2019 iMac Very Slow

[theorist9]

ignatius observed:
"This is what happened to my 2014 iMac 5K -- it started slowing down and getting weird, and I used DriveDx to check the health of the SSD and found it was down below 10% of its lifespan left. Any Fusion Drives still in active use at this point should be looked at with suspicion."

So much for all those folks who brush off excessive VM disk swapping (on m-series Macs) with claims that "you'll never wear out that SSD" ...

This seems like a different situation from that for M-series Macs. In the 2014 iMac, the SSD portion of the Fusion Drive was 128 GB (in the 2019 iMac, it's only 32 GB for the 1 TB Fusion Drive).

fusion drive spec 2019 - Apple Community

discussions.apple.com

If that Fusion SSD is used for both swaps and disk writes, it will have more written to it than on an M-series Mac of equal RAM and, more importantly, all those R/W's are concentrated into smaller number of cells, because the drive itself is smaller. Plus the newer M-series Macs could be using more robust SSD's.

So even if this does happen to the Fusion Drive's SSD, that doesn't mean one should expect the M-series SSD's to experience the same thing.

 

[TheSl0th]

ignatius observed:
"This is what happened to my 2014 iMac 5K -- it started slowing down and getting weird, and I used DriveDx to check the health of the SSD and found it was down below 10% of its lifespan left. Any Fusion Drives still in active use at this point should be looked at with suspicion."

So much for all those folks who brush off excessive VM disk swapping (on m-series Macs) with claims that "you'll never wear out that SSD" ...

Not sure why we’re jumping on the swap usage bandwagon. There’s nothing to indicate that this SSD was worn out specifically by swap usage (if it is indeed worn out) or that it provides evidence for swap terror in general.

The SSD portion of a Fusion Drive is subject to particularly heavy wear regardless of swap owing to its caching function and as a middle man between the HDD and the user - lots of extra read write cycles in this use case and on a relatively small number of cells.

Seems without more info from the OP we still don’t know what’s wrong with this iMac, and certainly nothing to implicate swap wear.

 

[RWI]

I am more or less on the same Mac as those specs.

I also had a sudden decrease in speed last year.
I tried to figure out what it could have been, since I did not change anything or downloaded any update or other software. It was literally from one day to the other "boom" speeddrop from like 50%.

A very long story short, I completely wiped the internal (fusion) drive, reformatted it and placed a Time Machine backup back (from a date before the speed drop). And 'voila' it worked again at its usual speed.

Till this day I do not know what the problem was, but I know I fixed it this way.
I have no idea what did the trick (other then what I did), and can't tell you any techy blabla. But it helped.

I do have the money to buy a nice new iMac, but I can't get passed the fact that it has all these 'funny' colors and a white basel and isn't 27".

 

[WebHead]

I do have the money to buy a nice new iMac, but I can't get passed the fact that it has all these 'funny' colors and a white basel and isn't 27".

For this reason my next Mac will be a mini with 32" Dell screen.

 

[theorist9]

Not sure why we’re jumping on the swap usage bandwagon. There’s nothing to indicate that this SSD was worn out specifically by swap usage (if it is indeed worn out) or that it provides evidence for swap terror in general.

The SSD portion of a Fusion Drive is subject to particularly heavy wear regardless of swap owing to its caching function and as a middle man between the HDD and the user - lots of extra read write cycles in this use case and on a relatively small number of cells.

Seems without more info from the OP we still don’t know what’s wrong with this iMac, and certainly nothing to implicate swap wear.

Yeah, we'd need to see a DriveDX ore Terminal report to know what the wear actually is.

 

[webbymac]

Folks...

The OP posted the speeds he's getting from the fusion drive.
They looked quite good to me.

An external USB3.1 gen2 drive would be SLOWER.

Slow boot -- BEFORE the user logs in -- suggests something is wrong with system software.

Hmmm... calling the OP:
After the user logs in, are things STILL slow?
Going from the login screen to the finder?

Tell us... how do things run once the user is logged into her account and running apps?

Yes, things still slow after the user logs in, spinning ball occasionally.

It's generally slow all round; it can take 10 mins or more to boot up and login before it can be used, if it's been shut down.

 

[webbymac]

Thanks for all your responses, I'm going through them now.

Tested drive speed with Blackmagic speed test, scores in MB/s

 

[theorist9]

Thanks for all your responses, I'm going through them now.

