Why is Mac is running substantially slow all of a sudden.

Question

Why is Mac is running substantially slow all of a sudden.

I was watching a movie the other day and i noticed, it started to skip. I could hear the music, but the picture froze and then caught up. I noticed that Itunes and Spotify music would pause for a bit. The computer went black with the arrow cursor and I did the restart/Shift and restart control/option/command, but since then, everything I try to open, takes forever.

I wondered if it was doing this because I needed to update to MacOS Sierra, but it's been at 31 seconds remaining for update and I started it last night. Opening up IBOOKS or adobe, it takes forever. I know it's going to eventually open, but it takes like 2-5 minutes.

What is going on? Anyone have a suggestion? with a capacity of 3.11tb, I have 1.7 available on the HD. I don't know what is causing this, but it started a few days ago and it's driving me crazy. Any suggestions would be helpful and fully appreciated. Thank you.

Posted on Oct 13, 2016 1:01 PM

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Answer 1

Oct 13, 2016 1:05 PM in response to Thorshammer1145

Please download and install from http://etrecheck.com

Then run it and publish the report generated here. We will analyze it and suggest how you can fix your Mac.

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Answer 2

Oct 13, 2016 1:53 PM in response to Allan Eckert

Okay, thank you. I downloaded it and ran it as soon as you posted, it's on "checking Daemons and agents," been there for a bit. So curious to see what results are. Thank you.

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Answer 3

Oct 13, 2016 2:33 PM in response to Allan Eckert

Is this a ram issue?

EtreCheck version: 3.0.6 (315)

Report generated 2016-10-13 15:30:50

Download EtreCheck from https://etrecheck.com

Runtime 68:28

Performance: Poor

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

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

Click the [Remove] links to remove adware.

Problem: Computer is too slow

Description:

started running very slow last two days, will take forever to open finder, iTunes, iBooks. Down loading updates for almost 15 hours now.

Hardware Information:ⓘ

iMac (27-inch, Late 2013)

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

iMac - model: iMac14,2

1 3.5 GHz Intel Core i7 CPU: 4-core

8 GB RAM Upgradeable - [Instructions]

BANK 0/DIMM0

4 GB DDR3 1600 MHz ok

BANK 1/DIMM0

4 GB DDR3 1600 MHz ok

BANK 0/DIMM1

Empty

BANK 1/DIMM1

Empty

Bluetooth: Good - Handoff/Airdrop2 supported

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

System Software:ⓘ

OS X El Capitan 10.11.6 (15G1004) - Time since boot: about one day

Disk Information:ⓘ

APPLE SSD SD0128F disk0 : (121.33 GB) (Solid State - TRIM: Yes)

EFI (disk0s1) <not mounted> : 210 MB

Boot OS X (disk0s3) <not mounted> : 134 MB

Macintosh HD (disk2) / [Startup]: 3.11 TB (1.71 TB free)

Core Storage: disk0s2 120.99 GB Online

Core Storage: disk1s2 3.00 TB Online

APPLE HDD ST3000DM001 disk1 : (3 TB) (Rotational)

EFI (disk1s1) <not mounted> : 210 MB

Recovery HD (disk1s3) <not mounted> [Recovery]: 650 MB

Macintosh HD (disk2) / [Startup]: 3.11 TB (1.71 TB free)

Core Storage: disk0s2 120.99 GB Online

Core Storage: disk1s2 3.00 TB Online

USB Information:ⓘ

Apple Inc. BRCM20702 Hub

Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller

Apple Inc. FaceTime HD Camera (Built-in)

Thunderbolt Information:ⓘ

Apple Inc. thunderbolt_bus

Gatekeeper:ⓘ

Mac App Store and identified developers

Adware:ⓘ

~/Library/Caches/com.apple.Safari/Extensions/Amazon Shopping Assistant.safariextension

~/Library/Caches/com.apple.Safari/Extensions/Slick Savings.safariextension

~/Library/Safari/Extensions/Slick Savings.safariextz

3 adware files found. [Remove]

Unknown Files:ⓘ

~/Library/LaunchAgents/.dat.nosync0371.3aKUY9

~/Library/Application Support/Spotify/SpotifyWebHelper

One unknown file found. [Check files]

Kernel Extensions:ⓘ

/System/Library/Extensions

[not loaded] com.Cycling74.driver.Soundflower (1.6.6 - SDK 10.6 - 2016-09-13) [Support]

[not loaded] com.devguru.driver.SamsungComposite (1.4.37 - SDK 10.6 - 2016-09-13) [Support]

