Macbook Air runs unbearably slow after update to OS 10.12.6

Question

My Macbook Air 11&#x27; runs unbearably slow after update to OS 10.12.6. Fans run high, even at regular CPU load. Most applications are very slow. There is a lag when typing in Safari, Slack, Evernote, Spotlight. Wifi speed seems slow. Even loading TextEdit and Activity Monitor takes much longer. Spotlight is indexed alright. I tried Disk Utility First Aid. All is well. I tried resetting PRAM. Minor improvement. I tried resetting SMC. I tried starting in Safe Mode.  Last backup is one month old. What would you do now? Downgrade and lose data? Upgrade to High Sierra Beta? Is there any way to fix this?--EtreCheck version: 3.4.2 (436)Report generated 2017-08-06 15:12:02Download EtreCheck from https://etrecheck.comRuntime: 143:53Performance: PoorClick the [Lookup] links for more information from Apple Support Communities.Click the [Details] links for more information about that line.Problem: Computer is too slowDescription:Macbook Air 11’ (mid 2013) after OS update to 10.12.6Fans always on, with regular CPU load. Applications very slow. I tried Disk Utility First Aid, resetting PRAM, resetting SMC, starting in Safe Mode.Hardware Information:ⓘ    MacBook Air (11-inch, Mid 2013)     [Technical Specifications] - [User Guide] - [Warranty &amp; Service]    MacBook Air - model: MacBookAir6,1    1 1.3 GHz Intel Core i5 (i5-4250U) CPU: 2-core    4 GB RAM Not upgradeable        BANK 0/DIMM0            2 GB DDR3 1600 MHz ok        BANK 1/DIMM0            2 GB DDR3 1600 MHz ok    Bluetooth: Good - Handoff/Airdrop2 supported    Wireless:  en0: 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac    Battery: Health &#x3D; Normal - Cycle count &#x3D; 690    iCloud Quota: 119.27 GB availableVideo Information:ⓘ    Intel HD Graphics 5000 - VRAM: 1536 MB        Color LCD 1366 x 768Disk Information:ⓘ    APPLE SSD TS0256F disk0: (251 GB) (Solid State - TRIM: Yes)    [Show SMART report]        EFI (disk0s1 - MS-DOS FAT32) &lt;not mounted&gt;  [EFI]: 210 MB         (disk0s2) &lt;not mounted&gt;  [CoreStorage Container]: 250.14 GB        Recovery HD (disk0s3 - Journaled HFS+) &lt;not mounted&gt;  [Recovery]: 650 MB USB Information:ⓘ     USB30Bus         Apple Inc. BRCM20702 Hub             Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller Thunderbolt Information:ⓘ    Apple Inc. thunderbolt_busVirtual disks:ⓘ    Macintosh HD (disk1 - Journaled HFS+) /  [Startup]: 249.78 GB (48.28 GB free)        Encrypted AES-XTS Unlocked        Physical disk: disk0s2 250.14 GB OnlineSystem Software:ⓘ    macOS Sierra  10.12.6 (16G29) - Time since boot: about 2 hoursGatekeeper:ⓘ    Mac App Store and identified developersKernel Extensions:ⓘ        /Library/Extensions    [not loaded]    com.FTDI.driver.D2XXHelper (1.0 - SDK 10.12) [Lookup]    [loaded]    com.avatron.AVExFramebuffer (3.0.1 - SDK 10.11) [Lookup]    [loaded]    com.avatron.AVExVideo (3.0.1 - SDK 10.11) [Lookup]    [not loaded]    com.wacom.kext.wacomtablet (Wacom Tablet 6.3.21-8 - SDK 10.12) [Lookup]        /System/Library/Extensions    [not loaded]    com.globaldelight.driver.BoomDevice (1.2 - SDK 10.9) [Lookup]System Launch Agents:ⓘ    [not loaded]    6 Apple tasks    [loaded]    175 Apple tasks    [running]    101 Apple tasksSystem Launch Daemons:ⓘ    [not loaded]    38 Apple tasks    [loaded]    172 Apple tasks    [running]    107 Apple tasksLaunch Agents:ⓘ    [loaded]    com.google.keystone.agent.plist (Google, Inc. - installed 2017-07-10) [Lookup]    [loaded]    com.oracle.java.Java-Updater.plist (? ce3e061d be93c7fb - installed 2017-02-17) [Lookup]    [running]    com.wacom.wacomtablet.plist (Wacom Technology Corp. - installed 2017-04-22) [Lookup]    [loaded]    org.macosforge.xquartz.startx.plist (Apple Inc. - XQuartz - installed 2014-08-12) [Lookup]Launch Daemons:ⓘ    [loaded]    com.adobe.fpsaud.plist (? 2afb3af7 18a4fa69 - installed 2017-06-23) [Lookup]    [loaded]    com.apple.installer.osmessagetracing.plist (Apple, Inc. - installed 2017-07-15)    [loaded]    com.cyberghostsrl.CyberghostPrivilegedHelper.plist (Cyberghost SRL - installed 2016-07-02) [Lookup]    [loaded]    com.google.keystone.daemon.plist (Google, Inc. - installed 2017-07-26) [Lookup]    [loaded]    com.littleknownsoftware.MPC.CopyMoveHelper.plist (Little Known Software, Inc. - installed 2016-07-23) [Lookup]    [loaded]    com.microsoft.autoupdate.helpertool.plist (Microsoft Corporation - installed 2016-09-10) [Lookup]    [loaded]    com.microsoft.office.licensing.helper.plist (? 