Old Macbook has gotten slower, now unusable!

[GGJstudios]

But now the problems are beginning to creep back...

Maybe this can help: Performance tips for Mac OS X (contains more suggestions than my earlier post)

 

[eobet]

Maybe this can help: Performance tips for Mac OS X (contains more suggestions than my earlier post)

Thank you, but why should I have to? Those tweaks are in the software, and the software now is brand new, fresh install, and when the computer itself was brand new, the very same software worked fine for three years without a problem.

Everyone who said it was the hard drive sort of made sense, but now that there is a new SSD in the machine, and the problems persist, it doesn't make sense to me.

I guess I could try to put 3gb of ram in the machine instead of 2.5gb, but after that, there's only the main board and CPU left...

 

[GGJstudios]

Thank you, but why should I have to? Those tweaks are in the software, and the software now is brand new, fresh install, and when the computer itself was brand new, the very same software worked fine for three years without a problem..

You don't have to, but if you want to maximize your performance, those things will help. Improving your performance is achieved through a combination of hardware and software. Software improvements are free and easily achieved. Even if you upgrade hardware, you're still not maximizing performance unless you also address software issues.

 

[eobet]

Well, I don't care about maximizing performance, I just want the performance back that I had when we bought the computer... even though we more than doubled the amount of RAM, and installed a ten times faster SSD, the computer is still unusable!

 

[minifridge1138]

Well, I don't care about maximizing performance, I just want the performance back that I had when we bought the computer... even though we more than doubled the amount of RAM, and installed a ten times faster SSD, the computer is still unusable!

I don't argue with that at all.

The reason so many (myself included) suspected the hard drive is you said it was making noises. The only sound should be a mild hum as it spins and a occasional clicking as the disk head moves.

The real question is what is your Mac doing when you have the beach ball.

To begin to answer that, we need some information:
1) In activity monitor, how many processes are running?
2) In activity monitor, how much free memory do you have?
3) In activity monitor, how many page outs do you have?
4) In activity monitor, how much CPU is being used?
5) In activity monitor, what is using the most CPU?

 

[iMacC2D]

Removed.

 

[Sirolway]

I have a 13" MBP from mid-2009, so that's not too far off your vintage. I've upgraded it over time to Lion & 8GB RAM. Still runs as well as the day I bought it (well, with a few Lion oddities) & still *looks* almost as though I bought it yesterday - never had a Windows laptop that looked & felt so good after 2 1/2 years.

Have you taken your machine into a Genius Bar? Would be interested to hear what they have to say. If you can, figure out how to demonstrate the issue in the most blindingly obvious way you can - so it's really clear to them there's a problem.

I've had nothing but good experiences at Genius Bars (London Regent St & Covent Garden, admittedly the 2 biggest stores in Europe [anywhere?]) - I wouldn't be at all surprised if they find something really obscure & fix it free / cheap cheap!

I think replacing the disk was absolutely the 1st thing to do - don't bother wasting time, just get a fast, cheap SSD in there & install Snow Leopard. Now you've done that, the Genius bar is the next best fixed-quickly-with-no-fuss option

Come back & tell us how it goes ... you've got us intrigued now...