Computer really slow since El Capitan 10.11.3

Question

Level 1

8 points

Computer really slow since El Capitan 10.11.3

I'm hoping someone can help. My computer has been very slow and unstable since the El Capitan 10.11.3 update. I'm on a MacBook Pro 15" Late 2011. The computer is particularly slow in Safari but has been slower than normal overall as well. I backed up my files in Time Machine on an external drive before any troubleshooting so I'm really happy about that. The support person had me erase everything and go into Recovery mode and reinstall OS. After that I had problems with shutting down and restarting so I reinstalled it again and just haven't shut down since then. I have NOT YET migrated any of my files back and won't until I know the system is stable. My laptop is working but still just very slow. Can anyone please help? I'm desperate! Thank you so so much in advance!

I ran an EtreCheck report about an hour ago and got this:

EtreCheck version: 2.7.8 (238)

Report generated 2016-01-26 15:28:29

Download EtreCheck from http://etrecheck.com

Runtime 3:10

Performance: Good

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

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

Problem: Computer is too slow

Description:

Computer way too slow - recent issue since El Capitan 10.11.3

Hardware Information:ⓘ

MacBook Pro (15-inch, Late 2011)

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

MacBook Pro - model: MacBookPro8,2

1 2.5 GHz Intel Core i7 CPU: 4-core

4 GB RAM Upgradeable - [Instructions]

BANK 0/DIMM0

2 GB DDR3 1333 MHz ok

BANK 1/DIMM0

2 GB DDR3 1333 MHz ok

Bluetooth: Old - Handoff/Airdrop2 not supported

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

Battery: Health = Normal - Cycle count = 309 - SN = D86139302X5DGDLAH

Video Information:ⓘ

Intel HD Graphics 3000

Color LCD 1680 x 1050

AMD Radeon HD 6770M - VRAM: 1024 MB

System Software:ⓘ

OS X El Capitan 10.11.3 (15D21) - Time since boot: about 2 days

Disk Information:ⓘ

Hitachi HTS727575A9E362 disk0 : (750.16 GB) (Rotational)

EFI (disk0s1) <not mounted> : 210 MB

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

Macintosh HD (disk1) / : 748.93 GB (728.47 GB free)

Encrypted AES-XTS Unlocked Failed

Core Storage: disk0s2 749.30 GB Online

HL-DT-ST DVDRW GS31N ()

USB Information:ⓘ

Apple Inc. FaceTime HD Camera (Built-in)

Apple Inc. Apple Internal Keyboard / Trackpad

Apple Inc. BRCM2070 Hub

Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller

Apple Computer, Inc. IR Receiver

Thunderbolt Information:ⓘ

Apple Inc. thunderbolt_bus

Gatekeeper:ⓘ

Mac App Store and identified developers

System Launch Agents:ⓘ

[killed] com.apple.coreservices.appleid.authentication.plist

[killed] com.apple.printuitool.agent.plist

[killed] com.apple.rcd.plist

3 processes killed due to insufficient RAM

System Launch Daemons:ⓘ

[killed] com.apple.corestorage.corestoragehelperd.plist

[killed] com.apple.coresymbolicationd.plist

[killed] com.apple.findmymac.plist

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

[killed] com.apple.ifdreader.plist

[killed] com.apple.nsurlsessiond.plist

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

[killed] com.apple.printtool.daemon.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

12 processes killed due to insufficient RAM

Launch Agents:ⓘ

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

Launch Daemons:ⓘ

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

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

User Login Items:ⓘ

SpeechSynthesisServer Application (/System/Library/Frameworks/ApplicationServices.framework/Versions/A/Frameworks /SpeechSynthesis.framework/Versions/A/SpeechSynthesisServer.app)

Dropbox Application (/Applications/Dropbox.app)

Other Apps:ⓘ

[running] com.apple.xpc.launchd.oneshot.0x10000008.Dropbox

[running] com.apple.xpc.launchd.oneshot.0x1000001d.EtreCheck

Internet Plug-ins:ⓘ

FlashPlayer-10.6: Version: 20.0.0.286 - SDK 10.6 [Support]

QuickTime Plugin: Version: 7.7.3

Flash Player: Version: 20.0.0.286 - SDK 10.6 [Support]

JavaAppletPlugin: Version: Java 8 Update 71 build 15 Check version

Default Browser: Version: 601 - SDK 10.11

3rd Party Preference Panes:ⓘ

Flash Player [Support]

Java [Support]

Time Machine:ⓘ

Time Machine not configured!

Top Processes by CPU:ⓘ

6% kernel_task

6% WindowServer

0% askpermissiond

Top Processes by Memory:ⓘ

520 MB kernel_task

139 MB com.apple.WebKit.WebContent(3)

115 MB Preview

82 MB Safari

70 MB suggestd

Virtual Memory Information:ⓘ

240 MB Free RAM

3.76 GB Used RAM (1.01 GB Cached)

40 MB Swap Used

Diagnostics Information:ⓘ

Jan 23, 2016, 10:08:07 PM Self test - passed

MacBook Pro, OS X El Capitan (10.11)

Posted on Jan 26, 2016 1:03 PM

Reply

Answer 1

Kappy

Level 10

362,017 points

Jan 26, 2016 3:12 PM in response to etg915

You don't have enough RAM, Add more or reduce the number of concurrent programs running.

