Mac mini very very slow

Question

Mac mini very very slow

Hi. I am a new Mac user. Irecently got a reconditioned Mac Mini. It is my first Mac. I am still getting used to it. Sometimes it is very very slow. I regularly run CCleaner, and it helps but not by much. I don’t understand why it runs so slowly. Almost every time I click on anything, I get the spinning coloured ball for 40, 50 seconds or more.I downloaded CleanMyMac and it often pops up when the computer is really slow and it tells me that I only have a few MBs of memory free. Is it normal to have 4G of memory onboard, but have less than 100MB of it available? This often happens with only Safari running - nothing else. Can I disable some things to free up memory? Can I upgrade my RAM? I read somewhere that you cannot increase the RAM in a 2014 Mac mini.

When I look in the Activity Monitor, it seems that there are lots and lots of things running(see attached). Any advice, please?

Mac mini (Late 2014), macOS Mojave (10.14)

Posted on Nov 17, 2018 6:43 AM

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Answer 1

Nov 23, 2018 1:02 PM in response to dwb

Hi dwb, I tried it, but it didn't help! The example shown in that article is exactly the problem I have. I tried the Strong, Medium and Light smoothing defaults, and I rebooted (obviously), but the problem remains. The article talks about the fonts looking like this, and it is exactly the problem I have:

I took a screen shot of the title of this very page, and I zoomed in to amplify the problem so as to try to explain it. See below:

See how it looks like an old dot matrix printout?

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Answer 2

macjack

Level 10

111,168 points

Nov 17, 2018 6:52 AM in response to mikefromcaledon

It doesn't look like a memory problem from what you posted. Memory pressure is OK and it's not using any swap. Uninstall CCCleaner and CleanMyMac as per the developer's instructions. That may solve the problem in itself.

No Anti-Virus software or so-called “cleaning” apps are needed or recommended for Mac OS. They can conflict with Mac's own built-in security. At best they will slow your Mac by using unnecessary resources and at worst will bork your entire system.

If it's still slow after that, then please download and run Etrecheck It is a diagnostic tool that's very useful to us in finding problems. After it runs post the log file here. It will contain no personal information.

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Answer 3

Nov 17, 2018 8:46 AM in response to mikefromcaledon

Ok, here is the EtreCheck report:

EtreCheck version: 5.0.2 (5015)

Report generated: 2018-11-17 11:39:00

Download EtreCheck from https://etrecheck.com

Runtime: 5:12

Performance: Below Average

Sandbox: Enabled

Full drive access: Disabled

Problem: Computer is too slow

Description:

Mac mini is very slow. Other diagnostic apps said that almost all my memory was in use.

Major Issues:

Anything that appears on this list needs immediate attention.

No Time Machine backup - Time Machine backup not found.

Minor Issues:

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

Low performance - EtreCheck report took over 5 minutes to run. This is unusual.

Abnormal shutdown - Your machine shut down abnormally.

Hardware Information:

Mac mini (Late 2014)

Mac mini Model: Macmini7,1

1 1.4 GHz Intel Core i5 (i5-4260U) CPU: 2-core

4 GB RAM - Not upgradeable

BANK 0/DIMM0 - 2 GB DDR3 1600 ok

BANK 1/DIMM0 - 2 GB DDR3 1600 ok

Video Information:

Intel HD Graphics 5000 - VRAM: 1536 MB

NS-29L120A13 1360 x 768

Drives:

disk0 - APPLE HDD HTS545050A7E362 500.11 GB (Mechanical - 5400 RPM)

Internal SATA 3 Gigabit Serial ATA

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

disk0s2 [APFS Container] 499.90 GB

disk1 [APFS Virtual drive] 499.90 GB (Shared by 4 volumes)

disk1s1 - Macintosh HD (APFS) (Shared - 90.86 GB used)

disk1s2 - Preboot (APFS) [APFS Preboot] (Shared)

disk1s3 - Recovery (APFS) [Recovery] (Shared)

disk1s4 - VM (APFS) [APFS VM] (Shared - 2.15 GB used)

Mounted Volumes:

disk1s1 - Macintosh HD 499.90 GB (406.17 GB free)

APFS

Mount point: /

disk1s4 - VM [APFS VM] (Shared - 2.15 GB used)

