MacBook Pro SLOW: Probably RAM memory AND Space Memory taken by purgeable files? Here's my Etrecheck report

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 back up your files before proceeding if possible.

1. Shutdown the computer, wait 30 seconds, restart the computer.
2. Disconnect all third-party peripherals.
3. Resetting your Mac’s PRAM and NVRAM
4. Reset the System Management Controller (SMC)
5. Reset your Startup Disk and Sound preferences.
6. Start the computer in Safe Mode. Test in safe mode to see if the problem persists, then restart normally. Also, see Use safe mode to isolate issues with your Mac - Apple Support and Playing Safe- what does Safe mode do?.
7. Use Apple Hardware Test to see if there is any hardware malfunction. How to invoke and interpret the Apple hardware tests - CNET.
8. 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.
9. Repair permissions on the Home folder: Resolve issues caused by changing the permissions of items in your home folder.
10. 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.
11. Download and install the OS X El Capitan 10.11.6 Combo Update or 10.12.6 Combo Update or Download macOS High Sierra 10.13.6 Combo Update as needed.
12. 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.
13. 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:

1. Select Disk Utility from the Utility Menu and click on Continue button.
2. When Disk Utility loads select the drive (out-dented entry) from the Device list.
3. Click on the Erase icon in Disk Utility's toolbar. A panel will drop down.
4. Set the Format type to APFS (for SSDs only) or Mac OS Extended (Journaled.)
5. Click on the Apply button, then wait for the Done button to activate and click on it.
6. Quit Disk Utility and return to the Utility Menu.
7. Select Reinstall OS X and click on the Continue button.

14. If none of the above helps then see How to Downgrade macOS High Sierra and macOS Reversion- How to Downgrade from High Sierra.

15. If you get here without success then make an appointment at the Apple Genius Bar for service. If you need to find an Apple Store - Find a Store - Apple.

Ways to help make a slow Mac faster

1. 17 Reasons Why Your Mac Runs Slower Than it Should
2. Slow Mac Performance? This Article Solves It!
3. Fix slow start-ups in OS X | MacFixIt - CNET Reviews
4. How to fix slow shutdown and startup times. | MacTip.net
5. 6 Easy Tips to Speed Up OS X Yosemite on Your Mac
6. OS X El Capitan- If your Mac runs slowly
7. Visit The XLab FAQs and read the FAQ on Performance
8. Tips to Fix Issues that affect Mac Performance
9. Avoid using any third-party cleanup software. Usually, this software does more bad than good. You don't need it. All computers become slower over time even under normal use. Experienced users erase the hard drive and do a clean install from scratch from time to time; or whenever installing a major OS upgrade. Doing so means you must maintain regular and multiple backups.
10. If you have enabled iCloud Disk and are storing your Documents and Data in iCloud, then consider turning that off and signing out of iCloud. It can slow down the computer considerably. Please see the following from the user, fotomac: "The solution was to SIGN OUT of iCloud and my problem STOPPED! NO MORE SPINNING BEACHBALL! My computer's speed increased to what it should be and all my Apps now work!"
11. Add more RAM or cut back on the number of concurrently running applications and utilities. Remove unnecessary anti-malware software and any software that promises to clean your Mac. Check for runaway processes: Runaway applications can shorten battery runtime, affect performance, and increase heat and fan activity. Also, visit The XLab FAQs and read the FAQ on dealing with The Spinning Beach Ball of Death.
12. The Ultimate Fix: Backup everything, erase the drive, reinstall OS X, and restore your data from the backup. Reinstall third-party software from original media/scratch.

1—Yes , Word always takes a lot of RAM... why could that be?

I was not talking about RAM. I was talking about CPU. That is to say, Word was making your Mac run harder with less time to do other things.

I do use some Windows, eg, Word for Mac —wouldn’t uninstalling intego and eset cause problems?

3rd party anti-virus apps have time and time again, been nothing but problems for Mac users that do not benefit from the way they are repeatedly implemented on the Mac.

There are no current self-propagating viruses for the Mac. At worse, some adware/malware might trick you into installing it, but that is an event where you must participate. To cover yourself from that situation, you can download and install the free MalwareBytes, run a scan, then delete MalwareBytes until the next time you install something. Getting a new free copy means you get the latest updates. It does nothing to keep MalwareBytes around when you are not installing something. And unless you are installing new apps every day, it is unnecessary to waste your Macs RAM and CPU resources running them.

