How best to diagnose hardware issues?

Question

my older MacBook Pro 5,5 running 10.6.8 (latest I believe I can upgrade to) was having odd issues.  beach balling, frozen apps.  failure of volume control, freeze during log in after start up.I first tried Disk Utility to fix permissions and check the drive.  some permissions were messed up and fixed.  No problems were indicated with the drive.  Problems continued.So I tried erasing the disk and using a clone made a couple of months back to reload it.  Problems continued.  I noted the start up sound was not happening so I zapped the PRAM and go the start up sound back but the beach balling, frozen apps continued.Problem also occurs after Safe Boot.  But I did manage to run EtreCheck once and it advised no hardware issues but suggested deleting a .PBSyncDB file.  Which I did.  Problems continued.I reset the SMC (?) per instructions.  I could not tell if it actually happened but problems continued.I ran the hardware check software from the original disks, did not find anything.  Problem continues.Could this be a hardware problem on the mother board and what would be the best way to detect that?  Some say Genius Bar is not that great.  Any good software recommendations?Trying Etrecheck from the admin account but it seems hung at the hardware check.  Ben at the same point for 20 minutes.ThanksHugh

OGELTHORPE · Answer

First your Mac can run El Capitan OSX.Run you Apple Hardware Test in a loop:http://www.thexlab.com/faqs/aht.htmlNote that an error free AHT is not conclusive.Download and post an Etrecheck report.  Others may see things that you may have missed:http://www.etresoft.com/etrecheckGenius bars are usually an excellent place to identify hardware problems.  Apple technicians have better forensic tools at their disposal than you or I have.Ciao.

Hugh Piercy · Answer

Thanks for the reply.  I&#x27;ll follow it over the next couple of days.  Here&#x27;s the Etrecheck report run from the admin account.  I had thought it was hanging up but it turned out it took longer to do the hardware check portion than when I ran it from the user account.  Under the heading of Unknown Files:  I removed the .PBSync PB file and tonight there seems to be an improvement.  No hang or beach ball in the last hour.  I am not convinced this solved the problem.HughEtreCheck version: 3.1.5 (343)Report generated 2017-02-23 06:49:26Download EtreCheck from https://etrecheck.comRuntime 58:42Performance: PoorClick the [Support] links for help with non-Apple products.Click the [Details] links for more information about that line.Problem: BeachballingDescription:and app hangup  seems related to finder Hardware Information: ⓘ    MacBook Pro (13-inch, Mid 2009)     [Technical Specifications] - [User Guide] - [Warranty &amp; Service]    MacBook Pro - model: MacBookPro5,5    1 2.53 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo (Duo) CPU: 2-core    8 GB RAM         BANK 0/DIMM0            4 GB DDR3 1067 MHz ok        BANK 1/DIMM0            4 GB DDR3 1067 MHz ok    Bluetooth: Old - Handoff/Airdrop2 not supported    Wireless:  en1: 802.11 a/b/g/n    Battery: Health &#x3D; Normal - Cycle count &#x3D; 550Video Information: ⓘ    NVIDIA GeForce 9400M - VRAM: 256 MB        Color LCD 1280 x 800        spdisplays_display_connector System Software: ⓘ    OS X Snow Leopard 10.6.8 (10K549) - Time since boot: less than an hourDisk Information: ⓘ    Hitachi HTS545050B9A300 disk0 : (465.76 GB) (Rotational)    [Show SMART report]        - (disk0s1) &lt;not mounted&gt; : 210 MB         500 GB (disk0s2) /  [Startup]: 499.76 GB (424.93 GB free)    HL-DT-ST DVDRW  GS23N   ()USB Information: ⓘ    Apple Inc. Built-in iSight     Apple Inc. Apple Internal Keyboard / Trackpad     Apple Computer, Inc. IR Receiver     Apple Internal Memory Card Reader     Apple Inc. BRCM2046 Hub         Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller Unknown Files: ⓘ    ~/Library/LaunchAgents/.PBSyncDB            One unknown file found. [Check files]Kernel Extensions: ⓘ        /System/Library/Extensions    [not loaded]    at.obdev.nke.LittleSnitch (3.3.4 - SDK 10.8 - 2017-02-23) [Support]    [loaded]    com.rim.driver.BlackBerryUSBDriverInt (0.0.97 - 2017-02-23) [Support]    [not loaded]    com.rim.driver.BlackBerryUSBDriverVSP (0.0.97 - 2017-02-23) [Support]System Launch Agents: ⓘ    [not loaded]    4 Apple tasks    [loaded]    64 Apple tasks    [running]    6 Apple tasksSystem Launch Daemons: ⓘ    [not loaded]    53 Apple tasks    [loaded]    90 Apple tasks    [running]    24 Apple tasksLaunch Agents: ⓘ    [not loaded]    at.obdev.LittleSnitchNetworkMonitor.plist (2014-07-23) [Support]    [not loaded]    at.obdev.LittleSnitchUIAgent.plist (2015-12-06) [Support]    [not loaded]    com.rim.BBAlbumArtCacher.plist (2013-06-25) [Support] - /Library/Application Support/BlackBerry/RimAlbumArtDaemon: Executable not found!    [not loaded]    com.rim.BBLaunchAgent.plist (2013-06-25) [Support] - /Library/Application Support/BlackBerry/BBLaunchAgent.app: Executable not found!Launch Daemons: ⓘ    [not loaded]    at.obdev.littlesnitchd.plist (2015-12-06) [Support]    [not loaded]    com.adobe.fpsaud.plist (2016-08-29) [Support]    [not loaded]    com.bombich.ccc.plist (2016-01-17) [Support]    [not loaded]    com.microsoft.office.licensing.helper.plist (2014-02-26) [Support]    [not loaded]    com.rim.BBDaemon.plist (2013-06-25) [Support] - /Library/Application Support/BlackBerry/BBDaemon: Executable not found!    [not loaded]    com.skype.skypeinstaller.plist (2016-03-26) [Support]    [not loaded]    jp.co.canon.MasterInstaller.plist (2015-08-08) [Support]User Launch Agents: ⓘ    [not loaded]    .PBSyncDB (hidden) (2010-08-08) [Support]            [not loaded]    com.adobe.ARM.[...].plist (2010-01-22) [Support] - /Applications/Adobe Reader 9/Adobe Reader.app/Contents/MacOS/Updater/Adobe Reader Updater Helper.app/Contents/MacOS/Adobe Reader Updater Helper: Executable not found!User Login Items: ⓘ    Canon IJ Network Scanner Selector EX    Application Hidden         (/Applications/Canon Utilities/IJ Network Scanner Selector EX/Canon IJ Network Scanner Selector EX.app)Internet Plug-ins: ⓘ    JavaAppletPlugin: 13.9.8 - SDK 10.6 (2017-02-19) Check version    FlashPlayer-10.6: 23.0.0.162 - SDK 10.9 (2016-09-29) [Support]    QuickTime Plugin: 7.6.6 (2017-02-19)    Flash Player: 23.0.0.162 - SDK 10.9 (2016-09-29) Outdated! Update    SharePointBrowserPlugin: 14.4.0 - SDK 10.6 (2014-07-26) [Support]    GarminGpsControl: 2.6.3.0 Release (2015-06-15) [Support]    iPhotoPhotocast: 7.0 (2017-02-19)Audio Plug-ins: ⓘ    iSightAudio: 7.6.6 (2017-02-19)3rd Party Preference Panes: ⓘ    Flash Player (2016-08-29) [Support]Time Machine: ⓘ    Time Machine information requires OS X 10.8 "Mountain Lion" or later.Top Processes by CPU: ⓘ         7%       dynamic_pager         4%       fontd         0%       WindowServer         0%       SystemUIServer         0%       usbmuxdTop Processes by Memory: ⓘ    8 MB          coreservicesd    8 MB          Dock    8 MB          fontd    8 MB          SystemUIServer    8 MB          DirectoryServiceVirtual Memory Information: ⓘ    19 MB         Available RAM    19 MB         Free RAM    7.98 GB       Used RAM    0 B           Cached files    2.24 GB       Swap UsedDiagnostics Information: ⓘ    Feb 23, 2017, 05:35:10 AM    Self test - passed

