'09 iMac running slow, beachballing: do I need more memory?

Question

Level 1

4 points

'09 iMac running slow, beachballing: do I need more memory?

My 2009 iMac has been running slow lately. Lots of lag when entering text in Pages or Numbers. Slow start up time for Finder, Safari and Preview. I've read some other threads on this topic and have run an Entre Check report (posted below) and would appreciate any input/insight on that.

I've been using Time Machine for a while, so my files are backed up. Will be trying the safe startup approach, too.

Thank you!

EtreCheck version: 3.0.6 (315)

Report generated 2016-10-29 14:44:54

Download EtreCheck from https://etrecheck.com

Runtime 11:39

Performance: Poor

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

Description:

Lag time on Pages, Numbers: when I start to type a sentence, I get the beachball and a lag before it catches up. Does not happen all the time, but happens a lot. Same problems with Numbers.

Computer is slow to open applications - especially noticeable on Finder and Safari.

Hardware Information:ⓘ

iMac (21.5-inch, Late 2009)

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

iMac - model: iMac10,1

1 3.06 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo CPU: 2-core

4 GB RAM Upgradeable - [Instructions]

BANK 0/DIMM0

Empty

BANK 1/DIMM0

Empty

BANK 0/DIMM1

2 GB DDR3 1067 MHz ok

BANK 1/DIMM1

2 GB DDR3 1067 MHz ok

Bluetooth: Old - Handoff/Airdrop2 not supported

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

Video Information:ⓘ

NVIDIA GeForce 9400 - VRAM: 256 MB

iMac 1920 x 1080

System Software:ⓘ

macOS Sierra 10.12 (16A323) - Time since boot: about 12 days

Disk Information:ⓘ

ST3500418ASQ disk0 : (500.11 GB) (Rotational)

EFI (disk0s1) <not mounted> : 210 MB

Macintosh HD (disk0s2) / [Startup]: 499.25 GB (70.00 GB free)

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

HL-DT-ST DVDRW GA11N ()

USB Information:ⓘ

Apple Computer, Inc. IR Receiver

Apple Inc. BRCM2046 Hub

Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller

Apple Card Reader

Seagate BUP Slim Mac SL

Apple Inc. Built-in iSight

Gatekeeper:ⓘ

Mac App Store and identified developers

Kernel Extensions:ⓘ

/Library/Extensions

[loaded] com.symantec.kext.SymAPComm (12.10.1f15 - SDK 10.11 - 2016-10-09) [Support]

[loaded] com.symantec.kext.filesecurity (12.10.1 - SDK 10.11 - 2016-10-09) [Support]

[not loaded] com.symantec.kext.fw (5.7.1 - SDK 10.11 - 2016-10-09) [Support]

[loaded] com.symantec.kext.internetSecurity (5.7.1 - SDK 10.11 - 2016-10-09) [Support]

[loaded] com.symantec.kext.ips (3.10.5 - SDK 10.11 - 2016-10-09) [Support]

[loaded] com.symantec.kext.pf (5.10.1 - SDK 10.11 - 2016-10-09) [Support]

Startup Items:ⓘ

ParallelsDesktopTransporter: Path: /Library/StartupItems/ParallelsDesktopTransporter

Startup items no longer function in OS X Yosemite or later

System Launch Agents:ⓘ

[not loaded] 8 Apple tasks

[loaded] 164 Apple tasks

[running] 69 Apple tasks

[killed] 30 Apple tasks

30 processes killed due to insufficient RAM

System Launch Daemons:ⓘ

[not loaded] 42 Apple tasks

[loaded] 150 Apple tasks

[running] 87 Apple tasks

[killed] 24 Apple tasks

24 processes killed due to insufficient RAM

Launch Agents:ⓘ

[running] com.epson.Epson_Low_Ink_Reminder.launcher.plist (2015-01-19) [Support]

[running] com.epson.ecrp.launcher.plist (2016-08-07) [Support]

[loaded] com.epson.esua.launcher.plist (2016-07-27) [Support]

[running] com.epson.eventmanager.agent.plist (2014-09-21) [Support]

[loaded] com.epson.scannermonitor.plist (2016-09-08) [Support]

[running] com.flipvideo.FlipShare.AutoRun.plist (2010-12-15) [Support]

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

[loaded] com.oracle.java.Java-Updater.plist (2013-06-10) [Support]

[failed] com.symantec.errorreporter-periodicagent.plist (2016-09-16) [Support]

[loaded] com.symantec.nis.application.plist (2012-10-26) [Support]

[running] com.symantec.nobu.client.plist (2014-06-08) [Support]

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

Launch Daemons:ⓘ

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

[running] com.flipvideo.FlipShareServer.launchd.plist (2010-11-24) [Support]

[loaded] com.google.keystone.daemon.plist (2016-09-02) [Support]

[loaded] com.oracle.java.Helper-Tool.plist (2013-06-10) [Support]

[running] com.symantec.deepsight-extractor.plist (2011-09-13) [Support]

[failed] com.symantec.errorreporter-periodic.plist (2016-09-16) [Support]

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

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

[failed] com.symantec.nav.migrateqtf.plist (2012-10-26) [Support]

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

[running] com.symantec.nobu.nobud.plist (2014-06-08) [Support]

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

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

User Launch Agents:ⓘ

[failed] com.apple.SafariBookmarksSyncer.plist (2010-06-23)

[loaded] com.valvesoftware.steamclean.plist (2016-09-18) [Support]

User Login Items:ⓘ

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

GrowlHelperApp Application (/Incompatible Software/Growl.prefPane/Contents/Resources/GrowlHelperApp.app)

