iMac running slow + rainbow wheel - help! (EtreCheck report below)

Question

Level 1

9 points

iMac running slow + rainbow wheel - help! (EtreCheck report below)

Hi!

My iMac has been running very slowly and the rainbow wheel of death is constantly making an appearance. I've just run an EtreCheck report but not sure what it says. Very grateful in advance for anyone who can translate!

Thanks!

EtreCheck version: 2.6.6 (226)

Report generated 1/12/16, 2:32 PM

Runtime 8:08

Download EtreCheck from http://etrecheck.com

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

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

Click the [Click to remove] links for help removing adware.

Hardware Information: (What does this mean?)

iMac (21.5-inch, Mid 2011)

[Click for Technical Specifications]

[Click for User Guide]

iMac - model: iMac12,1

1 2.7 GHz Intel Core i5 CPU: 4-core

4 GB RAM Upgradeable

[Click for upgrade instructions]

BANK 0/DIMM0

2 GB DDR3 1333 MHz ok

BANK 1/DIMM0

2 GB DDR3 1333 MHz ok

BANK 0/DIMM1

Empty

BANK 1/DIMM1

Empty

Bluetooth: Old - Handoff/Airdrop2 not supported

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

Video Information: (What does this mean?)

AMD Radeon HD 6770M - VRAM: 512 MB

iMac 1920 x 1080

System Software: (What does this mean?)

OS X El Capitan 10.11.1 (15B42) - Time since boot: less than an hour

Disk Information: (What does this mean?)

Hitachi HDS723020BLA642 disk0 : (2 TB) (Rotational)

EFI (disk0s1) <not mounted> : 210 MB

Macintosh HD (disk0s2) / : 2.00 TB (1.28 TB free)

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

HL-DT-STDVDRW GA32N ()

USB Information: (What does this mean?)

Apple Inc. FaceTime HD Camera (Built-in)

Hewlett-Packard HP LaserJet 3050

Apple, Inc. Keyboard Hub

Mitsumi Electric Apple Optical USB Mouse

iLok iLok

Apple Inc. Apple Keyboard

Apple Inc. BRCM2046 Hub

Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller

Western Digital External HDD 2 TB

EFI (disk1s1) <not mounted> : 210 MB

WD 20EADS External Media (disk1s2) /Volumes/WD 20EADS External Media : 2.00 TB (1.14 TB free)

Apple Computer, Inc. IR Receiver

Apple Card Reader

Thunderbolt Information: (What does this mean?)

Apple Inc. thunderbolt_bus

Gatekeeper: (What does this mean?)

Mac App Store and identified developers

Adware: (What does this mean?)

Genieo, InstallMacAdware! [Click to remove]

Kernel Extensions: (What does this mean?)

/System/Library/Extensions

[loaded] com.digidesign.iokit.DigiDal (10.0f56 - SDK 10.6) [Click for support]

[not loaded] com.digidesign.mbox2.boot.driver (9.0f4) [Click for support]

[not loaded] com.digidesign.mbox2.driver (9.0f4) [Click for support]

[not loaded] com.paceap.kext.pacesupport.master (5.8) [Click for support]

/System/Library/Extensions/PACESupportFamily.kext/Contents/PlugIns

[not loaded] com.paceap.kext.pacesupport.leopard (5.8 - SDK 10.4) [Click for support]

[not loaded] com.paceap.kext.pacesupport.panther (5.8 - SDK 10.-1) [Click for support]

[loaded] com.paceap.kext.pacesupport.snowleopard (5.8 - SDK 10.6) [Click for support]

[not loaded] com.paceap.kext.pacesupport.tiger (5.8 - SDK 10.4) [Click for support]

Startup Items: (What does this mean?)

Digidesign Mbox 2: Path: /Library/StartupItems/Digidesign Mbox 2

DigidesignLoader: Path: /Library/StartupItems/DigidesignLoader

PACESupport: Path: /Library/StartupItems/PACESupport

Startup items are obsolete in OS X Yosemite

Launch Agents: (What does this mean?)

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

[running] 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]

Launch Daemons: (What does this mean?)

[loaded] PACESupport.plist [Click for support]

[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.adobe.versioncueCS4.plist [Click for support]

[loaded] com.barebones.authd.plist [Click for support]

[running] com.digidesign.fwfamily.helper.plist [Click for support]

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

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

[running] com.paceap.eden.licensed.plist [Click for support]

[loaded] com.rogueamoeba.instanton-agent.plist [Click for support]

User Launch Agents: (What does this mean?)

