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Late 2009 Macbook lagging, becoming hard to use

H

haybarn564

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Apr 11, 2011
3
0
I am running a late 2009, 13-inch Macbook with a 2.26 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Processor. I am running Mavericks OS X 10.9.4 with 4GB of Memory. I have a 250 GB hard drive, with 36.88 GB free. Over the past few months, I've noticed that my computer lags really badly with just about everything. Opening up applications takes forever, and then once they are open, they freeze up constantly. For example, opening safari windows often leads to freezing (spinning beach ball) and slow loading pages. But it's not just Safari...it happens with mail, iTunes, etc. Startup also seems to take forever now. I've run the basic Onyx Maintenance tasks every so often, but it doesn't seem to make much of a difference in performance. Any tips on what I can do to speed things up and reduce the lag and constant freezing? I've seen various threads mentioning things like doing a clean re-install of Mavericks, but then I've seen other threads that said there should be no reason to do that and that I shouldn't need to do any maintenance! So I'm at a bit of a loss as to what is the best course of action. t can provide any additional information that would help.

Thanks!
 
I wouldn't consider myself a heavy user and, overall, it serves me well. So if I would probably continue using the machine for as long as I can, as long as it is working ok. Right now the lagging is the only reason I would consider replacing it right now.
 
Ok then. With that I'd recommend into looking for memory expansions. Perhaps you are using all 4GB of RAM and not realizing it. Raising the roof to 8GB will not hurt and should give you more time in the long run in terms of usage.
 
haybarn564 said:
I wouldn't consider myself a heavy user and, overall, it serves me well. So if I would probably continue using the machine for as long as I can, as long as it is working ok. Right now the lagging is the only reason I would consider replacing it right now.
Click to expand...

Even if you were low on memory it would not causing the freezing you are describing. What you are describing is exactly the symptoms of a hard drive failing. It is also possible, but much less likely you have a failing drive cable.

Try a command-r boot to recovery then use Disk Utility to run a repair disk. Does that show any disk errors? Even still, it is possible to have a failing drive and have it not show errors in DU.

TL;dr bad drive
 
Weaselboy said:
Even if you were low on memory it would not causing the freezing you are describing. What you are describing is exactly the symptoms of a hard drive failing. It is also possible, but much less likely you have a failing drive cable.

Try a command-r boot to recovery then use Disk Utility to run a repair disk. Does that show any disk errors? Even still, it is possible to have a failing drive and have it not show errors in DU.

TL;dr bad drive
Click to expand...

I thought of that as well. However, I looked at my previous experience. It was the same as his using my Late 2008. I bumped it to 8GB and the issue was gone.
 
Sounds like your hard drive might be on its way out. I would suggest backing up your data and take this opportunity to get an SSD. Your machine will feel like new.
 
Wouldn't consider you a heavy user, just the machine isn't enough - upgrade to an SSD and you'll likely be ok. 8GB of RAM if possible (maybe 6GB is only possible on that machine).
 
haybarn:

I have the same macbook with the same specs (4g ram,250g had 2.26GHz).

10.9.4 fly's on my mac...zero beachballs ect

Do a clean install! (what I always do to any mac I buy)

Simply redown load mavricks and follow diskmaker instructions on how to make a usb stick installer
http://liondiskmaker.com/

After your clean install you might also want to do a smc reset and pram reset
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3964

Once you do the clean install your mac will feel like new!

ps: I even did a clean install of yosemite on same machine,and it runs just fine!
 
This is an older thread but I was having the EXACT same issues as you. I installed an SSD recently and the difference is night and day. No more spinning beach ball, no more lagging. This baby is snappy as hell now. I was ready to throw it across the room before. I also did a fresh install of everything once the SSD was in. I'm hoping it handles the transition to Yosemite well.
 
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