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miguelcoma

macrumors member
Original poster
Feb 18, 2012
49
131
PROBLEM SOLVED, Forward to my last post here for the solution

Hi, I've had my new iMac since January 14th and had no problems till yesterday.
For some reason it is really choppy and laggy, specially with internal animations such as mission control, hiding apps to dock, opening apps or showing the desktop.
But I swear to god it was incredibly smooth till yesterday.

I've got a 27'' iMac 3,4Ghz i7, 24GB Ram, 1TB HDD and NVidia GTX 680M
I've checked RAM and CPU usage with almost no app running and it's still slow, although I've got 20GB free RAM and 95% free CPU usage.

I also logged of my session and logged in Guest user, and it is still laggy. Also rebooted a couple of times, still nothing. Also, I repaired Disk Permissions and have 270 of 700GB free HDD Space. (resting 300GB are for my Windows Partition)

NOW, HERE'S THE INTERESTING PART:
I've previously played Portal 2 at max settings and 60FPS on my computer.
And now, if I play it again, at max settings, it still runs at 60FPS according to the game BUT it feels a little laggy compared to how smooth it was before.
So I'm gessing, if it says it runs at 60FPS but doesn't feel like it, should that had to do something with the graphic card adapter?


I made a video of the problem and took a screenshot of processes running while on Guest Account:

this video shows pretty well how laggy it is.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1G5cjQF79bo&feature=youtu.be
another video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzddtVWV2l8
fbf0c0f5837343ef97aaf65.png
 
Last edited:

Thessman

macrumors regular
Dec 8, 2005
189
48
GR
I guess the only thing left to try is boot from a freshly installed system, use an external disk. If the problem persists then you should call Apple.
 

justperry

macrumors G5
Aug 10, 2007
12,553
9,745
I'm a rolling stone.
I did both things. It's still laggy :(

By the way, if you post a screenshot of Activity Monitor you should always select ALL processes in the drop down Menu on top, then select System Memory tab in the lower part and in the main body click on the %CPU tab to show the most active processes on top.
 

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miguelcoma

macrumors member
Original poster
Feb 18, 2012
49
131
Wait, so the only way to solve it is reinstalling OSX from scratch?
How's that possible?
 

justperry

macrumors G5
Aug 10, 2007
12,553
9,745
I'm a rolling stone.
Wait, so the only way to solve it is reinstalling OSX from scratch?
How's that possible?

No, it's almost always if not always possible to solve it without reinstalling, if you startup in a new user and don't have the same issues it is the normal User Account which has problems, if both have problems the problem may be inside the main Library and can still be solved.
When you have the problem make that screenshot as I said before and post it.
 

miguelcoma

macrumors member
Original poster
Feb 18, 2012
49
131
No, it's almost always if not always possible to solve it without reinstalling, if you startup in a new user and don't have the same issues it is the normal User Account which has problems, if both have problems the problem may be inside the main Library and can still be solved.
When you have the problem make that screenshot as I said before and post it.


OK, here are the screenshots:
(Main account logged off, using Guest account. Just Running Safari.)

Part I
8c0f716c900c448dae7734a.png


Part II
b5ebd33207234a20ba9217c.png



SORTED BY CPU USAGE

91b5d71d8d8f402e86a7cc7.png
 

justperry

macrumors G5
Aug 10, 2007
12,553
9,745
I'm a rolling stone.
If I were you I would try without Logitech drivers, so uninstall them, restart and see if that made a difference.

(I see the Logitech Control Centre Deamon running)
 

miguelcoma

macrumors member
Original poster
Feb 18, 2012
49
131
If I were you I would try without Logitech drivers, so uninstall them, restart and see if that made a difference.

(I see the Logitech Control Centre Deamon running)

Ok, I uninstalled them and the problem remains... what can I do now? :(
 

justperry

macrumors G5
Aug 10, 2007
12,553
9,745
I'm a rolling stone.
Ok, I uninstalled them and the problem remains... what can I do now? :(

Run the following command in terminal:

kextfind -case-insensitive -not -bundle-id -substring 'com.apple.' -print

then post the output here.

Also, what is in these folders:

/Library/LauchAgents
/Library/LaunchDeamons
/Library/StartupItems
~/Home/LauchAgents
~/Home//LaunchDeamons
~/Home/StartupItems
 

miguelcoma

macrumors member
Original poster
Feb 18, 2012
49
131
Run the following command in terminal:

kextfind -case-insensitive -not -bundle-id -substring 'com.apple.' -print

then post the output here.

