How to fix 2015 iMac runs incredibly slow on startup. Lots of beach balls. EtreCheck attached

Question

Level 1

5 points

How to fix 2015 iMac runs incredibly slow on startup. Lots of beach balls. EtreCheck attached

I have a late 2015 iMac that has run incredibly slow since I got it. When starting up, it takes forever to load the desktop (which doesn't have much on it), all folders, applications, etc. Opening any application takes at least 2 minutes. Took it to apple store and they said diagnostics said it was normal. EtreCheck below. Anyone have any ideas?

iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, Late 2015)

3.1 GHz Intel Core i5

8 GB 1867 MHz DDR3

Macintosh HD

Intel Iris Pro Graphics 6200 1536 MB

Model Name: iMac

Model Identifier: iMac16,2

Processor Name: Intel Core i5

Processor Speed: 3.1 GHz

Number of Processors: 1

Total Number of Cores: 4

L2 Cache (per Core): 256 KB

L3 Cache: 4 MB

Memory: 8 GB

Boot ROM Version: IM162.0207.B20

SMC Version (system): 2.32f20

Serial Number (system): C0*******G78

Hardware UUID: 41864F5A-6517-552A-8860-00DB67EC4154

EtreCheck version: 3.4.6 (460)

Report generated 2017-11-12 10:37:40

Download EtreCheck from https://etrecheck.com

Runtime: 6:08

Performance: Below Average

Click the [Lookup] links for more information from Apple Support Communities.

Click the [Details] links for more information about that line.

Problem: Computer is too slow

Description:

The computer is incredibly slow to startup and load applications on the first start. Once it gets going, it seems to speed up, but then will occasionally freeze and beach ball.

Hardware Information: ⓘ

iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, Late 2015)

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

iMac - model: iMac16,2

1 3.1 GHz Intel Core i5 (i5-5675R) CPU: 4-core

8 GB RAM Not upgradeable

BANK 0/DIMM0

4 GB DDR3 1867 MHz ok

BANK 1/DIMM0

4 GB DDR3 1867 MHz ok

Handoff/Airdrop2: supported

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

Video Information: ⓘ

Intel Iris Pro Graphics 6200 - VRAM: 1536 MB

iMac 4096 x 2304

Disk Information: ⓘ

APPLE HDD HTS541010A9E662 disk0: (1 TB) (Rotational)

[Show SMART report]

EFI (disk0s1 - MS-DOS FAT32) <not mounted> [EFI]: 210 MB

(disk0s2) <not mounted> [CoreStorage Container]: 999.35 GB

Recovery HD (disk0s3 - Journaled HFS+) <not mounted> [Recovery]: 650 MB

USB Information: ⓘ

USB30Bus

Broadcom Corp. Bluetooth USB Host Controller

Apple Inc. FaceTime HD Camera (Built-in)

SanDisk Cruzer Glide

Cruzer Glide disk3: (8 GB)

NO NAME (disk3s1 - MS-DOS FAT32) /Volumes/NO NAME : 8.00 GB (7.98 GB free)

Thunderbolt Information: ⓘ

Apple Inc. thunderbolt_bus

Virtual disks: ⓘ

Macintosh HD (disk1 - Journaled HFS+) / [Startup]: 998.99 GB (650.40 GB free)

Physical disk: disk0s2 999.35 GB Online

System Software: ⓘ

macOS Sierra 10.12.6 (16G29) - Time since boot: about 10 hours

Configuration files: ⓘ

/etc/hosts - Count: 4 - Corrupt!

