2011 MBP Major Slowdown

[creationtwenty2]

Hi there,

I've got a 2011 15" MBP (i7 2.2, 8GB RAM, HD6750, 750GB Stock HDD, 10.7.2) and in the last couple weeks, it's showing some major slowdown issues.

I can't pinpoint why, but 'everything' feels slower. Boot up takes longer, opening apps takes longer, and then there's the more noticeable issues for example;

iTunes playback stutters regularly, to the point tracks are almost unlistenable.

When using virtual instruments in Logic (Kontakt for example) playing more than 2 notes simultaneously results in further notes being cut-off.

Clicking on menu bar items 'File/Edit/View' etc results in a few seconds wait when it used to be instantaneous.

In PhotoShop, switching brushes, painting on even small canvases results in long wait times.

I've been a Mac user for ~8 years now and this is the first time I've seen anything remotely similar.

Even typing this message the cursor is freezing after every few words.

I've checked Activity Monitor and nothing appears out of the ordinary, over 6GB of my RAM is showing as free, and 90% of my CPU free. When using Logic the CPU/RAM meters idle happily near 0. Also, prior to these issues, I could run Logic tracks with many instances of Kontakt/other AU's without any problem at all.

I've tried the usual reset PRAM, repair permissions etc and no luck. I've also checked the HDD in Disk Util and apparently it's fine (from a verification point of view).

Any ideas?

I'm only 5 months into the warranty so I'm covered, I also have AppleCare but I rely on this computer daily for work so I'm wondering if there's anything you guys could suggest before I take it into the Apple Store.

 

[squeakr]

Create another account and see if the issues arise within that account as well to pinpoint if it may be hardware related or something within you user folder/ profile.

 

[thundersteele]

How full is your HDD?

Did you try to run the hardware test from the boot menu? I would try to check RAM and HDD. Creating a new user as squeakr suggested is also an excellent idea.

 

[creationtwenty2]

Thanks guys,

HDD is about 40% full. I'm worried it is the disk to be honest. I REALLY don't want to install all my software again and isnt cloning the disk a non-option now with Lions recovery partition?

I will try the hardware check and a new user account too, hopefully that will shed some light on things.

 

[squeakr]

CCC is still an option for cloning.

 

[creationtwenty2]

CCC is still an option for cloning.

Does it play nice with the recovery partition? I remember last time I looked into it, cloning to a new drive meant you lost your recovery partition. Or do you just do a fresh install first and then clone onto the main partition?

 

[soulreaver99]

Welcome to OSX Lion!!!

It sounds like a faulty RAM module. If your HD is making weird noises and sounds like it's going crazy then it might be the hard drive, but I don't think so. As for slow bootup, try running this in Terminal:

sudo chown root:admin /
sudo kextcache -system-prelinked-kernel
sudo kextcache -system-caches

If that doesn't help take it to the Apple Store.

 

[creationtwenty2]

Thanks for the further replies.

I ran AHT, came back with a 4HDD/11/40000000:SATA(0,0) and a message stating the Hard Drive was faulty.

Shortly after, the hard drive began to make noticeable clicking sounds. Fortunately I was able to make a backup of my most recent file changes, although I tend to keep a fairly decent backup regime.

I took it to the Apple Store who basically just took my word for it and swapped out the drive there and then, took about 10 mins. I also decided to go back to Snow Leopard since they offered to restore using their network server to either SL or Lion.

Anyway, it's back up and running and noticeably quicker and smoother.

Now I just have the wonderful task of installing all of my software again, oh the joys of being a composer and using music apps; the biggest, longest and slowest multiple disc installs known to man.

 

[kevink2]

My stepmother's Mac Mini just started to go real slow last week too.

The hardware test shows the same error.

I'm trying to clone the information to a spare drive I have at my place, and CCC went part way then stopped copying data. Several files report input/output errors.

But what is weird is that if i boot up the Windows boot camp partition, things still seem to work. Which I used to backup some pictures from the Mac partition.

I have a new hard drive on order, and I'll try to get everything set back up on the new hard drive. I don't know how hard it will be to restore the Windows partition, since I created a Windows restore image on a USB drive.

 

[Weaselboy]

Does it play nice with the recovery partition? I remember last time I looked into it, cloning to a new drive meant you lost your recovery partition. Or do you just do a fresh install first and then clone onto the main partition?

Yes. The newest version of CCC will even copy over the recovery partition for you.