Q: What happens after I reinstall Mac OSX
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Oct 20, 2016 1:43 AMby janie_burmy,EtreCheck version: 3.0.6 (315)
Report generated 2016-10-20 09:42:24
Download EtreCheck from https://etrecheck.com
Runtime 8:56
Performance: Below Average
Click the [Support] links for help with non-Apple products.
Click the [Details] links for more information about that line.
Problem: Beachballing
iMac (21.5-inch, Late 2013)
[Technical Specifications] - [User Guide] - [Warranty & Service]
iMac - model: iMac14,3
1 2.9 GHz Intel Core i5 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
Bluetooth: Good - Handoff/Airdrop2 supported
Wireless: en1: 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac
NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M - VRAM: 1024 MB
iMac 1920 x 1080
OS X El Capitan 10.11.6 (15G1004) - Time since boot: about one hour
APPLE HDD HTS541010A9E662 disk0 : (1 TB) (Rotational)
EFI (disk0s1) <not mounted> : 210 MB
Macintosh HD (disk0s2) / [Startup]: 999.35 GB (645.14 GB free)
Recovery HD (disk0s3) <not mounted> [Recovery]: 650 MB
Western Digital My Passport 0830 2 TB
EFI (disk1s1) <not mounted> : 210 MB
My Passport (disk1s2) /Volumes/My Passport : 2.00 TB (1.08 TB free)
Apple Inc. BRCM20702 Hub
Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller
Apple Inc. FaceTime HD Camera (Built-in)
Apple Inc. MacBook Air SuperDrive
Apple Inc. thunderbolt_bus
Anywhere
/System/Library/Extensions
[not loaded] com.devguru.driver.SamsungComposite (1.4.18 - SDK 10.6 - 2016-09-25) [Support]
/System/Library/Extensions/ssuddrv.kext/Contents/PlugIns
[not loaded] com.devguru.driver.SamsungACMControl (1.4.18 - SDK 10.6 - 2014-01-28) [Support]
[not loaded] com.devguru.driver.SamsungACMData (1.4.18 - SDK 10.6 - 2014-01-28) [Support]
[not loaded] com.devguru.driver.SamsungMTP (1.4.18 - SDK 10.5 - 2014-01-28) [Support]
[not loaded] com.devguru.driver.SamsungSerial (1.4.18 - SDK 10.6 - 2014-01-28) [Support]
[not loaded] 7 Apple tasks
[loaded] 156 Apple tasks
[running] 76 Apple tasks
[not loaded] 45 Apple tasks
[loaded] 158 Apple tasks
[running] 88 Apple tasks
[running] com.adobe.ARMDC.Communicator.plist (2016-10-18) [Support]
[running] com.adobe.ARMDC.SMJobBlessHelper.plist (2016-10-18) [Support]
[loaded] com.adobe.fpsaud.plist (2016-09-24) [Support]
[loaded] com.adobe.ARM.[...].plist (2016-05-21) [Support]
Dropbox Application (/Applications/Dropbox.app)
Photo Stream URL SMLoginItem (/Applications/iPhoto.app/Contents/Library/LoginItems/PhotoStreamAgent.app)
Photo Stream URL SMLoginItem (/Volumes/My Passport/Backups.backupdb/Simon and Jane’s iMac/2016-03-15-151518/Macintosh HD/Applications/iPhoto.app/Contents/Library/LoginItems/PhotoStreamAgent.app)
FlashPlayer-10.6: 23.0.0.185 - SDK 10.9 (2016-10-19) [Support]
QuickTime Plugin: 7.7.3 (2016-07-09)
AdobePDFViewerNPAPI: 15.020.20039 - SDK 10.11 (2016-10-20) [Support]
AdobePDFViewer: 15.020.20039 - SDK 10.11 (2016-10-20) [Support]
Flash Player: 23.0.0.185 - SDK 10.9 (2016-10-19) [Support]
Default Browser: 601 - SDK 10.11 (2016-07-09)
SharePointBrowserPlugin: 14.6.9 - SDK 10.6 (2016-10-16) [Support]
Silverlight: 4.1.10329.0 (2014-06-07) [Support]
JavaAppletPlugin: Java 8 Update 73 build 02 (2016-03-13) Check version
AdBlock - BetaFish, Inc. - https://getadblock.com (2016-07-30)
Save to Pocket - Read It Later, Inc. - http://getpocket.com/ (2015-11-06)
avast! Online Security - AVAST Software - http://www.avast.com (2014-07-18)