APFS

Mount point: /private/var/vm

Network:

Interface en0: Ethernet

Interface en5: iPad

Interface en1: Wi-Fi

802.11 a/b/g/n/ac

Interface en4: Bluetooth PAN

Interface bridge0: Thunderbolt Bridge

System Software:

macOS Mojave 10.14 (18A391)

Time since boot: About 3 hours

Security:

System	Status
Gatekeeper	Enabled
System Integrity Protection	Enabled

32-bit Applications:

None

System Launch Agents:

[Not Loaded]	17 Apple tasks
[Loaded]	169 Apple tasks
[Running]	113 Apple tasks

System Launch Daemons:

[Not Loaded]	38 Apple tasks
[Loaded]	184 Apple tasks
[Running]	111 Apple tasks
[Other]	One Apple task

Launch Agents:

[Not Loaded]	com.teamviewer.teamviewer_desktop.plist (TeamViewer GmbH - installed 2018-11-17)
[Not Loaded]	com.teamviewer.teamviewer.plist (TeamViewer GmbH - installed 2018-11-17)

Launch Daemons:

[Loaded]	com.macpaw.CleanMyMac4.Agent.plist (? 6a086eb0 - installed 2018-11-14)
[Not Loaded]	com.teamviewer.teamviewer_service.plist (TeamViewer GmbH - installed 2018-11-17)
[Loaded]	com.teamviewer.Helper.plist (TeamViewer GmbH - installed 2018-11-15)

User Launch Agents:

[Running]	com.macpaw.CleanMyMac4.HealthMonitor.plist (MacPaw Inc. - installed 2018-11-14)
[Loaded]	com.macpaw.CleanMyMac4.Updater.plist (MacPaw Inc. - installed 2018-11-14)

Internet Plug-ins:

QuickTime Plugin: 7.7.3 (installed 2018-09-21)

Time Machine:

Time Machine Not Configured!

Performance:

System Load: 1.46 (1 min ago) 1.31 (5 min ago) 1.34 (15 min ago)

Nominal I/O speed: 0.62 MB/s

File system: 64.86 seconds

Write speed: 96 MB/s

Read speed: 93 MB/s

CPU Usage:

Type	Overall	Individual cores
System	2 %	5 %	1 %	2 %	0 %
User	2 %	4 %	1 %	4 %	1 %
Idle	96 %	91 %	99 %	94 %	99 %

Top Processes by CPU:

Process (count)	Source	CPU	Location
Other processes	?	12.35 %
EtreCheck	App Store	4.58 %
Activity Monitor	Apple	0.13 %
com.apple.WebKit.WebContent (2)	Apple	0.12 %
App Store	Apple	0.06 %

Top Processes by Memory:

Process (count)	Source	RAM usage	Location
EtreCheck	App Store	453 MB
com.apple.WebKit.WebContent (2)	Apple	168 MB
App Store	Apple	124 MB
Pages	App Store	117 MB
Finder	Apple	113 MB

Top Processes by Network Use:

Process	Source	Input	Output	Location
mDNSResponder	Apple	22 KB	20 KB
apsd	Apple	5 KB	3 KB
com.apple.Safari.SafeBrowsing.Service	Apple	5 KB	1 KB
netbiosd	Apple	810 B	558 B
SystemUIServer	Apple	0 B	64 B

Virtual Memory Information:

Available RAM	1.19 GB
Free RAM	15 MB
Used RAM	2.81 GB
Cached files	1.17 GB
Swap Used	0 B

Software Installs (past 30 days):

Name	Version	Install Date
TeamViewer	13.2.14327	2018-10-23
Gatekeeper Configuration Data	156	2018-10-31
Microsoft Outlook for Mac	2018-11-14
Microsoft PowerPoint for Mac	2018-11-14
Microsoft Excel for Mac	2018-11-14
Microsoft OneNote for Mac	2018-11-14
Microsoft Word for Mac	2018-11-14
EtreCheck	5.0.2	2018-11-17

Diagnostics Information (past 7 days):

2018-11-17 08:28:34 Last Shutdown Cause: 0 - Power loss

Directory /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports is not accessible without Full Drive Access.