Tested drive speed with Blackmagic speed test, scores in MB/s

Could you download a trial version of https://binaryfruit.com/drivedx, run it on your SSD, and show us a screenshot of the report? That would help address the question of SSD wear.

I'd recommend testing drive speed with Amorphous DiskMark (available on the App Store for free), since it shows small random reads and writes:

You might want to download etrecheck ( https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-6172 ), run the report, and post the results. Though you might get better feedback about etrecheck on discussions.apple.com, since it's used there more frequently than here.

And when it's running slowly, could you also capture & post screenshots showing the top dozen or so CPU and memory processses in Activity Monitor? Be sure to include the summaries at the bottom. And you'll want to exclude the last column to protect your identity. I.e., something like these:

 

[webbymac]

I will get more info today or tomorrow.

 

[macnavarra]

This may help open terminal in boot mode : csrutil disable boot... open terminal in macOS: sudo nvram boot-args="vm_compressor=2" ... sudo trim force disable ...boot mode csrutil enable.

 

[tonmischa]

This may help open terminal in boot mode : csrutil disable boot... open terminal in macOS: sudo nvram boot-args="vm_compressor=2" ... sudo trim force disable ...boot mode csrutil enable.

This will not help. Dont do that.

vm-compressor=2 will disable compressing memory, which will ultimately lead to a kernel panic, when memory gets too full.
trim force disable will disable the "garbage collection" of your SSD, which will ultimately lead to a lot more unneccessary writes, slower performance and a quicker "death" of the SSD.

 

[macnavarra]

This will not help. Dont do that.

vm-compressor=2 will disable compressing memory, which will ultimately lead to a kernel panic, when memory gets too full.
trim force disable will disable the "garbage collection" of your SSD, which will ultimately lead to a lot more unneccessary writes, slower performance and a quicker "death" of the SSD.

if you say so who am I to disagree! 😉

 

[webbymac]

OK, here we go.

First up, is the Amorphous Disk Mark check.

 

[webbymac]

Now, the two DriveDX reports; one for the HDD, and one for the SSD.

Looks like the SSD is ok, and the HDD is iffy.

 

[webbymac]

and finally, the EtreCheck report:

EtreCheckPro version: 6.8.8 (68072)

Report generated: 2025-02-04 09:49:09

Download EtreCheckPro from https://etrecheck.com

Runtime: 4:57

Performance: Good


Problem: Computer is too slow


Major Issues: None

Minor Issues:
These issues do not need immediate attention but they may indicate future problems or opportunities for improvement.


Heavy RAM usage - Apps are using a large amount of RAM.

Apps with heavy CPU usage - There have been numerous cases of apps with heavy CPU usage.

Unsigned files - There are unsigned software files installed. Apple has said that unsigned software will not run by default in a future version of the operating system.

Limited drive access - More information may be available with Full Drive Access.

Sharing enabled - This machine has sharing services enabled that could be a security risk.


Hardware Information:
iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, 2019)
iMac Model: iMac19,2
3.6 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i3 (i3-8100) CPU: 4-core
32 GB RAM - Upgradeable by an Apple Authorized Service Provider
BANK 0/ChannelA-DIMM0 - 16 GB DDR4 2400
BANK 2/ChannelB-DIMM0 - 16 GB DDR4 2400