Gatekeeper: ⓘ

Mac App Store and identified developers

Kernel Extensions: ⓘ

/System/Library/Extensions

[not loaded] com.Cycling74.driver.Soundflower (1.5.1) [Lookup]

[loaded] com.logmein.driver.LogMeInSoundDriver (4.1.6663) [Lookup]

[not loaded] com.wacom.kext.pentablet (Pen Tablet 5.3.5-4 - SDK 10.9) [Lookup]

[not loaded] zoom.us.ZoomAudioDevice (1.1 - SDK 10.8) [Lookup]

System Launch Agents: ⓘ

[not loaded] 7 Apple tasks

[loaded] 180 Apple tasks

[running] 95 Apple tasks

System Launch Daemons: ⓘ

[not loaded] 42 Apple tasks

[loaded] 175 Apple tasks

[running] 101 Apple tasks

Launch Agents: ⓘ

[not loaded] com.adobe.AAM.Updater-1.0.plist (Adobe Systems, Inc. - installed 2017-04-11) [Lookup]

[failed] com.adobe.ARMDCHelper.cc24aef4a1b90ed56a725c38014c95072f92651fb65e1bf9c8e43c37a 23d420d.plist (Adobe Systems, Inc. - installed 2017-06-08) [Lookup]

[running] com.adobe.AdobeCreativeCloud.plist (Adobe Systems, Inc. - installed 2017-10-04) [Lookup]

Launch Daemons: ⓘ

[loaded] com.adobe.ARMDC.Communicator.plist (Adobe Systems, Inc. - installed 2017-06-08) [Lookup]

[loaded] com.adobe.ARMDC.SMJobBlessHelper.plist (Adobe Systems, Inc. - installed 2017-06-08) [Lookup]

[loaded] com.adobe.SwitchBoard.plist (? 68cad67 0 - installed 2017-04-11) [Lookup]

[loaded] com.adobe.acc.installer.plist (Adobe Systems, Inc. - installed 2017-10-04) [Lookup]

[running] com.adobe.agsservice.plist (Adobe Systems, Inc. - installed 2017-10-04) [Lookup]

[loaded] com.adobe.fpsaud.plist (? 2afb3af7 564efddb - installed 2017-10-20) [Lookup]

[loaded] com.skype.skypeinstaller.plist (Skype - installed 2017-03-14) [Lookup]

User Login Items: ⓘ

com.adobe.SwitchBoard.monitor.plist MachInit - Hidden

(/etc/mach_init_per_user.d/com.adobe.SwitchBoard.monitor.plist)

Mach Init items are deprecated

Internet Plug-ins: ⓘ

OfficeLiveBrowserPlugin: 12.3.6 (installed 2013-03-18) [Lookup]

AdobePDFViewerNPAPI: 17.009.20044 (installed 2017-04-04) [Lookup]

Flash Player: 27.0.0.183 (installed 2017-10-25) [Lookup]

AdobePDFViewer: 17.009.20044 (installed 2017-04-04) [Lookup]

LogMeInSafari32: 1.0.935 (installed 2013-03-12) [Lookup]

googletalkbrowserplugin: 5.41.3.0 (installed 2015-12-11) [Lookup]

iPhotoPhotocast: 7.0 (installed 2010-09-19)

QuickTime Plugin: 7.7.3 (installed 2017-08-27)

FlashPlayer-10.6: 27.0.0.183 (installed 2017-10-25) [Lookup]

AdobeAAMDetect: 3.0.0.0 (installed 2017-10-04) [Lookup]

Silverlight: 5.1.30514.0 (installed 2015-01-10) [Lookup]

CouponPrinter-FireFox_v2: Version 1.1.6 (installed 2011-09-20) [Lookup]

LogMeIn: 1.0.935 (installed 2013-03-12) [Lookup]

Flip4Mac WMV Plugin: 2.4.2.4 (installed 2012-05-15) [Lookup]

WacomTabletPlugin: WacomTabletPlugin 2.1.0.6 (installed 2014-08-20) [Lookup]

o1dbrowserplugin: 5.41.3.0 (installed 2015-12-16) [Lookup]

WacomSafari: 1.1.1-1 (installed 2016-02-08) [Lookup]

SharePointBrowserPlugin: 14.6.4 (installed 2016-05-11) [Lookup]

JavaAppletPlugin: 15.0.1 (installed 2016-02-08) Check version

WacomNetscape: 1.1.1-1 (installed 2016-02-08) [Lookup]

User internet Plug-ins: ⓘ

CitrixOnlineWebDeploymentPlugin: 1.0.105 (installed 2013-04-25) [Lookup]