iMedia Converter Deluxe - iSkysoft Studio - http://www.iskysoft.com (2013-10-14)
Flash Player (2016-09-24) [Support]
Java (2016-03-13) [Support]
Mobile backups: OFF
Auto backup: YES
Volumes being backed up:
Macintosh HD: Disk size: 999.35 GB Disk used: 354.20 GB
Destinations:
My Passport [Local]
Total size: 2.00 TB
Total number of backups: 98
Oldest backup: 22/04/2015, 18:21
Last backup: 20/10/2016, 09:33
Size of backup disk: Adequate
Backup size 2.00 TB > (Disk used 354.20 GB X 3)
25% thunderbird
7% kernel_task
4% python
4% notifyd
2% opendirectoryd
5.15 GB com.apple.WebKit.WebContent(42)
734 MB kernel_task
639 MB Safari
410 MB thunderbird
131 MB mdworker(9)
63 MB Free RAM
7.93 GB Used RAM (1.20 GB Cached)
28 MB Swap Used
Oct 20, 2016, 07:54:43 AM Self test - passed
Oct 19, 2016, 07:43:13 PM ~/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/Activity Monitor_2016-10-19-194313_[redacted].crash
com.apple.ActivityMonitor - /Applications/Utilities/Activity Monitor.app/Contents/MacOS/Activity Monitor
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Oct 20, 2016 1:52 AMby janie_burmy,From this Etrecheck, is there anything I can uninstall to help me, or anything else I can't do other than going through the painful reinstall and start again. That's going to take me hours and no guarantee it will fix my issues.
Four specific questions please if I may - if I do a wipe and install, will I be able to recreate my entire thunderbird mail library, complete with all my emails or will some of the history be lost?
Could keeping about 10 tabs open in Safari account for the poor performance in this particular Etrecheck?
Does the amount of RAM that I have look ok to you?
Can you see anything on Etrecheck that I need to do?
My three year warranty expires tonight hence my call with the Apple Agent today. I'm so busy with work, that losing my computer while I do a complete reinstall is really worrying for me and if I can avoid I would like to .
Thanks so much for helping me out.
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Oct 20, 2016 4:15 AMby BDAqua,You should gave enough RAM, but Safari is hogging it badly.
I had a similar problem...
http://x704.net/bbs/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=7899
Or, as a test try this...
To find out if it's system wide or user specific, try this...
Open System Preferences>Users & Groups, unlock the lock, click on the little plus icon, make a new admin account, log out & into the new account.
Does it work in the new account?
See if etrecheck reports it using so much EAM in the new account.
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Oct 20, 2016 9:08 AMby janie_burmy,Ok, so did as you suggested and in the new account when opening Safari, it only uses 623mb ram , but then nothing was open. It also said there was 3.22GB free ram. So I guess the answer is, no the big drain on ram doesn't happen on all users.
Now what? Incidentally, Applecare didn't call me as they were supposed to. Nada, nothing. Waited in all morning.
So, if my issue is the same as yours and all the previous openings of web pages is causing the issues, what (apart from a faster system for a while) will happen if I do what you did? Can I go wrong - I am ok with the Mac, but I'm not very tech savvy.
And finally, if there are traces of Avast still on here, how can I get rid of them? I think I installed it through its uninstaller as I should and I certainly can't find anything apart from a mention on the EtreCheck...
