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New iMac slow after migration

C

CyrusOz

macrumors regular
Original poster
Mar 15, 2009
145
0
I recently migrated (mac utility) my old Mac user settings and apps to my new Mac but the new mac seems really slow, in fact it doesn't really appear to operate any faster than the old one that was really slow and had system problems.

I've attached the specs from the old to the new for your perusal but i'm wondering if the migration caused this problem and perhaps it would have been better just to start from scratch with the new Mac and not have migrated.

Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.
http://postimg.org/image/wklbv8vvv/
http://postimg.org/image/wgt5yfv9z/
 
B

barkmonster

macrumors 68020
Dec 3, 2001
2,134
15
Lancashire
Could it be that you had some rouge pref panes or third party software on your old system that was slowing things down and you're new system is getting just as bogged down by them?

Open Activity Monitor when it's running slowly, sort the window view by % and let everyone have a look. There could be background processes chugging away. I know when you migrate to a new system or update the OS on a current one Spotlight can take some time and quite a lot of CPU power re-indexing your drive but it shouldn't turn things to treacle.
 
elithrar

elithrar

macrumors 6502
May 31, 2007
372
3
- Background updates on newly installed software
- Dropbox syncing
- Rogue processes (as touched on above)
 
C

CyrusOz

macrumors regular
Original poster
Mar 15, 2009
145
0
Ok i've tried searching for rogue apps and processes that might be bogging down my new Imac but there doesn't seem to be anything standing out......i speed test it against my old Imac and the old one beats it by far. I'm thinking it might be time to bite the bullet and just nuke the damn thing and revert it back to a new Imac without the migration.

What is the best way to do that, i don't have any of the operating system disks.
 
Weaselboy

Weaselboy

Moderator
Staff member
Jan 23, 2005
34,137
15,602
California
CyrusOz said:
What is the best way to do that, i don't have any of the operating system disks.
Click to expand...

I assume you are on Lion 10.7 or later? If so, just command-r boot to recovery then start Disk Utility and erase Macintosh HD. Then quit Disk Utility and click install OS. It will take some time as the 4.7GB OS needs to DL from Apple's servers.

This will give you nothing but the OS. Make sure you have a backup before you do this.
 
M

macthefork

macrumors 6502
Feb 2, 2013
467
7
How far back have you been migrating systems? If it's back from the Power PC days, it might be a good idea to check your system extensions, preference panes, applications, and do a cleaning.

The easiest way I've found to do this is to go to "About This Mac" > More Info > Software, and remove any Power PC items. Look especially in the Extensions, Preference Panes, and Applications. You can also see if there are any duplicate processes that show "Universal" and Intel, and get rid of the Universal version.

I did this when updating to Mountain Lion and was amazed at how many outdated and unusable Kexts Preference Panes, Apps, and other software have been migrated from update to update. I've had many Mac's going back to '91. Of course I haven't migrated everything since then, but you get the idea.

Then reboot holding the shift key to start up in safe boot to let the system clean itself up. Then reboot again.

You can also check your Console Logs, to see if there is anything that is bogging the system down.
 
C

CyrusOz

macrumors regular
Original poster
Mar 15, 2009
145
0
that all sounds great but how do I decipher which extensions, preference panes etc are old and which ones are new..... i can't tell the difference.
 
M

macthefork

macrumors 6502
Feb 2, 2013
467
7
When you look up the system files like described above, look for what is listed under the "Kind" heading. That's where it will tell you if it's an Intel version, or earlier Universal or Power PC version.

You can delete any Power PC version. Any Universal version should be checked to see if you are using the program that it applies to. If there's duplicates of Universal and Intel versions, delete only the Universal version.

You must reboot your computer after doing this.
 
C

CyrusOz

macrumors regular
Original poster
Mar 15, 2009
145
0
Hi macthefork, thanks very much for providing that additional information. I have some other questions. When I check the version of the preference pane etc i only see a number, sometimes it's 13.0 and other times it's 317.... how do I know what each number means, is there an index that I can compare these numbers to?

Sorry to be such a dumbass but i've never done anything like this with my mac before, very new to this part of the operating system.