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

[not loaded] com.devguru.driver.SamsungACMControl (1.4.37 - SDK 10.6 - 2015-12-14) [Support]

[not loaded] com.devguru.driver.SamsungACMData (1.4.37 - SDK 10.6 - 2015-12-14) [Support]

[not loaded] com.devguru.driver.SamsungMTP (1.4.37 - SDK 10.5 - 2015-12-14) [Support]

[not loaded] com.devguru.driver.SamsungSerial (1.4.37 - SDK 10.6 - 2015-12-14) [Support]

System Launch Agents:ⓘ

[not loaded] 7 Apple tasks

[loaded] 156 Apple tasks

[running] 63 Apple tasks

[killed] 13 Apple tasks

13 processes killed due to insufficient RAM

System Launch Daemons:ⓘ

[not loaded] 47 Apple tasks

[loaded] 151 Apple tasks

[running] 84 Apple tasks

[killed] 8 Apple tasks

8 processes killed due to insufficient RAM

Launch Agents:ⓘ

[not loaded] com.adobe.AAM.Updater-1.0.plist (2016-05-31) [Support]

[failed] com.adobe.ARMDCHelper.cc24aef4a1b90ed56a725c38014c95072f92651fb65e1bf9c8e43c37a2 3d420d.plist (2016-07-12) [Support]

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

Launch Daemons:ⓘ

[loaded] com.adobe.ARMDC.Communicator.plist (2016-07-12) [Support]

[loaded] com.adobe.ARMDC.SMJobBlessHelper.plist (2016-07-12) [Support]

[running] com.adobe.agsservice.plist (2016-10-06) [Support]

[failed] com.adobe.fpsaud.plist (2016-04-15) [Support]

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

[loaded] com.microsoft.office.licensing.helper.plist (2014-03-26) [Support]

User Launch Agents:ⓘ

[loaded] .dat.nosync0371.3aKUY9 (hidden) (2016-10-11) [Support]

~/Library/Application Support/Spotify/SpotifyWebHelper

[loaded] com.adobe.ARM.[...].plist (2014-05-01) [Support]

[running] com.amazon.music.plist (2015-08-14) [Support]

[loaded] com.citrixonline.GoToMeeting.G2MUpdate.plist (2015-11-19) [Support]

[failed] com.macpaw.CleanMyMac3.Scheduler.plist (2015-11-18)

[loaded] com.spotify.webhelper.plist (2016-10-13) [Support]

User Login Items:ⓘ

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

Dropbox Application (/Applications/Dropbox.app)

Android File Transfer Agent Application (~/Library/Application Support/Google/Android File Transfer/Android File Transfer Agent.app)

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

Google Chrome Application Hidden (/Applications/Google Chrome.app)

KiesAgent Application Hidden (/Applications/Kies.app/Contents/MacOS/KiesAgent.app)

fuspredownloader Application Hidden (~/Library/Application Support/.FUS/fuspredownloader.app)

Flickr Uploadr Application (/Applications/Flickr Uploadr.app)

Internet Plug-ins:ⓘ

o1dbrowserplugin: 5.41.3.0 - SDK 10.8 (2015-12-16) [Support]

Default Browser: 601 - SDK 10.11 (2016-07-26)

AdobeAAMDetect: AdobeAAMDetect 1.0.0.0 - SDK 10.6 (2016-05-31) [Support]

FlashPlayer-10.6: 21.0.0.226 - SDK 10.6 (2016-04-22) [Support]

AdobePDFViewerNPAPI: 15.017.20053 - SDK 10.11 (2016-08-03) [Support]

Silverlight: 5.1.30514.0 - SDK 10.6 (2015-11-18) [Support]

QuickTime Plugin: 7.7.3 (2016-07-26)

Flash Player: 21.0.0.226 - SDK 10.6 (2016-04-22) Outdated! Update

googletalkbrowserplugin: 5.41.3.0 - SDK 10.8 (2015-12-11) [Support]

SharePointBrowserPlugin: 14.6.7 - SDK 10.6 (2016-08-30) [Support]

AdobePDFViewer: 15.017.20053 - SDK 10.11 (2016-08-03) [Support]

JavaAppletPlugin: Java 7 Update 60 (2014-06-05) Check version

User internet Plug-ins:ⓘ

CitrixOnlineWebDeploymentPlugin: 1.0.105 (2013-04-25) [Support]

ZoomUsPlugIn: 3.5.49863.0509 - SDK 10.11 (2016-05-11) [Support]

Safari Extensions:ⓘ

Slick Savings - Spigot, Inc. (2014-06-04) Adware! [Remove]

Amazon Shopping Assistant - Spigot, Inc. - http://www.spigot.com/ (cache only) (2016-01-12) Adware! [Remove]

Time Machine:ⓘ

Time Machine not configured!