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

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

[running] com.akamai.single-user-client.plist [Click for support]

[loaded] com.spotify.webhelper.plist [Click for support]

User Login Items: (What does this mean?)

SkyFonts UNKNOWN (missing value)

GrowlHelperApp Application (~/Library/PreferencePanes/Growl.prefPane/Contents/Resources/GrowlHelperApp.app )

iTunesHelper UNKNOWN Hidden (missing value)

Dropbox Application (/Applications/Dropbox.app)

Microsoft Database Daemon Application (/Applications/Microsoft Office 2011/Office/Microsoft Database Daemon.app)

Rogue Amoeba Schedule Helper Application (/Library/Application Support/Audio Hijack Pro/Rogue Amoeba Schedule Helper.app)

apple-scc-20151201-124916 UNKNOWN (missing value)

Other Apps: (What does this mean?)

[running] com.Growl.GrowlHelperApp.108512

[running] com.adobe.acc.AdobeDesktopService.114592.BE699B3F-1D97-4998-83C8-288126123F0B

[running] com.apple.xpc.launchd.oneshot.0x10000006.EtreCheck

[running] com.digidesign.ProTools.56992

[running] com.google.Chrome.63072

[running] com.microsoft.outlook.databasedaemon.75552

[running] com.mti.Monotype-SkyFontsHelper.82272

[running] com.rogueamoeba.ScheduleHelper.108832

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

o1dbrowserplugin: Version: 5.41.3.0 - SDK 10.8 [Click for support]

Default Browser: Version: 601 - SDK 10.11

Flip4Mac WMV Plugin: Version: 2.3.4.1 [Click for support]

AmazonMP3DownloaderPlugin101750: Version: AmazonMP3DownloaderPlugin 1.0.17 - SDK 10.4 [Click for support]

iLokClientHelper: Version: 3.5 - SDK 10.5 [Click for support]

AdobePDFViewerNPAPI: Version: 10.1.14 [Click for support]

FlashPlayer-10.6: Version: 20.0.0.267 - SDK 10.6 [Click for support]

OfficeLiveBrowserPlugin: Version: 12.3.3 [Click for support]

RealPlayer Plugin: Version: Unknown [Click for support]

QuickTime Plugin: Version: 7.7.3

Flash Player: Version: 20.0.0.267 - SDK 10.6 [Click for support]

googletalkbrowserplugin: Version: 5.41.3.0 - SDK 10.8 [Click for support]

iPhotoPhotocast: Version: 7.0

AdobePDFViewer: Version: 10.1.14 [Click for support]

CouponPrinter-FireFox_v2: Version: Version 1.1.7 - SDK 10.5 [Click for support]

SharePointBrowserPlugin: Version: 14.3.4 - SDK 10.6 [Click for support]

Silverlight: Version: 5.1.20913.0 - SDK 10.6 [Click for support]

JavaAppletPlugin: Version: Java 7 Update 09 Check version

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

WebEx64: Version: 1.0 - SDK 10.6 [Click for support]

Google Earth Web Plug-in: Version: 6.2 [Click for support]

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

Adobe Version Cue CS4 [Click for support]

Akamai NetSession Preferences [Click for support]

DigidesignMbox2 [Click for support]

Digidesign Mbox 2 Pro [Click for support]

Flash Player [Click for support]

Flip4Mac WMV [Click for support]

Growl [Click for support]

Java [Click for support]

Time Machine: (What does this mean?)

Auto backup: YES

Volumes being backed up:

Macintosh HD: Disk size: 2.00 TB Disk used: 714.94 GB

Destinations:

WD 20EADS External Media [Local]

Total size: 2.00 TB

Total number of backups: 63

Oldest backup: 5/11/15, 4:24 PM

Last backup: 1/12/16, 2:09 PM

Size of backup disk: Too small

Backup size 2.00 TB < (Disk used 714.94 GB X 3)

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

11% Pro Tools

5% coreaudiod

3% Google Chrome

3% WindowServer

3% Google Chrome Helper(8)

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

1.00 GB Google Chrome Helper(8)

517 MB kernel_task

274 MB Pro Tools

152 MB Google Chrome

86 MB Finder

Virtual Memory Information: (What does this mean?)

27 MB Free RAM

3.97 GB Used RAM (947 MB Cached)

0 B Swap Used

Diagnostics Information: (What does this mean?)