I thought i'd also mention that when i check under the extensions heading no information is shown, it just says that "There was an error while gathering this information." does that mean that my mac has some serious problems beyond repair with this process you've outlined? I'm hoping this doesn't equate to a full reinstall but if that's the case I'll have to bite the bullet and get started i guess.

Thanks again for your assistance mate, i greatly appreciate it.
 
M

macthefork

macrumors 6502
Feb 2, 2013
467
7
Don't worry about the version numbers. The only way I know to verify those is to compare them to someone else that has the same version OS and same hardware that you have. It's more important that incompatible extensions (such as the Power PC versions) are removed.

If you see the extensions listed, but don't see the other information such as the Version Number or Kind, then enlarge the window, because sometimes these are shown way over to the right of the window.

If you can't see any Extensions listed when select Extensions under Software and get an error here, it could mean that there is a problem with one of the Extensions that are listed there,

Try rebooting in Safe mode. (hold down Shift Key when booting) It will take a little longer to boot in Safe Mode. But, when everything appears loaded after the progress bar completes, then try and access the Software System Information again. About This Mac > More Info > System Report > Software > Extensions.

Did you try looking at the Console Logs to see if something is showing a failure to load? Sometimes an error here will be repeated numerous times, and that could result in a slower response on the computer.
 
C

CyrusOz

macrumors regular
Original poster
Mar 15, 2009
145
0
Ok i tried checking everything in safe mode but i couldn't access any more information, it still gave the same error message for extensions. I checked everything else and there were no Power's and only a few Universals which were not duplicates so I didn't remove anything. I thought i had checked my console before but I must have been doing the wrong thing. I checked it now and there are heaps of failures etc. Should I post them here for you and others to see or is that a potential threat to my privacy somehow? I really appreciate your help with this as I'd really like to avoid doing a reinstall and losing stuff.
 
M

macthefork

macrumors 6502
Feb 2, 2013
467
7
There shouldn't be any privacy issues with error reports. If any listing happens to show your user ID, IP address, or email, etc., then don't post those.

Especially useful would be any kernel errors or failures to load that are shown. Also, any errors related to startup applications.

That the System Information page won't load your kernel extensions page, is a cause for concern and points to a likely problem extension(s) causing your issues.

Some of the Log errors you may see may not be an issue. But, many errors, especially ones that are repeated many, many times, may mean that the best resolution might be to reinstall the Operating System clean, and then reinstall each application you use, and only transfer your user files. This, if the problem extension(s) can't be isolated or removed.
 
C

CyrusOz

macrumors regular
Original poster
Mar 15, 2009
145
0
Ok I tried to post the console report but it's about a million characters too long for one single post... how am I supposed to post it here?
 
Weaselboy

Weaselboy

Moderator
Staff member
Jan 23, 2005
34,137
15,602
California
CyrusOz said:
Ok thanks, i posted it at pastebin, hopefully i did it correctly :)

http://pastebin.com/QRtcq8sZ
Click to expand...

It did work properly.

Do you have this app installed? (It looks like you do). I would uninstall that app. See how to remove it here. I suspect this is the source of most of your trouble.

Also turn off Divx update.

Uninstall iAntiVirus. It looks like it is throwing errors.

Get rid of MagicMenuHotKeyDaemon. Looks like it is part of Stuffit Deluxe.

I see a bunch of smcReadKeyAction errors. Look at this article. Do you have iStat menus, iStat pro, or SMCFanControl installed? If you do remove them.

Remove iAntiVirus.
 
C

CyrusOz

macrumors regular
Original poster
Mar 15, 2009
145
0
Weaselboy said:
It did work properly.

Do you have this app installed? (It looks like you do). I would uninstall that app. See how to remove it here. I suspect this is the source of most of your trouble.

Also turn off Divx update.

Uninstall iAntiVirus. It looks like it is throwing errors.

Get rid of MagicMenuHotKeyDaemon. Looks like it is part of Stuffit Deluxe.

I see a bunch of smcReadKeyAction errors. Look at this article. Do you have iStat menus, iStat pro, or SMCFanControl installed? If you do remove them.

Remove iAntiVirus.
Click to expand...

