MacBook Pro Running Slow

Question

Level 1

8 points

MacBook Pro Running Slow

I have a Mid 2012 MacBook Pro, just recently upgraded to Sierra (10.12) and I've been having performance issues for quite some time. Initially I thought it was just that I had too much stuff on my computer because I eventually started getting Startup Disk almost full messages, so I cleared off as much as I was able while on vacation, though still only have about 25 out of 500 GB available and not sure when I will find the time to sift through more. This seemed to help a little bit, but overall the system has still been running slow – startup takes forever, apps taking a long time to open, websites take a long time to load, mail takes forever to load or access a contact, and even typing a paragraph like I am now can be slow waiting for the computer to catch up to my input (even in offline apps). The problems started before I upgraded to Sierra, however, the upgrade has not helped, may have even slowed things down more. In trying to find solutions on the forum here, I have tried a few things with minimal results. I tried starting in Safe Mode, which did seem to function better, but of course, when I logged back into normal mode, things were back to, well, normal. Discovered my Activity Monitor and saw that Symantec (SymDaemon) was at over 100% CPU, so forced that to reset and now it seems to be staying much lower. I have heard that Norton can slow down Macs, but my Dad (who is in the computer security industry) tells me I should keep it on there, that even Macs (his computer of choice) are at risk these days. Norton did once catch something on my system a few months back, so I am hesitant to remove it completely. Since resetting SymDaemon, I have been checking in on the Activity Monitor and have found other processes occationally up there on the CPU usage and have googled them and tried to reset them. One was logd, which would not reset and suggestion I found was to just restart computer, which seems to have knocked it back down for the time being. Photolibraryd was another one, which I found may be happening as my photos get recataloged under Sierra? Though it has bumped itself back down. Right now as I watch it, nothing major seems to be eating up CPU resources, occationally something will jump up to 30-80 and then back down, yet, still having performance issues. I also removed all startup items from my account by hitting the minus to completely remove them from the list. Still no change. Part of me feels like I need to just wipe my computer and start from scratch, but I have way too many playlists (many of which I use for work), photo albums and other things set up that would take forever to rebuild, which I simply do not have time for. And in the past when I've tried wiping everything and then migrating things back over from Time Machine, it seems like the problems follow me. I have been in the habit of running the Disk Utility FirstAid 1-2 times a week for quite some time, but that does not seem to do much either. I am at the end of my rope, something must be done because I am wasting too much time sitting and waiting for my computer these days. I welcome any further suggestions! Thanks!

MacBook Pro (15-inch Mid 2012), OS X El Capitan (10.11.3), null

Posted on Oct 22, 2016 12:00 AM

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Answer 1

OGELTHORPE

Level 9

57,329 points

Oct 22, 2016 4:06 PM in response to measterling

Download and post an Etrecheck report:

http://www.etresoft.com/etrecheck

Ciao.

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Answer 2

Oct 22, 2016 4:31 AM in response to measterling

The original hard drive is working at the speed of 5400 rpm, which is probably the cause of your mac being slow.

Install an ssd instead of the optical drive, you can keep files/libraries that take a lot of space on your

current hard drive, but move OS and applications to the ssd. That would speed up your macbook a lot.

It's a good idea to take a look at the ram, too, 4GBs is not enough, you can easily upgrade that up to 16GBs.

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Answer 3

measterling Author

Level 1

8 points

Oct 22, 2016 12:55 PM in response to OGELTHORPE

EtreCheck version: 3.0.6 (315)

Report generated 2016-10-22 12:50:51

Download EtreCheck from https://etrecheck.com

Runtime 6:27

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:ⓘ

MacBook Pro (15-inch, Mid 2012)

