Long pauses and beach-balling when clicking to start a task

Since updating my OS to OS X El Capitan 10.11.6 I have had continued frustration with long pauses and beach-balling when clicking to start a task. These tasks may be as simple as opening an email - or starting a new email.

My iMac is for editing video in a professional environment and has preformed well for a number of years.

The problem began just prior to the end of 2015 and seem to correspond with the OS update.

I did take the machine to a Mac store and they replaced the hard drive saying it was about to fail. The problem continued however, and I returned it to be told they did extensive testing and found no issues.

After searching forums, it seemed the problem may have been caused by the new OS working better with, and being designed more for, SSD machines.

The only suggestion on the forums so far - has been to log out and back in to see if the machine fires up in a more co-operative state! This does appear to help at times - but certainly is not a long-term solution.

I have been waiting and hoping for an update that will sort the issue - but have had no joy as yet.

Any clues or thoughts would be very much appreciated! J

Machine:

iMac (27-inch, Mid 2011)

iMac - model: iMac12,2

1 3.4 GHz Intel Core i7 CPU: 4-core

12 GB RAM Upgradeable -

BANK 0/DIMM0

2 GB DDR3 1333 MHz

BANK 1/DIMM0

2 GB DDR3 1333 MHz

BANK 0/DIMM1

4 GB DDR3 1333 MHz

BANK 1/DIMM1

4 GB DDR3 1333 MHz

I have run an EtreCheck if that is of help:

EtreCheck version: 3.0.3 (307)

Report generated 2016-09-15 12:00:48

Download EtreCheck from https://etrecheck.com

Runtime 3:40

Performance: Good

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

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

Problem: Beachballing

Description:

Since updating my OS I have had continued frustration with long pauses and beach-balling when clicking to start a task. These tasks may be as simple as opening an email - or starting a new email. Even starting this process with EtreCheck caused beach-balling.

My iMac is for editing video in a professional environment and has preformed well for a number of years.

The problem began just prior to the end of 2015 and seem to correspond with the OS update.

I did take the machine to a Mac store and they replaced the hard drive saying it was about to fail. The problem continued however, and I returned it to be told they did extensive testing and found no issues.

After searching forums, it seemed the problem may have been caused by the new OS working better with and being designed more for SSD machines.

The only suggestion on the forums so far - has been to log out and back in to see if the machine fires up in a more co-operative state! This does appear to help at times - but certainly is not a long term solution.

I have waiting and hoping for an update that will sort the issue - but have had no joy as yet.

Hardware Information: ⓘ

iMac (27-inch, Mid 2011)

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

iMac - model: iMac12,2

1 3.4 GHz Intel Core i7 CPU: 4-core

12 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

4 GB DDR3 1333 MHz ok

BANK 1/DIMM1

4 GB DDR3 1333 MHz ok

Bluetooth: Old - Handoff/Airdrop2 not supported

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

Video Information: ⓘ

AMD Radeon HD 6970M - VRAM: 2048 MB

iMac 2560 x 1440

SyncMaster 1280 x 1024 @ 60 Hz

System Software: ⓘ

OS X El Capitan 10.11.6 (15G31) - Time since boot: about one hour

Disk Information: ⓘ

TOSHIBA DT01ACA200 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

OPTIARC DVD RW AD-5690H ()

ST1000LM024 HN-M101MBB disk2 : (1 TB) (Rotational)

EFI (disk2s1) <not mounted> : 210 MB

The Tribe Portable Media Drive 7 (disk2s2) /Volumes/The Tribe Portable Media Drive 7 : 999.86 GB (3.40 GB free)

ST3000DM001-1ER166 disk1 : (3 TB) (Rotational)

EFI (disk1s1) <not mounted> : 210 MB

The Tribe Portable Media Drive 11 (disk1s2) /Volumes/The Tribe Portable Media Drive 11 : 3.00 TB (124.23 GB free)

USB Information: ⓘ

Apple Inc. FaceTime HD Camera (Built-in)

