Strange Issues & Poor Performance After SSD & MacOS Upgrade On Late 2011 17" MBP - PLEASE HELP!!

[Bazzy]

Hi All,

I recently upgraded my 2011 17” MBP with a HDD & 16GB RAM from Mavericks 10.9.5 & Safari 9.1.3 to an Samsung 860 Pro SSD (TRIM enabled) with High Sierra 10.13.6 (Mac OS Extended Journalled) & Safari 11.1.2 via Data Transfer from a SuperDuper Cloned Disk.

Before, on Mavericks 10.9.5 with Safari 9.1.3, I was getting numerous issues:

• Major problems with Jumping/Missing & Disappearing/Reappearing Cookies in the cookies pane
• Websites constantly asking me to accept cookies etc
• Lots of general sluggish performance issues including beach balling, slow responsiveness etc.

After upgrading to the SSD, High Sierra & a much newer version of Safari, I still experienced terrible performance issues. I was able to get help & how to resolve & was advised to enable TRIM on the SSD, re-set NVRAM/PRAM, do an SMC Reset, Set the SSD as the Start-Up Disk etc.

This worked wonders for a while & then things began to get back to being problematic again: lots of beach balling, slow responsiveness, lagging etc. This happens on most websites on Safari but is extremely bad on Ebay - it is just horrible with beach-balling & very slow responsiveness at nearly every click. On ebay, I also get a messages that state this webpage is using significant amount of resources & recommends that I close it down.

I disabled Safari extensions but it makes no difference at all.

I read somewhere that the Hard Drive Cable might be the issue but after finally trying out other browsers like Firefox & Chrome, I am now convinced that this is a MacOS/Safari issue - even though I have upgraded it to the latest version High Sierra can handle. These issues just do not happen on Firefox or Chrome & the laptop performs really great without any lag or beach balling.

The start up time is about 20 seconds & the shut down time is about 14 seconds which sounds about right I am told.

Even though I have upgraded both the OS & the HDD to SSD, on Safari, I am STILL getting lots of messages to accept cookies on numerous websites even though I have already accepted them many times & it is getting very frustrating. The whole performance of the MBP is vastly different when on Safari than when it is on say Firefox - on the latter, it is like a new, fast machine but on Safari, it is just like an old, slow unit with beach-balling & very slow, sluggish performance.

Something else I have also noticed & I do not know if it has any bearing but when on Safari, I notice that the SSD can get quite Warm/Hot (which I really did not expect an SSD to do) but when on Firefox, this does not happen?

As I transferred all my Data over to the High Sierra SSD from a Mavericks HDD SuperDuper Clone, I am also wondering if there might be some issues being caused by this like incompatible/conflicting files, OS Conflicts etc?

I tried to follow an Apple guide on dealing with Safari issues but found a number of folders missing that the guide referred to & stuff that was out of place so did not feel safe proceeding further.

Concerningly, I have also found a large number (hundreds) of files that now appear as a black box with the words “EXEC” - no idea why as I have never seen them before & I fear that transferring all my Data from a Mavericks Super-Duper Back Up to an SSD with High Sierra has created them somehow & I now cannot open them. Also, I have NO IDEA how many more of the Black EXEC files are now on my system (as the usual search procedure does not produce them) & how to revert them back to normal.

Another things is, I have noticed is that many files in the Library folders have a “Text Wrangler” logo now on them which they did not have before? On many files, you can see this logo flash & disappear but on others it is there constantly.

I thought by upgrading to High Sierra & a newer version of Safari, I would not be kept asking to accept cookies all the time as was the case on Mavericks but not so it seems & I dearly wish to rectify.

The other app that is causing me headaches is Mail - it is acting very strange - getting messages like unable to delete mail, opening emails sometimes results in a blank grey page which then loses/deletes the email & mail keeps asking for passwords, not allowing to delete or placing deleted emails in wrong folders etc but I am happy to deal with Mail issues later as long I can get these MacOS/Safari/Files issues sorted first.

Please see attached etrecheck report in case it might provide some clues hopefully as well as example screen shots of the Black EXEC & Text Wrangler Issue files. I would be very grateful if someone would be kind enough to help resolve this issue with MacOS/Safari as honestly, the performance is almost the same as with HDD with all the issues which I was not expecting on an SSD with a much newer MacOS & Safari version - It's really crippling things!