2—Also, the report says that my Mac has 32 bitapps, and that this could be a problm—how do I identify those apps.?

Applications -> Utilities -> System Information -> Software -> Applications -> 64-bit column -> No

3—Along the same lines....I couldnt find the safari kaspersky extension for the life of me! How do I do that??? (Yes, I am a serious case of technology-challenged weirdos—should’ve been born in the 17th century or something )

Look in

Finder -> Go -> Go to Folder -> ~/Library/Safari/Extensions

Where ~ is the tilda key which is normally in the upper left corner of your keyboard above the Grave Accent `

Safari Extensions:

gustavoll wrote:

Hi I will sound dumb again but how do I get rid of login items I boot?. Do I have to go to system preferences and click on startup disk? And what is a word macro in a loop??? Sounds scary! 😕😟😝

Login Items are set in System Preferences->Users & Groups.

Select your account on the left, and click "Login Items".

Select each one and click the "-" button at the bottom.

Start by removing your anti-virus packages (esets and Kaspersky (at least I see a browser extension from Kaspersky)).

You have 15 login items starting up everytime you login to your system, plus a bunch of 3rd party launch agents and daemons. No wonder you do not have any memory.

To date, there are no self-propagating viruses for the Mac. Mac malware (which is mostly Adware) gets on your system because you were tricked into installing it. So you do not need to run MalwareBytes all the time (and it is the ONLY product many of the forum volunteers like). Rather uninstall MalwareBytes until the next time you install something, then download the latest free version and run a scan.

MalwareBytes and Eset are taking 25% of a CPU (you have 2 CPUs) and there is nothing to find, but you are paying the price anyway.

And for some reason Microsoft Word is consuming consuming 79% of a CPU. When you ran EtreCheck where you also having Word do somthing intensive? Otherwise you might want to look at Applications -> Utilities -> Activity Monitor and see if Word is always consuming a lot of CPU.

I would uninstall ESET. It tends to interfere with the computer's operation while providing minimal to no benefit unless you work with Windows files. Most long time posters recommend not using antivirus software or cleaning software such as CleanMyMac.

ESET Antivirus Un-install

I would uninstall Intego. It tends to interfere with the computer's operation while providing minimal to no benefit unless you work with Windows files. Most long time posters recommend not using antivirus software or cleaning software such as CleanMyMac.

Intego Uninstall

Uninstalling them probably won't hurt because Windows based viruses won't affect a Mac.

Word using a lot of RAM is caused by the way the Word software is written.

To see your 32 bit apps, hold down the option/alt key while clicking the  menu. Select System Information. Toward the bottom is Applications.

Safari/Preferences/Extensions for that extension.

Hi,

I do use some Windows, eg, Word for Mac —wouldn’t uninstalling intego and eset cause problems?

No, this isn't windows software. It's Microsoft software that runs on a mac. What is meant by windows files is if you exchange files with a windows machine. You are only being kind to the windows machine. The windows machine should be solving it's own problems.

Delete these apps and see if your machine improves. if your worried about malware use malwarebytes.

R

I doubt these are good for your machine.

Dr. Cleaner Pro 1.3.3 2018-07-31

Memory Purge 1.3 2018-08-17 [ this is bad. ]

I'd run malwarebytes instead.

Adware Doctor 1.5.5

You could have a word macro in a loop.

EVEN when I don't overload it with activities.

You are overloading the machine just by booting it. Look at all the login items. Your short on ram. 8 gig is the minimal for high sierra. You need to trim down the apps you start at login. Life is hard. 😎

R

*Find Any File*

Find Any File is Shareware that lets you search for files on your drives. Contrary to Spotlight, it does not use a database but instead uses the file system driver's fast search operations, where available. This lets you search for file properties such as name, dates, size, etc., but not for file content (use Spotlight for that). Find Any File can find files that Spotlight doesn't, e.g. those inside bundles and packages and in inside folders that are usually excluded from Spotlight search."

http://apps.tempel.org/FindAnyFile/index.html

& search for Advisor.safariextz

R

Don't worry about the 32-bit applications.

They may (will, probably) stop working in future versions of the OS. For now, they are ok. This is just a reminder. That is not a problem you need to address right now.