Mac running slow... Re-Install OSX Mavericks?

[MacNoobGuy]

Hi all I've got a Mac Mini Mid-2011 here running OS X Mavericks with 8GB of RAM and the 500GB HDD it came with (I think it's a 5200RPM drive)and it's running a bit slow. My reboot time is long and it takes a few seconds for me to open .pdf files.

I've been running this Mac Mini as my main machine since I first purchased it in April of 2012. It runs 24/7. I use it as my main workstation during the day and during the night I use 'VLC Streamer' to stream video to my iPod Touch in bed so the Mac Mini is probably in use 20 hours of the day.

What can I do to speed things up? I eventually want to buy an SSD once prices come down in a couple months or so. I'd buy one now but the Mac Mini mid-2011 only has one drive slot so I'd have to remove the 500GB drive. What can I do in the mean time? I've got Time Machine connected to it via an external USB drive and it's backed up daily. If I wiped the drive and then ran Time Machine to restore all of my settings like 'System Preferences' and my folder layout, would this just give me the exact same setup that I have now... So it'd still be running slow or would this give me better performance? I guess I could wipe the drive completely and then just install Mavericks, but then I'd have to re-install all my Apps and put my settings in 'System Preferences' back and this would take a very long time.

I know when I used to format my WinXP and WinVista machines they were MUCH better after a format. Is the case same with OSX?

Thank you for any help!

 

[ssls6]

Try this:

1) reboot and hold "command-r" when you hear the chime

2) from the recovery menu, select disk utility

3) repair your boot drive "normally Macintosh HD"

4) repair permissions on "Macintosh HD"

5) reboot and hold the shift key at the chime, you should see a grey bar

6) at the login prompt, reboot one last time normally

If it is still slow acting, I would add "Machintosh HD" to my spotlight exclusions and then remove it again. This will force a reindexing of your HDD. If it's still slow after this, Go to this website and download Etrecheck (it's free and written by a contributor to ASC). Run the program and post the output.

http://www.etresoft.com/software

 

[cammyg123]

Re-installing won't fix anything.

 

[Akuratyde]

My advice - avoid Mavericks for 2-3 updates as best as possible. It's sad to say that having worked on it, but at least I'm honest about it.

I appreciate your honesty. This is the first time I've actually regretting upgrading to a new version of OS X. I don't really benefit from any of the new features and the issues with this OS are unacceptable.

 

[ls1dreams]

I appreciate your honesty. This is the first time I've actually regretting upgrading to a new version of OS X. I don't really benefit from any of the new features and the issues with this OS are unacceptable.

What are your biggest issues so far?

----------

Take advice from me, someone who has worked on the development of Mavericks for the past months.

OS 10.9 is a very new, and "buggy" system currently. I wouldn't say it's your system, I'd say it's the software itself that is the problem.

Wait for a few updates and hopefully we'll get the major problems sorted out.

My advice - avoid Mavericks for 2-3 updates as best as possible. It's sad to say that having worked on it, but at least I'm honest about it.

I assure you, we'll have the kinks worked out soon. Until then, re-installing won't help much at a all.

Do you have any idea if 10.9.1 will include fixes for any of the finder freeze-ups or random beachballs? I bought an SSD a few weeks ago and have been waiting to do a fresh install (was holding out for .1 instead of .0). If it's still really unresponsive I may just suck it up and install SL for a while.

 

[MacNoobGuy]

Try this:

1) reboot and hold "command-r" when you hear the chime

2) from the recovery menu, select disk utility

3) repair your boot drive "normally Macintosh HD"

4) repair permissions on "Macintosh HD"

5) reboot and hold the shift key at the chime, you should see a grey bar

6) at the login prompt, reboot one last time normally

If it is still slow acting, I would add "Machintosh HD" to my spotlight exclusions and then remove it again. This will force a reindexing of your HDD. If it's still slow after this, Go to this website and download Etrecheck (it's free and written by a contributor to ASC). Run the program and post the output.

http://www.etresoft.com/software

Alright, thanks, but I've already tried running 'disk utility' and it didn't make a real difference.

Like I said in my question, if I wipe the drive, what will my options be in Time Machine? Will it just 'restore' everything so I'd still have the sluggishness?

Thanks!