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Oct 20, 2016 12:14 PMby BDAqua,Safari>Preferences>Extensions, highlight Avast & click Remove.
Or...
https://www.macissues.com/2015/06/22/how-to-fully-reset-safari-on-your-mac/
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Oct 20, 2016 12:56 PMby Drew Reece,This line in your report concerns me…
Photo Stream URL SMLoginItem (/Volumes/My Passport/Backups.backupdb/Simon and Jane’s iMac/2016-03-15-151518/Macintosh HD/Applications/iPhoto.app/Contents/Library/LoginItems/PhotoStreamAgent.app)
It suggests you have a login item loading from your Time Machine backup disk - not a good idea at all - backups are not meant to be used to run important data or apps.
Open System Preferences > Users & groups, select your username & edit the 'Login items'. See if you can remove an item that matches 'PhotoStreamAgent' or similar.
If I were you I would look for uninstall instructions for Samsung's Kies. The app is gone but you have left the system extensions installed (com.devguru.driver…). Removing items incorrectly can cause more issues.
Here is an attempt to answer your original question…
When you erase the OS X boot disk & reinstall you get a clean copy of the operating system - all of your third party apps & user data will not exist, so all the problems that they can cause will be gone. It is a good way to confirm that your computer is 'reliable' as it removes many of the common configuration errors - bad software, bad settings or years of accumulated junk.
Obviously you cannot work on a computer very long without all your third party apps, so you will need to reinstall the apps. It is safest to get the apps from the original website (or the App store) to reinstall them - at least that way you are sure to have the latest version installed.
You should ignore whoever suggested you 'drag & drop from Time Machine'. That is a good way to ruin things - Time Machine & Mac OS have a complex system of permissions. Drag & drop in the Finder will often trip up over those depending on the source & destination. You should use Apple's own method to restore files - Choose 'Browse Time Machine' from it's menu & then 'restore' the desired files from the gear menu - this is not how you should restore an entire user account.
As for your user data (all the stuff located in your home folder) you can restore that via a tool called Migration Assistant (inside the /Applications/Utilities folder). There is a version of this called 'Setup Assistant' that runs after the OS is installed. Most of the important personal files are stored in your home folder such as Thunderbirds email data.
Migration Assistant will allow you to pick the Time Machine disk as a backup source & then ask about what data you want to 'restore'. If you just pick the user you only get all of your home folder & the user based settings. 'Applications' & 'other data' can also be restored, however they are the reason you are reinstalling, so avoid choosing those options.
NOTE: There still may be bad files in the user account but those are often easier to troubleshoot than when issues are system wide.
If you are visiting an Apple store they may simply suggest you backup & reinstall OS X as it is normally easier than trying to troubleshoot problems, especially if you only re-install the apps you actually need.
Personally I prefer to make more than one backup, I don't trust Time Machine on it's own. Ask if you want other help, or you can continue pecking away at items to see if it gets better.
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Oct 20, 2016 3:06 PMby janie_burmy,Oh wow. That's comprehensive....but I still have a couple of questions before I go,digging with what you've suggested...
Re the time machine login item loading...how on earth would that have happened? I've never set anything up (to my knowledge) to do that! What is photo stream agent? Will I mess something up by removing that?
Yeah, it didn't feel right when the guy from Apple was telling me I would have to drag and drop...I know permissions are so delicate )case in point iTunes music files easily lost) that I wanted to check before imtook the call (that never came anyway).
i have already reinstalled the operating system a few weeks ago. But that was all.
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Oct 20, 2016 3:29 PMby Drew Reece,I don't know how the Photo stream agent was set as a login item on the backup disk. I don't use Photostream or Photos so I can only guess on what it does. Here is what I would do, wait for others to confirm or deny if this is a good idea…
Remove the login item from System Preferences as mentioned earlier. Reboot (mostly for the sake of it, but active processes will be unloaded). Open Photos app & check the Photo Stream preferences are still enabled, this may be listed under iCloud in System Preferences. it should reload the correct agent instead of using the one in the backup. Rerun Etrecheck if you want to see if it is correct - it shows the file path clearly for login items.
