2011 MacMini, extremely SLOW

[EuStoN]

i just bought an open box mac mini base model from Best Buy (2.3GHz I5)... i bought it from best buy while it was use by someone else before, so i didn't have the login name. I had to rest the login, cause i don't' have the previous user's password.

I followed a youtube video on resetting the login user information. After that I started using it.

The computer has been slow since the day one i've turned it on, it is extremely slow. I thought it was the ram problem, so i went and upgraded the ram to 8GBs, it does seem a little bit faster. But I'd expect an i5 processor be a lot better than this. Right now the mac mini is a lot slower than my old asus laptop with first gen i5 chip & only 4gb of ram.

I also have a 13" macbook air ultimate, this machine's speed is at least 5 times as fast as my mac mini. Is there something that much be reset like the Macbook Air SMS resets (click on option function shift and power while the computer is plugged in and power off)


Please HELP~~!!!

 

[GGJstudios]

This may help: Performance tips for Mac OS X

 

[EuStoN]

This may help: Performance tips for Mac OS X

i don't have anything installed to the computer, only boot camp... which is not even turned on.... i only have whatever apps that came with the Lion....

 

[GGJstudios]

i don't have anything installed to the computer, only boot camp... which is not even turned on.... i only have whatever apps that came with the Lion....

It doesn't matter. There are still things on that list you can do to address performance.

 

[David085]

Best Buy start selling the Mid 2011 Mac mini's now?

 

[FrankHahn]

Reinstall Lion will certainly help!

 

[EuStoN]

Reinstall Lion will certainly help!

i will try it

 

[lilsoccakid74]

Best Buy start selling the Mid 2011 Mac mini's now?

I got mine the first week it came out from Best Buy

 

[davidlv]

i just bought an open box mac mini base model from Best Buy (2.3GHz I5)... i bought it from best buy while it was use by someone else before, so i didn't have the login name. I had to rest the login, cause i don't' have the previous user's password.

I followed a youtube video on resetting the login user information. After that I started using it.

The computer has been slow since the day one i've turned it on, it is extremely slow. I thought it was the ram problem, so i went and upgraded the ram to 8GBs, it does seem a little bit faster. But I'd expect an i5 processor be a lot better than this. Right now the mac mini is a lot slower than my old asus laptop with first gen i5 chip & only 4gb of ram.

I also have a 13" macbook air ultimate, this machine's speed is at least 5 times as fast as my mac mini. Is there something that much be reset like the Macbook Air SMS resets (click on option function shift and power while the computer is plugged in and power off)
Please HELP~~!!!

If the mini is really 5 times slower, you need to take it in to Apple to have it checked. However, a lot of the perceived speed difference is probably the SSD in the MB Air. The base model Mac Mini comes with a 5,400 rpm HD, and there is a huge difference in the speed of I/O that makes the machine feel a lot less responsive than it really is. Have you tried converting a video file or an AIFF to an MP3? The sandy bridge iCore is actually much faster than the older C2D chips, about twice as fast or more at the same GHz.
So if you are concerned about your particular machine, have Apple check it out. There is no way it should be slower than the MB Air, other than the I/O issue.

 

[EuStoN]

If the mini is really 5 times slower, you need to take it in to Apple to have it checked. However, a lot of the perceived speed difference is probably the SSD in the MB Air. The base model Mac Mini comes with a 5,400 rpm HD, and there is a huge difference in the speed of I/O that makes the machine feel a lot less responsive than it really is. Have you tried converting a video file or an AIFF to an MP3? The sandy bridge iCore is actually much faster than the older C2D chips, about twice as fast or more at the same GHz.
So if you are concerned about your particular machine, have Apple check it out. There is no way it should be slower than the MB Air, other than the I/O issue.

i know there is speed difference from the hard drive. but it is actually a lot slower than my 1st ten i5 wit 7200rpm Asus laptop... I'm not expecting the os to load up instantly, but i do expect dragging finders around not to be choppy and laggy...

I'm downloading the update for reinstallation now. Will see how it goes after the reinstallation....

Thanks for your input, if it still don't work after reinstall. I guess i'll have to contact apple about it...

 

[theSeb]

There is certainly something wrong because a HDD or SSD will not make your sliders, or windows animations in general, smoother.

 

[MadDragon1846]

Choppy while dragging windows around, and using sliders, is usually to do with the gpu drivers (well thats whats it's like for PCs).

I'd check that your mini is fully up to date. (you probably have already, but thought I'd say, just in case)

 

[philipma1957]

I say kill the bootcamp for now do fresh install of lion and see what you get

 

[EuStoN]

I say kill the bootcamp for now do fresh install of lion and see what you get

does reinstall from recovery count as fresh install??

I have killed the bootcamp~~ and trying to do a reinstall from recovery right now..

 

[philipma1957]

does reinstall from recovery count as fresh install??

I have killed the bootcamp~~ and trying to do a reinstall from recovery right now..

yes if you do a successful recovery install you should be good to go. if it still feels slow we can do some testing since we know you have no "bad" programs

 

[EuStoN]

i have reinstall it, it felt much better now...

btw, does anyone know where this downloaded reinstallation lion file is saved on my harddrive? I wanno install it on my older mac, not sure if it's possible to use this file...

 

[philipma1957]

if you want lion on an older mac you have to buy it. your new mac mini kind of locks lion into that one machine.

it is a bit more complicated then that. but lion is 29.99 at the app store and it will download to most macs except 2011 mac mini's. Maybe some one can write a clear explanation for you. I have not fully awakened this morning

 

[EuStoN]

Thanks ppl!!!!

Now problem is solved... but i felt like i should sell the mini... cause it does still feel slower than my air...

at first, i thought it would be nice to have a desk top around... have all the files backup in there. But now i have changed my air to 256gb, it's not super spacious, but it's enough with my external harddrive. And it's find running my air with my big screen...

How much would i be able to get my mini for?? (a base 2011 mini with 8gb ram)

 

[OSXjamel]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_0_1 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9A405 Safari/7534.48.3)

I just used a boot up disk to wipe everything and start clean

 

[Randor77]

This may help: Performance tips for Mac OS X

GGJ, I have the same problem, sluggish, slow 2011 Mac mini. It is less than one month old. Have been using it for email, to surf internet, and process digital photos with PhotoShops CS5.

Appreciate your tips, but for some reason my Mac mini with Lion does not have System Preferences > Accounts > Login Items. Under System Preferences I have Users & Groups, but that is no help.

HELP!

 

[GGJstudios]

GGJ, for some reason my mid-2011 Mac mini with Lion does not have System Preferences > Accounts > Login Items. Under System Preferences I have Users & Groups, but that is no help.

HELP!

You have to select a user, such as yourself.

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