Chicony Hub in Apple Extended USB Keyboard

Chicony Apple Extended USB Keyboard

Apple Inc. BRCM2046 Hub

Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller

Apple Computer, Inc. IR Receiver

Apple Card Reader

Thunderbolt Information: ⓘ

Apple Inc. thunderbolt_bus

LaCie d2 TBT2 USB3

LaCie Rugged THB USB3

Configuration files: ⓘ

/etc/hosts - Count: 30

Gatekeeper: ⓘ

Mac App Store and identified developers

Kernel Extensions: ⓘ

/Library/Application Support/Blackmagic Design/Blackmagic DeckLink/Unsigned Extensions

[not loaded] com.blackmagic-design.desktopvideo.iokit.driver (10.5.4 - SDK 10.8 - 2015-12-24) [Support]

[not loaded] com.blackmagic-design.desktopvideo.iokit.framebufferdriver (10.5.4 - SDK 10.8 - 2015-12-24) [Support]

[not loaded] com.blackmagic-design.desktopvideo.multibridge.iokit.driver (10.5.4 - SDK 10.8 - 2015-12-24) [Support]

[not loaded] com.blackmagic-design.driver.BlackmagicIO (10.5.4 - SDK 10.8 - 2015-12-24) [Support]

[not loaded] com.blackmagic-design.driver.BlackmagicUsbIO (10.5.4 - SDK 10.8 - 2015-12-24) [Support]

/Library/Application Support/Blackmagic Design/Blackmagic DeckLink/Unsigned Extensions/DeckLink_Driver.kext/Contents/PlugIns

[not loaded] com.blackmagic-design.desktopvideo.firmware (10.5.4 - SDK 10.8 - 2015-12-24) [Support]

/System/Library/Extensions

[not loaded] com.Avid.driver.AvidDX (5.4.8 - 2016-09-14) [Support]

[not loaded] com.SafeNet.driver.Sentinel (7.5.2 - 2016-09-14) [Support]

[not loaded] com.avid.driver.Avid_SCSI (1.2.0 - 2016-09-14) [Support]

[not loaded] com.avid.driver.Avid_SCSI_RBC (1.2.0 - 2016-09-14) [Support]

[loaded] com.avira.kext.FileAccessControl (1.1.1 - SDK 10.9 - 2016-09-14) [Support]

[not loaded] com.paceap.kext.PACESupport (5.8 - 2016-09-14) [Support]

[not loaded] com.paceap.kext.PACESupport2 (5.8 - 2016-09-14) [Support]

[not loaded] com.paceap.kext.pacesupport.master (5.8 - 2016-09-14) [Support]

[not loaded] com.sony.filesystems.pdudf (3.11.0d001 - SDK 10.6 - 2016-09-14) [Support]

[not loaded] com.sony.filesystems.pdudfr (3.11.0d001 - SDK 10.6 - 2016-09-14) [Support]

[loaded] com.sony.scsi.PDW-U1 (3.11.0d001 - SDK 10.6 - 2016-09-14) [Support]

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

[not loaded] com.paceap.kext.pacesupport.leopard (5.8 - SDK 10.4 - 2011-07-08) [Support]

[not loaded] com.paceap.kext.pacesupport.panther (5.8 - SDK 10.-1 - 2011-07-08) [Support]

[loaded] com.paceap.kext.pacesupport.snowleopard (5.8 - SDK 10.6 - 2011-07-08) [Support]

[not loaded] com.paceap.kext.pacesupport.tiger (5.8 - SDK 10.4 - 2011-07-08) [Support]

Startup Items: ⓘ

PACESupport: Path: /Library/StartupItems/PACESupport

Startup items are obsolete in OS X Yosemite

System Launch Agents: ⓘ

[not loaded] 8 Apple tasks

[loaded] 168 Apple tasks

[running] 62 Apple tasks

System Launch Daemons: ⓘ

[not loaded] 45 Apple tasks

[loaded] 159 Apple tasks

[running] 86 Apple tasks

Launch Agents: ⓘ

[not loaded] com.adobe.AAM.Updater-1.0.plist (2016-08-03) [Support]

[failed] com.adobe.ARMDCHelper.cc24aef4a1b90ed56a725c38014c95072f92651fb65e1bf9c8e43c37a 23d420d.plist (2016-07-14) [Support]

[running] com.adobe.AdobeCreativeCloud.plist (2016-04-22) [Support]