Also, what is in these folders:

/Library/LauchAgents
/Library/LaunchDeamons
/Library/StartupItems
~/Home/LauchAgents
~/Home//LaunchDeamons
~/Home/StartupItems

Ok, Terminal command displayed this:
/System/Library/Extensions/Accusys6xxxx.kext
/System/Library/Extensions/ArcMSR.kext
/System/Library/Extensions/ATTOCelerityFC.kext
/System/Library/Extensions/ATTOCelerityFC8.kext
/System/Library/Extensions/ATTOExpressPCI4.kext
/System/Library/Extensions/ATTOExpressSASHBA.kext
/System/Library/Extensions/ATTOExpressSASHBA2.kext
/System/Library/Extensions/ATTOExpressSASHBA3.kext
/System/Library/Extensions/ATTOExpressSASRAID.kext
/System/Library/Extensions/ATTOExpressSASRAID2.kext
/System/Library/Extensions/BJUSBLoad.kext
/System/Library/Extensions/CalDigitHDProDrv.kext
/System/Library/Extensions/HighPointIOP.kext
/System/Library/Extensions/HighPointRR.kext
/System/Library/Extensions/hp_Inkjet8_io_enabler.kext
/System/Library/Extensions/JMicronATA.kext
/System/Library/Extensions/LittleSnitch.kext
/System/Library/Extensions/LogMeInSoundDriver64.kext
/System/Library/Extensions/PromiseSTEX.kext
/System/Library/Extensions/SoftRAID.kext
/System/Library/Extensions/TelestreamAudio.kext


In the folders you mentioned:
/Library/LauchAgents This
/Library/LaunchDeamons This
/Library/StartupItems This Folder was empty

As for this folders
~/Home/LauchAgents
~/Home//LaunchDeamons
~/Home/StartupItems
I'm not exactly sure where to find them, but I thought it was in Home/Library/
And in that folder I just found /LaunchAgents the others where missing. This is what's in it.

By the way, thank you for all the help!!
 

justperry

macrumors G5
Aug 10, 2007
12,553
9,745
I'm a rolling stone.
Ok, Terminal command displayed this:



In the folders you mentioned:
/Library/LauchAgents This
/Library/LaunchDeamons This
/Library/StartupItems This Folder was empty

As for this folders
~/Home/LauchAgents
~/Home//LaunchDeamons
~/Home/StartupItems
I'm not exactly sure where to find them, but I thought it was in Home/Library/
And in that folder I just found /LaunchAgents the others where missing. This is what's in it.

By the way, thank you for all the help!!

I am in a different timezone, that was my last post.

Now, as for your Extensions and others.

Extensions, I see a few of them which are not there by default but some of them are OK

/System/Library/Extensions/hp_Inkjet8_io_enabler.kext
This one is OK, printer drivers are tested well

/System/Library/Extensions/LittleSnitch.kext
I have this one, no problem here.

/System/Library/Extensions/LogMeInSoundDriver64.kext
I know LogMeIn, this could potentially be a problem although I doubt it

/System/Library/Extensions/TelestreamAudio.kext
I have no idea what this is, it seems to be audio related but don't know what it does.
Just looked it up, you seem to have screenflow 4, uninstall and see if it helps, you might have to restart since it is an extension.


As for the other Folders
LauchAgents
LaunchDeamons
StartupItems

These are standard Folders but empty when you have a new Install, these folders are standard only in /Library but not in your ~/Home/Library folder, if there are no folders like these inside your Home/Library folder there is no problem, but some Apps will create these.

I saw one I don't know, the rest seems to be OK.
com.hamachix.tuncfgd.plist in /Library/LaunchDeamons

Seems like a VPN from Computer to computer, something to do with LogMeIn.

I had LogMeIn a while ago but don't like this software, installs way too much crap everywhere.
Uninstall restart and see if it is better.

Now, I said uninstall two software packages but before you do you can do other things, like holding the shift key when logging into your User Account, do this right after you hit Enter, see if this works, if not restart and hold the shift key instantly after restarting or starting up, this will get you into safe boot, what does it do now, still have problems or not?
I safe boot only loads the default system without startupItems, 3rd party Extensions-LaunchAgents/Deamons amongst more stuff.

I hate Apps which install stuff for no reasons at all, LittleSnitch needs an extension to prevent incoming traffic, I'll give you an example for software which is not needed, for instance WD, WD installs for instance extensions, for what, it's just an effing Harddisk!

I always check what Apps installs, I do this with an App called Pacifist, if the installer is a .pkg file or when I open an installer by right clicking on it and there is a .pkg (Or mpkg) inside I open it with Pacifist first.

There is one more thing to look at, open console and see in system log if you see errors reoccurring again and again, sometimes it tells where to look.
 
Last edited:

justperry

macrumors G5
Aug 10, 2007
12,553
9,745
I'm a rolling stone.
I did all that and also booted in safe mode, but still the problem remains. :(
This is driving me craaaazy

Is it possible that it has something to do with the cache?

Yeah frustrating.

Since it didn't help yet you should run 3 diagnostic programs, first run Disk Utility and run check disk, if there are no errors run Apple Hardware test and Memtest.

