MacBook Pro mid 2012 running slow and hot.

Question

Level 1

10 points

MacBook Pro mid 2012 running slow and hot.

My standard issue MB Pro has has original empt when I bought it new later in 2012. 4 gig memory, 500 gig drive 2core i5 processor. I am running on high sierra (10.13.4) since early this year. I noticed a similar issue raised in the Apple community in early 2016, with a mid 2012 MacBook Pro, but didn't see a clear resolution.

I did download and run etrecheck. It said the major issue was... 'Poor performance. EtreCheck report took over 10 minutes to run. Very unusual' I'm using less than a 100 gig of space including the system. The slowness and heating problem has been getting progressively worse over the last year or so. It occurs with streaming video through to the Apple TV, but also just with Safari browsing or using excel. I rarely have multiple apps or windows open.

MacBook Pro, macOS High Sierra (10.13.4)

Posted on Mar 31, 2018 12:36 PM

Reply

Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Kappy

Level 10

361,919 points

Apr 11, 2018 9:15 AM in response to Kenster82

Use Activity Monitor to Kill Runaway Processes

Use Activity Monitor on your Mac

Runaway applications can shorten battery runtime, affect performance, and increase heat and fan activity.

A Troubleshooting Procedure that may Fix Problems with macOS El Capitan or Later

You should try each, one at a time, then test to see if the problem is fixed before going on to the next.

Be sure to backup your files before proceeding if possible.

Shutdown the computer, wait 30 seconds, restart the computer.
Disconnect all third-party peripherals.
Resetting your Mac’s PRAM and NVRAM
Reset the System Management Controller (SMC)
Reset your Startup Disk and Sound preferences.
Start the computer in Safe Mode. Test in safe mode to see if the problem persists, then restart normally.
Use Apple Hardware Test to see if there is any hardware malfunction.
Repair the disk by booting from the Recovery HD. Immediately after the chime hold down the Command and R keys until the Utility Menu appears. Choose Disk Utility and click on the Continue button. Select the indented (usually, Macintosh HD) volume entry from the side list. Click on the First Aid button in the toolbar. Wait for the Done button to appear. Quit Disk Utility and return to the Utility Menu. Restart the computer from the Apple Menu.
Repair permissions on the Home folder: Resolve issues caused by changing the permissions of items in your home folder.
Create a New User Account Open Users & Groups preferences. Click on the lock icon and enter your Admin password when prompted. On the left under Current User click on the Add [+] button under Login Options. Setup a new Admin user account. Upon completion log out of your current account then log into the new account. If your problems cease, then consider switching to the new account and transferring your files to it - Transferring files from one User Account to another.
Download and install the OS X El Capitan 10.11.6 Combo Update or 10.12.6 Combo Update or Download macOS High Sierra 10.13.4 Combo Update as needed.
Reinstall OS X by booting from the Recovery HD using the Command and R keys. When the Utility Menu appears select Reinstall OS X then click on the Continue button.
Erase and Install OS X Restart the computer. Immediately after the chime hold down the Command and R keys until the Apple logo appears. When the Utility Menu appears:

Select Disk Utility from the Utility Menu and click on Continue button.

When Disk Utility loads select the drive (out-dented entry) from the Device list.

Click on the Erase icon in Disk Utility's toolbar. A panel will drop down.

Set the Format type to APFS (for SSDs only) or Mac OS Extended (Journaled.)

Click on the Apply button, then wait for the Done button to activate and click on it.

Quit Disk Utility and return to the Utility Menu.

Select Reinstall OS X and click on the Continue button.

If none of the above helps then make an appointment at the Apple Genius Bar for service. If you need to find an Apple Store - Find a Store - Apple.

Reply

Answer 2

Kenster82 Author

Level 1

10 points

Apr 5, 2018 4:46 AM in response to Kenster82

In the mean-time I've checked pricing on the SSD, memory and the HD cable. I'm thinking just replace the hard drive and cable and upgrade memory later if necessary.

Also the 2 old internet plug-ins, Silverlight and I photo photocast, as well as sharepoint browser. Don't know what these are for. I'm thinking delete. I also periodically get prompts to upgrade 3rd party flash player. Any sense whether this is needed?

Reply

Answer 3

Allan Jones

Level 9

73,856 points

Apr 11, 2018 9:15 AM in response to Kenster82

I did download and run etrecheck. It said the major issue was... 'Poor performance. EtreCheck report took over 10 minutes to run.

Etrecheck's developer intended for users to post the report in these forums. Please do that so we can look for known "bad actors" in software that can slow a Mac. Those of us who have read 100s of these may spot an issue you could miss.

