heavy volume activity after system started

Question

heavy volume activity after system started

There is a heavy volume activity on three different computers (iMac 27" 3,2 GHz late 2012, MacBook Pro 15" 2,8 GHz mid 2009 and MacBook 13" 2,26 GHz late 2009) after the system has started up. It is worse on the iMac which is the most powerful of the three computers. Within 10 minutes after the startup the computer reads more than 5 GB of data and writes more than 2,5 GB of data (reported by Activity Monitor). The computer responses very slowly. The Finder displays the content of windows after 30 seconds or more. Programs need more than two minutes to start. After approximately 7 to 10 minutes the heavy disk activity calms down and the computer is fast.

In Activity Monitor I can see that Spotlight and its mds workers uses a lot of CPU and disk power. They indexing for about 5 minutes (the progress bar is displayed in the Spotlight search window). I already wiped the Spotlight index and rebuilt it two times. It does not help. There are no startup items which could break down the computers. Why does the the system read in so many data? What is it? Is it possible to postpone the reindexing of Spotlight on the system startup? Please don't advice me to build in SSDs into three computers.

iMac (27-inch, Late 2012), OS X El Capitan (10.11.1), 32 GB RAM, Nvidia GeForce GTX 680MX

Posted on Jul 17, 2016 2:05 PM

Reply

Answer 1

macjack

Level 10

111,242 points

Jul 17, 2016 2:13 PM in response to Steffen Bendix

Please download and run EtreCheck, created by one of own helpers here in ASC. It is a diagnostic tool that's very useful to us in finding problems. Also it will give us further specs on your Mac. After it runs post the log file here. It will contain no personal information. Just choose one of your Macs to run it on.

Reply

Answer 2

macjack

Level 10

111,242 points

Jul 17, 2016 2:30 PM in response to Steffen Bendix

After you've run the EtreCheck report, open Terminal and copy & paste this command at the prompt:

mdutil -ai off

Press return.

This will turn off all Indexing.

Then run another EtreCheck. If this has eliminated the slowness here are several approaches to rebuilding the index which may help:

Rebuild the Spotlight index on your Mac - Apple Support

Reply

Answer 3

Jul 18, 2016 10:32 AM in response to macjack

Here are three logs from EtreCheck. The first was created right after the start of the computer when it was under heavy load of the volume activity. The second was created about 10 minutes later after I deaktivated Spotlight indexing. I don't understand why the start time in the second log is earlier as the first run was finished. The first took very long. I did the third run after a restart with Spotlight indexing off. The computer was still slow but not as usual.

As I already wrote, Spotlight is heavily indexing the files after each start of the computer but I don't know why. This happens on three different computers. It seems to be a system "feature".

First run

EtreCheck version: 2.9.13 (267)

Report generated 2016-07-18 18:59:13

Download EtreCheck from https://etrecheck.com

Runtime 7:15

Performance: Below Average

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

Hardware Information:ⓘ

iMac (27-inch, Late 2012)

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

iMac - model: iMac13,2

1 3,2 GHz Intel Core i5 CPU: 4-core

32 GB RAM Upgradeable - [Instructions]

BANK 0/DIMM0

8 GB DDR3 1600 MHz ok

BANK 1/DIMM0

8 GB DDR3 1600 MHz ok

BANK 0/DIMM1

8 GB DDR3 1600 MHz ok

BANK 1/DIMM1

8 GB DDR3 1600 MHz ok

Bluetooth: Good - Handoff/Airdrop2 supported

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

Video Information:ⓘ

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680MX - VRAM: 2048 MB

iMac 2560 x 1440

System Software:ⓘ

OS X El Capitan 10.11.5 (15F34) - Time since boot: less than an hour

Disk Information:ⓘ

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

EFI (disk0s1) <not mounted> : 210 MB

Idefix (disk0s2) / : 847.35 GB (320.93 GB free)

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

BOOTCAMP (disk0s4) /Volumes/BOOTCAMP : 152.00 GB (7.10 GB free)

USB Information:ⓘ

Apple Inc. BRCM20702 Hub

Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller

ALCOR Generic USB Hub

Apple, Inc. Keyboard Hub

Apple Inc. Apple Keyboard

Mega World USB Game Controllers

Apple Inc. FaceTime HD Camera (Built-in)

TOSHIBA External USB 3.0 2 TB

EFI (disk2s1) <not mounted> : 210 MB

Backup (disk2s2) /Volumes/Backup : 2.00 TB (760.28 GB free)

Thunderbolt Information:ⓘ

Apple Inc. thunderbolt_bus

Apple Inc. Thunderbolt to FireWire Adapter

Configuration files:ⓘ

/etc/sudoers, File size 1323 but expected 2299

/etc/sysctl.conf - File exists but not expected

/etc/hosts - Count: 8

Gatekeeper:ⓘ

Mac App Store and identified developers

Kernel Extensions:ⓘ

/Library/Application Support/Roxio

[not loaded] com.roxio.TDIXController (2.0 - 2014-10-17) [Support]

/Library/Application Support/VirtualBox

[loaded] org.virtualbox.kext.VBoxDrv (5.1.0 - 2016-07-13) [Support]

[loaded] org.virtualbox.kext.VBoxNetAdp (5.1.0 - 2016-07-13) [Support]

[loaded] org.virtualbox.kext.VBoxNetFlt (5.1.0 - 2016-07-13) [Support]

[loaded] org.virtualbox.kext.VBoxUSB (5.1.0 - 2016-07-13) [Support]

/Library/Extensions

[loaded] com.AmbrosiaSW.AudioSupport (4.1.4 - SDK 10.11 - 2016-07-11) [Support]

[loaded] com.Cycling74.driver.Soundflower (2.0b2 - SDK 10.10 - 2016-07-11) [Support]

[loaded] com.paragon-software.filesystems.ntfs (14.2.359 - SDK 10.5 - 2016-07-11) [Support]

[not loaded] com.sektioneins.driver.SUIDGuardNG (1.0 - SDK 10.10 - 2016-07-11) [Support]

[loaded] com.valvesoftware.SteamInput (3083.39.62 - SDK 10.10 - 2016-07-11) [Support]

/System/Library/Extensions

[not loaded] com.RemoteControl.USBLAN.usbpart (3.1.1 - SDK 10.7 - 2016-07-11) [Support]

[loaded] com.hzsystems.terminus.driver (4 - 2016-07-11) [Support]

[loaded] com.nvidia.CUDA (1.1.0 - 2016-07-11) [Support]

[not loaded] com.sony.filesystem.prodisc_fs (2.3.0 - 2016-07-11) [Support]

[not loaded] com.sony.protocol.prodisc (2.3.0 - 2016-07-11) [Support]

System Launch Agents:ⓘ

[not loaded] 7 Apple tasks

[loaded] 160 Apple tasks

[running] 71 Apple tasks

System Launch Daemons:ⓘ

[not loaded] 40 Apple tasks

[loaded] 160 Apple tasks

[running] 92 Apple tasks

Launch Agents:ⓘ

[not loaded] com.adobe.AAM.Updater-1.0.plist (2016-05-18) [Support]

[failed] com.adobe.AdobeCreativeCloud.plist (2016-05-18) [Support]

[running] com.amazon.sendtokindle.launcher.plist (2015-11-13) [Support]

[loaded] com.divx.dms.agent.plist (2016-03-10) [Support]

[loaded] com.divx.update.agent.plist (2016-03-01) [Support]

[loaded] com.nvidia.CUDASoftwareUpdate.plist (2016-07-18) [Support]

[loaded] com.oracle.java.Java-Updater.plist (2015-09-17) [Support]