Try this:

Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions - El Capitan

Boot to the Recovery HD:

Restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the COMMAND and R keys until the menu screen appears.

Repair

When the recovery menu appears select Disk Utility and press the Continue button. After Disk Utility loads select the indented Macintosh HD entry from the the left side list. Click on the First Aid tab in the toolbar.. If Disk Utility reports any errors that have been fixed, then re-run First Aid until no errors are reported. Wait until the operation completes, then quit Disk Utility and return to the main menu. Select Restart from the Apple menu.

Now, Download and Reinstall OS X El Capitan 10.11.3 Combo Update.

Reply

Answer 2

etg915 Author

Level 1

8 points

Jan 26, 2016 1:11 PM in response to Kappy

Ok, Got it. Gonna try that now.

Reply

Answer 3

Linc Davis

Level 10

209,739 points

Jan 26, 2016 2:30 PM in response to etg915

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 4

etg915 Author

Level 1

8 points

Jan 26, 2016 2:59 PM in response to Kappy

Ok Kappy,

I'd done a Disk Utilities check earlier today and there were no errors reported and it said that the operation was successful so once in Recovery Mode the First Aid option was greyed out. I went ahead and downloaded and installed the Combo Update following all of the steps you recommended. So far typing this text into Safari for this message is still a little slow and I'm getting a little beachballing but I guess I'll have to see over the next day or so if there is significant improvement overall as I play around with things just going through my day to day tasks unless you have any further suggestions. I am happy that I had a normal shutdown and restarts in going through the steps you gave me so I'm optimistic.

Is there anything else you can think of that I should check or test before trying to migrate files back over from my Time Machine backup? Should I run a new EtreCheck report?

And I'm guessing your recommendation for me for the future is to limit the number of programs I have running at one time correct? I have a 750 GB hard drive overall that is only about half full so storage is not a problem for sure but I'm pretty lost when it comes to discussing RAM so I'm deferring to your expertise in that area. Should I purchase additional RAM in order to keep up with the OS upgrades? And last question, the only Update I'm showing that I need to install is a "Digital RAW Compatibility Update". It shouldn't be a problem to go ahead and install that correct?

I can't tell you how much I appreciate your help. Thank you so much!!

If you can think of anything else, please let me know.

Reply

Answer 5

etg915 Author

Level 1

8 points

Jan 26, 2016 3:06 PM in response to Linc Davis

Thanks Linc. I'll keep an eye on things and if over these next couple of days I'm noticing some additional slowdowns or extended beachballing I'll take your suggestions as my next steps. Thanks so much for the help!

Reply

Answer 6

Kappy

Level 10

362,017 points

Jan 26, 2016 3:10 PM in response to etg915

I think the best solution is more RAM if your model permits that, which it does:

Maximum Memory	16 GB (Actual) 8 GB (Apple)
Memory Slots	2 - 204-pin PC-10600 (1333 MHz) DDR3 SO-DIMM

RAM is pretty cheap these days. I recommend using one of these vendors: OWC, DataMem, or Crucial. All are reliable vendors who sell reputable products.

Reply

Answer 7

etg915 Author

Level 1

8 points

Jan 26, 2016 3:22 PM in response to Kappy

Ok, according to this link https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201165 my maximum is 8 GB but you're saying if I go with one of the vendors above I can expand to 16? Before posting my question I made an appointment with the Genius Bar in the store for tomorrow so I'm thinking is this something I can pick up in the Apple Store and have them go ahead and install it for me? Trust me when I say you don't want me opening this thing up and poking around inside. LOL 😁

Reply

Answer 8

Kappy

Level 10

362,017 points

Jan 26, 2016 3:25 PM in response to etg915

It means that although Apple only certifies up to 8 GBs, it has been found that the slots will, in fact, work with a maximum of 16 GBs (two 8 GB modules.)

Reply

Answer 9

etg915 Author

Level 1

8 points

Jan 26, 2016 3:49 PM in response to etg915

Oh, ok. Is this something they sell also in the Apple Store that I could purchase and have them install for me?

Reply

Answer 10

Imp68

Level 4

2,672 points

Jan 26, 2016 4:45 PM in response to etg915

etg915 wrote:

The support person had me erase everything and go into Recovery mode and reinstall OS. After that I had problems with shutting down and restarting so I reinstalled it again and just haven't shut down since then. I have NOT YET migrated any of my files back and won't until I know the system is stable. My laptop is working but still just very slow.

Your computer was either never erased, you restored some data, or you have reinstalled some non-apple software.

Reply

Answer 11

Kappy

Level 10

362,017 points

Jan 26, 2016 7:27 PM in response to etg915

The Apple Store will happily sell and install the RAM, but they will only install 8 GBs and charge you much, much more than if you buy there memory and install it yourself. It's quite easy to do. OWC has tutorials you can follow.

Reply