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Poor performance on MBP 13" i5 500GB 2012 running macOS HS 10.13.4 Takes 10-15 minutes to open any new app and if more than 2 apps are open, the next one will crash the system. Need help interpreting Etrecheck report and advice. Thx.

My MBP has been so slow since I upgraded to High Sierra a few months ago. I've run Etrecheck, but I'm not sure what the next steps are as the major issues simply state the problem without offering a fix other than to upgrade my hard drive to an SSD. And if that's what I need to do, should I take it to the Apple store or is it something I can do myself? Many thanks for your help!

EtreCheck version:4.2.1 (4C020)

Report generated:2018-05-06 08:38:34

Download EtreCheck from https://etrecheck.com

Runtime:15:47

Performance:Poor


Problem:Beachballing


Major Issues:

Anything that appears on this list needs immediate attention.


Time Machine backup out-of-date- The last Time Machine backup is over 10 days old.

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.

Apps crashing- There have been numerous app crashes.

Apps with heavy CPU usage- There have been numerous cases of apps with heavy CPU usage.


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 = 703


Video Information:

Intel HD Graphics 4000 - VRAM: 1536 MB

Color LCD 1280 x 800


Drives:

disk0 - APPLE HDD TOSHIBA MK5065GSXF 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 - Macintosh HD (Journaled HFS+) 498.89 GB

disk0s3 - Recovery HD () [Recovery] 650 MB


Mounted Volumes:

disk1 - Macintosh HD 498.89 GB (188.74 GB free)

Journaled HFS+

Mount point: /

Encrypted


Network:

Interface en0: Ethernet

Interface en4: iPhone

Interface fw0: FireWire

Interface en1: Wi-Fi

802.11 a/b/g/n

One IPv4 address

Interface en3: Bluetooth PAN

Interface bridge0: Thunderbolt Bridge

iCloud Quota: 112.55 GB available


System Software:

macOS High Sierra 10.13.4 (17E199)

Time since boot: About 3 days

System Load: 1.63 (1 min ago) 1.52 (5 min ago) 1.77 (15 min ago)


Security:

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


System Launch Agents:

[Not Loaded] 8 Apple tasks
[Loaded] 208 Apple tasks
[Running] 75 Apple tasks
[Other] 2 Apple tasks


System Launch Daemons:

[Not Loaded] 35 Apple tasks
[Loaded] 210 Apple tasks
[Running] 89 Apple tasks


Launch Agents:

[Running] com.adobe.AdobeCreativeCloud.plist (Adobe Systems, Inc. - installed 2018-04-30)
[Not Loaded] com.adobe.AAM.Updater-1.0.plist (? ffb65062 - installed 2018-02-27)
[Loaded] com.google.keystone.agent.plist (Google, Inc. - installed 2018-02-03)
[Loaded] com.adobe.GC.Invoker-1.0.plist (Adobe Systems, Inc. - installed 2018-01-26)
[Other] com.adobe.ARMDCHelper.cc24aef4a1b90ed56a725c38014c95072f92651fb65e1bf9c8e43c37a2 3d420d.plist (Adobe Systems, Inc. - installed 2018-02-13)


Launch Daemons:

[Loaded] com.adobe.ARMDC.SMJobBlessHelper.plist (Adobe Systems, Inc. - installed 2018-02-13)
[Running] com.adobe.acc.installer.plist (Adobe Systems, Inc. - installed 2018-04-30)
[Running] com.adobe.agsservice.plist (Adobe Systems, Inc. - installed 2018-01-26)
[Loaded] com.adobe.ARMDC.Communicator.plist (Adobe Systems, Inc. - installed 2018-02-13)
[Loaded] com.google.keystone.daemon.plist (Google, Inc. - installed 2018-03-06)


User Launch Agents:

[Loaded] com.adobe.GC.Invoker-1.0.plist (Adobe Systems, Inc. - installed 2018-01-26)
[Loaded] com.adobe.AAM.Updater-1.0.plist (? 0 - installed 2018-02-27)


Internet Plug-ins:

AdobePDFViewerNPAPI: 17.012.20098 (installed 2018-02-26)

AdobePDFViewer: 18.011.20038 (installed 2018-02-26)

QuickTime Plugin: 7.7.3 (installed 2018-04-07)

AdobeAAMDetect: 3.0.0.0 (installed 2018-04-30)


Time Machine:

Skip System Files: No

Mobile backups:

Auto backup: Yes

Volumes being backed up:

Macintosh HD: Disk size: 498.89 GB - Disk used: 310.15 GB

Destinations:

S*********************e [Local] (Last used)

Total size: 999.86 GB

Total number of backups: 3

Oldest backup: 2018-01-07 21:08:35

Last backup: 2018-01-07 22:29:17


Top Processes by CPU:

Process (count) Source % of CPU
soagent (2) Apple 77
system_profiler (2) Apple 18
kernel_task Apple 10
trustd (5) Apple 8
WindowServer Apple 5


Top Processes by Memory:

Process (count) Source RAM usage
soagent (4) Apple 1.04 GB
kernel_task Apple 639 MB
callservicesd (2) Apple 554 MB
Google Chrome Helper (27) Google, Inc. 268 MB
AddressBookSourceSync (3) Apple 231 MB