The permissions can be fine if you drag & drop from a Time Machine backup but only if you already owned those files - it is a big assumption in my opinion & is not how Apple designed it to work.
When you reinstalled recently, did you erase the disk first? If not the installer will simply replace the system files, sometimes this is enough to fix problems but clean installing can help in situations where there is performance due to old or incompatible software.
Of course there is the possibility of a hardware issue - have you considered that? How was this Mac before running 10.12? Apple diagnostics might be built in on your Mac…
Using Apple Diagnostics - Apple Support
Otherwise try the Apple hardware test info linked from that page (if it is an older model). It may not tell you much, however as you have expiring warranty concerns it may be wise to record any errors ASAP & then ask at a store/ genius appointment.
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Oct 20, 2016 4:03 PMby janie_burmy,Ok, so I removed, as best I could, Kies, Avast and checked Photo stream (it's turned off on my Mac anyway). Ran Etre Check again, as below. No, I didn't wipe the Mac before reinstall. The Mac has had some issues similar to now right from when I first bought it and set it up, even before Time Machine was attached too. I'm holding off installing Sierra as I'm sure that will give me more headaches. To be honest, it all worked the best on Mountain Lion.
EtreCheck version: 3.0.6 (315)
Report generated 2016-10-20 23:57:14
Download EtreCheck from https://etrecheck.com
Runtime 2:18
Performance: Excellent
Click the [Support] links for help with non-Apple products.
Click the [Details] links for more information about that line.
Problem: Beachballing
iMac (21.5-inch, Late 2013)
[Technical Specifications] - [User Guide] - [Warranty & Service]
iMac - model: iMac14,3
1 2.9 GHz Intel Core i5 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
Bluetooth: Good - Handoff/Airdrop2 supported
Wireless: en1: 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac
NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M - VRAM: 1024 MB
iMac 1920 x 1080
OS X El Capitan 10.11.6 (15G1004) - Time since boot: about 16 hours
APPLE HDD HTS541010A9E662 disk0 : (1 TB) (Rotational)
EFI (disk0s1) <not mounted> : 210 MB
Macintosh HD (disk0s2) / [Startup]: 999.35 GB (655.37 GB free)
Recovery HD (disk0s3) <not mounted> [Recovery]: 650 MB
Western Digital My Passport 0830 2 TB
EFI (disk1s1) <not mounted> : 210 MB
My Passport (disk1s2) /Volumes/My Passport : 2.00 TB (1.06 TB free)
Apple Inc. BRCM20702 Hub
Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller
Apple Inc. FaceTime HD Camera (Built-in)
Apple Inc. MacBook Air SuperDrive
Apple Inc. thunderbolt_bus
Anywhere
[not loaded] 7 Apple tasks
[loaded] 155 Apple tasks
[running] 77 Apple tasks
[not loaded] 46 Apple tasks
[loaded] 153 Apple tasks
[running] 92 Apple tasks
[running] com.adobe.ARMDC.Communicator.plist (2016-10-18) [Support]
[running] com.adobe.ARMDC.SMJobBlessHelper.plist (2016-10-18) [Support]
[loaded] com.adobe.fpsaud.plist (2016-09-24) [Support]
[loaded] com.adobe.ARM.[...].plist (2016-05-21) [Support]
Dropbox Application (/Applications/Dropbox.app)
Photo Stream URL SMLoginItem (/Applications/iPhoto.app/Contents/Library/LoginItems/PhotoStreamAgent.app)