End of report

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Answer 4

macjack

Level 10

111,168 points

Nov 17, 2018 8:53 AM in response to mikefromcaledon

Uninstall Clean My Mac as per the developer's instructions, it's total garbage. No Anti-Virus software or so-called “cleaning” apps are needed or recommended for Mac OS. They can conflict with Mac's own built-in security. At best they will slow your Mac by using unnecessary resources and at worst will bork your entire system.

After that run another Etrecheck report and post it.

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Answer 5

Nov 17, 2018 9:31 AM in response to mikefromcaledon

New EtreCheck report:

EtreCheck version: 5.0.2 (5015)

Report generated: 2018-11-17 12:27:10

Download EtreCheck from https://etrecheck.com

Runtime: 4:08

Performance: Good

Sandbox: Enabled

Full drive access: Disabled

Problem: Computer is too slow

Description:

Mac mini very slow

Major Issues:

Anything that appears on this list needs immediate attention.

No Time Machine backup - Time Machine backup not found.

Minor Issues:

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

Abnormal shutdown - Your machine shut down abnormally.

Hardware Information:

Mac mini (Late 2014)

Mac mini Model: Macmini7,1

1 1.4 GHz Intel Core i5 (i5-4260U) CPU: 2-core

4 GB RAM - Not upgradeable

BANK 0/DIMM0 - 2 GB DDR3 1600 ok

BANK 1/DIMM0 - 2 GB DDR3 1600 ok

Video Information:

Intel HD Graphics 5000 - VRAM: 1536 MB

NS-29L120A13 1360 x 768

Drives:

disk0 - APPLE HDD HTS545050A7E362 500.11 GB (Mechanical - 5400 RPM)

Internal SATA 3 Gigabit Serial ATA

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

disk0s2 [APFS Container] 499.90 GB

disk1 [APFS Virtual drive] 499.90 GB (Shared by 4 volumes)

disk1s1 - Macintosh HD (APFS) (Shared - 90.73 GB used)

disk1s2 - Preboot (APFS) [APFS Preboot] (Shared)

disk1s3 - Recovery (APFS) [Recovery] (Shared)

disk1s4 - VM (APFS) [APFS VM] (Shared - 2.15 GB used)

Mounted Volumes:

disk1s1 - Macintosh HD 499.90 GB (406.31 GB free)

APFS

Mount point: /

disk1s4 - VM [APFS VM] (Shared - 2.15 GB used)

APFS

Mount point: /private/var/vm

Network:

Interface en0: Ethernet

Interface en5: iPad

Interface en1: Wi-Fi

802.11 a/b/g/n/ac

Interface en4: Bluetooth PAN

Interface bridge0: Thunderbolt Bridge

System Software:

macOS Mojave 10.14 (18A391)

Time since boot: Less than an hour

Security:

System	Status
Gatekeeper	Enabled
System Integrity Protection	Enabled

32-bit Applications:

None

System Launch Agents:

[Not Loaded]	17 Apple tasks
[Loaded]	184 Apple tasks
[Running]	98 Apple tasks

System Launch Daemons:

[Not Loaded]	38 Apple tasks
[Loaded]	186 Apple tasks
[Running]	108 Apple tasks
[Other]	2 Apple tasks

Launch Agents:

[Not Loaded]	com.teamviewer.teamviewer_desktop.plist (TeamViewer GmbH - installed 2018-11-17)
[Not Loaded]	com.teamviewer.teamviewer.plist (TeamViewer GmbH - installed 2018-11-17)

Launch Daemons:

[Not Loaded]	com.teamviewer.teamviewer_service.plist (TeamViewer GmbH - installed 2018-11-17)
[Loaded]	com.teamviewer.Helper.plist (TeamViewer GmbH - installed 2018-11-15)

Internet Plug-ins:

QuickTime Plugin: 7.7.3 (installed 2018-09-21)

Time Machine:

Time Machine Not Configured!

