El Capitan running slowly?

Hi all,

I have the same problem after I upgraded the OS last night. I found that Juno Pulse has some password conflict with Keychain Access. I removed the Juno Pulse password in Keychain and reinstall the software. Everything is back to normal now. Hope this can help someone.

Same here. I don't have any problems unless I open mail. This is very frustrating as I need it to run my business and resorting to my phone doesn't cut it.

Try dumping the log files. Open Mail.

Window tab at top

Connection Doctor

Show Logs

Select all and put in trash.

This worked for me!

Installed El Capitan on a 2010 MacBook Pro AND a mid year 2011 iMac with 16GB of RAM. Macbook took less than an hour to install; the iMac 8 days of my life gone. Watched it install 24x7 some days; watched the glow of the computer on the ceiling at 4:00 AM.

Finally decided that the problem was Spotlight. Decided to perform these steps. Unplugged the iMac computer from wall for 15 seconds; plugged back in the computer. This is to reset the SMC per this thread. This step has low probability of being the problem. Next, booted up in Safe mode by holding down the left shift key as soon as you hear the Apple boot up sound and hold until you see the Apple logo. Computer boots up in Safe mode.

Next find the terminal app in Finder under Applications -> Utilities -> terminal.app. Start it. At the command prompt type the sudo command below. This will disable Spotlight. Fine with me, lost 8 days of my life. I have never gotten anywhere near that much value from it.

Next after entering the sudo command below shutdown and restart. Voila El Capitan.

I don't have any plans to re-enable Spotlight anytime soon. The command to Re-Enable is below also. If you do it then shut down and restart and see if you have the same performance issues. And please update this post so we can know of your success.

Disable Spotlight

The primary method is using launchctl, this will require the administrative password:

sudo launchctl unload -w /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.metadata.mds.plist

Reenable Spotlight

The guaranteed way to reenable Spotlight is to reload it into launchd using launchctl:

sudo launchctl load -w /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.metadata.mds.plist

Note: Apple Support Awesome at the known solutions, terrible communication on the unknown solutions. Moved Apple products closer to Windows in my mind - not a good thing.

Well the problem could be the transparency setting on the mac go to settings and then accessibility and check the 'reduce transparency' box. I remembered that during my install with yosemite I had the same issue hope this helps someone.

I've also tried everything. Even this doesn't work for me. Disabling spotlight has no effect.😟

Hi everyone -

There are a lot of us who are observing the "pinwheel of death", and there are plenty of suggestions being offered. My recommendation is to explore ALL of them.

The suggestion from KenyladyOct 3, 2015 8:34 AM certainly worked for me.

This goes hand-in-hand with an Apple KB article Resetting the System Management Controller (SMC) on your Mac - Apple Support. "

I used Kenylady's suggestion, and it worked for me.

Good luck, friends!

I too am having major issues after the update. Pinwheeling like crazy, Safari is extremely slow ( I speed test at 85MBps and down at 35MBps) Maps will open and find the address I type in but the screen stays like the attached image. I'm going crazy here! I have used mackeeper and cleanmypc I have attached my EtreCheck below:

EtreCheck version: 2.5.3 (206)

Report generated 10/7/15, 7:38 PM

Download EtreCheck from http://etresoft.com/etrecheck

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

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

Hardware Information: (What does this mean?)

iMac (27-inch, Late 2013)

[Click for Technical Specifications]

[Click for User Guide]

iMac - model: iMac14,2

1 3.2 GHz Intel Core i5 CPU: 4-core

24 GB RAM Upgradeable

[Click for upgrade instructions]

BANK 0/DIMM0

4 GB DDR3 1333 MHz ok

BANK 1/DIMM0

4 GB DDR3 1333 MHz ok

BANK 0/DIMM1

8 GB DDR3 1333 MHz ok

BANK 1/DIMM1

8 GB DDR3 1333 MHz ok

Bluetooth: Good - Handoff/Airdrop2 supported

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

Video Information: (What does this mean?)

NVIDIA GeForce GT 755M - VRAM: 1024 MB

iMac 2560 x 1440

Thunderbolt Display 2560 x 1440

Thunderbolt Display 2560 x 1440

System Software: (What does this mean?)

