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Pinwheel of death

N

Nothingfaced

macrumors member
Original poster
Aug 15, 2014
79
30
My mid-2012 MBP has been insanely slow pretty much since I bought it.

Constant pinwheels of death. I've had it looked at, at the apple store 3 times. Upgraded to yosemite... repaired disk utility, and cleaned off uneeded programs.

Still constant pinwheels, and insanely slow. Only 4GB... so... will more RAM fix this machine?

And.. if so... how much RAM can I upgrade to? And, where to buy it, and how do I install it?

Thanks!
 
Nothingfaced said:
My mid-2012 MBP has been insanely slow pretty much since I bought it.

Constant pinwheels of death. I've had it looked at, at the apple store 3 times. Upgraded to yosemite... repaired disk utility, and cleaned off uneeded programs.

Still constant pinwheels, and insanely slow. Only 4GB... so... will more RAM fix this machine?

And.. if so... how much RAM can I upgrade to? And, where to buy it, and how do I install it?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

i really don't think thats the problem, my friend has a 2010 mac book pro with only 2gb of ram and its not that slow. what did apple say about this issue?
 
Natzoo said:
i really don't think thats the problem, my friend has a 2010 mac book pro with only 2gb of ram and its not that slow. what did apple say about this issue?
Click to expand...

The machine has zero issues, and the hardware is in perfect condition.

They checked it 3 times at the Genius bar.
 
I really don't get why its slow, have you download things from torrents or just websites?

----------

I think you should back up the things you want then restore your computer, and on the plus side you get a "new mac". Also hows your retina laptop?
 
Natzoo said:
I really don't get why its slow, have you download things from torrents or just websites?

----------

I think you should back up the things you want then restore your computer, and on the plus side you get a "new mac". Also hows your retina laptop?
Click to expand...

The retina 2013 is wonderful... my 2012 is my work laptop.

Zero torrenting or anything like that. If the RAM upgrade doesn't speed it up, I'm out of ideas.....

This machine is running 10.10.1 BTW
 
Nothingfaced said:
The retina 2013 is wonderful... my 2012 is my work laptop.

Zero torrenting or anything like that. If the RAM upgrade doesn't speed it up, I'm out of ideas.....

This machine is running 10.10.1 BTW
Click to expand...

Yes upgrading ram will make it faster, for example the performance will increase everything you do, from browsing the web to using final cut pro.
 
Put an SSD into it.

The procedure is "screwdriver easy" and you can get a 240gb SSD for $100+/- or a 480gb SSD for $200+/-.

The performance increase will ASTOUND you.

One proviso: Be sure to use THE RIGHT TOOLS.
I believe you'll need a Philips #00 screwdriver and a TORX T-6 driver.

Also -- you would do best to "prep and test" the new drive BEFORE you do the drive swap. Use either an external 2.5" enclosure or a USB3/SATA docking station or "dongle" adapter.
 
Have you ever done a nuke and pave? I have come to realize that it is best to completely erase and install the OS on a new machine. I was setting up a '14 Mini for my brother and I had a bunch of problems. Nuke and pave and all is well. Same with my '11 Air and '12 Mini.
 
One more question...

Where is the best/cheapest place to buy RAM? I don't want to get screwed.
 
Your Harddrive may be dieing (ie. reaching end of life). Back up your data (time machine ect...) ASAP before doing anything else.


I myself am buying an SSD and doubling Ram for my 2010 macbook (cost of $200), which will hopefully give it a boost to last the next 6 months or so until I buy a new model. :apple:

try newegg, Amazon, other apple retailers for Ram, just be sure to get exactly what your model requires.
 
I had the same problem with my MBP 13" early 2011. I did already upgrade to 8 gb ram and I just got a new SSD PNY 240 GB and it has so far solved my problems. I had earlier upgraded to Yosemite and that is when I noticed the beachballs.

So that should be the trick. Kind of disappointed that I had to do that, but it's cheaper than a new machine and my machine feels like new.
 
OP mentioned adding RAM.

I think bumping up the RAM will produce very little of an increase in overall performance, vis-a-vis putting in an SSD.

The SSD should be your FIRST priority.
 
Gonna have to make this purchase rapidly.. this machine is nearly unusable.

Even clicking the "About this mac" button on the top left, gives me a pinwheel of death, and it takes 20 or more seconds to simply load that information.

Also, I get pinwheels of death when I begin to type a new email, or a web address.

I think this mechanical HD was faulty from the factory when I bought it... is there a specific type of SSD I need for a mid-2012 13inch non-retina?

And.. if I paid someone to install.. how much should I be paying? Thanks.
 
Nothingfaced said:
I think this mechanical HD was faulty from the factory when I bought it... is there a specific type of SSD I need for a mid-2012 13inch non-retina?

And.. if I paid someone to install.. how much should I be paying? Thanks.
Click to expand...

No, there isn't a specific type as such. Any SATA III SSD will do. I highly recommend Samsung. Their current models are the 850 Pro and 850 EVO, the former being the higher end of the two.

You really shouldn't be paying anyone to install it. It enormously easy. Follow this guide.

As others have mentioned, be sure to backup your data as soon as you can if you haven't already.
 
Not true

Natzoo said:
Yes upgrading ram will make it faster, for example the performance will increase everything you do, from browsing the web to using final cut pro.
Click to expand...

RAM only speeds things up if lack of RAM is slowing you down. If you already have enough for your workload it makes NO difference...
 
it's the HDD, lack of SSD. you can install blackmagic disk and run a benchmark. my old 2009 mbp 17 incher had the same issue, turns out it couldn't even get past 5MB/s, meaning booting took 10 minutes, starting chrome/safari took another 2, then it took 3 more to load my tabs. impossible. the HDD is dying or just plain crap.

the new rMBP i have reads and writes at 1.4GB/s in comparison. everything is "instantly".
 
As above - SSD, then possibly RAM. OS X 10.9/10.10 tend to pinwheel on mechanical hard drives. My 2009 Mac mini was transformed with an SSD.
 
SSD for sure _ RAM if you can

As many have stated above, such a computer (which is far from outdated and unusable, if set up correctly) will benefit greatly from Upgrading to a SSD ** check your specs and 'buy what it can support' or go up a step to allow use in future endeavours if you have some extra cash _

Either way, it will be a dramatic improvement UNLESS you really DO have some other 'illness in the machine' but Yosemite is likely killing you softly _ my 2011 i7 15" MBP seemed like a racecar after adding a SSD 2yrs ago _ and YES, as mentioned, adding RAM will be useful ONLY if you are 'running out of it' but truthfully 4GB is not a ton, depending upon what you are doing.. putting $300-400 of SSD and RA into an otherwise good working machine will be very noticeable from my experiences!!

All you need to know re: RAM and SSD installs here on iFixit, find your EXACT model (year and size) and giddy up ~ Read _ Learn _ take your time to do it _ Enjoy!!
 
I call it the beach ball of doom. Get it a lot more now since the Yosemite upgrade, and I don't have an SSD. So upgrade the laptop or treat yourself to a new one.
 
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