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

MacBook Pro - model: MacBookPro9,1

1 2.3 GHz Intel Core i7 CPU: 4-core

4 GB RAM Upgradeable - [Instructions]

BANK 0/DIMM0

2 GB DDR3 1600 MHz ok

BANK 1/DIMM0

2 GB DDR3 1600 MHz ok

Bluetooth: Good - Handoff/Airdrop2 supported

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

Battery: Health = Normal - Cycle count = 45

Video Information:ⓘ

Intel HD Graphics 4000

Color LCD 1680 x 1050

NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M - VRAM: 512 MB

System Software:ⓘ

macOS Sierra 10.12 (16A323) - Time since boot: about 10 hours

Disk Information:ⓘ

APPLE HDD TOSHIBA MK5065GSXF disk0 : (500.11 GB) (Rotational)

EFI (disk0s1) <not mounted> : 210 MB

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

Macintosh HD (disk1) / [Startup]: 498.89 GB (23.83 GB free)

Core Storage: disk0s2 499.25 GB Online

MATSHITADVD-R UJ-8A8 ()

USB Information:ⓘ

Apple Inc. FaceTime HD Camera (Built-in)

Apple Inc. Apple Internal Keyboard / Trackpad

Apple Computer, Inc. IR Receiver

Apple Inc. BRCM20702 Hub

Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller

MOSART Semi. 2.4G Wireless Mouse

Thunderbolt Information:ⓘ

Apple Inc. thunderbolt_bus

Gatekeeper:ⓘ

Mac App Store and identified developers

Kernel Extensions:ⓘ

/Library/Application Support/Symantec/AntiVirus

[loaded] com.symantec.kext.SymAPComm (12.10f21 - SDK 10.6 - 2016-10-22) [Support]

/Library/Application Support/Symantec/Daemon/SymDaemon.bundle/Contents/PlugIns/FileSecurity.bundle/C ontents/Resources

[not loaded] com.symantec.kext.filesecurity (2.10 - SDK 10.6 - 2016-09-15) [Support]

/Library/Application Support/Symantec/Daemon/SymDaemon.bundle/Contents/PlugIns/SymFirewall.bundle/Co ntents/Resources

[not loaded] com.symantec.kext.fw (5.7 - SDK 10.6 - 2016-09-15) [Support]

/System/Library/Extensions

[loaded] com.symantec.kext.internetSecurity (5.4 - SDK 10.6 - 2016-10-13) [Support]

[loaded] com.symantec.kext.ips (3.10 - 2016-10-13) [Support]

[loaded] com.symantec.kext.pf (5.7 - 2016-10-13) [Support]

Startup Items:ⓘ

AdobeVersionCue: Path: /Library/StartupItems/AdobeVersionCue

Startup items no longer function in OS X Yosemite or later

System Launch Agents:ⓘ

[not loaded] 7 Apple tasks

[loaded] 162 Apple tasks

[running] 79 Apple tasks

[killed] 23 Apple tasks

23 processes killed due to insufficient RAM

System Launch Daemons:ⓘ

[not loaded] 39 Apple tasks

[loaded] 159 Apple tasks

[running] 90 Apple tasks

[killed] 16 Apple tasks

16 processes killed due to insufficient RAM

Launch Agents:ⓘ

[not loaded] com.adobe.AAM.Updater-1.0.plist (2013-04-30) [Support]

[running] com.rosettastone.rosettastonedaemon.plist (2014-10-23) [Support]

[failed] com.symantec.errorreporter-periodicagent.plist (2016-09-15) [Support]

[loaded] com.symantec.nis.application.plist (2013-04-11) [Support]

[running] com.symantec.uiagent.application.plist (2016-08-18) [Support]

Launch Daemons:ⓘ

[loaded] com.adobe.SwitchBoard.plist (2013-04-30) [Support]

[loaded] com.adobe.fpsaud.plist (2016-09-23) [Support]

[running] com.symantec.deepsight-extractor.plist (2013-01-24) [Support]

[failed] com.symantec.errorreporter-periodic.plist (2016-09-15) [Support]

[loaded] com.symantec.liveupdate.daemon.ondemand.plist (2016-08-17) [Support]

[loaded] com.symantec.liveupdate.daemon.plist (2016-08-17) [Support]

[not loaded] com.symantec.nav.migrateqtf.plist (2013-04-11) [Support]

[running] com.symantec.nfm.wps.plist (2016-09-13) [Support]