I did run 'repair' and 'verify' and not a big change.

What else can I do?

 

[GGJstudios]

If you're having performance issues, this may help:

Performance Tips For Mac OS X​

 

[MacNoobGuy]

Ok thanks.

Could someone please tell me what would happen if I wiped my drive and then ran Time Machine? Would Time Machine allow me to just keep apps and my system preferences?

Thanks!

 

[Akuratyde]

What are your biggest issues so far?

See the 3 topics I posted today.

 

[ivnj]

I have same mid 2011 mini with 8gb ram and 500gb hd. Works great. No bugs or slowdowns. I partitioned in 2 and did a clean install on the second partition. No problems yet. It's not buggy for everyone. Try a fresh install. (remember to backup first)

 

[MacNoobGuy]

I have same mid 2011 mini with 8gb ram and 500gb hd. Works great. No bugs or slowdowns. I partitioned in 2 and did a clean install on the second partition. No problems yet. It's not buggy for everyone. Try a fresh install. (remember to backup first)

Ok, thanks. How do I use Time Machine to restore? If I use Time Machine would I just get back what I currently have and so I'd get back the slowness?

 

[Batt]

Ok, thanks. How do I use Time Machine to restore? If I use Time Machine would I just get back what I currently have and so I'd get back the slowness?

Looks like you're having a hell of a time getting an answer to this specific question. I think the answer is "maybe". If I were in your shoes, I'd try a restore from Time Machine and see if it helps. It won't make things worse.

 

[nexsta]

Fresh install will never help. Install ML or wait for a major osx update.

 

[KoolAid-Drink]

If you don't mind me asking.. if Mavericks is *this* buggy, why was it released in the first place? Why didn't Apple announce something like... "hey, we're working on Mavericks, we'll release it when it's ready, we promise! thanks for your patience!" instead of just releasing it out in the wild with all the issues it's apparently having?

Any other serious bugs you know of that will be fixed in 10.9.1? What's one serious, big bug in Mavericks that isn't obvious? Curious!

Take advice from me, someone who has worked on the development of Mavericks for the past months.

OS 10.9 is a very new, and "buggy" system currently. I wouldn't say it's your system, I'd say it's the software itself that is the problem.

Wait for a few updates and hopefully we'll get the major problems sorted out.

My advice - avoid Mavericks for 2-3 updates as best as possible. It's sad to say that having worked on it, but at least I'm honest about it.

I assure you, we'll have the kinks worked out soon. Until then, re-installing won't help much at a all.

 

[cammyg123]

If you don't mind me asking.. if Mavericks is *this* buggy, why was it released in the first place? Why didn't Apple announce something like... "hey, we're working on Mavericks, we'll release it when it's ready, we promise! thanks for your patience!" instead of just releasing it out in the wild with all the issues it's apparently having?

Any other serious bugs you know of that will be fixed in 10.9.1? What's one serious, big bug in Mavericks that isn't obvious? Curious!

Currently, 10.9.1 is in its second beta, so there is still work to be done before it is officially released.

But some of the things that have been improved list below;

Improved support for Gmail in the Mail app.
Updates Shared Links periodically when open in the Safari Sidebar.
Fixes an issue that prevented contact groups from working properly in Mail .
Improves the reliability of Smart Mailboxes and search in Mail.
Resolves an issue that prevented VoiceOver from speaking sentences that contain emoji.
Improves compatibility of the VPN server in OS X Server.

I know that more is to come in the future beta updates released to Apple Developers, but I cannot release that information at this time.

I will surely keep you guys updated when something new is updated or on its way!

 

[TofSanity]

Currently, 10.9.1 is in its second beta, so there is still work to be done before it is officially released.

But some of the things that have been improved list below;

Improved support for Gmail in the Mail app.
Updates Shared Links periodically when open in the Safari Sidebar.
Fixes an issue that prevented contact groups from working properly in Mail .
Improves the reliability of Smart Mailboxes and search in Mail.
Resolves an issue that prevented VoiceOver from speaking sentences that contain emoji.
Improves compatibility of the VPN server in OS X Server.

I know that more is to come in the future beta updates released to Apple Developers, but I cannot release that information at this time.

I will surely keep you guys updated when something new is updated or on its way!

