andyg74
Level 1 (8 points)
Apple Music

Q: iMac has become very slow and unresponsive

Hi,

I have an iMac that in the last couple of days has suddenly become unusably slow. Almost every click brings up the spinning beachball even right after a reboot. iTunes can't play a tune without pausing every minute or so. Even Safari is really sluggish so I haven't even tried anything more demanding such as Lightroom.

 

Its a mid 2010 iMac, 8 Gb RAM, 1Tb HD with 305 Gb free. Im running El Capitain, 10.11.6

 

Any ideas what might be causing this or what I might do to remedy the situation? Im thinking that I will have to go through the pain of wiping the hard drive and reinstalling everything. But I'd really rather avoid that as I was planning on getting a new iMac when they next release them and I don't want to have to go through all that process again.

 

Hopefully someone has an idea of something I could try before I do that?

 

Thanks.

Andy

iMac, OS X El Capitan (10.11.6)

Posted on Sep 6, 2016 8:12 PM

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andyg74

Q: iMac has become very slow and unresponsive

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  • Helpful answers

  • by Eric Root,

    Eric Root Eric Root Sep 6, 2016 8:14 PM in response to andyg74
    Level 9 (69,546 points)
    iTunes
    Sep 6, 2016 8:14 PM in response to andyg74

    Try running this program and then copy and paste the output in a reply. The program was created by Etresoft, a frequent contributor.  Please use copy and paste as screen shots can be hard to read. On the screen with Options, please open Options and check the bottom 2 boxes before running. Click “Share Report” button in the toolbar, select “Copy to Clipboard” and then paste into a reply. This will show what is running on your computer. No personal information is shown.
      

    Etrecheck – System Information

  • by Rysz,

    Rysz Rysz Sep 6, 2016 8:16 PM in response to andyg74
    Level 6 (19,696 points)
    iTunes
    Sep 6, 2016 8:16 PM in response to andyg74

    Try Safe Boot mode by holding down the Shift key at startup. Safe Boot is quite slow because the OS performs some cleanup and verification tasks, so give it time. After you're completely logged in, restart normally.

  • by andyg74,

    andyg74 andyg74 Sep 6, 2016 8:36 PM in response to Eric Root
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Apple Music
    Sep 6, 2016 8:36 PM in response to Eric Root

    Thanks Eric. This is the report. Even though it says "Good" I also notice it reports drive failure! Anything else catch your eye?

     

    EtreCheck version: 3.0.3 (307)

    Report generated 2016-09-06 20:33:53

    Download EtreCheck from https://etrecheck.com

    Runtime 4:47

    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

     

    Hardware Information: ⓘ

        iMac (27-inch, Mid 2010)

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

        iMac - model: iMac11,3

        1 2.93 GHz Intel Core i7 CPU: 4-core

        8 GB RAM Upgradeable - [Instructions]

            BANK 0/DIMM0

                2 GB DDR3 1333 MHz ok

            BANK 1/DIMM0

                2 GB DDR3 1333 MHz ok

            BANK 0/DIMM1

                2 GB DDR3 1333 MHz ok

            BANK 1/DIMM1

                2 GB DDR3 1333 MHz ok

        Bluetooth: Old - Handoff/Airdrop2 not supported

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

     

    Video Information: ⓘ

        ATI Radeon HD 5750 - VRAM: 1024 MB

            iMac 2560 x 1440

     

    System Software: ⓘ

        OS X El Capitan 10.11.6 (15G1004) - Time since boot: less than an hour

     

    Disk Information: ⓘ

        ST31000528AS disk0 : (1 TB) (Rotational)

            EFI (disk0s1) <not mounted> : 210 MB

            Macintosh HD (disk0s2) / : 999.35 GB (305.03 GB free) - 4 errors

    Drive failure!

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

     

        PIONEER DVD-RW  DVRTS09   ()

     

    USB Information: ⓘ

        Apple Card Reader

        Apple Inc. BRCM2046 Hub

            Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller

        Wacom Co.,Ltd. Intuos5 touch S

        Apple Computer, Inc. IR Receiver

        Apple Inc. Built-in iSight

     

    Firewire Information: ⓘ

        HitachiGST G-Drive Mobile 800mbit - 800mbit max

            EFI (disk1s1) <not mounted> : 210 MB

            Boot OS X (disk1s3) <not mounted> : 134 MB

            G-Drive (disk2) /Volumes/G-Drive : 749.48 GB (137.51 GB free)

                Encrypted AES-XTS Unlocked

                Core Storage: disk1s2 749.81 GB Online

     

    Gatekeeper: ⓘ

        Anywhere

     

