Winifred0

Q: macbook slow

I have a late 2008 macbook running el captain. It seems to be extremely slow these days with the wheel of doom being a recurring feature. I am a self-confessed luddite when it comes to sorting and fixing laptop issues, so please forgive me for asking for help on an issue that will have been asked before - I just need the answer in simple steps.

Thank you.

MacBook, iOS 9.3.1

Posted on Apr 11, 2016 12:05 PM

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Q: macbook slow

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  • by Carolyn Samit,Helpful

    Carolyn Samit Carolyn Samit Apr 11, 2016 1:20 PM in response to Winifred0
    Level 10 (120,301 points)
    Apple Watch
    Apr 11, 2016 1:20 PM in response to Winifred0

    Anti virus software installed?

  • by Allan Eckert,

    Allan Eckert Allan Eckert Apr 11, 2016 12:11 PM in response to Winifred0
    Level 9 (53,457 points)
    Desktops
    Apr 11, 2016 12:11 PM in response to Winifred0

    What third party software do you have installed?

  • by Winifred0,

    Winifred0 Winifred0 Apr 11, 2016 1:32 PM in response to Carolyn Samit
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Notebooks
    Apr 11, 2016 1:32 PM in response to Carolyn Samit

    Hi Carolyn,

    The honest answer is that I don't know. Where would I find this?

  • by Winifred0,

    Winifred0 Winifred0 Apr 11, 2016 1:34 PM in response to Allan Eckert
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Notebooks
    Apr 11, 2016 1:34 PM in response to Allan Eckert

    Sorry Alan, I don't know. Where would I find this?

  • by Carolyn Samit,

    Carolyn Samit Carolyn Samit Apr 11, 2016 1:58 PM in response to Winifred0
    Level 10 (120,301 points)
    Apple Watch
    Apr 11, 2016 1:58 PM in response to Winifred0

    Ok..  Macs do not come with anti virus software installed so you would have had to download it from the internet or from an install disc.

     

    The best way to see exactly what's installed on your Mac as far as third party software is concerned is to download this utility > Etresoft: EtreCheck

     

    Run EtreCheck app then copy and paste the results in your Reply here.

     

    No personal data is shared from the report.


    Otherwise we are pretty much flying blind.


    About EtreCheck > Using EtreCheck







    message edited by: CS

  • by Allan Eckert,

    Allan Eckert Allan Eckert Apr 11, 2016 1:55 PM in response to Winifred0
    Level 9 (53,457 points)
    Desktops
    Apr 11, 2016 1:55 PM in response to Winifred0

    Please do as Carolyn has suggested. That will answer my question in  addition to her question.

  • by Winifred0,

    Winifred0 Winifred0 Apr 11, 2016 2:07 PM in response to Carolyn Samit
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Notebooks
    Apr 11, 2016 2:07 PM in response to Carolyn Samit

    EtreCheck version: 2.9.10 (261)

    Report generated 2016-04-11 22:03:42

    Download EtreCheck from https://etrecheck.com

    Runtime 6:01

    Performance: Below Average

     

     

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

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

     

     

    Check Apple signatures: Enabled

     

     

    Problem: Beachballing

    Description:

    slow

     

     

    Hardware Information: ⓘ

        MacBook (13-inch, Aluminum, Late 2008)

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

        MacBook - model: MacBook5,1

        1 2 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo CPU: 2-core

        2 GB RAM - Insufficient RAM! Upgradeable - [Instructions]

            BANK 0/DIMM0

                1 GB DDR3 1067 MHz ok

            BANK 0/DIMM1

                1 GB DDR3 1067 MHz ok

        Bluetooth: Old - Handoff/Airdrop2 not supported

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

        Battery: Health = Normal - Cycle count = 620

     

     

    Video Information: ⓘ

        NVIDIA GeForce 9400M - VRAM: 256 MB

            Color LCD 1280 x 800

     

     

    System Software: ⓘ

        OS X El Capitan 10.11.3 (15D21) - Time since boot: about 6 days

     

     

    Disk Information: ⓘ

        Hitachi HTS543216L9SA02 disk0 : (160.04 GB) (Rotational)

            EFI (disk0s1) <not mounted> : 210 MB

            Macintosh HD (disk0s2) / : 159.18 GB (112.38 GB free)

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

     

     

        OPTIARC  DVD RW AD-5960S   ()

     

     

    USB Information: ⓘ

        Apple Inc. Built-in iSight

        Apple Inc. BRCM2046 Hub

            Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller

        Apple, Inc. Apple Internal Keyboard / Trackpad

        Apple Computer, Inc. IR Receiver

     

     

    Gatekeeper: ⓘ

        Mac App Store and identified developers

     

     

    System Launch Agents: ⓘ

        [not loaded]    7 Apple tasks

        [loaded]    151 Apple tasks

        [running]    66 Apple tasks

        [killed]    12 Apple tasks

        12 processes killed due to insufficient RAM

     

     

    System Launch Daemons: ⓘ

        [not loaded]    46 Apple tasks

        [loaded]    152 Apple tasks

        [running]    80 Apple tasks

        [killed]    10 Apple tasks

        10 processes killed due to insufficient RAM

     

     

    Launch Agents: ⓘ

        [failed]    com.adobe.ARMDCHelper.cc24aef4a1b90ed56a...plist (2016-02-15) [Support]

        [running]    com.kodak.BonjourAgent.plist (2012-09-21) [Support]

     

     

    Launch Daemons: ⓘ

        [running]    com.adobe.ARM.[...].plist (2016-01-28) [Support]

        [loaded]    com.adobe.ARMDC.Communicator.plist (2016-02-15) [Support]

