MacBook struggling since running Mac OS Monterey with everyday tasks

[chama98]

My MacBook 2017 takes a while to open apps and also in the general running on a day to day basis. I have noticed this also when downloading apps and also installing apps from the app store.



I have done the following:



removed apps I know longer use or need.

running the latest version of the OS

ran disk utility to make sure that the disk is good.

also check for viruses. (even though I don't download or do anything dodgy on it!)





I have no cleaning apps or anything which modifies the system.



System specs are:



1.2GHZ prosessor

8GB ram

250GB Hard disk. with 178GB free



I am running Mac OS Monterey 12.5.1



I am tempted to downgrade to Big Sur or Catalina. But not sure what to do for the best.



welcome thoughts.

 

[Queen6]

I'd downgrade to Big Sur and see how it goes. I seriously doubt Monterey was designed with the 12" MacBook in mind and that's the issue at hand. I've still got a 2015 12" Retina MacBook (1.2Ghz, 8Gb, 512 SSD) on Big Sur and I feel that can be sluggish at times, but useable.

Q-6

 

[JustAnExpat]

When you did the install, was it a fresh install (where you reformatted the hard drive), or was it an install over the existing operating system?

I do not expect Apple to put too much effort in fixing bugs for Monterey for Intel, because it's free and they are putting most of their work on the M series of processes. If there's something you really need with Monterey, continue using it, otherwise downgrade to Big Sur (make sure it's a clean reinstall though!).

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

Planned obsolescence? There are countless posts here and elsewhere about how the new OS "upgrade" is "slowing down" older hardware. It is plausible that "features" are built in to actually drive this... to motivate most to think their hardware is just too old and thus it's time to buy new hardware. That's a very profitable business model as long as people then do exactly that.

As offered in the prior posts, Macs do offer the great benefit of downgrading back to a version of macOS that doesn't slow down hardware. Seize that opportunity or suffer the slowness and/or help make Apple richer by buying new hardware because their latest OS is trying to make you think it is time.

I still have one Mac running Snow Leopard (as fast as it did when SL was the latest version of macOS). I type this on an aging MBpro running Mojave, running as fast as when Mojave was the latest version of macOS). I have no desire to upgrade either because I've seen enough posts from others to know that this same hardware performing well "as is" will mysteriously slow down with the up(?)grades.

Even my Mac Studio Ultra running latest Monterey is basically "on the clock." I wonder how long it will take for "latest & greatest" Mac to be feeling "long in tooth" because of macOS up(?)grades?

 

[Queen6]

Planned obsolescence? There are countless posts here and elsewhere about how the new OS "upgrade" is "slowing down" older hardware. It is plausible that "features" are built in to actually drive this... to motivate most to think their hardware is just too old and thus it's time to buy new hardware. That's a very profitable business model as long as people then do exactly that.

As offered in the prior posts, Macs do offer the great benefit of downgrading back to a version of macOS that doesn't slow down hardware. Seize that opportunity or suffer the slowness and/or help make Apple richer by buying new hardware because their latest OS is trying to make you think it is time.

I still have one Mac running Snow Leopard (as fast as it did when SL was the latest version of macOS). I type this on an aging MBpro running Mojave, running as fast as when Mojave was the latest version of macOS). I have no desire to upgrade either because I've seen enough posts from others to know that this same hardware performing well "as is" will mysteriously slow down with the up(?)grades.

Even my Mac Studio Ultra running latest Monterey is basically "on the clock." I wonder how long it will take for "latest & greatest" Mac to be feeling "long in tooth" because of macOS up(?)grades?

Is definitely a factor. I've recently upgraded my M1 MBP to Monterey as Ventura is just around the corner. I look to strike a balance of security, stability & performance. Monterey has not presented any issues, so far so good as ever time will tell.

Ventura, same I'll wait until late in the development cycle before updating or possibly not at all. Above all I have to see a significant advantage with the new OS. Monterey brings low power mode and I can see the use of such a feature on a notebook that's on the go.

Overall I think you can safely upgrade macOS 3-4 cycles, then you risk slowdown. Back on track I kept my own 2015 12" rMB on Yosemite for an age as I needed a specific application that would not run beyond Yosemite. It's now on Big Sur, sure it's not as responsive, yet serviceable. In all fairness I don't use it much these days, battery is done, USB C port is loose.

TLDR Apple could do more to support older HW & OS...

Q-6

 

[Honza1]

If the problem is slow starting of applications, it may be issue with the Gatekeeper. I had that on my 2017 MBP recently. Problem survived through macOS updates. It was annoying and I typically seen the little window with Gatekeeper info that is checking application - sometimes for minutes. I believe I fixed it eventually by re-installing same version of macOS over the existing system and that somehow reset Gatekeeper and/or its database, permissions or whatever. There are long discussions of this problem here and on Apple forums, you can search for them.

 

[chama98]

When you did the install, was it a fresh install (where you reformatted the hard drive), or was it an install over the existing operating system?

I do not expect Apple to put too much effort in fixing bugs for Monterey for Intel, because it's free and they are putting most of their work on the M series of processes. If there's something you really need with Monterey, continue using it, otherwise downgrade to Big Sur (make sure it's a clean reinstall though!).

yes, it was a fresh install. I just don't think Mac OS mon is cut out for a old laptop even though it can run it! I also posted this on apple community and one 'apple specialist' said speak to Apple. Nope! I am not! I am not parting with more money!

 

[JustAnExpat]

yes, it was a fresh install. I just don't think Mac OS mon is cut out for a old laptop even though it can run it! I also posted this on apple community and one 'apple specialist' said speak to Apple. Nope! I am not! I am not parting with more money!

There might be something physically wrong with the machine (failing SSD?). I had Monterey with an MacBook Air 2015/2017 (slower than your MacBook) and it ran a little slow, but acceptable. Might be wroth it to speak to Apple and have them look at it.

 

[chama98]

There might be something physically wrong with the machine (failing SSD?). I had Monterey with an MacBook Air 2015/2017 (slower than your MacBook) and it ran a little slow, but acceptable. Might be wroth it to speak to Apple and have them look at it.

No, its not. I did a hardware check and all is fine. Just downgraded the OS

 

[sgtaylor5]

None of the improvements in Monterey will run on my 2017 MBA, but the processes are still there, running. I think that's one source of the slowdowns. I've since reverted to a clean build of Catalina and everything is fine here. Haven't heard the fan once, and I run a slightly aggressive fan curve with MacsFanControl.

 

[haralds]

My two GoTo measures for cleanup to help performance are:
- Onyx clean - a free utility that has worked for many iterations of macOS.
If that does not work:
- "DRASTIC"
- Remove unused non-system apps or and any large data sets not needed.
-Clone Data for another drive or Volume, if your free space is big enough. I use Carbon Copy Cloner for this. TimeMachinw is very slow for recovery,
- Erase StartUp Volume group or drive if cloned to an external drive.
- Install a fresh version of macOS with a USB installer or over the network from Revovery.
- Use Migration Assistant to restore Accounts, Settings, Apps, and Data.
I have some older MacBooks (2011 Air, MBP 2018) that went through this step over the last 6 months. They work like new.
All my systems share the same basic setup and sync day-to-day data. I can use any of my systems to restore any other except the Air, which is stuck on High Sierra. I used to run a patched Catalina on it, but find High Sierra worked just fine without the complications. Just have to settle for some older revs of Apps like iWork or Logic. But I also get to keep iTunes!