I have a mid 2011 27" imac. Intel i5 20GB of RAM 1TB SATA Hard Drive OSX El Capitan. It is running very slowly. When shut down it takes a while to startup. Usually I can press the power button go get a drink and come back and it's still loading. Also once it's started up and logged in it takes a little while to first open programs. The rainbow spinner appears pretty much every time a program is opened. Usually once a program is opened for a minute or so it will run fine. I have clear out a bunch of files leaving the hard drive only about 25-30% full. I have cleared the caches. I have tried an SMC and PRAM reset. It also takes a little bit of time to shut down. It will go to a black screen and just show a spinner a little bit before shutting down. Is there anything else I should try? I have plan to take it into Apple if it doesn't improve but the closest Apple store is 3 hours away so I only go there once a month. I'm wanting to try anything that might help before taking it down to them. Thank you for any and all help.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Slow 2011 imac
- Thread starter Kevdawg86
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
How much free space do you have on the harddrive?
An upgrade to an SSD would likely make your problems disappear, as what you describe is exactly what you experience with a slow harddrive.
An upgrade to an SSD would likely make your problems disappear, as what you describe is exactly what you experience with a slow harddrive.
I have about 700GB of space free on the hard drive as of right now. I don't have it in front of me right now but it's Very close to 700GB free.
Okay, then that is not the cause. Usually you would like 10-20GB free space for operating system caches.
But in that case, I would just assume it is caused by HDDs being so slow.
But in that case, I would just assume it is caused by HDDs being so slow.
Yah originally it was at 400TV free so I got a external hard drive yup move all my videos and pictures to clean out space in hopes it would help but it didn't. I had a feeling that the hard drive might be it. I have a 2015 MacBook pro and that one is smoking fast with the SSD. Do you know if places like Apple do SSD replacements on iMacs or would I need to find a private service company to do it?
Sorry, I don't know that. But give them a quick call and ask. Perhaps you can do it much cheaper at a private service company though, as you can bring in your own bought SSD, and save money.
Search the forum for choosing SSDs - Loads of threads on the subject.
Search the forum for choosing SSDs - Loads of threads on the subject.
Would you recommend changing this on my own or taking it to a certified Apple service center?
It's not that hard to replace the current drive. Just be sure you purchase this kit so that your fans don't go crazy after the install. Or this kit if you don't have the proper tools.
I personally removed the 3.5" main drive, and installed 2 SSD's in my 2011 27" iMac. I have a 2TB SSD acting as my main startup and data drive. And also a 1TB SSD for BootCamp. Very easy.
I personally removed the 3.5" main drive, and installed 2 SSD's in my 2011 27" iMac. I have a 2TB SSD acting as my main startup and data drive. And also a 1TB SSD for BootCamp. Very easy.
I have. 2011 27" and it just became dog slow with newer OSX. Installed SSD as primary drive and everything is instant. In addition, I no longer hear the HDD churning and churning and churning in front of my face. Could not be more satisfied with it now.
I would recommend a Samsung 850 Evo.
I just upgraded a co-worker's laptop to an SSD that was also experiencing slowness. It would literally take a minute just to launch one app. He couldn't stop laughing after the SSD upgrade when I wanted to show him how much speedier it was by opening every app in his Applications folder and they all opened within 10 seconds. HDDs really do need to die a horrible death. And this was with 4 GB of RAM. SSDs are definitely the most significant upgrade aside from RAM you can do to your computer.
Also, I dont suggest shutting down. If you put to sleep it should be faster than powering down and starting up.
While true, it would still take my iMac an eternity to fully wake up, exacerbated the obligatory Time Machine backup if asleep for more than an hour.
That depends on how good you are with taking machines apart. If you have never tried it before, I would take it to a service center, as the iMac can be a bit tricky. If you done it before, and is patient, by all means do it yourself. I added an SSD to my own 2011 iMac, so it can be done with patience.
Just get the additional drive kit from iFixit.
I have done these SSD replacements on both 2010 and 2011 iMacs, using Samsung 850 EVO SSDs (which I highly recommend) and the OWC kit. It's not that difficult if you've done this sort of thing before and if you follow the OWC video instructions and take your time. But there is always a risk (particularly with the LCD ribbon cable, which thankfully can be replaced for cheap) so if you're not confident, it might be a safer option just to get a certified Apple technician to do it.