    Kernel Extensions: ⓘ

            /Applications/TemperatureMonitor.app

        [not loaded]    com.bresink.driver.BRESINKx86Monitoring (9.0 - 2013-09-19) [Support]

     

            /System/Library/Extensions

        [not loaded]    com.wacom.kext.wacomtablet (Wacom Tablet 6.3.7-3 - SDK 10.8 - 2016-09-02) [Support]

     

    System Launch Agents: ⓘ

        [not loaded]    8 Apple tasks

        [loaded]    157 Apple tasks

        [running]    73 Apple tasks

     

    System Launch Daemons: ⓘ

        [not loaded]    43 Apple tasks

        [loaded]    153 Apple tasks

        [running]    95 Apple tasks

     

    Launch Agents: ⓘ

        [not loaded]    com.adobe.AAM.Updater-1.0.plist (2016-09-02) [Support]

        [failed]    com.adobe.ARMDCHelper.cc24aef4a1b90ed56a725c38014c95072f92651fb65e1bf9c8e43c37a2 3d420d.plist (2016-07-13) [Support]

        [running]    com.adobe.AdobeCreativeCloud.plist (2016-08-28) [Support]

        [loaded]    com.google.keystone.agent.plist (2016-07-11) [Support]

        [loaded]    com.oracle.java.Java-Updater.plist (2015-06-17) [Support]

        [running]    com.wacom.wacomtablet.plist (2013-10-11) [Support]

     

    Launch Daemons: ⓘ

        [loaded]    com.adobe.ARMDC.Communicator.plist (2016-07-13) [Support]

        [loaded]    com.adobe.ARMDC.SMJobBlessHelper.plist (2016-07-13) [Support]

        [not loaded]    com.adobe.SwitchBoard.plist (2014-01-12) [Support]

        [running]    com.adobe.adobeupdatedaemon.plist (2016-09-02) [Support]

        [running]    com.adobe.agsservice.plist (2016-08-12) [Support]

        [loaded]    com.adobe.fpsaud.plist (2016-06-28) [Support]

        [loaded]    com.apple.aelwriter.plist (2014-01-11)

        [running]    com.autodesk.backburner_manager.plist (2013-02-04) [Support]

        [running]    com.autodesk.backburner_server.plist (2013-02-04) [Support]

        [loaded]    com.autodesk.backburner_start.plist (2013-02-04) [Support]

        [running]    com.backblaze.bzserv.plist (2016-07-07) [Support]

        [running]    com.fitbit.galileod.plist (2014-05-19) [Support]

        [loaded]    com.google.keystone.daemon.plist (2016-08-31) [Support]

        [loaded]    com.oracle.java.Helper-Tool.plist (2015-06-17) [Support]

     

    User Launch Agents: ⓘ

        [loaded]    com.adobe.AAM.Updater-1.0.plist (2014-01-12) [Support]

        [running]    com.amazon.cloud-player.plist (2014-04-17) [Support]

        [running]    com.backblaze.bzbmenu.plist (2016-09-06) [Support]

        [running]    com.spotify.webhelper.plist (2015-10-04) [Support]

        [loaded]    com.valvesoftware.steamclean.plist (2015-06-02) [Support]

     

    User Login Items: ⓘ

        iTunesHelper    Application  (/Applications/iTunes.app/Contents/MacOS/iTunesHelper.app)

        Dropbox    Application  (/Applications/Dropbox.app)

        Google Drive    Application  (/Applications/Google Drive.app)

     

    Internet Plug-ins: ⓘ

        WacomNetscape: 2.1.0-1 - SDK 10.8 (2013-10-11) [Support]

        Default Browser: 601 - SDK 10.11 (2016-07-18)

        AdobeExManDetect: AdobeExManDetect 1.1.0.0 - SDK 10.7 (2014-01-12) [Support]

        Flip4Mac WMV Plugin: 3.3.1.3   - SDK 10.8 (2014-11-14) [Support]

        WacomTabletPlugin: WacomTabletPlugin 2.1.0.2 (2013-10-11) [Support]

        AdobeAAMDetect: 3.0.0.0 - SDK 10.9 (2016-09-02) [Support]

        AdobePDFViewerNPAPI: 15.017.20053 - SDK 10.11 (2016-08-02) [Support]

        FlashPlayer-10.6: 22.0.0.209 - SDK 10.9 (2016-08-10) [Support]

        Silverlight: 5.1.50428.0 - SDK 10.6 (2016-08-09) [Support]

        QuickTime Plugin: 7.7.3 (2016-07-18)