Many Kind Thanks!
Bazzy!

 

[iShater]

A lot of information there, so please be patient as different folks read through your post

A couple of things right off the bat, the EXEC files as you call them, these are .lockfiles, and they are left overs from probably when you had OSX Lion on your system. I would change the view in finder to show dates to confirm that. (https://fileinfo.com/extension/lockfile)

If you have your old data on an external drive, have you tried booting from it and observing of the issues happen that way as well?

 

[Bazzy]

Hi iShater,

Many thanks for replying - much appreciated! I am sorry for the long post but I am not to computer code savvy so wanted to give as much info as possible!

I have never ever seen these EXEC files ever on my various Macs over the years so am just confused as to what they are & why they have all of a sudden appeared in such vast numbers.

Just to TRY & check how many there might be, I have spent an age going through as many folders as I could in System, Libraries & User Accounts & they are Rampant - they are absolutely everywhere & very large numbers - I have taken about 120 screenshots at various locations & have probably found well over 500-600 of them & suspect there are TONS more of them as my search was just basic going through blue folders & not any deeper.

They are not just from the past but are also very current & on MacOS High Sierra which I only installed a few weeks ago. I cannot help but think my upgrading from Mavericks to High Sierra has somehow created them. The dates seem to range from 2010 all the way to the present if that helps.

Although they are everywhere, there seems to be very many in the Library Folders in Preferences Folders & various Sub Folders. Also, anything that has a Folder called Contents > MacOS always have them as well. Unfortunately, unless I post all 120+ screenshots, there is no way I can ever remember all the various places they are.

Some of them are zero KB & others have some file size attached to them.

Also, I noticed while searching that even the white folder icons quickly flash to being these Black EXEC icons & then back to being white regular ones again on some occasions?

Any idea why these files have "Text Wrangler" on them - I found System Files named as Type - Text Wrangler?

Is there a way to search for all the Black EXEC Files on my entire system so I can then a) Find Them ALL & b) Take Screen-Shots to post here so all can see exactly where they are, what they are, what size etc & what to do about them?

I do have my old Mavericks Macintosh HD on an external drive & will boot from it to see if the same stuff happens but at this stage wanted to update with what I have found so far.

Even on my old HDD with Mavericks & older Safari, things were not really this bad tbh so I fear these Black EXEC Files & other conflicts are causing issues with my upgrade to High Sierra.

Will welcome any & all help PLEASE!

Many Thanks,
Bazzy!

 

[GoodWheaties]

I’m not as expert as some, but I would say the EXEC files are normal. I’ve never had a problem with using SuperDuper for my clones, but another option is try using Time Machine instead so as to have a clean macOS. Put the HDD back in, get a portable drive to make a full Time Machine backup to, wipe and reinstall a fresh OS on the SSD, and then setup from Time Machine in the initial setup. I know it sounds like a real pain. It’s really hard to say for sure what would be going on with Safari otherwise. Maybe it’s just some settings screwed up but who knows.

 

[satcomer]

Flip-For-Mac is not needed for the System you are running!

 

[Bazzy]

I’m not as expert as some, but I would say the EXEC files are normal. I’ve never had a problem with using SuperDuper for my clones, but another option is try using Time Machine instead so as to have a clean macOS. Put the HDD back in, get a portable drive to make a full Time Machine backup to, wipe and reinstall a fresh OS on the SSD, and then setup from Time Machine in the initial setup. I know it sounds like a real pain. It’s really hard to say for sure what would be going on with Safari otherwise. Maybe it’s just some settings screwed up but who knows.

Hi,

This is something that I may have to well consider as a final option if all else fails but to avoid all the heavy hassle, time & frustration, I would like to try & see if the issues can be resolved by help here first! Being a USB 2.0 model, the process is incredibly slow & long!

Now that I have MacOS HS on my system with all these strange Black EXEC Files & many System Files marked as "Text Wrangler", do you mean I should make a fresh TM Back Up of my current system on say a new external HDD or put back in the old HDD with the Mavericks OS X on it & do a fresh install from that?

If I wipe the SSD, should I then restore from say the new HDD with a TM Back Up of the current MacOS HS SSD (with all the issues) or from the old Mavericks HDD?