[running] com.paragon-software.NTFS.fsnotify.agent.plist (2016-07-04) [Support]

[loaded] com.paragon-software.facebook.agent.plist (2016-07-04) [Support]

[loaded] com.paragon.updater.plist (2016-07-04) [Support]

[loaded] org.glimmerblocker.installer.plist (2015-11-29) [Support]

[loaded] org.macosforge.xquartz.startx.plist (2015-10-16) [Support]

Launch Daemons:ⓘ

[running] com.adobe.adobeupdatedaemon.plist (2016-05-18) [Support]

[loaded] com.adobe.agsservice.plist (2015-09-01) [Support]

[loaded] com.adobe.fpsaud.plist (2016-06-29) [Support]

[loaded] com.ambrosiasw.ambrosiaaudiosupporthelper.daemon.plist (2015-09-11) [Support]

[running] com.cleverfiles.cfbackd.plist (2015-12-03) [Support]

[loaded] com.ea.origin.ESHelper.plist (2016-06-27) [Support]

[not loaded] com.edb.launchd.postgresql-8.4.plist (2013-11-25) [Support]

[loaded] com.fernlightning.fseventer.plist (2014-07-10) [Support]

[loaded] com.fxfactory.FxFactory.helper.plist (2016-02-05) [Support]

[loaded] com.malwarebytes.HelperTool.plist (2016-06-17) [Support]

[loaded] com.nvidia.cuda.launcher.plist (2016-06-09) [Support]

[running] com.objective-see.ransomwhere.plist (2016-05-24) [Support]

[loaded] com.oracle.java.Helper-Tool.plist (2015-09-17) [Support]

[running] com.paragon-software.NTFS.fsnotify.daemon.plist (2016-07-04) [Support]

[loaded] com.paragon-software.camptunex.helper.plist (2016-04-05) [Support]

[loaded] com.paragon-software.camptunex.installer.plist (2016-04-05) [Support]

[loaded] com.paragon.NTFS.launch.plist (2016-07-04) [Support]

[running] com.prey.agent.plist (2015-11-14) [Support]

[running] org.glimmerblocker.proxy.plist (2015-11-29) [Support]

[loaded] org.macosforge.xquartz.privileged_startx.plist (2015-10-16) [Support]

[not loaded] org.virtualbox.startup.plist (2016-07-13) [Support]

User Launch Agents:ⓘ

[loaded] com.adobe.AAM.Updater-1.0.plist (2015-07-05) [Support]

[not loaded] com.amazon.music.plist (2015-07-05) [Support]

[loaded] com.apple.AddressBook.ScheduledSync.PHXC...plist

[loaded] com.digitalrebellion.PreferenceManagerAutoSave.plist (2016-04-01) [Support]

[loaded] com.valvesoftware.steamclean.plist (2016-07-18) [Support]

[not loaded] org.virtualbox.vboxwebsrv.plist (2016-07-13) [Support]

User Login Items:ⓘ

Programme starten Programm (/Applications/Applications (MacOS X)/Anwendungen/Automatorprogramme/Programme starten.app)

MenuMetersApp Programm (~/Library/PreferencePanes/MenuMeters.prefPane/Contents/Resources/MenuMetersApp .app)

BitTorrent Sync Programm (/Applications/BitTorrent Sync.app)

Jitouch Programm (~/Library/PreferencePanes/Jitouch.prefPane/Contents/Resources/Jitouch.app)

Second run

EtreCheck version: 2.9.13 (267)

Report generated 2016-07-18 19:04:53

Download EtreCheck from https://etrecheck.com

Runtime 1:28

Performance: Excellent

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

Hardware Information:ⓘ

iMac (27-inch, Late 2012)