Video Information:
Radeon Pro 555X - VRAM: 2 GB
iMac (built-in) 4096 x 2304

Drives:
disk0 - APPLE HDD HTS541010A9E632 1.00 TB (Mechanical - 5400 RPM)
Internal SATA 3 Gigabit Serial ATA
disk0s1 - EFI (MS-DOS FAT32) [EFI] 210 MB
disk0s2 [APFS Fusion Drive] 1000.00 GB
disk2 [APFS Virtual drive] 1.03 TB (Shared by 6 volumes)
disk2s1 - Macintosh HD - Data (APFS) [APFS Virtual drive] (Shared - 811.13 GB used)
disk2s2 - Preboot (APFS) [APFS Preboot] (Shared - 3.77 GB used)
disk2s3 - Recovery (APFS) [Recovery] (Shared - 1.15 GB used)
disk2s4 - VM (APFS) [APFS VM] (Shared - 8.21 GB used)
disk2s5 (APFS) [APFS Container] (Shared - 10.03 GB used)
disk2s5s1 - Macintosh HD (APFS) [] (Shared - 10.03 GB used)
disk2s6 - Update (APFS) (Shared - 63 MB used)
disk1 - APPLE SSD SM0032L 28.00 GB (Solid State - TRIM: Yes)
Internal PCI-Express 8.0 GT/s x2 NVM Express
disk1s1 - EFI [EFI] 315 MB
disk1s2 [APFS Fusion Drive] 27.55 GB
disk2 [APFS Virtual drive] 1.03 TB (Shared by 6 volumes)
disk2s1 - Macintosh HD - Data (APFS) [APFS Virtual drive] (Shared - 811.13 GB used)
disk2s2 - Preboot (APFS) [APFS Preboot] (Shared - 3.77 GB used)
disk2s3 - Recovery (APFS) [Recovery] (Shared - 1.15 GB used)
disk2s4 - VM (APFS) [APFS VM] (Shared - 8.21 GB used)
disk2s5 (APFS) [APFS Container] (Shared - 10.03 GB used)
disk2s5s1 - Macintosh HD (APFS) [] (Shared - 10.03 GB used)
disk2s6 - Update (APFS) (Shared - 63 MB used)
disk3 - WD Elements 2621 1.00 TB
External USB 5 Gbit/s USB
disk3s1 - EFI (MS-DOS FAT32) [EFI] 210 MB
disk3s2 [APFS Container] 999.96 GB
disk6 [APFS Virtual drive] 999.96 GB (Shared by 2 volumes)
disk6s1 - B**********************e (APFS) (Shared - 480.26 GB used)
disk6s2 - Update (APFS) (Shared - 70 KB used)
disk4 - Seagate Portable 2.00 TB
External USB 5 Gbit/s USB
disk4s1 - EFI (MS-DOS FAT32) [EFI] 210 MB
disk4s2 [APFS Container] 2.00 TB
disk5 [APFS Virtual drive] 2.00 TB (Shared by 1 volumes)
disk5s2 - T**********************0 (APFS) (Shared - 1.73 TB used)

Mounted Volumes:
disk2s1 - Macintosh HD - Data [APFS Virtual drive]
1.03 TB (Shared - 811.13 GB used, 245.67 GB available, 188.68 GB free)
APFS
Mount point: /System/Volumes/Data
disk2s2 - Preboot [APFS Preboot]
1.03 TB (Shared - 3.77 GB used, 188.68 GB free)
APFS
Mount point: /System/Volumes/Preboot
disk2s4 - VM [APFS VM]
1.03 TB (Shared - 8.21 GB used, 188.68 GB free)
APFS
Mount point: /System/Volumes/VM
disk2s5 [APFS Container]
1.03 TB (Shared - 10.03 GB used, 188.68 GB free)
APFS
Mount point: /System/Volumes/Update/mnt1
Partitions:
disk2s5s1
disk2s5s1 - Macintosh HD []
1.03 TB (Shared - 10.03 GB used, 245.67 GB available, 188.68 GB free)
APFS
Mount point: /
Read-only: Yes
disk2s6 - Update
1.03 TB (Shared - 63 MB used, 188.68 GB free)
APFS
Mount point: /System/Volumes/Update
disk5s2 - T**********************0
2.00 TB (Shared - 1.73 TB used, 270.73 GB free)
APFS
Mount point: /Volumes/T**********************0
Encrypted
disk6s1 - B**********************e
999.96 GB (Shared - 480.26 GB used, 519.95 GB available, 519.50 GB free)
APFS
Mount point: /Volumes/B**********************e
Owners enabled: No

Network:
Interface en0: Ethernet
Interface en1: Wi-Fi
Interface en4: iPhone
Interface bridge0: Thunderbolt Bridge

Printer sharing: Enabled


System Software:
macOS Ventura 13.7.2 (22H313)
Time since boot: About 7 days

Notifications:

Google Chrome.app

one notification


Security:
Gatekeeper: App Store and identified developers

System Integrity Protection: Enabled


Antivirus software: Apple and Malwarebytes


Printer sharing: Enabled


Unsigned Files:
Plugin: /Library/Internet Plug-Ins/Silverlight.plugin
Apps: 6

32-bit Applications:
None

System Launch Agents:
[Not Loaded] 19 Apple tasks

[Loaded] 170 Apple tasks

[Running] 209 Apple tasks


System Launch Daemons:
[Not Loaded] 37 Apple tasks

[Loaded] 174 Apple tasks

[Running] 177 Apple tasks

[Other] 3 Apple tasks


Launch Agents:
[Other] com.adobe.ARMDCHelper.cc24aef4a1b90ed56a725c38014c95072f92651fb65e1bf9c8e43c37a23d420d.plist ( - installed 2024-12-08)

