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New MBP is slow

tabasco70 -> "Nice" - my system's pretty much that way too, choppy!

I have, following a tip from somewhere else, been deleting my duplicate and asian fonts - that didn't help either.

Anyway, did you Archive and Install or do a Clean Install?
 
Just got myself a beachball in Safari.

Took a screenshot of the console afterwards.

Does this tell me anything about the problem?
 

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Just tested my hard drive with TechTool Pro.

Said there's 0 bad blocks.

When a problem like TechTool tells me this, can it then still be a hardware issue?
By now i really think it is, but how come these test results then?
 
Here is the final thing you have to do:

Back up ALL your stuff - if you don't you WILL lose it. Reinstall OSX using the "erase and install" method. It will format your hard drive, so make sure you back up what you need.

Once OSX is installed, do NOT move any files back. Use it for a few hours or for however long it usually takes before it starts beach balling. If it seems fine for a day, then move your stuff back and see if the problem come back. If you still have the problem with a clean install and none of your files, then the hard drive is bad.
 
Alright, CubeHacker, i'll just do that then and get to the bottom of this problem once and for all.
 
Also, just before i format my drive i wanna make sure i'm not just being too sensitive.

Please tell me your computer specs and if / when you get beachballs - and for how long?
Ever get a 1-sec one when opening a program?
Or maybe sometimes doing heavy work?

Thanks
 
In addition to my question above.
I asked my co-worker today if his non-unibody MBP also beachballed a lot.

It doesn't (unless it's super heavy work) - not enough for him to notice anyway.
But there's like a 1-sec when launching some applications!

Is that the standard for Mac OS X?
 
There is a very handy tool called smart utility that has a free demo for 30 days or 5 launches(whichever comes first). It parses the raw smart data and shows you on screen the results. If smart status is showing bad sectors or reallocated sectors on your drive, then your hard drive is faulty and needs to be replaced. If smart utility says your drives passes and you ran the extended tests with the installation disc using Apple Hardware Test or TechToolPro then your drive is not to blame. Have you run software updates on your machine? If it is a month and a half old it is still the same revision that was released almost a year ago and there were software updates for you hard drive to prevent slower access times on the drive in addition to other minor issues. It is possible even though the unit was purchased recently that these updates have not been done so check to make sure by running the Apple Software Update application if you haven't already done so. On another note, when the system beachballs do you have activity monitor open? The reason I ask is that is that activity monitor will tell you if a specific application or process has stopped responding, in which case you should troubleshoot that specific application. When you get the beachball can you still click on any of the menu bar items whether they are in the upper left or upper right portion? Can you click on the desktop background and get the regular cursor up? If the answer is yes then a specific application is likely to blame and you can rest assure that your drive is indeed fine. Let me know how it goes.
 
Well it all depends on the apps you are using. I personally don't load anything huge like photoshop or Final Cut. Safari or iCal open in one bounce or two, and i've never personally seen a beachball unless an app crashes and becomes unresponsive.
 
CubeHacker -> Yeah that's the exact problem. I use huge programs like that either. Just Safari, iTunes, iCal and stuff.

Obviously i can't say i've never seen a beachball unless it was an app crash, so i'll just stop playing around now and follow your advice.
Doing a clean install tomorrow after backing up.

Got a questions that you might be able to answer regarding to the clean install:

- Are there any reasons to backup on my other external drive, when i have another one running with Time Machine?
 
Edit: I went back and looked at your original message with the Activity Monitor screen shots and noticed that you're running Days Left, which is a PowerPC app and therefore running under Rosetta, could installation of that coincide with the slow down?

  • In System Preferences, is the hard drive you're booting from selected as your boot drive under Startup Disk?
  • In System Preferences, do you have anything in your Login Items that could be causing a slow down?
  • Are there any print jobs stuck in your printer que?
  • Are you connected to any remote networks or hard drives?

Lastly you could try this: :apple: Mac OS X: What is Safe Boot, Safe Mode?
 
rasmusDoh said:
CubeHacker -> Yeah that's the exact problem. I use huge programs like that either. Just Safari, iTunes, iCal and stuff.

Obviously i can't say i've never seen a beachball unless it was an app crash, so i'll just stop playing around now and follow your advice.
Doing a clean install tomorrow after backing up.

Got a questions that you might be able to answer regarding to the clean install:

- Are there any reasons to backup on my other external drive, when i have another one running with Time Machine?
Click to expand...

No there is no real reason to, unless you aren't sure that Time Machine is backing up everything you need. I'm honestly not sure how Time Machine works, but I personally dont like automated backup solutions, because you are never quite sure what its backing up. Also, it might be backing up system preference files which might be the cause of your problem if they are corrupt. Thats one reason I said not to copy your backups back to the clean install right away - go a day with a clean install without your files to see if thats the problem.