[failed] com.adobe.CS5ServiceManager.plist (2012-05-12) [Support]

[loaded] com.avira.antivirus.general.agent.plist (2015-03-19) [Support]

[loaded] com.avira.antivirus.notifications.agent.plist (2015-03-19) [Support]

[loaded] com.avira.antivirus.odscan.default.plist (2016-09-12) [Support]

[loaded] com.avira.antivirus.scheduler.agent.plist (2015-03-19) [Support]

[running] com.avira.antivirus.systray.plist (2015-03-19) [Support]

[loaded] com.avira.antivirus.telemetry.agent.plist (2015-03-19) [Support]

[loaded] com.avira.antivirus.update.default.plist (2015-03-19) [Support]

[running] com.avira.helper.avstats.plist (2015-06-10) [Support]

[running] com.blackmagic-design.DesktopVideoFirmwareUpdater.plist (2015-12-24) [Support]

[loaded] com.oracle.java.Java-Updater.plist (2013-11-04) [Support]

Launch Daemons: ⓘ

[loaded] PACESupport.plist (2011-07-07) [Support]

[loaded] com.adobe.ARMDC.Communicator.plist (2016-07-14) [Support]

[loaded] com.adobe.ARMDC.SMJobBlessHelper.plist (2016-07-14) [Support]

[loaded] com.adobe.SwitchBoard.plist (2012-05-12) [Support]

[running] com.adobe.adobeupdatedaemon.plist (2016-08-03) [Support]

[running] com.adobe.agsservice.plist (2016-08-17) [Support]

[loaded] com.adobe.fpsaud.plist (2016-08-30) [Support]

[failed] com.avira.antivirus.dbcleaner.plist (2015-03-19) [Support]

[running] com.avira.helper.watchdox.plist (2015-03-19) [Support]

[running] com.blackmagic-design.DesktopVideoHelper.plist (2015-12-24) [Support]

[loaded] com.blackmagic-design.desktopvideo.XPCService.plist (2015-12-24) [Support]

[running] com.blackmagic-design.streaming.BMDStreamingServer.plist (2015-12-24) [Support]

[loaded] com.oracle.java.Helper-Tool.plist (2013-11-04) [Support]

[running] com.paceap.eden.licensed.plist (2011-07-09) [Support]

[failed] com.redgiant.LinkUpdateChecker.plist (2015-02-03) [Support]

User Launch Agents: ⓘ

[loaded] com.adobe.AAM.Updater-1.0.plist (2012-05-11) [Support]

[failed] com.adobe.ARM.[...].plist (2012-07-20) [Support]

[loaded] com.redgiantsoftware.updater.plist (2015-01-27)

User Login Items: ⓘ

XDMSetupHelper Application (/Library/Application Support/XDCAM Drive/Helpers/XDMSetupHelper.app)

Internet Plug-ins: ⓘ

AdobeAAMDetect: 3.0.0.0 - SDK 10.9 (2016-08-03) [Support]

FlashPlayer-10.6: 23.0.0.162 - SDK 10.9 (2016-09-14) [Support]

QuickTime Plugin: 7.7.3 (2016-08-18)

AdobePDFViewerNPAPI: 15.017.20053 - SDK 10.11 (2016-08-04) [Support]

AdobePDFViewer: 15.017.20053 - SDK 10.11 (2016-08-04) [Support]

Flash Player: 23.0.0.162 - SDK 10.9 (2016-09-14) [Support]

Default Browser: 601 - SDK 10.11 (2016-08-18)

OfficeLiveBrowserPlugin: 12.3.6 (2013-03-18) [Support]

JavaAppletPlugin: Java 8 Update 91 build 14 (2016-05-02) Check version

3rd Party Preference Panes: ⓘ

Blackmagic Desktop Video (2015-12-24) [Support]

Flash Player (2016-08-30) [Support]

GoPro (2015-02-24) [Support]

Growl (2012-05-11) [Support]

Java (2016-05-02) [Support]

XDCAM Drive Monitor (2011-12-08) [Support]

Time Machine: ⓘ

Skip System Files: NO

Mobile backups: OFF

Auto backup: YES

Volumes being backed up:

The Tribe Portable Media Drive 7: Disk size: 999.86 GB Disk used: 996.46 GB

Macintosh HD: Disk size: 2.00 TB Disk used: 717.57 GB

Destinations:

BACKUP [Local]

Total size: 999.86 GB

Total number of backups: 3

Oldest backup: 17/02/2016, 5:53 PM

Last backup: 11/05/2016, 4:51 PM

Size of backup disk: Too small

Backup size 999.86 GB < (Disk used 1.71 TB X 3)

Top Processes by CPU: ⓘ

3% CEPHtmlEngine Helper(2)

2% WindowServer

1% kernel_task

1% Adobe CEF Helper(3)

1% AvStats

Top Processes by Memory: ⓘ

2.34 GB Adobe Premiere Pro CC 2015

919 MB kernel_task

455 MB firefox

123 MB Adobe CEF Helper(3)

123 MB CEPHtmlEngine Helper(2)

Virtual Memory Information: ⓘ

719 MB Free RAM

11.00 GB Used RAM (5.22 GB Cached)

0 B Swap Used

Diagnostics Information: ⓘ

Sep 15, 2016, 11:59:16 AM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/avlogwriter_2016-09-15-115916_[redacted].crash

/Applications/Avira.app/Contents/MacOS/avlogwriter

Sep 15, 2016, 11:58:46 AM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/avlogwriter_2016-09-15-115846_[redacted].crash

Sep 15, 2016, 11:58:44 AM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/avlogwriter_2016-09-15-115844_[redacted].crash

Sep 15, 2016, 11:58:26 AM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/avlogwriter_2016-09-15-115826_[redacted].crash

Sep 15, 2016, 11:58:15 AM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/avlogwriter_2016-09-15-115815_[redacted].crash

Sep 15, 2016, 11:58:13 AM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/avlogwriter_2016-09-15-115813_[redacted].crash

Sep 15, 2016, 11:57:55 AM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/avlogwriter_2016-09-15-115755_[redacted].crash

Sep 15, 2016, 11:57:45 AM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/avlogwriter_2016-09-15-115745_[redacted].crash

Sep 15, 2016, 11:57:43 AM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/avlogwriter_2016-09-15-115743_[redacted].crash

Sep 15, 2016, 11:57:25 AM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/avlogwriter_2016-09-15-115725_[redacted].crash

Sep 15, 2016, 11:57:15 AM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/avlogwriter_2016-09-15-115715_[redacted].crash

Sep 15, 2016, 11:57:13 AM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/avlogwriter_2016-09-15-115713_[redacted].crash

Sep 15, 2016, 11:56:55 AM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/avlogwriter_2016-09-15-115655_[redacted].crash

Sep 15, 2016, 11:56:45 AM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/avlogwriter_2016-09-15-115645_[redacted].crash

Sep 15, 2016, 11:56:43 AM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/avlogwriter_2016-09-15-115643_[redacted].crash

Sep 15, 2016, 11:55:55 AM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/avlogwriter_2016-09-15-115555_[redacted].crash

Sep 15, 2016, 11:55:53 AM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/avlogwriter_2016-09-15-115553_[redacted].crash

Sep 15, 2016, 11:55:36 AM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/avlogwriter_2016-09-15-115536_[redacted].crash

Sep 15, 2016, 11:55:26 AM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/avlogwriter_2016-09-15-115526_[redacted].crash

Sep 15, 2016, 11:55:24 AM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/avlogwriter_2016-09-15-115524_[redacted].crash

Sep 15, 2016, 11:09:32 AM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/codesign_2016-09-15-110932_[redacted].crash

/usr/bin/codesign

Sep 15, 2016, 11:08:12 AM ~/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/codesign_2016-09-15-110812_[redacted].crash

Sep 15, 2016, 10:57:12 AM Self test - passed

Sep 15, 2016, 10:42:32 AM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/codesign_2016-09-15-104232_[redacted].crash

Sep 15, 2016, 08:41:30 AM ~/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/codesign_2016-09-15-084130_[redacted].crash

