Two very slow Macs

shnyhd · Dec 17, 2014

I have been struggling with a very slow mini and now today my late 2012 27" iMac has slowed dramatically.
I feel like I am back in 1992 with my old LCII!

The mini is running 10.9.5 as there is software that is not Yosemite compliant yet. The iMac is running 10.10.1 2.9 GHz i5 w/32GB RAM and the mini has 4GB RAM.

Activity monitor shows less than 5% CPU activity during any process despite PS trying to render graphics.
The mini is just running office word processing, Mail and Safari and also show very low activity despite application demands.

Is there an update like Flash that has slowed my system?
Anybody else have this issue?

TIA

yjchua95 · Dec 17, 2014

shnyhd said:
I have been struggling with a very slow mini and now today my late 2012 27" iMac has slowed dramatically.
I feel like I am back in 1992 with my old LCII!

The mini is running 10.9.5 as there is software that is not Yosemite compliant yet. The iMac is running 10.10.1 2.9 GHz i5 w/32GB RAM and the mini has 4GB RAM.

Activity monitor shows less than 5% CPU activity during any process despite PS trying to render graphics.
The mini is just running office word processing, Mail and Safari and also show very low activity despite application demands.

Is there an update like Flash that has slowed my system?
Anybody else have this issue?

TIA

Do both have HDDs?

If both have HDDs, sounds like the drives are going to die.

Might be a good time to upgrade both to SSDs.

TimothyJohn · Dec 17, 2014

Restart. Hold command R. Open disc utility. Repair permissions. Repair disc.

I also recommend defragging. Speed tools utilities works for me. $30.

Good luck!!

shnyhd · Dec 20, 2014

Thank you for the suggestions but have done all that. The iMac has a fusion drive and is on warranty still.

The mini is also on warranty. It does have a traditional disk. It seems to be in good shape and it has been this slow ever since I used migration assistant to move stuff from an older mini.

I guess I will take them into Apple.

rkaufmann87 · Dec 20, 2014

shnyhd said:
Thank you for the suggestions but have done all that. The iMac has a fusion drive and is on warranty still.

The mini is also on warranty. It does have a traditional disk. It seems to be in good shape and it has been this slow ever since I used migration assistant to move stuff from an older mini.

I guess I will take them into Apple.

Chances are is it is due to something you have installed. Do you use any antivirus, cleaning, or happen to use a torrent to download applications?

shnyhd · Dec 20, 2014

Thanks but I do not have any new SW nor do I have any Torrent applications or operations. The mini was slow well before the iMac (2months) it seems to recover to reasonable speed after about a half hour of use.

iamMacPerson · Dec 20, 2014

shnyhd said:
Thanks but I do not have any new SW nor do I have any Torrent applications or operations. The mini was slow well before the iMac (2months) it seems to recover to reasonable speed after about a half hour of use.

It sounds to me like its the fact you did a restore. My father did the same thing on his Macs for years until I cleaned it out for him yesterday. Using the same backup, he has moved from 3 different computers over the course of 6 OS releases and almost a decade. Does this sound similar to how you set up the Macs? If so, I would recommend just backing up the data you need and do an erase and reinstall.

If that is not the case, I would think the HDD in the Mac mini could be dying and in need of a replacement. Even though Disk Utility might say that its in good health, I never trust it. I'd take them both to Apple considering they are both under warranty and them take a look at them.

shnyhd · Dec 27, 2014

iamMacPerson said:
It sounds to me like its the fact you did a restore. My father did the same thing on his Macs for years until I cleaned it out for him yesterday. Using the same backup, he has moved from 3 different computers over the course of 6 OS releases and almost a decade. Does this sound similar to how you set up the Macs? If so, I would recommend just backing up the data you need and do an erase and reinstall.

If that is not the case, I would think the HDD in the Mac mini could be dying and in need of a replacement. Even though Disk Utility might say that its in good health, I never trust it. I'd take them both to Apple considering they are both under warranty and them take a look at them.

Thank you.
I am planning just that. Need some time when I am not trying to get work done.

FortWorthMac · May 22, 2015

shnyhd said:
I have been struggling with a very slow mini and now today my late 2012 27" iMac has slowed dramatically.
I feel like I am back in 1992 with my old LCII!

The mini is running 10.9.5 as there is software that is not Yosemite compliant yet. The iMac is running 10.10.1 2.9 GHz i5 w/32GB RAM and the mini has 4GB RAM.

Activity monitor shows less than 5% CPU activity during any process despite PS trying to render graphics.
The mini is just running office word processing, Mail and Safari and also show very low activity despite application demands.

Is there an update like Flash that has slowed my system?
Anybody else have this issue?

TIA

Hello, did you ever come up with a solution?

I have the exact same iMac series, except 16GB of Ram. And mine has always seemed like it was underpowered, but the last week or so, it's just crawling, with the spinning ball all the time.

I'm typing this from an older MBA and it's faster than the iMac.

Thanks

yjchua95 · May 22, 2015

FortWorthMac said:
Hello, did you ever come up with a solution?

I have the exact same iMac series, except 16GB of Ram. And mine has always seemed like it was underpowered, but the last week or so, it's just crawling, with the spinning ball all the time.

I'm typing this from an older MBA and it's faster than the iMac.

Thanks

If your iMac doesn't have an SSD, there you go.

FortWorthMac · May 23, 2015

yjchua95 said:
If your iMac doesn't have an SSD, there you go.

Ok, I'm starting to lean in the direction of getting a SSD. It appears that I can get a 512mb for $229 from Crucial. I assume that by adding the drive that it replaces my HD all together?

yjchua95 · May 23, 2015

FortWorthMac said:
Ok, I'm starting to lean in the direction of getting a SSD. It appears that I can get a 512mb for $229 from Crucial. I assume that by adding the drive that it replaces my HD all together?

Yes.

Note that replacing the hard drive on the late-2012 and later iMacs is next to impossible. You'll have to tear apart the entire display.

If you're using the 27", you'll also need a 3.5" to 2.5" adapter, and possibly face temperature sensor issues as well.

z31fanatic · May 23, 2015

Even if he doesn't have a SSD, it doesn't mean he should see the beach ball all the time. Something else is going on.

Meister · May 23, 2015

z31fanatic said:
Even if he doesn't have a SSD, it doesn't mean he should see the beach ball all the time. Something else is going on.

My experience with Yosemite has been:

hdd = beachballs

ssd = no beachballs

idoccurt · May 24, 2015

shnyhd said:
I have been struggling with a very slow mini and now today my late 2012 27" iMac has slowed dramatically.
I feel like I am back in 1992 with my old LCII!

The mini is running 10.9.5 as there is software that is not Yosemite compliant yet. The iMac is running 10.10.1 2.9 GHz i5 w/32GB RAM and the mini has 4GB RAM.

Activity monitor shows less than 5% CPU activity during any process despite PS trying to render graphics.
The mini is just running office word processing, Mail and Safari and also show very low activity despite application demands.

Is there an update like Flash that has slowed my system?
Anybody else have this issue?

TIA

Try resetting the pram.

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Two very slow Macs

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