Looks like no one’s replied in a while. To start the conversation again, simply ask a new question.

iMac frustratingly slow, please advise

It seems my mac is getting slower and slower, driving me to despair.

Hardly getting any work done, waiting for the machine to react ...

Tried to find solution in reading communities posts, not sure what to do next.

Here's my EtreCheck report:


EtreCheck version: 3.4.6 (460)

Report generated 2017-11-13 11:47:51

Download EtreCheck from https://etrecheck.com

Runtime: 10:36

Performance: Poor


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


Hardware Information:

iMac (21.5-inch, Late 2013)

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

iMac - model: iMac14,3

1 2,9 GHz Intel Core i5 (i5-4570S) CPU: 4-core

8 GB RAM Upgradeable - [Instructions]

BANK 0/DIMM0

4 GB DDR3 1600 MHz ok

BANK 1/DIMM0

4 GB DDR3 1600 MHz ok

Handoff/Airdrop2: supported

Wireless: en1: Unknown

iCloud Quota: 4.88 GB available


Video Information:

NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M - VRAM: 1 GB

iMac 1920 x 1080


Disk Information:

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

[Show SMART report]

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

iMac HD (disk0s2 - Journaled HFS+) / [Startup]: 999.35 GB (353.29 GB free)

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


USB Information:

USB30Bus

Apple Inc. BRCM20702 Hub

Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller

Apple Inc. FaceTime HD Camera (Built-in)

Apple Inc. MacBook Air SuperDrive


Firewire Information:

LaCie Rugged USB3-FW 800mbit - 800mbit max

EFI (disk2s1 - MS-DOS FAT32) <not mounted> [EFI]: 210 MB

LaCie FW USB3 iMacBU (disk2s2 - Journaled HFS+) /Volumes/LaCie FW USB3 iMacBU : 999.86 GB (88.77 GB free)


Thunderbolt Information:

Apple Inc. thunderbolt_bus

LaCie Rugged THB USB3

Apple Inc. Thunderbolt to FireWire Adapter


ST2000LM003 HN-M201RAD disk1: (2 TB) (Rotational)

[Show SMART report]

EFI (disk1s1 - MS-DOS FAT32) <not mounted> [EFI]: 210 MB

LaCie 2TB FOTO's (disk1s2 - Journaled HFS+) /Volumes/LaCie 2TB FOTO's : 2.00 TB (1.66 TB free)


System Software:

macOS High Sierra 10.13.1 (17B48) - Time since boot: less than an hour


Gatekeeper:

Mac App Store and identified developers


System Launch Agents:

[not loaded] 9 Apple tasks

[loaded] 167 Apple tasks

[running] 112 Apple tasks


System Launch Daemons:

[not loaded] 32 Apple tasks

[loaded] 181 Apple tasks

[running] 118 Apple tasks


Launch Daemons:

[loaded] com.adobe.fpsaud.plist (? 2afb3af7 275a427a - installed 2017-10-20) [Lookup]

[not loaded] com.apple.installer.cleanupinstaller.plist (? 1963bf56 0 - installed 2017-10-06)

[loaded] com.malwarebytes.HelperTool.plist (Malwarebytes Corporation - installed 2017-04-24) [Lookup]


User Launch Agents:

[loaded] com.dropbox.DropboxMacUpdate.agent.plist (Dropbox, Inc. - installed 2017-08-11) [Lookup]

[loaded] com.google.keystone.agent.plist (Google, Inc. - installed 2017-09-28) [Lookup]


User Login Items:

Photo Stream URL SMLoginItem - Hidden (Apple, Inc. - installed 2015-03-23)

(/Applications/iPhoto.app/Contents/Library/LoginItems/PhotoStreamAgent.app)

Photo Stream URL SMLoginItem - Hidden (? 0 - installed 2014-10-22)

(/Applications/Aperture.app/Contents/Library/LoginItems/PhotoStreamAgent.app)

1Password Helper URL SMLoginItem - Hidden (Apple, Inc. - installed 2017-11-04)

(/Applications/1Password.app/Contents/Library/LoginItems/2BUA8C4S2C.com.agilebi ts.onepassword-osx-helper.app)


Internet Plug-ins:

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

QuickTime Plugin: 7.7.3 (installed 2017-10-03)

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

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


Safari Extensions:

[disabled] Adblock Plus - Eyeo GmbH - https://adblockplus.org/ (installed 2016-12-22)

[enabled] 1Password - AgileBits - https://agilebits.com/onepassword (installed 2017-11-08)

[disabled] AdBlock - BetaFish, Inc. - https://getadblock.com (installed 2017-08-08)


3rd Party Preference Panes:

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


Time Machine:

Skip System Files: NO

Mobile backups: OFF

Auto backup: YES

Volumes being backed up:

iMac HD: Disk size: 999.35 GB Disk used: 646.06 GB

Destinations:

Untitled [Local]

Total size: 999.86 GB

Total number of backups: 79

Oldest backup: 15/11/2016, 00:41

Last backup: 12/11/2017, 11:00

Size of backup disk: Too small

Backup size 999.86 GB < (Disk used 646.06 GB X 3)


Data 2TB [Network]

Total size: 2.00 TB

Total number of backups: 186

Oldest backup: 01/01/2014, 19:26

Last backup: 12/11/2017, 12:01

Size of backup disk: Adequate

Backup size 2.00 TB > (Disk used 646.06 GB X 3)


Top Processes by CPU:

36% installd

13% Activity Monitor

10% WindowServer

9% Mail

5% kernel_task


Top Processes by Memory:

756 MB kernel_task

490 MB iTunes

464 MB com.apple.MediaLibraryService

180 MB Mail

169 MB Numbers


Top Processes by Network Use:

Input Output Process name

6 MB 36 MB iTunes

13 MB 89 KB Mail

120 KB 80 KB mDNSResponder

24 KB 42 KB usbmuxd

13 KB 30 KB apsd


Top Processes by Energy Use:

42.92 installd

13.34 WindowServer

8.16 Activity Monitor

8.04 Mail

4.98 iTunes


Virtual Memory Information:

2.19 GB Available RAM

74 MB Free RAM

5.81 GB Used RAM

2.12 GB Cached files

0 B Swap Used


Software installs (last 30 days):

1Password: 6.8.3 (installed 2017-10-15)

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

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

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

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

1Password: 6.8.4 (installed 2017-11-04)


Install information may not be complete.





Thanks for any advice

iMac, macOS High Sierra (10.13.1), iMac 21.5-inch, Late 2013

Posted on Nov 13, 2017 3:27 AM

Reply
Question marked as Best reply

Posted on Nov 13, 2017 9:54 AM

I suspect a failing HD, nothing shows on the EtreCheck report. Make an appointment at your local Apple Authorized Service Provider to have it professionally diagnosed and then you can decide what to do.

2 replies

Nov 13, 2017 9:53 AM in response to TRATRA

First, has the performance dropped since installing High Sierra or was it bad before you upgraded? Your computer has 8GB of RAM and a rotational hard drive and I've found HS doesn't perform all that well with that combination. On the other hand, the EtreCheck you gave us shows you have free RAM so that may not be a factor. It is something to keep in mind though.


I noticed that Installd is hogging a significant amount of CPU (36%) - that might be a transient thing or it might not. You can use Activity Monitor to check your CPU% usage. Under normal circumstances you'd expect that no single process is using more than 5-9% constantly with occasional spikes of activity. That installd might be such a spike. Only by keeping an eye on it with Activity Monitor will you know.


And a failing hard drive is always something to consider when performance is dropping with no other explanation.

iMac frustratingly slow, please advise

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple ID.