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

iMac - model: iMac13,2

1 3,2 GHz Intel Core i5 CPU: 4-core

32 GB RAM Upgradeable - [Instructions]

BANK 0/DIMM0

8 GB DDR3 1600 MHz ok

BANK 1/DIMM0

8 GB DDR3 1600 MHz ok

BANK 0/DIMM1

8 GB DDR3 1600 MHz ok

BANK 1/DIMM1

8 GB DDR3 1600 MHz ok

Bluetooth: Good - Handoff/Airdrop2 supported

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

Video Information:ⓘ

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680MX - VRAM: 2048 MB

iMac 2560 x 1440

System Software:ⓘ

OS X El Capitan 10.11.5 (15F34) - Time since boot: less than an hour

Disk Information:ⓘ

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

EFI (disk0s1) <not mounted> : 210 MB

Idefix (disk0s2) / : 847.35 GB (322.56 GB free)

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

BOOTCAMP (disk0s4) /Volumes/BOOTCAMP : 152.00 GB (7.10 GB free)

USB Information:ⓘ

Apple Inc. BRCM20702 Hub

Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller

ALCOR Generic USB Hub

Apple, Inc. Keyboard Hub

Apple Inc. Apple Keyboard

Mega World USB Game Controllers

Apple Inc. FaceTime HD Camera (Built-in)

TOSHIBA External USB 3.0 2 TB

EFI (disk2s1) <not mounted> : 210 MB

Backup (disk2s2) /Volumes/Backup : 2.00 TB (764.06 GB free)

Thunderbolt Information:ⓘ

Apple Inc. thunderbolt_bus

Apple Inc. Thunderbolt to FireWire Adapter

Configuration files:ⓘ

/etc/sudoers, File size 1323 but expected 2299

/etc/sysctl.conf - File exists but not expected

/etc/hosts - Count: 8

Gatekeeper:ⓘ

Mac App Store and identified developers

Kernel Extensions:ⓘ

/Library/Application Support/Roxio

[not loaded] com.roxio.TDIXController (2.0 - 2014-10-17) [Support]

/Library/Application Support/VirtualBox

[loaded] org.virtualbox.kext.VBoxDrv (5.1.0 - 2016-07-13) [Support]

[loaded] org.virtualbox.kext.VBoxNetAdp (5.1.0 - 2016-07-13) [Support]

[loaded] org.virtualbox.kext.VBoxNetFlt (5.1.0 - 2016-07-13) [Support]

[loaded] org.virtualbox.kext.VBoxUSB (5.1.0 - 2016-07-13) [Support]

/Library/Extensions

[loaded] com.AmbrosiaSW.AudioSupport (4.1.4 - SDK 10.11 - 2016-07-11) [Support]

[loaded] com.Cycling74.driver.Soundflower (2.0b2 - SDK 10.10 - 2016-07-11) [Support]

[loaded] com.paragon-software.filesystems.ntfs (14.2.359 - SDK 10.5 - 2016-07-11) [Support]

[not loaded] com.sektioneins.driver.SUIDGuardNG (1.0 - SDK 10.10 - 2016-07-11) [Support]

[loaded] com.valvesoftware.SteamInput (3083.39.62 - SDK 10.10 - 2016-07-11) [Support]

/System/Library/Extensions

[not loaded] com.RemoteControl.USBLAN.usbpart (3.1.1 - SDK 10.7 - 2016-07-11) [Support]

[loaded] com.hzsystems.terminus.driver (4 - 2016-07-11) [Support]

[loaded] com.nvidia.CUDA (1.1.0 - 2016-07-11) [Support]

[not loaded] com.sony.filesystem.prodisc_fs (2.3.0 - 2016-07-11) [Support]

[not loaded] com.sony.protocol.prodisc (2.3.0 - 2016-07-11) [Support]

System Launch Agents:ⓘ

[not loaded] 7 Apple tasks

[loaded] 154 Apple tasks

[running] 77 Apple tasks

System Launch Daemons:ⓘ

[not loaded] 40 Apple tasks

[loaded] 161 Apple tasks

[running] 91 Apple tasks