Photo Stream URL SMLoginItem (/Volumes/My Passport/Backups.backupdb/Simon and Jane’s iMac/2016-03-15-151518/Macintosh HD/Applications/iPhoto.app/Contents/Library/LoginItems/PhotoStreamAgent.app)
FlashPlayer-10.6: 23.0.0.185 - SDK 10.9 (2016-10-19) [Support]
QuickTime Plugin: 7.7.3 (2016-07-09)
AdobePDFViewerNPAPI: 15.020.20039 - SDK 10.11 (2016-10-20) [Support]
AdobePDFViewer: 15.020.20039 - SDK 10.11 (2016-10-20) [Support]
Flash Player: 23.0.0.185 - SDK 10.9 (2016-10-19) [Support]
Default Browser: 601 - SDK 10.11 (2016-07-09)
SharePointBrowserPlugin: 14.6.9 - SDK 10.6 (2016-10-16) [Support]
Silverlight: 4.1.10329.0 (2014-06-07) [Support]
JavaAppletPlugin: Java 8 Update 73 build 02 (2016-03-13) Check version
AdBlock - BetaFish, Inc. - https://getadblock.com (2016-07-30)
Save to Pocket - Read It Later, Inc. - http://getpocket.com/ (2015-11-06)
avast! Online Security - AVAST Software - http://www.avast.com (2014-07-18)
iMedia Converter Deluxe - iSkysoft Studio - http://www.iskysoft.com (2013-10-14)
Flash Player (2016-09-24) [Support]
Java (2016-03-13) [Support]
Mobile backups: OFF
Auto backup: YES
Volumes being backed up:
Macintosh HD: Disk size: 999.35 GB Disk used: 343.98 GB
Destinations:
My Passport [Local]
Total size: 2.00 TB
Total number of backups: 99
Oldest backup: 22/04/2015, 18:21
Last backup: 20/10/2016, 23:07
Size of backup disk: Adequate
Backup size 2.00 TB > (Disk used 343.98 GB X 3)
4% WindowServer
2% fontd
1% kernel_task
0% cloudpaird
3.49 GB com.apple.WebKit.WebContent(44)
814 MB kernel_task
705 MB Safari
131 MB mds_stores
115 MB softwareupdated
256 MB Free RAM
7.75 GB Used RAM (1.54 GB Cached)
62 MB Swap Used
Oct 20, 2016, 07:54:46 AM Self test - passed
Oct 19, 2016, 07:43:13 PM ~/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/Activity Monitor_2016-10-19-194313_[redacted].crash
com.apple.ActivityMonitor - /Applications/Utilities/Activity Monitor.app/Contents/MacOS/Activity Monitor
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Oct 20, 2016 4:19 PMby Drew Reece,There seems to be two of those items now…
…
Photo Stream URL SMLoginItem (/Applications/iPhoto.app/Contents/Library/LoginItems/PhotoStreamAgent.app)
Photo Stream URL SMLoginItem (/Volumes/My Passport/Backups.backupdb/Simon and Jane’s iMac/2016-03-15-151518/Macintosh HD/Applications/iPhoto.app/Contents/Library/LoginItems/PhotoStreamAgent.app)
Ideally you want to remove the second one but it may come back if the OS is saving that for you. See if anyone has a better idea on how to stop it.
The 'Avast' item is a Safari Extension. Open Safari > Preferences > Extensions tab. Remove it from the list by selecting it & clicking uninstall (assuming you want it gone as mentioned earlier by rkaufmann87).
It looks like Safari is busy using a lot of RAM but you appear to have a lot of tabs open. I suspect it would run better with some of them closed.
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Oct 21, 2016 2:19 AMby janie_burmy,Thank you Drew. I've got rid of Avast the way you suggested. I can't figure out how to get rid of the second photo stream - can you direct me please as I can't follow - being a bit dim this morning...
Does anyone know why this is doing this and if I really should be deleting it? I'm presuming it's apple's way of sending the photo files to all devices, but I have that switched off on this computer anyway. And surely it needs only cloud and wifi to do that and not the back disc/time machine. Really odd.