Also a long Etrecheck runtime like that can herald a hard drive failure. However, we need to see the report and eliminate software issues before jumping to that conclusion. That model also has shown a unique hardware issue: wear of the hard drive cable through the vibration of normal handling and transport. Symptoms of a worn hard drive cable mimic a failing hard drive, making all that more important for us to use your Etrecheck results to eliminate software issues first.

I have that model that shipped with the same specs are yours and it has never been slow. I upgraded RAM long ago to 8GB and, last November, exchanged the rotational hard drive for a solid state drive (SSD). Now it feels like a new computer.

In that model, installing RAM, changing out the drive, and replacing the hard drive cable are easy, at-home jobs. That was the last MBP that allowed the owner such access.

Reply

Answer 4

Kenster82 Author

Level 1

10 points

Apr 4, 2018 3:08 PM in response to Allan Jones

Also responding to Kappy's suggestions (this was after I did the initial EtreCheck which had a runtime of 20:14):

A. I used the activity monitor. No problems with runaway apps.

B. Reset the NVRAM and the SMC.

C. Ran the Apple Hardware test (extended mode) with no problems noted.

D. I then moved a bunch of files and folders off my desktop to the hard drive and deleted an old user login app, Canon IJ Scanner. We have a new Epson printer.

I then reran the EtreCheck, posted below (that was easy). Note the runtime down to 11:30, big improvement, but still slow.

Let me know what you think and thanks a lot. As my machine is almost 6 years old, I'm wondering how much- if necessary- a SSD drive (200 gig should be plenty for my needs) and 2x4 gig memory would cost). Also I'm a mac user for over 30 years, but don't know if I can make the changes at home.

EtreCheck version: 4.1.4 (4A203)

Report generated: 2018-04-02 08:40:23

Download EtreCheck from https://etrecheck.com

Runtime: 11:30

Performance: Poor

Problem: Computer is too slow

Description:

Runs slow and often hot.

Major Issues:

Anything that appears on this list needs immediate attention.

Poor performance- EtreCheck report took over 10 minutes to run. This is very unusual.

Minor Issues:

These issues do not need immediate attention but they may indicate future problems.

Upgradeable hard drive- This machine’s hard drive could be replaced with an SSD. This would dramatically improve your machine’s performance.

Unsigned files- There is unsigned software installed. They appear to be legitimate but should be reviewed.

Hardware Information:

MacBook Pro (13-inch, Mid 2012)

MacBook Pro Model: MacBookPro9,2

1 2.5 GHz Intel Core i5 (i5-3210M) CPU: 2-core

4 GB RAMUpgradeable

BANK 0/DIMM0

2 GB DDR3 1600 ok

BANK 1/DIMM0

2 GB DDR3 1600 ok

Battery: Health = Normal - Cycle count = 152

Video Information:

Intel HD Graphics 4000 - VRAM: 1536 MB

Color LCD 1280 x 800

Drives:

disk0 - APPLE HDD HTS547550A9E384 500.11 GB (Mechanical)

Internal SATA 3 Gigabit Serial ATA

disk0s1 - EFI (MS-DOS FAT32) [EFI] 210 MB

disk0s2 [Core Storage Container] 499.25 GB

disk1 - (Journaled HFS+) 498.88 GB

disk0s3 - Recovery HD [Recovery] 650 MB

Mounted Volumes:

disk1 - 498.88 GB (409.20 GB free)

Journaled HFS+

Mount point: /

Network:

Interface en0: Ethernet

Interface en4: iPhone

Interface fw0: FireWire

Interface en1: AirPort

802.11 a/b/g/n

One IPv4 address

2 IPv6 addresses

Interface en3: Bluetooth PAN

Interface bridge0: Thunderbolt Bridge

iCloud Quota: 2.95 GB available

System Software:

macOS High Sierra 10.13.4 (17E199)

Time since boot: About 14 hours

System Load: 1.69 (1 min ago) 8.54 (5 min ago) 9.63 (15 min ago)

Security:

System	Status
Gatekeeper	Mac App Store and identified developers
System Integrity Protection	Enabled

Unsigned Files:

Launchd: /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.microsoft.office.licensing.helper.plist

Executable: /Library/PrivilegedHelperTools/com.microsoft.office.licensing.helper

Details: Exact match found in the whitelist - probably OK

Kernel Extensions:

/System/Library/Extensions

[Not Loaded] LaCieScsiType00.kext (1.7.0 - SDK 10.5)

[Not Loaded] CiscoVPN.kext (2.0.1)

System Launch Agents:

[Not Loaded]	8 Apple tasks
[Loaded]	164 Apple tasks
[Running]	120 Apple tasks
[Other]	One Apple task

System Launch Daemons:

[Not Loaded]	38 Apple tasks
[Loaded]	183 Apple tasks
[Running]	115 Apple tasks

Launch Agents:

[Loaded]	com.microsoft.update.agent.plist (Microsoft Corporation - installed 2018-03-22)
[Loaded]	com.epson.pma.launcher.plist (Seiko Epson Corporation - installed 2017-10-19)
[Loaded]	com.lacie.LaCieDesktopManagerAgent.plist (? fa9aef6c - installed 2018-04-01)
[Running]	com.epson.scannermonitor.plist (Seiko Epson Corporation - installed 2017-06-06)
[Loaded]	com.epson.esua.launcher.plist (Seiko Epson Corporation - installed 2017-11-07)
[Running]	com.epson.eventmanager.agent.plist (Seiko Epson Corporation - installed 2017-09-27)
[Running]	com.epson.Epson_Low_Ink_Reminder.launcher.plist (Seiko Epson Corporation - installed 2018-02-07)

Launch Daemons:

[Loaded]	com.microsoft.autoupdate.helper.plist (Microsoft Corporation - installed 2018-03-22)
[Loaded]	com.lacie.LaCieDesktopManagerDaemon.plist (? f806c6ee - installed 2014-09-22)
[Loaded]	com.adobe.fpsaud.plist (Adobe Systems, Inc. - installed 2018-02-23)
[Loaded]	com.microsoft.office.licensing.helper.plist (? 6d8cb30e - installed 2012-04-02)

User Login Items:

iTunesHelper Application (installed 2018-03-29)

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

Internet Plug-ins:

Silverlight: 2.0.40115.0 (installed 2009-04-19)

FlashPlayer-10.6: 29.0.0.113 (installed 2018-03-15)

QuickTime Plugin: 7.7.3 (installed 2018-03-30)

Flash Player: 29.0.0.113 (installed 2018-03-15)

iPhotoPhotocast: 7.0 (installed 2008-12-09)

SharePointBrowserPlugin: 14.7.7 (installed 2017-09-12)

3rd Party Preference Panes:

Flash Player (installed 2018-02-23)

Time Machine:

Skip System Files: No

Mobile backups: No

Auto backup: Yes

Volumes being backed up:

: Disk size: 498.88 GB - Disk used: 89.68 GB

Destinations:

J***********k [Local] (Last used)

Total size: 301.10 GB

Total number of backups: 23

Oldest backup: 2015-06-15 14:11:12

Last backup: 2018-04-01 15:06:50

Top Processes by CPU:

Process (count)	Source	% of CPU
mdworker (17)	Apple	13
sandboxd	Apple	9
WindowServer	Apple	7
Epson Scanner Monitor	Seiko Epson Corporation	4
mds_stores	Apple	3

Top Processes by Memory:

Process (count)	Source	RAM usage
kernel_task	Apple	555 MB
mdworker (17)	Apple	377 MB
mds_stores	Apple	149 MB
suggestd	Apple	92 MB
Finder	Apple	84 MB

Top Processes by Network Use:

Process	Source	Input	Output
mDNSResponder	Apple	1 MB	317 KB
netbiosd	Apple	27 KB	7 KB
apsd	Apple	5 KB	6 KB
com.apple.geod	Apple	6 KB	2 KB

Top Processes by Energy Use:

Process (count)	Source	Energy usage (0-100)
WindowServer	Apple	5
mds	Apple	1
launchservicesd	Apple	0
mds_stores	Apple	0
loginwindow	Apple	0

Virtual Memory Information:

Available RAM	1.42 GB
Free RAM	15 MB
Used RAM	2.58 GB
Cached files	1.40 GB
Swap Used	256 KB

Software Installs (past 30 days):

Name	Version	Install Date
Komros	1.0.6	2018-03-22

Diagnostics Information (past 7 days):

2018-04-01 18:23:09 Last Shutdown Cause: 0 - Power loss (once)

End of report

Reply

Answer 5

Kenster82 Author

Level 1

10 points

Apr 10, 2018 10:28 AM in response to Kenster82

MBP running like a top now. Thanks so much to Kappy and Allan Jones for the advice. I did put in an SSD drive and added memory. Both procedures in fact were easy using the BatPower S2 tool kit for macs. The HD cable looked ok, so I'm not going to change it.

The only installation glitch; After installing, I started up and pressed cmd R to get the utility menu over the internet.And then hit install mac OS. It couldn't find a drive. I tried once more (worried that I hadn't installed the new drive properly). Same deal. But then I thought perhaps it needed formatting. So I started up with cmd R once more, picked Disk repair option off the utility menu, gave the SSD a new name/ 1 partition and hit apply or ok. Then went back to install mac OS, which now found my SSD and I was home free after a couple hours of swapping OS and restoring files.

Reply

Quick Links

MacBook Pro mid 2012 running slow and hot.

Similar questions