ZoomUsPlugIn: 4.1.9338.0929 (installed 2017-10-14) [Lookup]

3rd Party Preference Panes: ⓘ

Adobe Version Cue CS4 (installed 2010-03-09) [Lookup]

Flash Player (installed 2017-10-20) [Lookup]

Flip4Mac WMV (installed 2012-03-20) [Lookup]

Time Machine: ⓘ

Mobile backups: OFF

Auto backup: NO - Auto backup turned off

Volumes being backed up:

Macintosh HD: Disk size: 998.99 GB Disk used: 348.59 GB

Destinations:

My Passport 2015 [Local]

Total size: 999.83 GB

Total number of backups: 5

Oldest backup: 3/16/16, 12:30 AM

Last backup: 3/12/17, 12:52 PM

Size of backup disk: Too small

Backup size 999.83 GB < (Disk used 348.59 GB X 3)

Top Processes by CPU: ⓘ

11% AdobeGCClient

4% kernel_task

4% xpcproxy

1% plugin-container

1% firefox

Top Processes by Memory: ⓘ

1.04 GB firefox

774 MB plugin-container

754 MB kernel_task

144 MB Dock

114 MB Adobe CEF Helper

Top Processes by Network Use: ⓘ

Input Output Process name

13 MB 782 KB firefox

65 KB 41 KB mDNSResponder

9 KB 7 KB apsd

9 KB 2 KB netbiosd

6 KB 2 KB com.apple.geod

Top Processes by Energy Use: ⓘ

17.38 firefox

15.34 plugin-container

9.02 WindowServer

3.76 AddressBookSourceSync

Virtual Memory Information: ⓘ

2.05 GB Available RAM

16 MB Free RAM

5.95 GB Used RAM

2.03 GB Cached files

4 MB Swap Used

Software installs (last 30 days): ⓘ

Adobe Flash Player: (installed 2017-10-16)

Adobe Flash Player: (installed 2017-10-25)

Install information may not be complete.

Diagnostics Events (last 3 days for minor events): ⓘ

2017-11-11 23:38:14 Adobe Photoshop CS6.app Hang [Open]

2017-11-11 23:33:52 Last shutdown cause: 3 - Hard shutdown

iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, Late 2015), macOS Sierra (10.12.6)

Posted on Nov 12, 2017 4:09 PM

Reply

Answer 1

Best reply

SeaPapp

Level 7

26,486 points

Nov 12, 2017 4:32 PM in response to laurenr22

Well.....there doesn't seem to be anything wrong with your iMac. The problem is that you bought an entry level machine with the minimum amount of ram and a dog slow 5400 rpm hard drive. You might look into running off of an external thunderbolt drive housing an ssd, it would be considerably faster than the internal drive.

Your hosts file is corrupt, not sure how that happens but you might try running Disk Utility from the recovery partition to see if that fixes it. You might also take a look at this Fixing a hacked /etc/hosts file

Limit the amount of apps you have open at once as more than one or two would tax the limited resources.

Reply

Answer 2

PN2

Level 4

1,052 points

Nov 12, 2017 6:43 PM in response to laurenr22

Two minutes to open an application, rather obviously isn't right.

Have you tested in a new admin User Account after logging out of your usual one ?.

If so, and it's just as bad : does Console app - show anything during the long period it takes say, Safari or TextEdit to open ?. You might also look at system.log in the left pane of Console : it'll be chock-full of irrelevant messages, but concentrate on the exact times you saw the problem, and there might be something.

Otherwise, I'd back up, preferably to 2 independent external drives, then erase & reinstall macOS from Recovery, testing before migrating or copying any software or data from your backups.

Reply

Answer 3

laurenr22 Author

Level 1

5 points

Nov 12, 2017 7:03 PM in response to PN2

Thanks. It most definitely isn't normal because I have the exact same computer at work and it runs fine. I've tried a new user account and it does the same thing.

I will check the Console tomorrow and see if I find anything. I do remember the apple store told me the problem was spotlight indexing so I turned that off but it did not fix the problem either.

Reply