What about graphics? I can't even watch a movie in iTunes and switch back to say safari without the screen going bonkers for a second or two. I love the concept of Mavericks but UGH!!!!!

 

[MacNoobGuy]

Fresh install will never help. Install ML or wait for a major osx update.

Wait, so everyone is dealing with this slowness? I'm really only encountering this slowness when I reboot.

----------

So a re-install of Mavericks wouldn't help me?

I might just put up with the slowness because it's really only when I need to reboot...

 

[Consultant]

My spare 2008 MBP is running Mavericks fine. A 2 year old Mac Mini shouldn't be running "slow".

But due to vague wording of the OP (and inability to attempt the very easy clean install and restore from Time Machine) your best bet is to go to a professional such as the Apple Store and see what they think.

 

[nexsta]

Wait, so everyone is dealing with this slowness? I'm really only encountering this slowness when I reboot.

----------

So a re-install of Mavericks wouldn't help me?

I might just put up with the slowness because it's really only when I need to reboot...

My Macbook Air 2011 feels extremely slow with Mavericks. I can't even watch 1080p videos without stuttering anymore. My Air feels 3 years older now, but after all i read it's for sure Mavericks and people even have it after a fresh install.

 

[MacNoobGuy]

My spare 2008 MBP is running Mavericks fine. A 2 year old Mac Mini shouldn't be running "slow".

But due to vague wording of the OP (and inability to attempt the very easy clean install and restore from Time Machine) your best bet is to go to a professional such as the Apple Store and see what they think.

Thanks. I've got everything backed up in Time Machine. However, if I restore everything from Time Machine, wouldn't I be returning to the slowness that I currently have?

How would using restore from Time Machine change anything? Wouldn't I be getting the identical system I have now?

----------

My Macbook Air 2011 feels extremely slow with Mavericks. I can't even watch 1080p videos without stuttering anymore. My Air feels 3 years older now, but after all i read it's for sure Mavericks and people even have it after a fresh install.

Wow, that sucks because 2011 wasn't so long ago...

 

[robgendreau]

Restoring is, well, restoring. The point of that is to return to where you left off. I dunno whether you could go back to ML via a restore, so check. But otherwise you'll probably just restore the settings that are slowing you down.

Also, what's slow? You mentioned video stuttering, but not much else. What's going on it Activity Monitor? What applications are you using? Do you have any system adds on in the login items that are suspect? Have you tried disabling them? Have you created a new user and logged in as that user and seen if the slowdown persists?

You are sort of asking "if I replace my engine with the same one will my car go faster?" Without knowing what the problem is it's hard to offer a solution. Might be your tires, after all.

 

[vistadude]

Turn off time machine or disconnect your external disk. It consumes a lot of resources to constantly back up data. Also, delete enough file so your hard disk has more than 40% free space. Mavericks is not slower than mountain lion.

 

[Jambalaya]

I have a 2009 Mac Mini now with 8gb RAM and a 750HDD running at 7200 - it runs very sweetly. Perhaps this is as with 2gb ram and a 160hdd it was terribly slow on Lion so now with the upgrades it feels very snappy under Mavericks. Opening files isn't instant, not sure I'd expect it to be. I would have thought your machine would run very well with that setup.

 

[Pfsteel]

I have found two issues which I thought were hardware related so I took my 13"rMBP back and upgraded to the 15"rMBP only to find the same issues..

The biggest problem was that is kept freezing especially when opening folders and looking for files ... turns out it's a Mavericks problem with Finder. Try reseting your Finder prefs by typing the below into a terminal session:
rm ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.finder.plist&&killall Finder

It solved it for me.

The other problem I had was missing Launchpad icons following me using Cleanmymac2.. that's a similar problem but the dock prefs..

 

[SlCKB0Y]

What can I do to speed things up? I eventually want to buy an SSD once prices come down in a couple months or so. I'd buy one now but the Mac Mini mid-2011 only has one drive slot so I'd have to remove the 500GB drive.

Just a point of correction - two drives can be installed into the Mac Mini, you just need to purchase the drive cable that is used to attach the second drive into the Mac Mini Server:

This kit has everything that you need: http://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/DIYIMM11D2/

Installation video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSA65MjfRG8

In this video, he does the install without completely dismantling the Mini as was done in the OWC video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymGnXdwvabg