2011 iMac slow after factory reset

[marine0816]

My 2011 27” inch base model 24MB ram iMac had been having the rainbow spinning of death for the longest, so I did a factory reset and installed Mac high Sierra and it still SLOW.. Does this mean my computer will never be the same, because it so old? I can barely use safari. Do I need a new iMac or is there something can be fixed? Is this what they mean by planned obsolescence? Thank you

 

[nambuccaheadsau]

Your problem is the slow as treacle 7200rpm hard drive by your description.

When i had that model best fix was an SSD in a caddy connected externally via Thunderbolt, as that model only has USB2 connections. Read was in the mid 500's and Write towards 300. Simply connect the external, clone the operating system over using CarbonCopyCloner or SuperDuper, and go into System Preferences > Startup Disk and choose the external as the boot disk.

Problem solved.

 

[tyche]

I suggest this every time someone posts about slow speeds. Download Black Magic disk speed utility from the Mac store and run a benchmark. This helps people see if there is a hardware issue or it’s just expected performance.

 

[enricoclaudio]

I had the same issue a couple of years ago and the best solution for me was to replace the 1TB HDD with a 1TB SSD using the OWC SSD Kit. The iMac became super fast to the point that 2 years later still working perfectly. I upgraded it with a 2017 iMac 27" 5K and the old one I gave to my daughters. To do the SSD upgrade you will need these parts:

https://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/DIYIMACHDD11/

https://www.amazon.com/NewerTech-Ad...11184685&sr=8-6&keywords=iMac+ssd+upgrade+kit

By that time the cheapest 1TB SSD available was this model:

https://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-Ultr...1-8&keywords=1tb+ssd+internal+hard+drive&th=1

This is by far the best upgrade you can do to get your 2011 iMac back into the game again.

 

[Fishrrman]

OP:
There's a combination of three things slowing down the iMac.
1. internal platter-based hard drive
2. new version of the OS
3. older Mac.

The unspoken reality about Apple's newer OS releases is that they require either an SSD or a fusion drive (which is "part SSD") to run at acceptable speeds.

Having both an older Mac -and- a platter-based hard drive inside is killing the speed. The OS is "running" (technically), but from the viewpoint of the user, it's more like "walking".

Reply 2 above has "the answer" to make it run faster.
That is, you need to get an external thunderbolt-based SSD, and set that up to become your "external boot drive". If you do this, things will go MUCH faster.

The downside is that thunderbolt is expensive (compared to an external USB3 SSD drive), but since you don't have USB3, it's really the only choice UNLESS you were to pry open the iMac and put a SATA-based SSD inside it.

If you intend to keep the iMac a while longer (say at least 2 years), I'd go the external thunderbolt SSD route.
I'd get a smaller-sized SSD (256gb) -- cheaper.
I'd put the OS, applications, and basic accounts on the SSD (keep it "lean and clean").
I'd leave the large libraries of music, movies and pictures on the internal HDD (they don't need the speed)

Your other alternative is to start shopping for something new or perhaps Apple-refurbished.
IMPORTANT -- do not, repeat DO NOT buy another iMac with a platter-based HDD inside.
Buy ONLY one with an SSD or a 2tb fusion drive (I'd avoid the 1tb fusion drive as the SSD portion is only 32gb).
"Straight SSD" is the way to go on the new ones...

 

[bernuli]

My 2011 27” inch base model 24MB ram iMac had been having the rainbow spinning of death for the longest, so I did a factory reset and installed Mac high Sierra and it still SLOW.. Does this mean my computer will never be the same, because it so old? I can barely use safari. Do I need a new iMac or is there something can be fixed? Is this what they mean by planned obsolescence? Thank you

That could be the hard drive going bad actually. If there are read or write errors, everything comes to a stop while the OS waits for the drive to come back with good data...which might involve numerous retries and multiple minutes.

 

[Samuelsan2001]

That could be the hard drive going bad actually. If there are read or write errors, everything comes to a stop while the OS waits for the drive to come back with good data...which might involve numerous retries and multiple minutes.

This is the most likely explanation replace the HDD with an SSD and give your mac a new lease of life that simple really.

 

[marine0816]

Thanks for the comments. I will br ordering a 1TB SSD and will advise if that did the trick

 

[elf69]

also with a fresh install will OSX not be indexing the drive too?

this will slow down the already bottle necked HDD?

SSD is the future for pretty much ANY computer.
It's shocking the difference!

 

[Airmarine]

Jumping om to this thread.

Like OP, my 2011 27 iMac has become pretty slow. Today I added 16 gigs of ram and that helped some (went from 4 gigs to 20 gigs).

However, I’m interested in going the external SSD route also and hopefully add some years to my iMac.

I found these drives on amazon:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B072PXFCHJ/_encoding=UTF8?coliid=I349F4FB6TPLDG&colid=1FEBM8VAPUEHS

And

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00NV9LTFW/_encoding=UTF8?coliid=I2D3S6BJZR67RN&colid=1FEBM8VAPUEHS

Would these be good for the purpose? Or do you recommend any alternatives?

They both seem somewhat expensive, however my thinking is that either of them would fit nicely as extra storage to a new iMac in a couple of years down the road when I bite the bullet and upgrade.

Thanks in advance for any replies.

 

[Fishrrman]

Airmarine wrote:
"Would these be good for the purpose? Or do you recommend any alternatives?"

Those drives -would- speed up your iMac somewhat.
I will -guess- that you'd see read speeds around 400mbps and writes in the 275-300mbps range.

HOWEVER -- and this is my opinion only -- I WOULD NOT buy EITHER of them.
Instead, I would buy A NEW iMAC.

It's not worth spending $600-700 on an iMac that is 6 years old.
If you can afford to drop $700 for an external drive, you can "reach deeper" and find the cash for a new iMac...

Again, my opinion only.

 

[Airmarine]

Airmarine wrote:
"Would these be good for the purpose? Or do you recommend any alternatives?"

Those drives -would- speed up your iMac somewhat.
I will -guess- that you'd see read speeds around 400mbps and writes in the 275-300mbps range.

HOWEVER -- and this is my opinion only -- I WOULD NOT buy EITHER of them.
Instead, I would buy A NEW iMAC.

It's not worth spending $600-700 on an iMac that is 6 years old.
If you can afford to drop $700 for an external drive, you can "reach deeper" and find the cash for a new iMac...

Again, my opinion only.

Thank you for your thoughts Fishrrman. You have actually hit the head on the nail: I really would like to reach deeper and buy a new iMac - especially because my current one also suffers from the dim left screen fault that Apple has never acknowledged (not too bad but still a bit annoying). I have been quoted USD 600 to fix this issue but decided against it because of the computer's age.

However, a new 27 inch iMac with the most basic specs with a SSD would cost me about USD 3,600 (DK prices) (and another USD 250 for 8 gigs of extra third party ram), (and USD 3,800 if I want a version that can be upgraded to 64 gb ram) and I dont really know if I can justify that cost (to myself) when I -do- have a computer that runs. And the money on the new SSD would not be (totally) wasted on a new iMac in the future. That was my thought anyway...

But honestly, your suggestion is really what a big part of me wants to do. That way, I will also not have to tangle with the booting from external harddrive which I dont even know if I can get the hang of. Also, maybe my mind have been clouded by all the look-how-easy-it-is-to-speed-up-my-old-iMac videos on youtube and elsewhere on the internet.

Do you have any experience on the lifetime of iMacs generally?

Again, thank you for your time and your perspective (even if you suggestion will dig deeper into my funds )- really appreciated.

 

[Fishrrman]

"Do you have any experience on the lifetime of iMacs generally?"

I have an old 2006-vintage "white" Intel iMac that still boots and runs ok, but it's not my "daily driver". Sometimes it goes days between power-ons.

If money is an issue, consider a "base model" 2017 iMac, 27" if you can.
Then, use the "build-to-order" option to add a 256gb SSD (adds $100 US).
If you need more storage, get a USB3 external drive.

 

[marine0816]

I just got a 1 TB SSD , and boy I just saved $2-3,000 on buying a new iMac.. this iMac feels just like how it ran in 2011 even better with the 18sec boot up.. there’s some much other things $2-3,000 can be put to better use.

 

[Airmarine]

I just got a 1 TB SSD , and boy I just saved $2-3,000 on buying a new iMac.. this iMac feels just like how it ran in 2011 even better with the 18sec boot up.. there’s some much other things $2-3,000 can be put to better use.

Can I ask which SSD you went with?

 

[marine0816]

Can I ask which SSD you went with?

Crucial mx300 1TB

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01I...dpPl=1&dpID=51YndxZLJmL&ref=plSrch&th=1&psc=1