OGELTHORPE · Answer

The length of time that it took to download the Etrecheck report suggests problems with the HDD.  It may be failing and should be replaced.  Use the Snow Leopard installation disk and boot the MBP as if you were installing the OSX.After language selection, there should be a menu bar on top of the display.Select UTILITIES.From the drop down menu, select DISK UTILITY.Run DISK UTILITY&gt;FIRST AID&gt;REPAIR.If you no longer have a Blackberry, get rid of the RIM files.I would also delete Little Snitch.Ciao.

Hugh Piercy · Answer

Good day again!I took your suggestion to run AHT in loop.  I only let it go a couple of hours.  My issue comes up almost immediately so I don&#x27;t see the need to run it in loop all night.  Anyway, AHT did not indicate any problem. I take that to mean the mother board, memory, etc (excepting the hard drive) are good.  Or maybe one should say: 90% chance that they are good.The hard drive still could be the problem.  Disk utilities dose not indicate any problem but I have read a review from MacWorld that said it might miss file corruption problems that Disk Warrior would find.My options seem to be:  1. buy Disk Warrior for $120 and see if it is a file corruption issue ( I can&#x27;t see that as  the problem comes up even when booted from an external hard drive clone made a couple of months before the problem showed up.)2 Gamble that it is a hard drive issue and spend $60 on a hard drive and then spend some time to crack it open and install it.I am troubled that the problem comes up when booted from the external hard drive.  That&#x27;s why I thought it might be mother board related.  Is it possible the problem could be with the internal hard drive even when booted from the clone and I do not access the internal hard drive on purpose?Also, there is the symptom that it loses the start up tone and I have to reset the PRAM to get it back.  Is there a back up battery to maintain certain settings as in the older macs?Best regards,Hugh