OS X El Capitan 10.11 (15A284) - Time since boot: about one day

Disk Information: (What does this mean?)

APPLE HDD ST1000DM003 disk0 : (1 TB) (Rotational)

EFI (disk0s1) <not mounted> : 210 MB

Macintosh HD (disk0s2) / : 999.35 GB (769.40 GB free)

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

USB Information: (What does this mean?)

Apple Inc. FaceTime HD Camera (Display)

Apple Inc. Apple Thunderbolt Display

Apple Inc. Display Audio

PNY Technologies USB 2.0 FD 8.17 GB

USB20FD (disk1s1) /Volumes/USB20FD : 8.17 GB (8.13 GB free)

Apple Inc. FaceTime HD Camera (Display)

Apple Inc. Apple Thunderbolt Display

Apple Inc. Display Audio

USB20FD (disk1s1) /Volumes/USB20FD : 8.17 GB (8.13 GB free)

USB20FD (disk1s1) /Volumes/USB20FD : 8.17 GB (8.13 GB free)

Apple Inc. BRCM20702 Hub

Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller

Apple Inc. FaceTime HD Camera (Built-in)

Thunderbolt Information: (What does this mean?)

Apple Inc. thunderbolt_bus

Apple Inc. Thunderbolt Display

Apple Inc. Thunderbolt Display

Gatekeeper: (What does this mean?)

Mac App Store and identified developers

Kernel Extensions: (What does this mean?)

/Library/Application Support/MacKeeper/AntiVirus.app

[not loaded] net.kromtech.kext.AVKauth (2.3.7 - SDK 10.9) [Click for support]

[not loaded] net.kromtech.kext.Firewall (2.3.7 - SDK 10.9) [Click for support]

/System/Library/Extensions

[not loaded] com.Belcarra.iokit.USBLAN_netpart (3.1.1 - SDK 10.6) [Click for support]

[not loaded] com.Belcarra.iokit.USBLAN_usbpart (3.1.1 - SDK 10.6) [Click for support]

[not loaded] com.Cycling74.driver.Soundflower (1.5.2) [Click for support]

[not loaded] com.LivestreamProcaster.driver.ProcasterAudioRedirector (2.0.0 - SDK 10.0) [Click for support]

[not loaded] com.RemoteControl.USBLAN.usbpart (3.1.1 - SDK 10.7) [Click for support]

[not loaded] com.aliph.driver.jstub (1.1.2) [Click for support]

[not loaded] com.leapfrog.driver.LfConnectDriver (1.0.1) [Click for support]

/System/Library/Extensions/2.2.0/Belcarra.USBLAN_netpart.kext/Contents/Plug-Ins

[not loaded] com.belcarra.iokit.netpart.panther (1.6.3) [Click for support]

/System/Library/Extensions/2.2.0/Belcarra.USBLAN_usbpart.kext/Contents/Plug-Ins

[not loaded] com.belcarra.iokit.usbpart.panther (1.6.3) [Click for support]

/System/Library/Extensions/2.2.0/RemoteControl.USBLAN_usbpart.kext/Contents/Plu g-Ins

[not loaded] com.RemoteControl.USBLAN.panther (1.6.2) [Click for support]

System Launch Agents: (What does this mean?)

[loaded] com.apple.java.InstallOnDemand.plist - Invalid signature!

Launch Agents: (What does this mean?)

[loaded] com.adobe.AAM.Updater-1.0.plist [Click for support]

[loaded] com.adobe.AdobeCreativeCloud.plist [Click for support]

[loaded] com.adobe.CS4ServiceManager.plist [Click for support]

[loaded] com.adobe.CS5ServiceManager.plist [Click for support]

[loaded] com.google.keystone.agent.plist [Click for support]

[loaded] com.oracle.java.Java-Updater.plist [Click for support]

[loaded] com.rosettastone.rosettastonedaemon.plist [Click for support]

[loaded] com.xrite.device.softwareupdate.plist [Click for support]

Launch Daemons: (What does this mean?)