If you mean do the fresh install from the old Mavericks HDD, then how do I ensure I can make it up to date with all the files/data/changes I have added/made since having HS+SSD & using my system - things like Photos, Documents, emails. downloads, installs etc as they will not be on the old Mavericks HDD?

As for Safari (the only browser I ever really use since it is Apple), the issues all persist & even trying to reset the PRAM/NVRAM, SMC etc does not solve the issues. Firefox has no problems & runs nice & fast as well as cool on the SSD.

Many Kind Thanks!
Bazzy!
[doublepost=1533214959][/doublepost]

Flip-For-Mac is not needed for the System you are running!

Hi!

Thanks for letting me know - once all these issues are resolved, I will get rid of it - tbh, I am a little scared to mess with anything at the moment in case it causes even more issues!

Many Thanks,
Bazzy!

 

[Macyourdayy]

Hi iShater,

Many thanks for replying - much appreciated! I am sorry for the long post but I am not to computer code savvy so wanted to give as much info as possible!

I have never ever seen these EXEC files ever on my various Macs over the years so am just confused as to what they are & why they have all of a sudden appeared in such vast numbers.

Just to TRY & check how many there might be, I have spent an age going through as many folders as I could in System, Libraries & User Accounts & they are Rampant - they are absolutely everywhere & very large numbers - I have taken about 120 screenshots at various locations & have probably found well over 500-600 of them & suspect there are TONS more of them as my search was just basic going through blue folders & not any deeper.

They are not just from the past but are also very current & on MacOS High Sierra which I only installed a few weeks ago. I cannot help but think my upgrading from Mavericks to High Sierra has somehow created them. The dates seem to range from 2010 all the way to the present if that helps.

Although they are everywhere, there seems to be very many in the Library Folders in Preferences Folders & various Sub Folders. Also, anything that has a Folder called Contents > MacOS always have them as well. Unfortunately, unless I post all 120+ screenshots, there is no way I can ever remember all the various places they are.

Some of them are zero KB & others have some file size attached to them.

Also, I noticed while searching that even the white folder icons quickly flash to being these Black EXEC icons & then back to being white regular ones again on some occasions?

Any idea why these files have "Text Wrangler" on them - I found System Files named as Type - Text Wrangler?

Is there a way to search for all the Black EXEC Files on my entire system so I can then a) Find Them ALL & b) Take Screen-Shots to post here so all can see exactly where they are, what they are, what size etc & what to do about them?

I do have my old Mavericks Macintosh HD on an external drive & will boot from it to see if the same stuff happens but at this stage wanted to update with what I have found so far.

Even on my old HDD with Mavericks & older Safari, things were not really this bad tbh so I fear these Black EXEC Files & other conflicts are causing issues with my upgrade to High Sierra.

Will welcome any & all help PLEASE!

Many Thanks,
Bazzy!

The exec files that you can see now are probably old docs that are incompatible with High Sierra. I have many littered in the docs folder because I keep everything.
Performance issues can be caused by many things, often they can be hardware related, especially ram. Did you buy high quality compatible ram? There are hardware tests you can run in older systems. I can't remember if it works in Mavericks or only Snow Leopard (which definitely works on the 2011). I upgrade mine with 16 gig and I put the SSD in the optical bay and it was amazing how much better it worked. I also found out before the upgrade I had faulty ram and the original hdd only performed at 30MB/sec. It should have been at least 90, and I had the beach ball all the time with apps taking up to a minute to start. The SSD should get you 450-500MB/sec.
You need to open Activity Monitor and enable the CPU graphs to easily see how hard the system is running, and importantly, what is doing it. Mail can run at over 300% by itself. Then there are runaway processes in browsers, usually YouTube related. Various system processes could be running hard or unresponsive apps that need to be force quit (they show in red in the activity list).
Many people insist you should clean install, but that's very painful. I've found running a full system installer and then taking advantage of the migration assistant in the setup works well, but it's very slow over wifi, so go with a cable.

 

[GoodWheaties]

If you mean do the fresh install from the old Mavericks HDD, then how do I ensure I can make it up to date with all the files/data/changes I have added/made since having HS+SSD & using my system - things like Photos, Documents, emails. downloads, installs etc as they will not be on the old Mavericks HDD?

Well that would be the complication with what I suggested. However have you tried resetting Safari? Maybe that would be enough without further hassle.