Performance:

System Load: 1.55 (1 min ago) 1.55 (5 min ago) 1.30 (15 min ago)

Nominal I/O speed: 2.80 MB/s

File system: 41.78 seconds

Write speed: 95 MB/s

Read speed: 99 MB/s

CPU Usage:

Type	Overall	Individual cores
System	2 %	5 %	0 %	2 %	0 %
User	2 %	4 %	0 %	3 %	0 %
Idle	96 %	91 %	99 %	94 %	99 %

Top Processes by CPU:

Process (count)	Source	CPU	Location
Other processes	?	11.88 %
EtreCheck	App Store	4.24 %
Activity Monitor	Apple	0.07 %
com.apple.WebKit.WebContent	Apple	0.04 %
Dock	Apple	0.03 %

Top Processes by Memory:

Process (count)	Source	RAM usage	Location
EtreCheck	App Store	434 MB
com.apple.WebKit.WebContent	Apple	170 MB
Finder	Apple	109 MB
Safari	Apple	78 MB
AppleSpell	Apple	68 MB

Top Processes by Network Use:

Process	Source	Input	Output	Location
mDNSResponder	Apple	12 KB	11 KB
apsd	Apple	5 KB	3 KB
netbiosd	Apple	618 B	422 B
SystemUIServer	Apple	0 B	64 B
lsd	Apple	0 B	0 B

Virtual Memory Information:

Available RAM	1.60 GB
Free RAM	20 MB
Used RAM	2.40 GB
Cached files	1.58 GB
Swap Used	0 B

Software Installs (past 30 days):

Name	Version	Install Date
TeamViewer	13.2.14327	2018-10-23
Gatekeeper Configuration Data	156	2018-10-31
Microsoft Outlook for Mac	2018-11-14
Microsoft PowerPoint for Mac	2018-11-14
Microsoft Excel for Mac	2018-11-14
Microsoft OneNote for Mac	2018-11-14
Microsoft Word for Mac	2018-11-14
EtreCheck	5.0.2	2018-11-17

Diagnostics Information (past 7 days):

2018-11-17 12:02:20 Last Shutdown Cause: 0 - Power loss

Directory /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports is not accessible without Full Drive Access.

End of report

Reply

Answer 6

macjack

Level 10

111,168 points

Nov 17, 2018 9:52 AM in response to mikefromcaledon

It looks better, how does it feel? It's never going to be a speed demon with only 4 GB RAM and a slow 5400 rpm rotational hard drive but it should be useable as long as you don't run many memory hungry apps.

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Answer 7

Nov 17, 2018 10:25 AM in response to macjack

Well, I am not sure. It is not horribly slow as it was, I guess. But it got really slow before I installed CleanMyMac and CCleaner. So I am expecting it to gradually get slow again. Is there any need to clear the cache like in a PC? Are there any regular maintenance tasks that I should do every week or so? In my old Windows machine, I used to run CCleaner, Spybot and Malwarebytes. They seemed to keep my old Windows machine tuned up nicely. Is anything like that necessary with a Mac?

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Answer 8

macjack

Level 10

111,168 points

Nov 17, 2018 10:52 AM in response to mikefromcaledon

No regular maintenance. Mac OS is very good at taking care of itself and has all the necessary maintenance tasks built-in. You might give it a restart now and then, to clear some RAM but that's about it. And as I said stay away from any apps that purport to do that.

As for malware, yes there a growing list of malware that's making it's way into the wild. But no viruses, the self-replicating kind Windows is susceptible to. But if you're careful you don't have to worry. Mac requires your admin password to install anything, so the only way something can install without being noticed is if it is piggybacked onto a third party installer of an app you downloaded from a source other than the AppStore or the developer.

If you should get adware on your Mac, the only app I'd recommend to run is Malwarebytes. Malwarebytes was developed by one of our own colleagues here in ASC and is about the most proven anti-malware software for Mac.

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Answer 9

Nov 17, 2018 11:08 AM in response to macjack

Ok macjack. I usually shut down every night, so that will take care of clearing RAM as you suggest. Well... thank you for your help! I really appreciate it. If I should need help in the future, I will look for you, if that's ok? Thanks again.

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Answer 10

Limnos

Level 10

411,097 points

Nov 17, 2018 11:24 AM in response to mikefromcaledon

Your Mini has 4 GB RAM. However, it is also one of the recent models which instead of having a dedicated video unit it is integrated and also borrows some of your system RAM instead of having its own memory. Since you only have 4 GB to start with (which was probably at the low end even back in 2014 since yours is a 2014 model Mini) and your GPU can borrow up to 1.5GB of that, the computer is working at the extreme low end for RAM. Unfortunately with that model Mini there is nothing you can do about it other than not put too much pressure on RAM usage.