[loaded] com.adobe.SwitchBoard.plist [Click for support]

[running] com.adobe.adobeupdatedaemon.plist [Click for support]

[loaded] com.adobe.agsservice.plist [Click for support]

[loaded] com.adobe.fpsaud.plist [Click for support]

[loaded] com.google.keystone.daemon.plist [Click for support]

[loaded] com.gopro.stereomodestatus.plist [Click for support]

[loaded] com.leapfrog.connect.shell.plist [Click for support]

[loaded] com.macpaw.CleanMyMac2.Agent.plist [Click for support]

[loaded] com.microsoft.office.licensing.helper.plist [Click for support]

[loaded] com.oracle.java.Helper-Tool.plist [Click for support]

[loaded] com.oracle.java.JavaUpdateHelper.plist [Click for support]

[running] com.xrite.device.xrdd.plist [Click for support]

[running] com.zeobit.MacKeeper.AntiVirus.plist [Click for support]

[running] com.zeobit.MacKeeper.plugin.AntiTheft.daemon.plist [Click for support]

User Launch Agents: (What does this mean?)

[loaded] com.adobe.ARM.[...].plist [Click for support]

[loaded] com.macpaw.CleanMyMac2Helper.diskSpaceWatcher.plist [Click for support]

[loaded] com.macpaw.CleanMyMac2Helper.scheduledScan.plist [Click for support]

[loaded] com.macpaw.CleanMyMac2Helper.trashWatcher.plist [Click for support]

[running] com.nchsoftware.expressinvoice.agent.plist [Click for support]

[running] com.zeobit.MacKeeper.Helper.plist [Click for support]

User Login Items: (What does this mean?)

Dropbox Application (/Applications/Dropbox.app)

Other Apps: (What does this mean?)

[loaded] com.adobe.Acrobat.Pro.48352

[running] com.adobe.acc.AdobeDesktopService.115232.B4D4C56D-6D4C-4F18-9ABF-081B5377CF42

[running] com.adobe.accmac.89952

[running] com.adobe.illustrator.2592

[running] com.apple.xpc.launchd.oneshot.0x10000002.CCLibrary - Invalid signature!

[running] com.apple.xpc.launchd.oneshot.0x1000000d.EtreCheck

[loaded] com.fiplab.MenuTabProHelper

[running] com.fiplab.facetabpro.68512

[running] com.getdropbox.dropbox.59232

[loaded] com.logitech.AlertCommander.AlertCommanderLoginHelper

[running] com.microsoft.Excel.70432

[running] com.microsoft.autoupdate.fba.118752

[running] com.nchsoftware.expressinvoice.60192

[running] com.pandora.desktop.E7C14276FFE9EEF0BC7DCE654C467D9A299EFD21.1.77792

[loaded] com.wondershare.Wondershare-Player.93792

Internet Plug-ins: (What does this mean?)

AdobeAAMDetect: Version: 3.0.0.0 - SDK 10.9 [Click for support]

FlashPlayer-10.6: Version: 19.0.0.185 - SDK 10.6 [Click for support]

QuickTime Plugin: Version: 7.7.3

Flash Player: Version: 19.0.0.185 - SDK 10.6 [Click for support]

Default Browser: Version: 601 - SDK 10.11

DivXBrowserPlugin: Version: 2.1 [Click for support]

JavaAppletPlugin: Version: Java 8 Update 31 Check version

NP_2020Player_WEB: Version: 5.0.94.0 - SDK 10.6 [Click for support]

Unity Web Player: Version: UnityPlayer version 4.6.0f2 - SDK 10.6 [Click for support]

Silverlight: Version: 5.1.40416.0 - SDK 10.6 [Click for support]

iPhotoPhotocast: Version: 7.0 - SDK 10.8

User internet Plug-ins: (What does this mean?)

Google Earth Web Plug-in: Version: 7.1 [Click for support]

Safari Extensions: (What does this mean?)

DivX Plus Web Player HTML5 <video>

3rd Party Preference Panes: (What does this mean?)