[Not Loaded] com.google.keystone.agent.plist ( - installed 2023-12-07)

[Not Loaded] com.google.keystone.xpcservice.plist ( - installed 2023-12-07)

[Running] com.malwarebytes.mbam.frontend.agent.plist ( - installed 2024-07-27)

[Not Loaded] com.microsoft.update.agent.plist ( - installed 2024-12-20)

[Loaded] com.microsoft.update.agent.plist ( - installed 2025-01-07)


Launch Daemons:
[Running] com.adobe.ARMDC.Communicator.plist ( - installed 2024-12-08)

[Running] com.adobe.ARMDC.SMJobBlessHelper.plist ( - installed 2024-12-08)

[Loaded] com.google.GoogleUpdater.wake.system.plist ( - installed 2025-02-03)

[Not Loaded] com.google.keystone.daemon.plist ( - installed 2023-12-07)

[Running] com.malwarebytes.mbam.rtprotection.daemon.plist ( - installed 2024-07-27)

[Running] com.malwarebytes.mbam.settings.daemon.plist ( - installed 2024-07-27)

[Not Loaded] com.microsoft.autoupdate.helper.plist ( - installed 2025-01-07)

[Loaded] com.microsoft.autoupdate.helper.plist ( - installed 2025-01-07)

[Loaded] com.microsoft.office.licensingV2.helper.plist ( - installed 2023-10-21)

[Loaded] com.microsoft.teams.TeamsUpdaterDaemon.plist ( - installed 2024-05-29)

[Loaded] com.omnigroup.OmniSoftwareUpdate.OSUInstallerPrivilegedHelper.7.plist ( - installed 2024-03-26)

[Loaded] us.zoom.ZoomDaemon.plist ( - installed 2025-01-30)


User Login Items:
[Running] 1Password Browser Helper (AgileBits Inc. - installed 2025-01-22)
Modern Login Item
/Applications/1Password.app/Contents/Library/LoginItems/1Password Browser Helper.app
[Running] 1Password Launcher (AgileBits Inc. - installed 2025-01-22)
Modern Login Item
/Applications/1Password.app/Contents/Library/LoginItems/1Password Launcher.app
[Not Loaded] LaunchHelper (App Store - installed 2024-10-23)
Modern Login Item
/Applications/Memory Diag.app/Contents/Library/LoginItems/LaunchHelper.app
[Running] PopClip (App Store - installed 2019-04-05)
Application
/Applications/PopClip.app
[Not Loaded] Scratch Desktop Login Helper (App Store - installed 2019-01-31)
Modern Login Item
/Applications/Scratch Desktop.app/Contents/Library/LoginItems/Scratch Desktop Login Helper.app
[Not Loaded] VimeoLauncher (App Store - installed 2022-12-16)
Modern Login Item
/Applications/Vimeo.app/Contents/Library/LoginItems/VimeoLauncher.app
[Not Loaded] WhatsApp Login Helper (App Store - installed 2025-01-08)
Modern Login Item
/Applications/WhatsApp.app/Contents/Library/LoginItems/WhatsApp Login Helper.app
[Not Loaded] DriveDxLoginItemHelper (Kirill Luzanov - installed 2025-02-03)
Modern Login Item
~/Downloads/DriveDx.app/Contents/Library/LoginItems/DriveDxLoginItemHelper.app
[Not Loaded] StartUpHelper (Spotify - installed 2023-05-30)
Modern Login Item
/Users/***/Applications/Spotify.app/Contents/Library/LoginItems/StartUpHelper.app

Internet Plug-ins:
AdobePDFViewerNPAPI: 17.012.20098 (installed 2021-02-15)
AdobePDFViewer: 21.001.20135 (installed 2021-02-15)
Silverlight: 5.1.50901.0 (installed 2016-11-26)

Audio Plug-ins:
MSTeamsAudioDevice: 2024.45.00.6 (installed 2025-01-28)

Time Machine:
Time Machine information not available without Full Drive Access.
2 local snapshots
Oldest local snapshot: 2025-01-23 10:47:47
Last local snapshot: 2025-01-30 09:45:20

Performance:
System Load: 2.47 (1 min ago) 2.69 (5 min ago) 3.44 (15 min ago)
Nominal I/O speed: 4.12 MB/s
File system: 21.54 seconds
Write speed: 784 MB/s
Read speed: 1419 MB/s

