Feb 13, 2016, 10:04:06 AM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/iTunes_2016-02-13-100406_[redacted].cpu_resourc e.diag [Details]

/Applications/iTunes.app/Contents/MacOS/iTunes

Feb 11, 2016, 08:53:46 PM ~/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/cloudd_2016-02-11-205346_[redacted].crash

/System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/CloudKitDaemon.framework/Support/cloudd

To delete the adware, download and run Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware for Mac. To increase your RAM, you'll need to buy memory it from a reputable and verified vendor like Crucial or OWC.

This awful ! So so slow !!! Horrible El Captain, a real nightmare. A huge waste of my time.