Cineform [Click for support]

RCDefaultApp

DivX [Click for support]

Flash Player [Click for support]

Java [Click for support]

Perian [Click for support]

Bad Fonts: (What does this mean?)

28 Days Later.ttf: ~/Library/Fonts/28 Days Later.ttf

Time Machine: (What does this mean?)

Skip System Files: NO

Mobile backups: OFF

Auto backup: NO - Auto backup turned off

Volumes being backed up:

Destinations:

Data [Network]

Total size: 2.00 TB

Total number of backups: 101

Oldest backup: 2012-07-23 01:07:43 +0000

Last backup: 2013-10-23 11:11:59 +0000

Size of backup disk: Excellent

Backup size 2.00 TB > (Disk size 0 B X 3)

Top Processes by CPU: (What does this mean?)

29% mdworker(21)

22% mds

5% WindowServer

0% com.apple.WebKit.WebContent(4)

0% fontd

Top Processes by Memory: (What does this mean?)

1.52 GB kernel_task

713 MB Adobe Illustrator

614 MB Finder

541 MB MenuTab Pro for Facebook

516 MB com.apple.WebKit.WebContent(4)

Virtual Memory Information: (What does this mean?)

9.70 GB Free RAM

14.00 GB Used RAM (6.73 GB Cached)

0 B Swap Used

Diagnostics Information: (What does this mean?)

Oct 7, 2015, 08:15:50 AM ~/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/Radiant Player_2015-10-07-081550_[redacted].crash

Oct 6, 2015, 09:42:45 AM Self test - passed

I am noticing that lots of people have lots of different third party software installed, lots of plug-ins, MacKeeper... all sorts of stuff that could potentially create a conflict or be somewhat incompatible with El Capitan. Some people's Macs are really loaded. I think a good approach for everyone who is having problems might be to set up a fresh, clean User Account, log into it and test to see if the performance issues vanish. Hammer it. Try to break it. Use your browsers, etc. If all is well your focus might be best spent thinning out all the 'extras' in your main user account. Also, if you have migrated from older computers in the past, you probably have thousands of obsolete files in your user library... cache files, preference files, Application Support files, etc. It may be time to seriously clean house.

Yes El Capitan very very slow with almost every app first launch. Even System Preferences took 40 seconds to open.

I had a very nice Apple Support but still haven't solved the problem. After many attempt, the last idea is that this is because I have also a partition with Mountain Lion. I posted a video on youtube to show how slow it is. if you wanna watch it search for: "El Capitan Very Slow" (Roberto Giammanco)

Glad I found this thread... my early 2011 MBP 15" which is specced out (SSD, 8 GB RAM, etc.) has run like a champ the last 4.5 years until I upgraded to El Capitan yesterday. Everything has been super slow to open... Safari, Mail, System Preferences, etc. I dumped the Log files in Mail per this thread and I also ran First Aid (in Disk Utility) on both the parent SSD drive and the child which holds OS X. Both came back fine. Rebooted and now Safari and System Preferences are running much faster. One thing that still plagues me is whenever I have to edit a text field in Safari (and it presumably is pulling up my keychain records) I get the pinwheel. Still frustrating, but at least my system is faster than 10 minutes ago.

-Keith

Restart and zap PRAM. Just about all problems resolved. Thanks!

Thank you so much for the information! My 2015 mid 13' rmbp and my 2014 late iMAC 5K all back to normal!!!!!!!!! I am so happy with it~ Before I was sooooo regret to upgrade to El captian, now everything goes well and fast, just like before~ 🙂

Mine is slow but only with certain apps. Microsoft office 2016 - which had finally started to work properly with the latest version of Yosemite - is launching faster but it's crashing all over the place, with spinning wheels and freezing screens every now and then. IMHO an upgrade is not necessary and will cause even more trouble. I wish - once more - I hadn't done that and I believe I will stop upgrading this software from now on.

Had the same problem, and this thread really helped! Using Activity Monitor, I found the problem was a Flash plug-in used by FileMaker Pro that was gobbling up CPU. I have a database of about 1,500 records, but each includes a a weblink to an external dictionary. By deleting that database field (which I can manage without) - the problem disappeared instantly.