6d8cb30e afb3bef0 - installed 2010-08-25) [Lookup]    [loaded]    com.microsoft.office.licensingV2.helper.plist (Microsoft Corporation - installed 2016-09-10) [Lookup]    [loaded]    com.oracle.JavaInstallHelper.plist (Oracle America, Inc. - installed 2017-07-06) [Lookup]    [loaded]    com.oracle.java.Helper-Tool.plist (Shell Script e3fefdd2 - installed 2016-12-13) [Lookup]    [loaded]    com.timesoftware.timemachineeditor.helper.plist (Thomas CLEMENT - installed 2014-03-17) [Lookup]    [running]    com.wacom.TabletHelper.plist (Wacom Technology Corp. - installed 2017-04-22) [Lookup]    [loaded]    com.wacom.displayhelper.plist (Apple, Inc. - installed 2017-07-15)    [loaded]    org.macosforge.xquartz.privileged_startx.plist (Apple Inc. - XQuartz - installed 2014-08-12) [Lookup]User Launch Agents:ⓘ    [loaded]    com.dropbox.DropboxMacUpdate.agent.plist (Dropbox, Inc. - installed 2017-08-04) [Lookup]    [loaded]    com.littleknownsoftware.MailPluginTool-Startup.plist (Little Known Software, Inc. - installed 2016-07-23) [Lookup]    [loaded]    com.littleknownsoftware.MailPluginTool-Watcher.plist (Little Known Software, Inc. - installed 2017-08-06) [Lookup]    [loaded]    com.skype.skype.shareagent.plist (Skype Communications S.a.r.l - installed 2017-07-25) [Lookup]    [running]    com.spotify.webhelper.plist (Spotify - installed 2017-02-23) [Lookup]    [loaded]    com.synology.CloudStation.plist (? e6ac0852 0 - installed 2017-08-05) [Lookup]User Login Items:ⓘ    Dropbox    Application         (/Applications/Dropbox.app)    MailButler    Application         (/Applications/MailButler.app)Internet Plug-ins:ⓘ    WacomTabletPlugin: WacomTabletPlugin 2.1.0.6 (installed 2017-04-05) [Lookup]    FlashPlayer-10.6: 26.0.0.137 (installed 2017-07-12) [Lookup]    QuickTime Plugin: 7.7.3 (installed 2017-07-30)    Flash Player: 26.0.0.137 (installed 2017-07-12) [Lookup]    o1dbrowserplugin: 5.41.3.0 (installed 2016-10-13) [Lookup]    SharePointBrowserPlugin: 14.0.0 (installed 2010-08-25) [Lookup]    googletalkbrowserplugin: 5.41.3.0 (installed 2015-12-11) [Lookup]    DirectorShockwave: 12.2.5r195 (installed 2016-09-01) [Lookup]    JavaAppletPlugin: Java 8 Update 121 build 13 (installed 2017-02-17) Check versionSafari Extensions:ⓘ    [enabled]    MeasureIt - Kevin Freitas - http://frayd.us/extensions/measureit/ (installed 2015-11-20)    [enabled]    Evernote Web Clipper - Evernote Corp. - http://evernote.com (installed 2017-06-11)    [enabled]    Zotero Connector - Center for History and New Media - http://www.zotero.org/ (installed 2016-09-09)    [enabled]    Bear - Shiny Frog - http://www.bear-writer.com (installed 2017-07-29)    [enabled]    Buffer - Buffer - http://buffer.com (installed 2017-08-05)3rd Party Preference Panes:ⓘ    Flash Player (installed 2017-06-23) [Lookup]    Java (installed 2017-02-17) [Lookup]    PrintOptionPane (installed 2014-06-10) [Lookup]    WacomTablet (installed 2017-04-05) [Lookup]Time Machine:ⓘ    Skip System Files: NO    Mobile backups: OFF    Auto backup: YES    Volumes being backed up:        Macintosh HD: Disk size: 249.78 GB Disk used: 201.50 GB    Destinations:        timemachineMacPro [Network]         Total size: 1.96 TB         Total number of backups: 30         Oldest backup: 03.03.17, 08:48         Last backup: 09.07.17, 06:26         Size of backup disk: Excellent            Backup size 1.96 TB &gt; (Disk size 249.78 GB X 3)Top Processes by CPU:ⓘ        13%   Evernote        11%   Dropbox         9%   LocationMenu         5%   Activity Monitor         4%   kernel_taskTop Processes by Memory:ⓘ    665 MB    kernel_task    273 MB    Evernote    196 MB    Safari    113 MB    com.apple.WebKit.WebContent    110 MB    com.apple.WebKit.WebContentTop Processes by Network Use:ⓘ    Input     Output    Process name    228 KB    368 KB    Dropbox    337 KB    104 KB    mDNSResponder    41 KB     110 KB    apsd    37 KB     20 KB     netbiosd    3 KB      3 KB      ntpdTop Processes by Energy Use:ⓘ     11.74 airportd      6.42 coreduetd      5.58 nsurlsessiond      4.54 DuetHeuristic-BM      3.64 Activity MonitorVirtual Memory Information:ⓘ    852 MB    Available RAM    22 MB     Free RAM    3.17 GB   Used RAM    831 MB    Cached files    512 KB    Swap UsedSoftware installs:ⓘ    Adobe Flash Player:  (installed 2017-07-12)    Dr. Cleaner: 3.2.1 (installed 2017-07-23)    Bear: 1.2.2 (installed 2017-07-29)    Clocker: 1.5.1 (installed 2017-07-30)    Star VPN: 1.8 (installed 2017-07-30)    Install information may not be complete.Diagnostics Information:ⓘ    2017-08-05 14:02:37    SynoSIMBL Agent.app Crash [Open]        Cause:        dyld: launch, running initializers        /usr/lib/libSystem.B.dylib    2017-08-04 15:51:14    Spotlight.app Crash [Open]        Cause:        objc_msgSend() selector name: isEqualToString:        Performing @selector(doSearch:) from sender SPSearchField 0x7fcccd700d60    2017-08-03 21:37:56    Mail.app Hang [Open]Files deleted by EtreCheck:ⓘ    2017-08-06 02:05:19 - /Library/LaunchDaemons/net.juniper.UninstallPulse.plist - Unknown