CPU Usage Snapshot:
Type Overall

System: 4 %

User: 12 %

Idle: 84 %


Top Processes Snapshot by CPU:
Process (count) CPU (Source - Location)

Mail (2) 23.34 % (Apple)

EtreCheckPro 15.44 % (Etresoft, Inc.)

mdbulkimport (7) 9.48 % (Apple)

WindowServer 9.34 % (Apple)

Activity Monitor 7.04 % (Apple)


Top Processes Snapshot by Memory:
Process (count) RAM usage (Source - Location)

com.apple.WebKit.WebContent (16) 8.42 GB (Apple)

EtreCheckPro 1.04 GB (Etresoft, Inc.)

Google Chrome Helper (Renderer) (13) 1.04 GB (Google LLC)

Mail (2) 682 MB (Apple)

com.apple.WebKit.WebContent (20) 681 MB (Apple)


Top Processes Snapshot by Network Use:
Process Input / Output (Source - Location)

mDNSResponder 744 MB / 150 MB (Apple)

com.apple.WebKit.Networking 203 KB / 217 KB (Apple)

netbiosd 285 KB / 120 KB (Apple)

apsd 66 KB / 202 KB (Apple)

Mail 138 KB / 67 KB (Apple)


Top Processes Snapshot by Energy Use:
Process (count) Energy (0-100) (Source - Location)

WindowServer 4 (Apple)

sysmond 1 (Apple)

Activity Monitor 1 (Apple)

com.apple.WebKit.WebContent (16) 0 (Apple)

ControlCenter (3) 0 (Apple)


Virtual Memory Information:
Physical RAM: 32 GB


Free RAM: 40 MB

Used RAM: 24.28 GB

Cached files: 7.68 GB


Available RAM: 7.72 GB

Swap Used: 6.30 GB


Software Installs (past 30 days):
Install Date Name (Version)

2024-12-08 ARMDCAgentInstaller (1.0.0)

2024-12-11 Adobe Acrobat Reader (24.005.20320) (24.005.20320)

2024-12-18 XProtectPayloads (149)

2025-01-06 ‎WhatsApp (24.25.79)

2025-01-07 Microsoft AutoUpdate (4.77.24121924)

2025-01-08 macOS 13.7.1 (13.7.1)

2025-01-08 MRTConfigData (1.93)

2025-01-08 WhatsApp (old) (2.2437.52)

2025-01-08 Safari (18.2)

2025-01-08 macOS 13.7.2 (13.7.2)

2025-01-15 Microsoft OneNote (16.93.25011212)

2025-01-22 Mobile Device (1.0.0.0)

2025-01-22 1Password for Safari (8.10.56)

2025-01-22 Microsoft Excel (16.93.25011917)

2025-01-27 Google Drive (0)

2025-01-28 Microsoft Teams (25007.205.3374.2890)

2025-01-28 Disk Speed Test (3.4.2)

2025-01-30 XProtectPlistConfigData (5286)

2025-01-30 Microsoft Word (16.93.25011212)

2025-01-30 Microsoft PowerPoint (16.93.25012611)

2025-01-30 Microsoft Outlook (16.93.25012611)

2025-01-30 Zoom Workplace (6.2.6.41824)

2025-02-01 Adobe Acrobat Reader (24.005.20400) (24.005.20400)

2025-02-03 AmorphousDiskMark (4.0.1)


Diagnostics Information (past 7-30 days):
2025-02-03 16:58:02 com.apple.WebKit.WebContent - High CPU Use (6 times)
2025-02-01 12:52:44 WhatsApp.app - Hang
Executable: /Applications/WhatsApp.localized/WhatsApp.app
2025-02-01 02:30:48 photoanalysisd - High CPU Use (5 times)
Executable: /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/PhotoAnalysis.framework/Versions/A/Support/photoanalysisd
2025-01-30 10:21:55 Mail.app - High CPU Use (2 times)
Executable: /System/Applications/Mail.app
2025-01-28 14:17:18 1Password - Crash
Executable: /Applications/1Password for Safari.app
2025-01-28 12:09:08 bluetoothd - Crash (4 times)
Executable: /usr/sbin/bluetoothd
Details:
libsystem_c.dylib: abort() called


End of report

 

[Fishrrman]

OP:

How much free space is left on the fusion drive?
(apologies if you stated it already)

 

[JonathanX64]

Upgrade it with NVMe flash storage via adapter. That's the only way to make it really fast.