Top Processes by CPU:ⓘ

14% Google Chrome Helper(71)

4% Google Chrome

4% WindowServer

3% coreaudiod

2% kernel_task

Top Processes by Memory:ⓘ

8.10 GB Google Chrome Helper(71)

954 MB kernel_task

492 MB Google Chrome

123 MB mdworker(7)

57 MB mds_stores

Virtual Memory Information:ⓘ

73 MB Free RAM

7.92 GB Used RAM (1.19 GB Cached)

6.01 GB Swap Used

Diagnostics Information:ⓘ

Oct 12, 2016, 01:09:03 PM ~/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/LookupViewService_2016-10-12-130903_[redacted] .crash

/System/Library/Frameworks/Foundation.framework/Versions/C/XPCServices/LookupVi ewService.xpc/Contents/MacOS/LookupViewService

Oct 11, 2016, 11:01:53 PM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/Google Chrome_2016-10-11-230153_[redacted].hang

/Applications/Google Chrome.app/Contents/MacOS/Google Chrome

Oct 11, 2016, 10:53:41 PM ~/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/Spotify Helper_2016-10-11-225341_[redacted].crash

/Applications/Spotify.app/Contents/Frameworks/Spotify Helper.app/Contents/MacOS/Spotify Helper

Oct 11, 2016, 10:51:30 PM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/Spotify Helper_2016-10-11-225130_[redacted].crash

Oct 11, 2016, 10:48:40 PM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/loginwindow_2016-10-11-224840_[redacted].crash

/System/Library/CoreServices/loginwindow.app/Contents/MacOS/loginwindow

Oct 11, 2016, 09:33:37 PM Self test - passed

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Answer 4

BDAqua

Level 10

250,259 points

Oct 13, 2016 3:06 PM in response to Thorshammer1145

8.10 GB Google Chrome Helper

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Answer 5

John Galt

Level 10

156,260 points

Oct 13, 2016 4:34 PM in response to Thorshammer1145

Click the [Remove] links to remove adware.

Did you try that?

Top Processes by CPU: ⓘ

14% Google Chrome Helper(71)

4% Google Chrome

Your Mac is also infested with Google. If you really want to do that, expect a very limited economic life from your hardware investment.

Why is Mac is running substantially slow all of a sudden.

Installing Google products modifies a Mac in the exact same manner as a "virus", if such a thing were to exist on a Mac, which it doesn't. Google also insists on installing a constantly-running process that automatically checks for and updates those modifications without your intervention, in the exact same way a "virus" might do also. I know of no other company that does that, not even Apple. That means a Mac that runs acceptably well one day might start to run poorly the next, making it difficult to correlate that poor performance to anything you might have done.

This is what a Mac unaffected by Google looks like:

Top Processes by CPU: ⓘ

6% kernel_task

5% Messages

2% fontd

2% WindowServer

1% backupd

That's an iMac two years older than yours, with a spinning hard disk drive (not an SSD like yours), running Safari, Mail, Messages, Notes, iTunes, Photos, Activity Monitor, Dictionary, Disk Utility, BBEdit, Numbers... and a lot more. Smart Mac users don't use Google.

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Answer 6

Oct 13, 2016 7:59 PM in response to BDAqua

I don't even know what Helper is...wth? 8.10GB!!! Could this have anything to do with google books? I have over a thousand books on that and I have about 2000 ebooks on the computer (separate from Google books and IBOOKS).

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Answer 7

Oct 13, 2016 8:11 PM in response to John Galt

When I checked the remove files, it stated, "EtreCheck could not find a Time Machine backup. The delete files operation is disabled." I've never used Time Machine. I think I need to delete the Ebooks I have on the computer and Abode Updater. I remember that kept popping up and I think it updated and gave me issue too. THis is going to be a headache.

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Answer 8

John Galt

Level 10

156,260 points

Oct 13, 2016 9:13 PM in response to Thorshammer1145

Thorshammer1145 wrote:

THis is going to be a headache.

Not so much, if you have a backup. To learn how to use Time Machine read Use Time Machine to back up or restore your Mac. All you need is an inexpensive USB hard disk drive of sufficient capacity to store your data.

Given no other changes to your system, the sudden onset of poor performance you describe is often caused by a hard disk drive that is in a state of failure, meaning it has to be replaced. They cannot be repaired. That is the reason a backup is an absolute prerequisite for continued troubleshooting.