Sep 14, 2016, 04:06:04 PM ~/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/Adobe QT32 Server_2016-09-14-160604_[redacted].crash

com.adobe.Adobe QT32 Server.application - /Applications/Adobe Premiere Pro CC 2015/Adobe Premiere Pro CC 2015.app/Contents/Adobe QT32 Server.app/Contents/MacOS/Adobe QT32 Server

Sep 14, 2016, 04:05:59 PM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/codesign_2016-09-14-160559_[redacted].crash

Sep 14, 2016, 03:27:15 PM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/codesign_2016-09-14-152715_[redacted].crash

Sep 14, 2016, 03:01:12 PM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/codesign_2016-09-14-150112_[redacted].crash

Sep 14, 2016, 02:19:56 PM ~/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/codesign_2016-09-14-141956_[redacted].crash

Sep 14, 2016, 08:43:09 AM ~/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/codesign_2016-09-14-084309_[redacted].crash

Sep 13, 2016, 11:04:57 AM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/codesign_2016-09-13-110457_[redacted].crash

Sep 13, 2016, 11:01:24 AM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/codesign_2016-09-13-110124_[redacted].crash

Sep 13, 2016, 10:55:29 AM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/codesign_2016-09-13-105529_[redacted].crash

Sep 13, 2016, 10:54:01 AM ~/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/codesign_2016-09-13-105401_[redacted].crash

Sep 13, 2016, 10:40:48 AM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/AdobeCRDaemon_2016-09-13-104048_[redacted].cras h

/Applications/Adobe Illustrator CC 2015/Adobe Illustrator.app/Contents/Frameworks/AdobeCrashReporter.framework/Versions/A/Ado beCRDaemon.app/Contents/MacOS/AdobeCRDaemon

Sep 13, 2016, 10:31:20 AM ~/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/codesign_2016-09-13-103120_[redacted].crash

Sep 13, 2016, 02:56:12 AM ~/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/codesign_2016-09-13-025612_[redacted].crash

Sep 13, 2016, 01:34:44 AM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/avlogwriter_2016-09-13-013444_[redacted].crash

Sep 13, 2016, 01:34:41 AM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/avlogwriter_2016-09-13-013441_[redacted].crash

Sep 13, 2016, 01:34:23 AM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/avlogwriter_2016-09-13-013423_[redacted].crash

Sep 13, 2016, 01:34:13 AM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/avlogwriter_2016-09-13-013413_[redacted].crash

Sep 13, 2016, 01:34:10 AM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/avlogwriter_2016-09-13-013410_[redacted].crash

Sep 13, 2016, 01:33:52 AM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/avlogwriter_2016-09-13-013352_[redacted].crash

Sep 13, 2016, 01:33:42 AM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/avlogwriter_2016-09-13-013342_[redacted].crash

Sep 13, 2016, 01:33:40 AM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/avlogwriter_2016-09-13-013340_[redacted].crash

Sep 13, 2016, 01:33:23 AM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/avlogwriter_2016-09-13-013323_[redacted].crash

Sep 13, 2016, 01:33:13 AM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/avlogwriter_2016-09-13-013313_[redacted].crash

Sep 13, 2016, 01:33:10 AM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/avlogwriter_2016-09-13-013310_[redacted].crash

Sep 13, 2016, 01:32:53 AM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/avlogwriter_2016-09-13-013253_[redacted].crash

Sep 13, 2016, 01:32:43 AM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/avlogwriter_2016-09-13-013243_[redacted].crash

Sep 13, 2016, 01:32:40 AM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/avlogwriter_2016-09-13-013240_[redacted].crash

Sep 13, 2016, 01:31:52 AM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/avlogwriter_2016-09-13-013152_[redacted].crash

Sep 13, 2016, 01:31:50 AM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/avlogwriter_2016-09-13-013150_[redacted].crash

Sep 13, 2016, 01:31:33 AM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/avlogwriter_2016-09-13-013133_[redacted].crash

Sep 13, 2016, 01:31:23 AM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/avlogwriter_2016-09-13-013123_[redacted].crash

Sep 13, 2016, 01:31:20 AM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/avlogwriter_2016-09-13-013120_[redacted].crash

Sep 13, 2016, 01:31:02 AM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/avlogwriter_2016-09-13-013102_[redacted].crash