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

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

Dropbox Application (/Applications/Dropbox.app)

Internet Plug-ins:ⓘ

Flip4Mac WMV Plugin: 2.4.4.2 (2012-08-08) [Support]

FlashPlayer-10.6: 21.0.0.226 - SDK 10.6 (2016-04-21) [Support]

QuickTime Plugin: 7.7.3 (2016-09-13)

Flash Player: 21.0.0.226 - SDK 10.6 (2016-04-21) Outdated! Update

CouponPrinter-FireFox_v2: Version 1.1.7 - SDK 10.5 (2012-06-24) [Support]

JavaAppletPlugin: Java 8 Update 101 build 13 (2016-08-04) Check version

o1dbrowserplugin: 5.41.3.0 - SDK 10.8 (2015-12-15) [Support]

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

Silverlight: 5.1.30317.0 - SDK 10.6 (2014-06-01) [Support]

Unity Web Player: UnityPlayer version 4.3.5f1 - SDK 10.6 (2014-12-12) [Support]

iPhotoPhotocast: 7.0 (2010-04-03)

User internet Plug-ins:ⓘ

Google Earth Web Plug-in: 7.0 (2012-12-14) [Support]

Safari Extensions:ⓘ

Add To Amazon Wish List - Amazon.com - https://www.amazon.com/wishlist?ref=cm_wl_saf_ext (2013-10-31)

3rd Party Preference Panes:ⓘ

3ivx MPEG-4 (2010-04-12) [Support]

Flash Player (2016-04-15) [Support]

Flip4Mac WMV (2012-05-15) [Support]

Java (2016-08-04) [Support]

MacFUSE (2008-12-19) [Support]

Norton\nQuickMenu (2016-09-16) [Support]

Perian (2011-07-23) [Support]

Time Machine:ⓘ

Auto backup: YES

Volumes being backed up:

Macintosh HD: Disk size: 499.25 GB Disk used: 429.24 GB

Destinations:

Seagate Backup Plus Drive [Local]

Total size: 2.00 TB

Total number of backups: 54

Oldest backup: 2/4/16, 6:36 AM

Last backup: 10/29/16, 11:06 AM

Size of backup disk: Excellent

Backup size 2.00 TB > (Disk size 499.25 GB X 3)

Top Processes by CPU:ⓘ

12% WindowServer

11% Finder

2% kernel_task

1% ps

1% mds_stores

Top Processes by Memory:ⓘ

844 MB Google Chrome Helper(14)

531 MB kernel_task

401 MB mdworker(17)

279 MB spindump

160 MB Google Chrome

Virtual Memory Information:ⓘ

263 MB Free RAM

3.99 GB Used RAM (488 MB Cached)

657 MB Swap Used

Diagnostics Information:ⓘ

Oct 27, 2016, 01:18:45 AM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/SymDaemon_2016-10-27-011845_[redacted].crash

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

iMac, macOS Sierra (10.12)

Posted on Oct 29, 2016 2:55 PM

Reply

Answer 1

Old Toad

Level 10

215,748 points

Oct 29, 2016 4:13 PM in response to CWBaiocchi

You have Symantec A/V software installed and it's know to be a performance killer on Macs. Also it's totally not needed, i.e. just a waste of money.

Kernel Extensions: ⓘ

/Library/Extensions

[loaded] com.symantec.kext.SymAPComm (12.10.1f15 - SDK 10.11 - 2016-10-09) [Support]

[loaded] com.symantec.kext.filesecurity (12.10.1 - SDK 10.11 - 2016-10-09) [Support]

[not loaded] com.symantec.kext.fw (5.7.1 - SDK 10.11 - 2016-10-09) [Support]

[loaded] com.symantec.kext.internetSecurity (5.7.1 - SDK 10.11 - 2016-10-09) [Support]

[loaded] com.symantec.kext.ips (3.10.5 - SDK 10.11 - 2016-10-09) [Support]

[loaded] com.symantec.kext.pf (5.10.1 - SDK 10.11 - 2016-10-09) [Support]

Uninstall it according to the developer's instructions and then check your iMac's performance.

4 GB of RAM is the minimum RAM for running Sierra and you would definitely benefit with additional RAM. If you do upgrade the RAM get it from Crucial.com or macsales.com. Those are the only two vendors that test their modules on all models of Macs and guarantee their compatibility.

Reply

Answer 2

Oct 29, 2016 4:13 PM in response to CWBaiocchi

I concur with Old Toad. You really need to get rid of everything from Symantec seeing as how it is crashing on your Mac which isn't good.

Reply

Answer 3

cdhw

Level 4

3,594 points

Oct 29, 2016 3:29 PM in response to CWBaiocchi

Your main problem is the Symantec anitvirus/whatever you've got installed. Uninstall it.

Google Chrome is a resource hog that seems to have 'make Macs grind to a halt' as a core feature. Unless you have a really good reason to need it, use Safari or Firefox instead.

4GB is enough RAM to run El Capitan quite nicely providing you don't have loads of apps open simultaneously and need to keep switching between them. Use the 'Activity Monitor' utility's 'Memory Pane' to monitor your memory pressure while you use the machine normally. If it is usually green with just the occasional visit to amber you probably won't see much benefit from extra memory. If it's often amber and/or red more than once in a blue moon more memory is going to help.

If you are going to buy extra memory, I'd suggest an extra 4GB taking you to 8GB total. Buy it from OWC or Crucial both of whom sell good quality memory that they guarantee is Mac-compatible.

C.

Edit: Just noticed you have Sierra not El Capitan. My basic advice about memory is still sound but you are slightly more likely to benefit from extra memory than I imply above.

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