Jan 12, 2016, 02:14:36 PM Self test - passed

Jan 11, 2016, 05:57:00 AM ~/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/SystemUIServer_2016-01-11-055700_[redacted].cr ash

Jan 10, 2016, 01:28:07 AM ~/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/SystemUIServer_2016-01-10-012807_[redacted].cr ash

iMac, OS X El Capitan (10.11.1)

Posted on Jan 12, 2016 11:38 AM

Reply

Answer 1

Amilixkan

Level 3

563 points

Jan 12, 2016 11:41 AM in response to sherships

Hi, first of all you have and Adware, which affects your performance, try to eliminate it using this: http://www.adwaremedic.com/index.php

Second, you are full of StartUp Items: remove by going to Preferences/Users and Groups/Startupt and selecting and pressing the minus sign for all the items in the list.

Reply

Answer 2

Amilixkan

Level 3

563 points

Jan 12, 2016 11:42 AM in response to sherships

Also, Google Chrome is eating a lot of your memory, Chrome its very nice but it hogs the RAM. I would suggest changing to Safari, since its optimized for Mac and has all the utilities Chrome offers.

Reply

Answer 3

Amilixkan

Level 3

563 points

Jan 12, 2016 11:43 AM in response to sherships

Do you really use Digidesign? its clustering a lot of your MacBook

Reply

Answer 4

sherships Author

Level 1

9 points

Jan 12, 2016 11:51 AM in response to Amilixkan

Hi,

Thanks so much for the suggestions! I've deleted the adware using adware medic and removed the start ups. However, I do really use Digidesign - so I'm afraid there's not much I can do about that. Going to try to restart now and see if it helps. Fingers crossed!

Reply

Answer 5

etresoft

Level 9

57,398 points

Jan 12, 2016 11:58 AM in response to sherships

Hello sherships,

iMacs are a bit slow to being with. Upgrading to El Capitan is not going to help with that at all. When people complain about El Capitan performance on older machines, usually the best solution is to add RAM and install an SSD. El Capitan, and Yosemite before it, are hybrids of iOS and OS X. They were designed for SSDs. If you try to run them on an older machine, especially one that only has 4 GB RAM, you will spend a lot of time appreciating the new, redesigned beach ball cursor.

Unfortunately, adding an SSD to an older iMac is extremely difficult. I just added an SSD to my wife's 2010 27" iMac and I really wouldn't recommend the procedure. You can definitely upgrade the RAM in your iMac. Your EtreCheck report has a link to Apple's RAM upgrade instructions for your machine. Also, your 2011 machine does have a Thunderbolt port. If you really had to, you could run from an external SSD via Thunderbolt. It will be more expensive. SSDs aren't cheap and Thunderbolt enclosures and cables are even more expensive.

Reply

Answer 6

sherships Author

Level 1

9 points

Jan 12, 2016 12:01 PM in response to etresoft

Thanks all for the suggestions! It seems like adding RAM may be the best way to go. Still getting rainbow wheels and black screens (when I try to start up new software).

Reply

Answer 7

etresoft

Level 9

57,398 points

Jan 12, 2016 12:18 PM in response to sherships

Hello again sherships,

I also see that you restarted your Mac just before running EtreCheck. If you let your Mac run for a day or two and encounter some beach balls again, run EtreCheck again. This time, it may have some more definitive statements about insufficient RAM. Restarting clears out the evidence of past low memory situations.

Reply

Answer 8

sherships Author

Level 1

9 points

Jan 12, 2016 12:30 PM in response to etresoft

Got it! Will do.

Thanks!

Reply

Answer 9

Linc Davis

Level 10

209,739 points

Jan 12, 2016 1:25 PM in response to sherships

A

First, never use any kind of "anti-virus" or "anti-malware" software on a Mac. That's how you cause problems, not how you solve them.

B

There is no evidence here that adding memory will have any effect on your problem.

C

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 one 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.

When you post the log extract, you might see an error message on the web page: "You have included content in your post that is not permitted," or "The message contains invalid characters." That's a bug in the forum software. Please post the text on Pastebin, then post a link here to the page you created.

If you have an account on Pastebin, please don't select Private from the Paste Exposure menu on the page, because then no one but you will be able to see it.

Reply

Answer 10

sherships Author

Level 1

9 points

Jan 19, 2016 8:49 AM in response to Linc Davis

Hi,

Here's my Pastebin: http://pastebin.com/9cQhHLGL

Thanks!

Reply

Answer 11

Linc Davis

Level 10

209,739 points

Jan 20, 2016 9:12 AM in response to sherships

Please sign out of iCloud in its preference pane and see whether there's any change. No data will be removed from the servers, and you can retrieve it by signing back in. That said, you should always have a current archiveof the data for safety's sake, even if you don't sign out.

If you use iCloud Keychain, when you sign back in to iCloud follow one of the procedures described in this support article to set it up on an additional device.

Reply