whaley001 · Answer

Thank you for being helpful.I get it, the Dr. Cleaner was a bad idea. Could have been responsible. I removed it a few days back. According to the developer moving it to trash should be fine. To be sure I checked my Library entries (preferences, Application Support). Unfortunately I don&#x27;t have the possibility to test on an external hard drive, here yet. Disk Utility First Aid and EtreCheck report hard disk is well. Though it is possible, I don&#x27;t believe that the software update coincided with a hardware problem. I am not the only one to report thisMacbook Air Lagging after upgrade to 10.12.6Macbook Pro mid 2012 running slow after updating to SierraI have updated Sierra OS recently and now MacBook is heating a lot. which was not case before updating OS. Also similar to this:Fans Running High on MacBook Pro MacOS Sierra 10.12 | MacRumors ForumsFans are running high, even though CPU load is low and case is cold.Any suggestions?

macjack · Answer

You&#x27;re running some software I&#x27;m not familiar with, yet I&#x27;ve never seen an EtreCheck runtime that took that long. That&#x27;s what makes me suspicious about your hard drive.You&#x27;ll always find posts about problems when folks update but most have had no issues at all after the update. You need to remember that these forums are like a hospital ER, only sick folks usually come here, not the thousands who have updated successfully and go merrily on their way. Usually problems after an update are because there were underlying issues before the update and the update exacerbated them.Maybe someone will come along who has a better idea of what the problem may be. The only thing I can think of would be starting in Safe Mode and see if the issues persist:Use safe mode to isolate issues with your Mac - Apple SupportRestart holding the "shift" key.(Expect it to take longer to start this way because it runs a directory check first.)

macjack · Answer

Uninstall Dr Cleaner, as per developers instructions. So-called "cleaning" apps are neither necessary or recommended on Mac OS. They can bork your system.Judging by the amount of time it took to generate your EtreCheck report, I&#x27;d suspect a failing hard drive.(Even though DU reports it&#x27;s OK) Backup now, if you haven&#x27;t already. After that run another EtreCheck report.If that doesn&#x27;t help, install an OS on an external hard drive and test. If it works well on the external, then odds are it is your hard drive.