Intel-based Macs: Using Apple Hardware Test

MemTest

When you are on MemTest page you better click on guide and read how to run it from Single User Mode, this is much better than running it in OS X.
 

ajgreg

macrumors newbie
May 4, 2013
1
0
logitech mouse dongle issue

have you tried unplugging the logitech usb dongle? i have had this problem with my mouse in the past and this helps. i haven't seen this with ML.
 

BornAgainMac

macrumors 604
Feb 4, 2004
7,275
5,212
Florida Resident
I had the same problem and it ended up being my Bootcamp partition causing my Mac to be slow. My theory was Spotlight was trying to index that drive but never confirmed since I just got rid of Bootcamp completely.

My 2010 iMac now runs as expected.
 

miguelcoma

macrumors member
Original poster
Feb 18, 2012
49
131
HEY GUYS!
Some dude from another forum solved my problem!
If anyone has a similiar issue, please do the following, it really helps:

Step 1: Delete system windowserver preferences
In the Finder, from the menu bar, select "Go -> Go to Folder..."
Enter: /Library/Preferences/
Delete the file called com.apple.windowserver.plist

Step 2: Delete user windowserver preferences
In the Finder, from the menu bar, select "Go -> Go to Folder..."
Enter: ~/Library/Preferences/ByHost/
Delete all files that start with com.apple.windowserver (On my rMBP, there was one file called com.apple.windowserver.12AFB147-95D6-5C70-8F62-C1E4F2BE81BE)

[OPTIONAL] Step 3: Reset the PRAM
(These instructions are from http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1379)
Shut down your Mac.
Locate the following keys on the keyboard: Command (⌘), Option, P, and R. You will need to hold these keys down simultaneously in step 4.
Turn on the computer.
Press and hold the Command-Option-P-R keys before the gray screen appears.
Hold the keys down until the computer restarts and you hear the startup sound for the second time.
Release the keys.

That did the trick and my iMac is now fast and smooth again.
Kudos to black_ice from applesfera for finding the solution to my problem!!
And thanks to all of you for your help! :) :)
 
Last edited:

justperry

macrumors G5
Aug 10, 2007
12,553
9,745
I'm a rolling stone.
HEY GUYS!
Some dude from another forum solved my problem!
If anyone has a similiar issue, please do the following, it really helps:



That did the trick and my iMac now is fast and smooth again.
Kudos to black_ice from applesfera for finding the solution to my problem!!
And thanks to all of you for your help! :) :)

Good to know, glad you solved it.
 

tomasmcm

macrumors newbie
May 7, 2013
2
0
Perfect

Worked like a charm!!!! A thousand Thank you!!!!

" Step 1: Delete system windowserver preferences
In the Finder, from the menu bar, select "Go -> Go to Folder..."
Enter: /Library/Preferences/
Delete the file called com.apple.windowserver.plist

Step 2: Delete user windowserver preferences
In the Finder, from the menu bar, select "Go -> Go to Folder..."
Enter: ~/Library/Preferences/ByHost/
Delete all files that start with com.apple.windowserver (On my rMBP, there was one file called com.apple.windowserver.12AFB147-95D6-5C70-8F62-C1E4F2BE81BE)

[OPTIONAL] Step 3: Reset the PRAM
(These instructions are from http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1379)
Shut down your Mac.
Locate the following keys on the keyboard: Command (⌘), Option, P, and R. You will need to hold these keys down simultaneously in step 4.
Turn on the computer.
Press and hold the Command-Option-P-R keys before the gray screen appears.
Hold the keys down until the computer restarts and you hear the startup sound for the second time.
Release the keys. "
 

NeoCracer

macrumors member
Jun 29, 2009
42
0
HEY GUYS!
Some dude from another forum solved my problem!
If anyone has a similiar issue, please do the following, it really helps:



That did the trick and my iMac is now fast and smooth again.
Kudos to black_ice from applesfera for finding the solution to my problem!!
And thanks to all of you for your help! :) :)

Thank you SO MUCH!
My iMac was weirdly slow for no reason and now following those steps fixed everything on my two week old Late 2013 iMac!

I'm so glad I found this post, I was about to reinstall my OS and everything, or even calling Apple for a new iMac.
 

mungler

macrumors newbie
Jun 13, 2007
24
0
Sorted my Retina iMac problem!

Hi,

I know this is an old thread, but the com.apple.windowserver.plist deletion trick outlined here is the only thing that solved my problem with a new Retina iMac.

The machine had been dreadfully sluggish, with visible delays in updates to the UI.

I tried everything - thought it was Spotlight for a bit, even talked to Apple support a few times, with very little progress.

I stumbled across this thread, figured I had nothing to lose from the plist solution and gave it a try. I did also do a PRAM reset - its possible that the plist deletions OR the PRAM reset alone would have fixed it, but there's likely no harm in doing both.
 
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