Also make sure to unplug any USB/Firewire devices that might be connected, including your external HDD.
 
Was just finished backing up my most important stuff (as an extra backup to Time Machine), when i got myself a nice little system crash.

The screen went dark (starting from the top and sliding to the bottom) and told me to restart my computer.

1. I'll do a Clean Install tomorrow no matter what, but i'd like to know if a system crash like this indicates a hard drive failure more than an OS error - or maybe you can't tell?

2. Also, if any of you can "understand" these problem reports you get after a crash, i've attached it as a txt file - maybe that can specify the general problem!?

Thanks
 

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What you experienced is called a Kernel Panic. I believe that Kernel Panics can be either software or hardware related. I skimmed through your txt file and to this untrained eye it looks like it may have been caused by something Google related. HTH.
 
Thanks for your response!

Guess it's just yet another indicator that something is wrong - and that i'll have to do this clean install tomorrow to figure out if it's a software or hardware problem!
 
So, did a clean install.

Hard to tell if it's better because of the very random occuring of the beachballs.

Got two questions though:

1. I booted from the Snow Leopard disc. Even here, while launching Disk Utility to erase, i got some annoying delays / beachballs.
Could this, again, sound like a hard drive issue or just a SuperDrive thing?

2. Measured my boot time, after having gotten the system back up running.
32 to 35 sec.
How does that sound for a brand new, high-specced and reformatted MBP?
Read about similar and lower times for a lot older ones.
 
Beach balls might be normal when running the OS straight from CD because its so slow. However, you shouldn't be experiencing any beach balls after a fresh install on such a fast system. I'm running a stock 2.0ghz Mini and i've yet to see a beachball in the year that i've had it - unless something crashes of course. I assume you are just using Safari and what not.

Just to confirm, you unplugged any external drives and USB devices right?

Also, how long is the general length of the beachball? Like short bursts of less than a second, or like 5-6 seconds at a time? Do you hear any strange sounds (specifically, clicking) during this time period? And how frequently do the beachball come? Like once in an hour or 30 min, or very frequently like every minute?
 
Don't hear any noises.

I got those quick spins sometimes of app. 1 sec sometimes, but most of the time they were like those 5-6 secs.

It's very random how long time there's between them. It's not every minute, but it's usually multiple times every hour.

All this describes how the system was before the clean install. I've only used it for like 15 min after that! I'll of course try it out some more!

My system does (in those 15 min) seem somewhat faster. I do, however, really not understand how my OS could get corrupted and slow in just those 6 weeks i've had it for (and had been slow for a big part, if not all of those 6 weeks).

1. CubeHacker -> You seriously never get a beachball (unless on crashes) - even just a quick spin when launching certain applications?
 
"Update"

Been able to purposely generate a 15-20 sec beachball.
Got the exact same thing before the clean install, so this might be an useful indicator.

Can some of you please try doing this, and then report, how your system handles it:

1. Download the music meta data editing program Jaikoz. I used the trial for this test - and you can just delete it afterwards:
http://www.jthink.net/jaikoz/jsp/download/start.jsp

2. Open up the program.
#Problem 1# My computer takes a lot of time to open up the program

3. Open iTunes and select 50 songs

4. Drag these songs from iTunes to the middle windows in Jaikoz to add them
#Problem 2# iTunes lags for like 5 secs
#Problem 3# I then get a 15-20 sec beachball when Jaikoz tries to load these songs

5. That's it. The songs shows up inside Jaikoz and my system's back to normal.


It would be super great if some of you could try this out, since i'm not sure if it's the applications that's super slow or if it's my computer. Please report how your computer acts in the three phases where mine has problems!

Thanks a lot in advance
 
According to the Wikipedia entry for Jaikoz, it's a Java program. I don't know how Java is on an Intel Mac or under OS X 10.6, but on a PowerPC Mac under OS X 10.4.11 Java apps are terribly slow compared to non-Java apps. This just might be normal.
 
In Activity Monitor it says it's an Intel 64 bit app.
Don't know if that means it ain't written in Java though.
 
Yeah, you're right, but still says Intel 64 bit in Activity Monitor.

Anyway, did a Google and no indications that other Snow Leopard users find the app slow!
 
Just tried this "Jaikoz test" on my former Dell PC. Using Win 7.

Ran very, very fast.

Really think this points in the faulty hard drive direction.

Would, however, really like to see this "test" done on another Mac computer, before i have Apple repair my machine!
 
Have begun to notice a sound coming from my computer at random times.

Sounds like when you put the computer to sleep. The sound just before the white light starts to fade in and out, indicating that it's sleeping.

Is this in any way related to my problem?
 
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