Software Update Causes Glitches / Slow Response Times

[John Doe 57]

Whenever there is an update that requires a restart on the computer, and after I have completed that update, the computer runs slow. Even with 4GB of RAM and a 2.66GHz C2D Processor - Finder, Numbers, and some games run slow.

Is this common after updating?

 

[Makosuke]

I can't say I've ever noticed this myself, but it's possible that due to the file changes Spotlight is busy indexing the new material for a few minutes after the restart. If you're running Time Machine that would also need to update a lot of files immediately after the installation.

Neither of those things should take more than a couple of minutes, though.

Now, slow app launch times after a restart are normal, since the things that would be cached on relaunching an app all need to be reloaded the first time you launch it.

The other possible culprit is that you've got a script or utility or app that runs on login or otherwise does something then. Opening Activity Monitor and seeing if anything is using a moderate amount of CPU might narrow it down. If the issue is disk access that's a little harder to find a culprit, but whatever's hitting the drive should use at least a little CPU.

 

[John Doe 57]

I can't say I've ever noticed this myself, but it's possible that due to the file changes Spotlight is busy indexing the new material for a few minutes after the restart. If you're running Time Machine that would also need to update a lot of files immediately after the installation.

Neither of those things should take more than a couple of minutes, though.

I don't use Time Machine and the lagging lasts forever. The only way around it is to shut the computer off and then turn it on. A Restart wont fix it.

I'm also interested in the "Restart Later" feature in Software Update. What exactly does it mean by "Later." Is there a way to install updates on Shut Down - like in Windows?

 

[Makosuke]

"Later" just means "Wait until I tell you to do it."

As of 10.5, however, anything that requires a restart will not actually install until all users have been logged out in preparation for a restart, so it's essentially the same thing as "on next restart." (This doesn't apply to updates you download manually, only Software Update.) I assume Apple did this to prevent problems from updating the system while the files are being accessed. I can't actually remember, but I think if there are updates downloaded and ready and you shut down or restart, the system will prompt you to install updates while you're at it.

Either way, I can't think of anything short of a hardware issue that would cause slowdowns after a restart vs. a full power down. Do you have any external devices past a keyboard and a mouse? Maybe one of them is glitching out and causing slowdowns until power is killed to it completely so it can re-initialize (which is the only difference between shutdown and reboot, so far as I can think of).

 

[John Doe 57]

Do you have any external devices past a keyboard and a mouse? Maybe one of them is glitching out and causing slowdowns until power is killed to it completely so it can re-initialize (which is the only difference between shutdown and reboot, so far as I can think of).

Just a bluetooth mouse and wired keyboard. But this sounds like the problem. Maybe I will unplug the keyboard and turn off the mouse before even loading Software Update next time.

Thanks!