[running] com.symantec.sharedsettings.plist (2015-08-13) [Support]

[running] com.symantec.symdaemon.plist (2014-09-17) [Support]

[loaded] jp.co.canon.MasterInstaller.plist (2015-07-14) [Support]

User Launch Agents:ⓘ

[loaded] com.adobe.AAM.Updater-1.0.plist (2013-05-01) [Support]

[loaded] com.adobe.ARM.[...].plist (2013-05-01) [Support]

[running] com.akamai.single-user-client.plist (2016-09-01) [Support]

[failed] com.apple.CSConfigDotMacCert-[...]@me.com-SharedServices.Agent.plist (2013-02-11)

[running] com.logos.LogosIndexer.plist (2013-08-02) [Support]

User Login Items:ⓘ

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

Internet Plug-ins:ⓘ

JavaAppletPlugin: 15.0.1 - SDK 10.12 (2015-05-26) Check version

FlashPlayer-10.6: 23.0.0.185 - SDK 10.9 (2016-10-14) [Support]

QuickTime Plugin: 7.7.3 (2016-09-13)

AdobePDFViewerNPAPI: 10.1.16 (2015-10-30) [Support]

AdobePDFViewer: 10.1.16 (2015-10-30) [Support]

Flash Player: 23.0.0.185 - SDK 10.9 (2016-10-14) [Support]

Silverlight: 5.1.41212.0 - SDK 10.6 (2016-03-19) [Support]

iPhotoPhotocast: 7.0 (2013-02-24)

3rd Party Preference Panes:ⓘ

BDSPrefPane (2013-02-11) [Support]

Akamai NetSession Preferences (2016-09-01) [Support]

Flash Player (2016-09-23) [Support]

Norton\nQuickMenu (2016-09-15) [Support]

Time Machine:ⓘ

Skip System Files: NO

Mobile backups: ON

Auto backup: YES

Volumes being backed up:

Macintosh HD: Disk size: 498.89 GB Disk used: 475.06 GB

Destinations:

Time Machine Backups [Local]

Total size: 2.00 TB

Total number of backups: 39

Oldest backup: 2/27/16, 12:55 AM

Last backup: 10/20/16, 8:41 AM

Size of backup disk: Excellent

Backup size 2.00 TB > (Disk size 498.89 GB X 3)

Top Processes by CPU:ⓘ

106% SymDaemon

4% ps

3% assistant_service

2% WindowServer

2% kernel_task

Top Processes by Memory:ⓘ

751 MB kernel_task

295 MB mdworker(16)

160 MB assistant_service

152 MB com.apple.WebKit.WebContent(3)

98 MB Mail

Virtual Memory Information:ⓘ

60 MB Free RAM

3.93 GB Used RAM (514 MB Cached)

1.23 GB Swap Used

Diagnostics Information:ⓘ

Oct 22, 2016, 12:23:48 PM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/Finder_2016-10-22-122348_[redacted].hang [Details]

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

Oct 22, 2016, 05:34:41 AM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/suggestd_2016-10-22-053441_[redacted].cpu_resou rce.diag [Details]

/System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/CoreSuggestions.framework/Versions/A/Support/ suggestd

Oct 22, 2016, 02:27:31 AM Self test - passed

Oct 21, 2016, 11:35:11 PM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/OtherUsersExtension_2016-10-21-233511_[redacted ].cpu_resource.diag [Details]

/System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/StorageManagement.framework/PlugIns/OtherUser sExtension.appex/Contents/MacOS/OtherUsersExtension

Oct 21, 2016, 09:34:23 PM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/Messages_2016-10-21-213423_[redacted].hang

/Applications/Messages.app/Contents/MacOS/Messages

Oct 21, 2016, 09:34:05 PM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/Mail_2016-10-21-213405_[redacted].hang

/Applications/Mail.app/Contents/MacOS/Mail

Oct 21, 2016, 07:36:50 PM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/CalNCService_2016-10-21-193650_[redacted].cpu_r esource.diag [Details]