The drawbacks of a 5400 HDD have been noted and I suspect newer system versions such as the one you are running really are designed with the speed of a SSD in mind.

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Answer 11

Nov 17, 2018 12:41 PM in response to Limnos

Hi Limnos,

I understood my Mini had an SDD. It is 100% silent, so I thought it was SSD. But regardless, with my 4GB of ram, is it normal to use over 3GB just for normal web surfing and mail? If the GPU uses 1.5GB, is it normal for the OS to need a further 1.5 to 2.45 GB just for basic non-intensive computer use, sometimes leaving me with just 20 or 30 MB of available RAM?

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Answer 12

dwb

Level 7

32,920 points

Nov 19, 2018 10:20 AM in response to mikefromcaledon

Following the conversation here - you've been in good hands. I ordered an 8GB mac mini a couple years ago with an SSD and the IT department in its infinite wisdom ignored the SSD part. I was appalled at how slow it was to boot, launch applications and load files - none of which surprised me which is why I specified the SSD. For the most part, as long as disk accesses weren't required, the mini was fine but do you know how often modern software accesses the drive? A lot!

With only 4GB of RAM, trying to run Mojave, and a rotational drive you have a molasses in January situation. Since upgrading the RAM isn't feasible and replacing the internal drive isn't fun, your best solution is what I did: get an SSD and put it into a good external enclosure. You have 2 choices: Thunderbolt which is expensive and very fast or USB 3 which is inexpensive and fast (as long as you plug it directly into one of the computer ports and not a hub). Being in tech I had access to both types of enclosures (at least temporarily) and concluded that TB is great if you have the $$$ but USB 3 is very very good.

If you go with a USB 3 look for high quality - I like Icy Dock and OWC (macsales) enclosures.

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Answer 13

Nov 19, 2018 2:43 PM in response to dwb

Hi dwb,

Thanks for your comments. The real reason I bought the Mini was because I was sick and tired of my Windows machine trying to update, crashing part way through, recovering, and uninstalling the update, and starting all over again. It was in a never-ending cycle that I couldn't stop from happening. I kinda used that experience as an excuse to make my move to a Mac, which I had been threatening to do for years anyway. I was recommended a Mini because it was probably the cheapest route to take. I have to say I am a little disappointed to be having this speed issue. I thought Macs were supposed to be fantastic. I firmly believed the hype and the slogans such as “Go Mac, you’ll never go back". Well, I have to be honest; I am not as impressed as I expected to be. And the reality is that I could have got a reasonably decent PC for the money that the entry level Mac cost me. And the solution to this speed issue is more money? Again I’m not terribly impressed. As cash is a tight at the moment, I really have little choice but to hang on with the set up that I have now. I like the Mini, and I am getting more and more used to it every day. There are a lot of quirks and differences from the Windows world, but I’ll get used to them all in time, I guess. For now though as I say, I will just have to live with the speed issue.

Thanks again for your input.

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Answer 14

Limnos

Level 10

411,097 points

Nov 20, 2018 1:22 PM in response to mikefromcaledon

Look at what OWC has to offer, plus other posts here and on the web in general about SSD upgrades. I like the Voyager docks from OWC and you could get a bare SSD and insert it into a $45 dock with USB-C and get an external boot setup. Then if you later upgrade to another setup you can still use the dock with the SSD or a HDD drive for extra storage or as a backup drive. I am guessing that for maybe slightly over $100 you could get a dock and a modest size SSD. Alternatively you oculd see if you could get a thumb drive to do the same which would be even cheaper except people complain about the speed of thumb drives. They aren't really intended to be used as boot drives and some are really slow, plus I don't know if they have the endurance. Still, you can get 120GB thumb drives pretty cheaply and you could experiment.

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Answer 15

Nov 20, 2018 4:27 PM in response to Limnos

Thanks Limnos, Some constructive suggestions there. Thank you for your ideas.

BTW, on a totally different subject, is there a particular monitor that is recommended for the Mini? The quality I am getting on my 28inch TV, (which I have used as a monitor for years) is not good with the Mini.

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Mac mini very very slow

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