I'd recommend installing a WD Black SN750 (but not the SN770) or SK Hynix P31 / P41, as they work much better with macOS than, say, Samsung drives. It's also wise to switch NVMe drive to 4K format, because every Mac comes with 4K-formatted storage.

 

[bzgnyc2]

Upgrade it with NVMe flash storage via adapter. That's the only way to make it really fast.

I'd recommend installing a WD Black SN750 (but not the SN770) or SK Hynix P31 / P41, as they work much better with macOS than, say, Samsung drives. It's also wise to switch NVMe drive to 4K format, because every Mac comes with 4K-formatted storage.

Second that. The Amorphous DiskMark results really highlight the issue -- a modern NVMe SSD in this system will literally be orders of magnitude faster on random and QD1 sequential I/O (which are more typical of applications than the top line numbers). Etrecheck's I/O checks hide the lead somewhat though it does mention, "Nominal I/O speed: 4.12 MB/s", which isn't great either.

Also if OP can't find an SN750 anymore (or it's priced crazy), an SN850/SN850X should work at least as well. Modern Samsung do not seem to work well with modern macOS (Monterey+).

Then a clean install onto the new NVMe SSD followed by selective new installs of needed apps should clean up any remaining OS issues.

Last, after that I would look at what's driving Safari to use 8GB of RAM. On a 32GB system that's not causing any direct problems but I would look to see if everything that's driving that is something I want. Couldn't tell what applications were actually running during the Etrecheck test but if it was just Mail and Safari there really shouldn't be 6GB of swap in use on a 32GB system. Also Apple Mail shouldn't be using significant CPU most of the time. On my system it averages < 1%. Again, address the drive and reinstall first and then just check these things have also resolved themselves after the clean install/data restore.

 

[webbymac]

Upgrade it with NVMe flash storage via adapter. That's the only way to make it really fast.

I'd recommend installing a WD Black SN750 (but not the SN770) or SK Hynix P31 / P41, as they work much better with macOS than, say, Samsung drives. It's also wise to switch NVMe drive to 4K format, because every Mac comes with 4K-formatted storage.

This is an interesting option, but I've never opened up one of these glued screen macs before and I don't fancy it myself.

 

[webbymac]

So, I think the options are to install an NVMe SSD, or migrate to an external SSD drive which might offer the same R/W speeds but as it's fully SSD rather than Fusion it may be more consistent, I'm assuming, yes?

 

[bzgnyc2]

So, I think the options are to install an NVMe SSD, or migrate to an external SSD drive which might offer the same R/W speeds but as it's fully SSD rather than Fusion it may be more consistent, I'm assuming, yes?

Yes, I suspect internal fusion drive is failing and would move off of it ASAP. Then a pure SSD replacement will be faster than the fusion drive was new.

A good NVMe SSD installed internally would likely be the fastest, cleanest solution but appreciate installation on that system is not trivial. You could probably take it to a good Apple repair place to have it done for ~ 1-2 hours labor (e.g. where I live likely $100-150 not counting drive/adapter cost).

A modern NVMe SSD installed in a good external TB3 enclosure likely won't be quite as fast but still much faster than the fusion drive was in its best days.

Third option is of course a new iMac M4. The fastest but of course most expensive solution.

 

[macnavarra]

a pure SSD replacement will be faster than the fusion drive was new.

Keep in mind that the Fusion HDD is "core!" tied to the Apple firmware as far as I Know.

 

[webbymac]

I think the "easiest" (and cheapest) solution is to use an external SSD. Do you all think this would improve things?

 

[webbymac]

Some more info. Colleague tried to use the Mac last night and it was dog slow.... she gave up. She has multiple user accounts on the Mac and sometimes switches between 2 of them; one personal, one work. Last night it got stuck on switching.

Anyway, this morning, I took a look (as it's logged in now but she's having trouble with email) and I found Mail to be using an awful lot of CPU time. See screenshots.

 

[webbymac]

These screenshots are from the work account. I don't know why Mail would be using so much CPU time but when it checks for mai (automatically) it spikes up to well over 100%. I changed it so that she can check manually.

We then switched to the personal account and Mail doesn't spike high like this when we check for mail.

So, what could it be about the work Mail accounts that are causing this?

Note: not to say that this is the sole root of all of this by any stretch.