/System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/CalendarNotification.framework/Versions/A/XPC Services/CalNCService.xpc/Contents/MacOS/CalNCService

Oct 21, 2016, 04:00:36 AM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/SymDaemon_2016-10-21-040036_[redacted].cpu_reso urce.diag [Details]

/Library/Application Support/Symantec/*/SymDaemon.bundle/Contents/MacOS/SymDaemon

Oct 20, 2016, 11:52:33 PM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/Mail_2016-10-20-235233_[redacted].hang

Oct 20, 2016, 11:42:41 PM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/SymDaemon_2016-10-20-234241_[redacted].crash

Oct 20, 2016, 04:06:48 PM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/Adobe InDesign CS6_2016-10-20-160648_[redacted].hang

/Applications/Adobe InDesign CS6/Adobe InDesign CS6.app/Contents/MacOS/Adobe InDesign CS6

Oct 20, 2016, 02:19:35 PM ~/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/quicklookd_2016-10-20-141935_[redacted].crash

/System/Library/Frameworks/QuickLook.framework/Versions/A/Resources/quicklookd. app/Contents/MacOS/quicklookd

Oct 20, 2016, 04:37:24 AM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/SymDaemon_2016-10-20-043724_[redacted].cpu_reso urce.diag [Details]

Oct 19, 2016, 08:28:21 PM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/SymDaemon_2016-10-19-202821_[redacted].crash

Oct 19, 2016, 01:00:26 PM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/SymDaemon_2016-10-19-130026_[redacted].cpu_reso urce.diag [Details]

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Answer 4

Oct 22, 2016 4:06 PM in response to measterling

Your hard drive is full and you are running Symantec. Free up space on your drive and uninstall Symantec Anti Virus. Symantic is doing you no good and may cause issues.

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Answer 5

Oct 22, 2016 1:03 PM in response to measterling

Your Mac only has 23.83 GB's of free storage space. The less space available, the slower your Mac will run.

Uninstall Norton / Symantec > Download and run the Norton Removal Tool to uninstall your Norton product

Norton anti virus is unnecessary on a Mac. It will slow the drive down as well. Your Mac has About System Integrity Protection on your Mac - Apple Support

Remove these Startup Items from /Library/StartupItems

AdobeVersionCue: Path: /Library/StartupItems/AdobeVersionCue

Startup items no longer function in OS X Yosemite or later

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Answer 6

OGELTHORPE

Level 9

57,329 points

Oct 22, 2016 1:38 PM in response to measterling

In addition to the good advice already offered, installation of additional RAM would be helpful. Note the number of processes killed due to insufficient RAM.

Your MBP will accept up to 16 GB RAM (8 GB should be sufficient). The best sources of Mac compatible RAM are OWC and Crucial.

Boot into the recovery partition and select Disk Utility from the 4 option menu. Run Disk Utility>First Aid>Repair. Your HDD is suspect.

Ciao.

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Answer 7

measterling Author

Level 1

8 points

Oct 22, 2016 4:05 PM in response to OGELTHORPE

Thanks! After chatting with my dad, went ahead and took Symantec off to see how I do without it. Ran the First Aid from recovery mode and went into the Startup Items folder and removed the folder that was in there. Things seem to have sped up a little, though will see once I really get using it. I will try to find time to clear more files off my HD. As far as upgrading my RAM, is that something that I can buy & install myself or do I have to take it to an Apple Store or certified Apple technician? Are OWC and Crucial brand names or retailers? Thanks for all the help!

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Answer 8

OGELTHORPE

Level 9

57,329 points

Oct 22, 2016 4:16 PM in response to measterling

OWC is a retailer that sells its own brand of RAM. Crucial is a brand which sells its RAM via its own web site as well as through various retailers. I have used both with success.

RAM can be installed in your MBP quite easily if you follow these instructions:

https://eshop.macsales.com/installvideos/macbookpro_15_unibody_mid12_mem/

There is no need to employ someone else to do it for you.

Ciao.

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Answer 9

measterling Author

Level 1

8 points

Oct 22, 2016 4:26 PM in response to OGELTHORPE

Great, thanks!

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