        [loaded]    com.adobe.ARMDC.SMJobBlessHelper.plist (2016-02-15) [Support]

        [failed]    com.adobe.fpsaud.plist (2016-03-19) [Support]

        [loaded]    com.cyberghostsrl.CyberghostPrivilegedHelper.plist (2016-02-16) [Support]

        [loaded]    com.microsoft.office.licensing.helper.plist (2011-03-10) [Support]

        [loaded]    net.sourceforge.MonolingualHelper.plist (2014-04-07) [Support]

     

     

    User Launch Agents: ⓘ

        [failed]    com.adobe.ARM.[...].plist (2015-03-13) [Support]

        [loaded]    com.kodak.KODAK AiO Annual Opt.plist (2014-01-29) [Support]

        [loaded]    com.kodak.KODAK AiO Firmware Updater.plist (2016-04-06) [Support]

        [loaded]    com.kodak.KODAK AiO Software Updater.plist (2016-04-07) [Support]

        [running]    com.kodak.StatisticCollection.plist (2014-01-29) [Support]

     

     

    User Login Items: ⓘ

        AdobeResourceSynchronizer    UNKNOWN Hidden (missing value)

        AdobeResourceSynchronizer    Application Hidden (/Applications/Adobe Acrobat Reader DC.app/Contents/Helpers/AdobeResourceSynchronizer.app)

     

     

    Other Apps: ⓘ

        [running]    com.hp.devicemonitor

        [loaded]    390 Apple tasks

        [running]    165 Apple tasks

        [killed]    21 Apple tasks

     

     

    Internet Plug-ins: ⓘ

        FlashPlayer-10.6: 21.0.0.197 - SDK 10.6 (2016-03-24) [Support]

        QuickTime Plugin: 7.7.3 (2016-02-23)

        AdobePDFViewerNPAPI: 15.010.20060 - SDK 10.8 (2016-03-16) [Support]

        AdobePDFViewer: 15.010.20060 - SDK 10.8 (2016-03-16) [Support]

        Flash Player: 21.0.0.197 - SDK 10.6 (2016-03-24) Outdated! Update

        Default Browser: 601 - SDK 10.11 (2016-02-23)

        SharePointBrowserPlugin: 14.5.5 - SDK 10.6 (2015-09-15) [Support]

        Silverlight: 5.1.41212.0 - SDK 10.6 (2016-01-25) [Support]

     

     

    3rd Party Preference Panes: ⓘ

        Flash Player (2016-03-19) [Support]

     

     

    Time Machine: ⓘ

        Time Machine not configured!

     

     

    Top Processes by CPU: ⓘ

             5%    WindowServer

             4%    com.hp.devicemonitor

             2%    kernel_task

             0%    fontd

             0%    askpermissiond

     

     

    Top Processes by Memory: ⓘ

        280 MB    kernel_task

        209 MB    com.apple.WebKit.WebContent(7)

        49 MB    Safari

        47 MB    mdworker(4)

        41 MB    Finder

     

     

    Virtual Memory Information: ⓘ

        80 MB    Free RAM

        2.17 GB    Used RAM (470 MB Cached)

        23 MB    Swap Used

  • by Allan Eckert,Helpful

    Allan Eckert Allan Eckert Apr 11, 2016 2:24 PM in response to Winifred0
    Level 9 (53,457 points)
    Desktops
    Apr 11, 2016 2:24 PM in response to Winifred0

    The 2 GB of RAM while sufficient to install El Capitan is not enough to run any applications. You must upgrade the amount of RAM installed.

     

    Until you are able to upgrade the RAM, a possible work around would be shutdown nightly and restart it again the morning. This will allow the operating system reload every thing in memory again every morning.

  • by Winifred0,

    Winifred0 Winifred0 Apr 11, 2016 2:22 PM in response to Allan Eckert
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Notebooks
    Apr 11, 2016 2:22 PM in response to Allan Eckert

    Okay. And how do I do that?

  • by Carolyn Samit,

    Carolyn Samit Carolyn Samit Apr 11, 2016 2:31 PM in response to Winifred0
    Level 10 (120,301 points)
    Apple Watch
    Apr 11, 2016 2:31 PM in response to Winifred0

    Start by removing the Cyberghost software then restart your Mac to test.


    I agree with Alan about the RAM.   How to Upgrade RAM


    OS X El Capitan - Technical Specifications

  • by Allan Eckert,

    Allan Eckert Allan Eckert Apr 11, 2016 2:26 PM in response to Winifred0
    Level 9 (53,457 points)
    Desktops
    Apr 11, 2016 2:26 PM in response to Winifred0

    You can see the directions on how to do this at https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/MacBook+Unibody+Model+A1278+RAM+Replacement/757

     

    If you don't feel comfortable doing this you might want to speak to your local Apple Store to see if they will do it for you.

  • by Winifred0,

    Winifred0 Winifred0 Apr 11, 2016 2:32 PM in response to Allan Eckert
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Notebooks
    Apr 11, 2016 2:32 PM in response to Allan Eckert

    Thank you.

  • by Winifred0,

    Winifred0 Winifred0 Apr 11, 2016 2:38 PM in response to Carolyn Samit
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Notebooks
    Apr 11, 2016 2:38 PM in response to Carolyn Samit

    Thanks. I've done that, but when I type in anything to the search box, the letters don't come up straight away and all at once - there's a time lag and the beach ball appears. Any thoughts?

  • by Allan Eckert,

    Allan Eckert Allan Eckert Apr 11, 2016 2:53 PM in response to Winifred0
    Level 9 (53,457 points)
    Desktops
    Apr 11, 2016 2:53 PM in response to Winifred0

    Have you upgraded the RAM?

     

    If you have run EtreCheck again and post the results.

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