Top Processes by Network Use:

Process Source Input Output
mDNSResponder Apple 7 MB 877 KB
netbiosd Apple 291 KB 108 KB
apsd Apple 34 KB 54 KB
cloudd Apple 16 KB 1 KB
akd Apple 12 KB 906 B


Top Processes by Energy Use:

Process (count) Source Energy usage (0-100)
soagent (4) Apple 20
WindowServer Apple 3
AddressBookSourceSync (3) Apple 2
Google Chrome Helper (27) Google, Inc. 2
Adobe CEF Helper (5) Adobe Systems, Inc. 1


Virtual Memory Information:

Available RAM 347 MB
Free RAM 18 MB
Used RAM 3.66 GB
Cached files 329 MB
Swap Used 1015 MB


Diagnostics Information (past 7 days):

2018-05-06 08:06:11 soagent.app CPU (14 times)

2018-05-06 08:05:04 soagent CPU (5 times)

2018-05-03 01:12:02 Keynote.app Hang (3 times)

2018-05-02 15:37:30 Adobe CEF Helper.app Crash (12 times)


End of report

MacBook Pro, macOS High Sierra (10.13.4)

Posted on May 6, 2018 9:26 AM

Reply
Question marked as Best reply

Posted on May 6, 2018 9:57 AM

An Etrecheck runtime of over ~5 minutes can herald hard drive failure. However, in your model it can be something cheaper to fix.


The hard drive CABLE in that model suffers a convoluted routing over sharp metal corners in the upper case unit. After 3-5 years, the vibrations of normal use and transport can cause the cable to wear. Symptoms of a worn cable can mimic a failing hard drive.


Fortunately the cable is cheap, available, and easily user-serviceable in that model. You can change the cable now and see if the problems improve; if not, you'll need a new drive but at least the new drive will be paired with a new cable. Always good with this model.


Better yet, replace the cable and the drive but get an SATA 6GBps solid state drive. I did that last year for my MBP13 (exact model as yours) and it feels like I have a new computer. I used a 500GB SSD kit from OWC, this one:

OWC DIY KIT: Express USB 3.0/2.0 2.5" Enclosure +... at MacSales.com


and this cable:

Apple Hard Drive / SSD Cable For 13-inch MacBook Pro (Mid 2012) main drive bay


Video instructions here:

MacBook Pro Hard Drive Installation Video at MacSales.com

MacBook Pro Installation Video at MacSales.com

You can easily upgrade the RAM at the same time. I have 8GB and need no more, but the computer will accommodate 16GB. I get all our Mac RAM from the same vendor, OWC.


Apple will still work on that model but will only replace things "in kind,"--in other words, they will only install another slow 500GB SATA 3GBps roto-drive.


I invested nearly US$250 in mine because I still need a robust notebook with an optical drive and lots of legacy ports. No new MBP today will satisfy my needs. Spending the money on a computer I like was a no-brainer for me.

Similar questions

2 replies
Question marked as Best reply

May 6, 2018 9:57 AM in response to pixelquills

An Etrecheck runtime of over ~5 minutes can herald hard drive failure. However, in your model it can be something cheaper to fix.


The hard drive CABLE in that model suffers a convoluted routing over sharp metal corners in the upper case unit. After 3-5 years, the vibrations of normal use and transport can cause the cable to wear. Symptoms of a worn cable can mimic a failing hard drive.


Fortunately the cable is cheap, available, and easily user-serviceable in that model. You can change the cable now and see if the problems improve; if not, you'll need a new drive but at least the new drive will be paired with a new cable. Always good with this model.


Better yet, replace the cable and the drive but get an SATA 6GBps solid state drive. I did that last year for my MBP13 (exact model as yours) and it feels like I have a new computer. I used a 500GB SSD kit from OWC, this one:

OWC DIY KIT: Express USB 3.0/2.0 2.5" Enclosure +... at MacSales.com


and this cable:

Apple Hard Drive / SSD Cable For 13-inch MacBook Pro (Mid 2012) main drive bay


Video instructions here:

MacBook Pro Hard Drive Installation Video at MacSales.com

MacBook Pro Installation Video at MacSales.com

You can easily upgrade the RAM at the same time. I have 8GB and need no more, but the computer will accommodate 16GB. I get all our Mac RAM from the same vendor, OWC.


Apple will still work on that model but will only replace things "in kind,"--in other words, they will only install another slow 500GB SATA 3GBps roto-drive.


I invested nearly US$250 in mine because I still need a robust notebook with an optical drive and lots of legacy ports. No new MBP today will satisfy my needs. Spending the money on a computer I like was a no-brainer for me.

May 6, 2018 11:07 AM in response to Allan Jones

Thank you so much for your quick, detailed response, Allan. Truly appreciate the knowledge and links you've shared. In the same boat in that I need this machine, and giving it a tune up with the cable (to see if that fixes my short-term issue) makes sense. And I'd never have figured that out on my own! I'm going to take the rest of your advice re SSD + memory upgrades. Will post an update.

Poor performance on MBP 13" i5 500GB 2012 running macOS HS 10.13.4 Takes 10-15 minutes to open any new app and if more than 2 apps are open, the next one will crash the system. Need help interpreting Etrecheck report and advice. Thx.

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