        Flash Player: 22.0.0.209 - SDK 10.9 (2016-08-10) [Support]

        AdobePDFViewer: 15.017.20053 - SDK 10.11 (2016-08-02) [Support]

        JavaAppletPlugin: Java 8 Update 101 build 13 (2016-09-06) Check version

     

    User internet Plug-ins: ⓘ

        RealPlayer Plugin: Unknown (2015-11-20) [Support]

        Google Earth Web Plug-in: 7.1 (2013-10-07) [Support]

     

    3rd Party Preference Panes: ⓘ

        Backblaze Backup (2016-07-07) [Support]

        Flash Player (2016-06-28) [Support]

        Flip4Mac WMV (2014-05-11) [Support]

        Java (2016-09-06) [Support]

        Perian (2011-07-23) [Support]

     

    Time Machine: ⓘ

        Skip System Files: NO

        Auto backup: YES

        Volumes being backed up:

            Macintosh HD: Disk size: 999.35 GB Disk used: 694.31 GB

        Destinations:

            Data [Network]

            Total size: 2.00 TB

            Total number of backups: 61

            Oldest backup: 4/22/16, 12:17 PM

            Last backup: 9/6/16, 8:34 AM

            Size of backup disk: Too small

                Backup size 2.00 TB < (Disk used 694.31 GB X 3)

     

    Top Processes by CPU: ⓘ

             2%    WindowServer

             2%    kernel_task

             1%    fontd

             1%    Adobe CEF Helper(2)

             0%    AdobeCRDaemon(3)

     

    Top Processes by Memory: ⓘ

        729 MB    kernel_task

        434 MB    mdworker(17)

        238 MB    mds_stores

        188 MB    Dropbox

        172 MB    Google Drive

     

    Virtual Memory Information: ⓘ

        3.18 GB    Free RAM

        4.81 GB    Used RAM (1.88 GB Cached)

        0 B    Swap Used

     

    Diagnostics Information: ⓘ

        Sep 6, 2016, 07:57:13 PM    Self test - passed

        Sep 5, 2016, 03:43:18 PM    /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/PluginProcess_2016-09-05-154318_[redacted].cras h

            com.apple.WebKit.PluginProcess - /System/Library/Frameworks/WebKit.framework/Versions/A/PluginProcess.app/Conten ts/MacOS/PluginProcess

  • by andyg74,

    andyg74 andyg74 Sep 6, 2016 8:38 PM in response to Rysz
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Apple Music
    Sep 6, 2016 8:38 PM in response to Rysz

    Thanks to you too Rysz, I will try your suggestion, too.

  • by etresoft,

    etresoft etresoft Sep 6, 2016 9:05 PM in response to andyg74
    Level 7 (29,041 points)
    Sep 6, 2016 9:05 PM in response to andyg74

    Hello Andy,

    EtreCheck is not particularly disk intensive. It just looks for Kernel I/O error messages in your log files. You could get a good performance from a failing hard drive. Unfortunately, you have limited options for replacing or augmenting your storage in that machine.

     

    I think a reformat might actually help. Short of cracking it open, there isn't too much else you can do.

     

    You do have basic security disabled. I strongly recommend you reset Gatekeeper to the default setting in System Preferences > Security & Privacy > General > Allow apps downloaded from > "Mac App Store and identified developers"

  • by clemenchuchu,

    clemenchuchu clemenchuchu Sep 6, 2016 9:43 PM in response to etresoft
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Sep 6, 2016 9:43 PM in response to etresoft

    OK, will do thank etresoft.

     

    btw, why does it say my back up disk is too small even tho it's twice as big as the disk its backing up?

  • by etresoft,

    etresoft etresoft Sep 6, 2016 10:14 PM in response to clemenchuchu
    Level 7 (29,041 points)
    Sep 6, 2016 10:14 PM in response to clemenchuchu

    Hello clemenchuchu,

    Are you and Andy the same person? If not, you might have a different issue.

     

    EtreCheck wants the backup disk to be three times the size of the disk being backed up. Time Machine will still work, but it is at more risk of problems as it runs out of space.

  • by clemenchuchu,

    clemenchuchu clemenchuchu Sep 6, 2016 10:21 PM in response to etresoft
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Sep 6, 2016 10:21 PM in response to etresoft

    Ah yes, that's right. I'm using different account on my iPad. And as Apple won't allow me to consolidate my iTunes and iCloud accounts I'm stuck like this forever!

     

    OK, time machine should be three times your hard disk. I'll keep that in mind too. Thank you!

     

    by the way, the computer seems to be working more normally again. The internet went down (thanks Comcast) so I wonder if that has had something to do with it?