Edit: if that doesn’t work you might try having a Time Machine of your current system on your SSD( make sure it’s finished and you can access files on it), wipe the SSD, reinstall HS from the internet and setup from that Time Machine. Hopefully resetting Safari works though.

 

[Fishrrman]

When you write as much as you did in your OP, don't expect folks to read and comprehend all of it.
(certainly not ME!)

What I think you should try. This won't "hurt anything" and you can just delete it when you're done "testing":
1. Open system preferences.
2. Click "users & groups"
3. Click the lock icon (lower left) and enter your password
4. Click the "+ sign" (above the lock icon) to create a NEW ACCOUNT.
5. Select "Administrator" from the popup (top item), fill in the rest as needed. I suggest you name it something like "temp" with "temp" for the password, as well.
6. When done, click "create user" and close system preferences.

Now...
LOG OUT of your current account, and log into the new "temp" account.
DON'T start "putting things" into it yet.
You want it to stay "lean and clean" for the moment.

I realize "your usual stuff" won't be there, but use this temp account for an hour or two.
How does it "feel"?
Faster, cleaner, better?

If so, I sense that the problem is something in your "regular" account is messing things up and slowing you down...

 

[Bazzy]

The exec files that you can see now are probably old docs that are incompatible with High Sierra. I have many littered in the docs folder because I keep everything.
Performance issues can be caused by many things, often they can be hardware related, especially ram. Did you buy high quality compatible ram? There are hardware tests you can run in older systems. I can't remember if it works in Mavericks or only Snow Leopard (which definitely works on the 2011). I upgrade mine with 16 gig and I put the SSD in the optical bay and it was amazing how much better it worked. I also found out before the upgrade I had faulty ram and the original hdd only performed at 30MB/sec. It should have been at least 90, and I had the beach ball all the time with apps taking up to a minute to start. The SSD should get you 450-500MB/sec.
You need to open Activity Monitor and enable the CPU graphs to easily see how hard the system is running, and importantly, what is doing it. Mail can run at over 300% by itself. Then there are runaway processes in browsers, usually YouTube related. Various system processes could be running hard or unresponsive apps that need to be force quit (they show in red in the activity list).
Many people insist you should clean install, but that's very painful. I've found running a full system installer and then taking advantage of the migration assistant in the setup works well, but it's very slow over wifi, so go with a cable.

Hi!

The EXEC Files seem to range from OLD to VERY NEW - it seems that everything with “MacOS” which is the High Sierra I upgraded to from OS X Mavericks has them?

The RAM I have has been in the MBP for a very long time & I bought it direct from Crucial as that was what most were recommending at the time. Do you know of have simple to perform tests that I can carry out to check the RAM?

If you see my screen-shots , very strangely, the etrecheck reported the System Performance as “Excellent” even though it has all these issues & did not flag up any RAM issues?

Tbh, I can only use Activity monitor at a very basic level but will do my best but please bear in mind, that the issues I am getting on this account on Safari & Mail are NOT happening on Firefox but wanting to gel everything with Apple, I only ever use Safari.

May I ask, what exactly is a “Full System Installer” & how does one use it if they ever need to?

Many Thanks,
Bazzy!
[doublepost=1533322990][/doublepost]

The exec files that you can see now are probably old docs that are incompatible with High Sierra. I have many littered in the docs folder because I keep everything.
Performance issues can be caused by many things, often they can be hardware related, especially ram. Did you buy high quality compatible ram? There are hardware tests you can run in older systems. I can't remember if it works in Mavericks or only Snow Leopard (which definitely works on the 2011). I upgrade mine with 16 gig and I put the SSD in the optical bay and it was amazing how much better it worked. I also found out before the upgrade I had faulty ram and the original hdd only performed at 30MB/sec. It should have been at least 90, and I had the beach ball all the time with apps taking up to a minute to start. The SSD should get you 450-500MB/sec.
You need to open Activity Monitor and enable the CPU graphs to easily see how hard the system is running, and importantly, what is doing it. Mail can run at over 300% by itself. Then there are runaway processes in browsers, usually YouTube related. Various system processes could be running hard or unresponsive apps that need to be force quit (they show in red in the activity list).
Many people insist you should clean install, but that's very painful. I've found running a full system installer and then taking advantage of the migration assistant in the setup works well, but it's very slow over wifi, so go with a cable.

