iMac says I have more memory than I do, among other things...

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iMac says I have more memory than I do, among other things...

I have a late 2011 21.5 inch iMac running El Capitan, that recently started running very slowly and crashing not just during my Adobe CC 2015 applications but crashing Firefox as well. I ran Clean My Mac 3, uninstalled old applications I no longer use, etc. and when I went to check how much memory I had, the system information panel under "About this Mac > Memory" showed I had 32 GB (see image), which is impossible for two reasons: I have only 2, 2GB cards installed, and the computer can only handle 16GB total. However, if I look at the System Report (See second image), it sees that I have only 2 slots filled with 2GB each of RAM. Then other weird things started happening, the icons on my desktop started "blinking" every now and again and Clean My Mac 3 said that my computer was running out of virtual and sytem memory when I wasn't running anything but FIrefox or just one Adobe application (I used to be able to keep Photoshop, InDesign and Illustrator running at the same time, no problem). But then sometimes it would be fine (btw Clean My Mac 3 sees that I have only 4GB memory even if my computer doesn't).

I brought it into a local shop when the crashing application thing was getting out of hand, and they tried putting their own memory in and had the same problem. They told me that it might be a motherboard issue but after more tinkering, they decided to replace the hard drive and start from scratch and that seemed to fix the problem. However, when I got the computer home, I did a full restore of my computer using Time Machine and my WD 1Tb My Book Essentials Hard drive backup and restarted the computer, lo and behold, all the same problems came back. Plus my new hard drive's fan keeps running loudly.

Sidenote: I have to click on About My Mac a few times for it to even come up. And at first, the Overview (see image) window is blank. But if I click on the other tabs, like Support, eventually things start showing up and the Memory tab shows 32GB of memory and it has the caution symbol "Errors detected in memory module." I have ordered more memory but am not even sure it's worth it (or safe) to put it in.

Any thoughts/advice would be greatly appreciated. I can bring the computer back to the shop, but it almost sounds like a file corruption issue rather than a hardware one.

Thanks!

iMac (21.5-inch Mid 2011), OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.2)

Posted on Oct 7, 2015 5:21 AM

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Answer 1

John Galt

Level 10

140,954 points

Oct 7, 2015 6:31 AM in response to jmsiBook

Your local shop installed a hard disk drive lacking the required temperature sensor hardware and firmware for your model iMac. Either have them rectify their oversight at their expense, or have an authorized Apple repair shop install correct hardware at your expense.
Run Apple Hardware Test. It may identify RAM failure. If it does, replace the failed module(s). If it does not, the memory may still be suspect, because is not possible to definitively test memory for specification compliance as long as it remains installed on the same system being used to conduct the test.
Repeated memory tests using AHT should reveal faulty memory. If it does, obtain replacement RAM from a vendor known to support Macs. Generic memory obtained from PC-centric vendors often does not meet Apple's stringent specifications.
Remove "CleanMyMac". Read below. Avoid it as well as all similarly categorized "cleaning" utilities.
If following these procedures does not resolve the problem, a hardware fault is likely to exist. Only Apple or an authorized Apple repair facility can provide a definitive diagnosis: Genius Bar Reservations

To remove CleanMyMac 3 itself, use its Uninstaller module, followed by these additional steps:

Remove the file ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.macpaw.CleanMyMac3.Scheduler.plist

To navigate to that file, copy and paste the following line into the Finder's Go menu > Go To Folder...

~/Library/LaunchAgents/

Locate the following file and drag it to the Trash:

com.macpaw.CleanMyMac3.Scheduler.plist

Then, open  (Apple menu) > System Preferences > Users & Groups > Login Items.
Select the item CleanMyMac3 Menu
Click the [—] (minus) button.
Restart your Mac.

Beware that reinstalling OS X alone will have no effect on either removing CleanMyMac or reversing the damage it is capable of inflicting upon a system. To recover from the effects of having used it to modify OS X, the additional software you require and the essential files you need, follow the applicable recovery procedure below:

If you have a backup that you created prior to using CleanMyMac, now is the time to use it. For Time Machine, boot OS X Recovery, and at the Mac OS X Utilities screen, choose Restore from Time Machine Backup. Choose a date preceding the installation of CleanMyMac.
If you do not have a backup that predates the use of CleanMyMac, create one now. To do that read Mac Basics: Time Machine backs up your Mac.
- The recovery procedure will require that you erase the Mac using OS X Recovery, and then create a new User Account whose contents will be empty. You will then be able to use Setup Assistant to migrate your essential documents including photos, music, work products and other essential files.
- To erase and install OS X read How to reinstall OS X on your Mac.
  - Follow the instructions in that document under Erase your drive and install OS X.
  - Then, follow the procedure in Move your content to a new Mac.
  - When asked how you want to transfer your information, select Transfer from a Mac, Time Machine backup, or startup disk.
  - Under Select the Information to Transfer, select only your previous User account and do not select "Applications", "Computer and Network Settings" or "Other files and folders". De-select those choices.
- Subsequent to using Setup Assistant, you will need to reinstall the essential software you may require, once again remembering to install software only from their original sources, and omitting all non-essential software.
- "Non-essential software" is a broad category that includes but is not limited to third party "cleaning", "maintenance", and "anti-virus" products.

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