Thanks very much for your feedback. I don't recall every installing espionage, and I tried searching my mac for anything remotely close to that application and i can't find any trace of it but it must be there. I went to my old mac and there were some traces of it on there so I must have migrated that application across. (grrrrr) I can't figure out how to find what is left of it that is causing the problem and I even tried the taoeffect forums for uninstall advice including the terminal command but no luck... i'm stumped on this one but it did appear a number of times with the console error report.

I'm currently working my way through the other applications that you've said to uninstall.

Thanks very much for your assistance, if you or anybody could assist me with removing that damn Espionage i'd greatly appreciate it also.
 
C

CyrusOz

macrumors regular
Original poster
Mar 15, 2009
145
0
After a restart a few of the files magically appeared, i've since deleted them and i'll see how that goes... then i'll run another console report to see what that says too.

Thanks very much for your help with this.
 
Weaselboy

Weaselboy

Moderator
Staff member
Jan 23, 2005
34,137
15,602
California
CyrusOz said:
Thanks very much for your assistance, if you or anybody could assist me with removing that damn Espionage i'd greatly appreciate it also.
Click to expand...

If you had Espionage on your old machine and used Migration Assistant, it brought it over.

Try a search in Finder for files either containing "ispy" or "taoeffect". Open Finder and select "This Mac" then click the plus next to the save button and add system files are included like in my screenshot. This will show that file anywhere on your system.

GNO5tQ9.png
 
C

CyrusOz

macrumors regular
Original poster
Mar 15, 2009
145
0
Ok so it's taken me a while to get back to you due to the holidays but i did everything you suggested and it definitely sped thing sup a heap (not as fast as a new Imac should be though) but i was happy to run with that.. Only a couple of days later it's super slow again, the console produces other new errors and i'm thinking it's time to nuke this damn thing and see if it is a hardware of software issue..

Any final thoughts or suggestions???

Thanks again for your ongoing support
 
jmgregory1

jmgregory1

macrumors 68030
Jun 24, 2010
2,993
2,949
Chicago and a few other places around the world
CyrusOz said:
Ok so it's taken me a while to get back to you due to the holidays but i did everything you suggested and it definitely sped thing sup a heap (not as fast as a new Imac should be though) but i was happy to run with that.. Only a couple of days later it's super slow again, the console produces other new errors and i'm thinking it's time to nuke this damn thing and see if it is a hardware of software issue..

Any final thoughts or suggestions???

Thanks again for your ongoing support
Click to expand...

You should dump the drive and start fresh. Don't use migration assistant and simply move the exact files you want or need over to your new system. I'm guessing you have settings on your old system clashing with your new iMac (obviously) and it's not like setting up a new iMac is hard to do.
 
Weaselboy

Weaselboy

Moderator
Staff member
Jan 23, 2005
34,137
15,602
California
CyrusOz said:
Ok so it's taken me a while to get back to you due to the holidays but i did everything you suggested and it definitely sped thing sup a heap (not as fast as a new Imac should be though) but i was happy to run with that.. Only a couple of days later it's super slow again, the console produces other new errors and i'm thinking it's time to nuke this damn thing and see if it is a hardware of software issue..

Any final thoughts or suggestions???

Thanks again for your ongoing support
Click to expand...

What are the errors you are seeing in Console?
 
C

CyrusOz

macrumors regular
Original poster
Mar 15, 2009
145
0
Weaselboy said:
What are the errors you are seeing in Console?
Click to expand...

I'm seeing so many errors again, most of which i don't understand.. i'm over this mate i'm just going to nuke the damn thing and hopefully i have everything backed up properly, and i also hope i reformat the thing properly.... i've never done this with an Imac before...
 
Weaselboy

Weaselboy

Moderator
Staff member
Jan 23, 2005
34,137
15,602
California
CyrusOz said:
I'm seeing so many errors again, most of which i don't understand.. i'm over this mate i'm just going to nuke the damn thing and hopefully i have everything backed up properly, and i also hope i reformat the thing properly.... i've never done this with an Imac before...
Click to expand...

Ordinarily, I would discourage a wipe and reinstall, but in this case you have so much odd stuff installed on there, this may be the best way to go to ensure everything is gone.

What OS X version are you on now?
 
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