It's also a requirement regardless of your chosen method to uninstall the adware that appears to be affecting your Mac. I could provide manual removal instructions, but even I would insist upon a Time Machine or equivalent backup before doing that. The difference is that while all I can do is take your word for it, "EtreCheck" has already determined no Time Machine backup exists.

It is unlikely that your ebooks or Adobe software are the direct cause of the slowdowns. The likely reason they are taking so long to launch is that those programs or the files they are attempting to read reside on the hard disk that I suspect has failed.

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Answer 9

BDAqua

Level 10

250,259 points

Oct 13, 2016 10:42 PM in response to Thorshammer1145

https://www.wired.com/2014/10/google-chrome-helper/

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Answer 10

MichelPM

Level 10

81,541 points

Oct 13, 2016 11:40 PM in response to Thorshammer1145

Anything Google related is a suc on Mac OS system resources.

Ditch ALL Googlewares. They are ALL a serious resource hogs on the OS X system.
The additional benefit is that you'll stop Google from mining your data when you surf the web
https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/95319?hl=en
https://support.google.com/drive/answer/2375081?hl=en
If you do not like Apple's Safari web browser, download, install and try Mozilla FireFox, instead.
http://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox
The current, up-to-date version of FireFox is fully compatible with OS X and is regularly updated by the great developers of the Mozilla group.
I have, also, stopped using the Google search engine regularly (due to Google's privacy policies) and I now use DuckDuckGo as my default search engine, as well as Yahoo Search and, ocassionally Bing search engines.

Get away from Google, if you can!

Also,

The newest Mac OSes use a lot more computer resources.

Apple only installs enough base RAM to allow their OSes to run nominally smooth.

8 GBs of RAM is enough to run macOS Sierra at that is it!

You may need to install more RAM.

Your iMac might be starved for RAM resources.

Your year and model iMac can take, at least, up to 16 GBs of RAM.

Correct and reliable Mac RAM can ONLY be purchased from online Mac RAM sources Crucial memory (crucial.com) or OWC (macsales.com).

https://eshop.macsales.com/shop/memory/iMac/2012_27/DDR3L

RAM should be relatively easy to install.

https://eshop.macsales.com/installvideos/imac_27inch_late_2013_mem/

Good Luck!

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Answer 11

Oct 14, 2016 11:04 AM in response to John Galt

Thank you John. I was looking at videos on the time machine and my only concern was that it said it would erase everything from the mac at the same time..? Was afraid I would make a mistake. I have an old Seagate 1TB that use to work with my Macbook, but when I connect it to the Imac, it lets me take things off, but it won't add them? I guess I am going to end up buying that external. It works great on a windows, I thought it was good for both computers. I am going to work through this. Thank you for your help.

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Answer 12

Oct 14, 2016 11:30 AM in response to BDAqua

Within the article it says, "First, shut down all your Chrome windows without quitting the program'" are they meaning "TABS" as "Windows?" I did not know it was possible to close them all and still have Chrome up. I also logged out of Chrome since it's connected to two other machines. GRRRR. It seems to be working faster...a lil bit. My pictures and screenshots that are on my desktop hold the PNG, JPEG and PDF images, but not the picture itself. I am hoping this corrects itself. When I click on one, it takes a bit but then it shows up. So strange. Thank you for the link.

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Answer 13

Oct 14, 2016 11:45 AM in response to MichelPM

so Google could be causing this? See the folder in the lower right hand corner? I clicked on it, the box comes up empty for about a minute, then it shows all the files. this keeps repeating in most processes, UNLESS I am constantly on the computer and then it works fast. You think Google is doing this or its the Hard Drive trying to work as was mentioned by John earlier? I recall downloading a movie also, then I started to have all these issues, I wonder if it's a hidden virus, Though I never get them. Bummed for sure. I hope it's not my drive. Thank you for your help. ALL of you, thank you.

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Answer 14

BDAqua

Level 10

250,259 points

Oct 14, 2016 5:13 PM in response to Thorshammer1145

" I did not know it was possible to close them all and still have Chrome up.

Yes, you can. 🙂

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Answer 15

Nov 26, 2016 5:12 AM in response to BDAqua

BDAqua

All went well and now when I tried to upgrade to the newest platform, my computer said Keychain needed to be reset. i kept hitting cancel. after it froze and did not work I left it. now when I try to log into the computer, it ask me for my name and password as if i am just setting up a new user.....? my old user name is gone. i tried to get in but name and password don't work. what is going on?

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