Hi!

That was what I was afraid of - not being able to Back Up to losing newer data since the High Sierra upgrade!

I do not *think* I have reset Safari as I was not sure if I would lose all my settings & saved bookmarks etc. I do not know what Cache is so was scared to mess with it. I ahem deleted all cookies but it not help. Also, unlike Mavericks, on High Sierra, there is no “Reset Safari” option in the drop down menu under the Safari name?

How do I go about re-setting Safari & will I lose anything by doing so?

Do you have any idea why websites keep on asking me to constantly accept cookies when I have already done so multiple times. This was a major headache when on Mavericks & one of my reasons for upgrading the OS but the problem has followed to High Sierra?

I will keep in mind what you say about making a TM Back Up of the SSD & then re-installing HS if all else fails but once again, may I ask, if everything is working well on Firefox but not Safari, is it likely to be just a Safari issue or both Safari & MacOS with all the many hundreds of strange EXEC Files?

Is there a test I can do & post screen-shots here to better show my system performance under load so you all can see what is happening?

Many Thanks,
Bazzy!
[doublepost=1533323128][/doublepost]

When you write as much as you did in your OP, don't expect folks to read and comprehend all of it.
(certainly not ME!)

What I think you should try. This won't "hurt anything" and you can just delete it when you're done "testing":
1. Open system preferences.
2. Click "users & groups"
3. Click the lock icon (lower left) and enter your password
4. Click the "+ sign" (above the lock icon) to create a NEW ACCOUNT.
5. Select "Administrator" from the popup (top item), fill in the rest as needed. I suggest you name it something like "temp" with "temp" for the password, as well.
6. When done, click "create user" and close system preferences.

Now...
LOG OUT of your current account, and log into the new "temp" account.
DON'T start "putting things" into it yet.
You want it to stay "lean and clean" for the moment.

I realize "your usual stuff" won't be there, but use this temp account for an hour or two.
How does it "feel"?
Faster, cleaner, better?

If so, I sense that the problem is something in your "regular" account is messing things up and slowing you down...

Hi!

My apologies for the length - being dense, I feel compelled to provide as much info as I can but can also see how off-putting it would be for others! Sadly, I am also lacking in explaining technical stuff properly & concisely so my apologies to everyone.

I already had another user account as spare which I do not normally use - a Mac guide stated to do this in case the regular use account has issues. I looked into it & it was clean - no data etc in it all.

Well, on this 2nd User Account, it was a much better experience - Safari was much faster & snappier & had very little sluggishness & rarely ever got stuck. The real test was with ebay which was an absolute nightmare on the main user account as it would get constant beach balling & freezes. Not on this account - it was like it was normal & like on Firefox except for a few Beach-balls. Overall, on any website, Safari was a vastly different in a much better way as one would expect with an SSD.

The only issue that repeated was websites keeping asking me to accept the blasted cookies so this is a pervasive issue it seems.

Even Mail, which took ages to start & shut down on the regular Account (& with all the other issues mentioned) was much snappier & faster which was very refreshing to see!

Just so you are aware (since you were helpful in helping me upgrade), when I first tried the system after upgrading to SSD & HS, the whole system was pretty much like it was now - beach balling, slow, sluggish & freezes. After resetting the PRAM/NVRAM, doing an SMC Reset and selecting the SSD as the Start Up Drive, the whole system was just wonderful - very fast & like a new computer. Sadly, after a few days, the issues sorted of re-emerged but not as bad with Safari particularly badly affected & some regular general beach balling & freezes, mouse jumping/not responding it time etc. Trying to re-set the PRAM/NVRAM, SMC etc again, did not work this time however.

Due to this, I wish to try out the 2nd user account for some time longer to see if the above repeats itself but it does seem that the main/regular user account is the culprit does it not? If so, something is messing with overall general system performance, Safari, Cookies etc - is it all these strange EXEC Files that have suddenly appeared as well as something else?

How do I find ALL of these Black EXEC files & open them if they were previous important files/documents etc or get rid of them if they are not needed or problem causing?

Many Thanks,
Bazzy!

 

[Macyourdayy]

Hi!

The EXEC Files seem to range from OLD to VERY NEW - it seems that everything with “MacOS” which is the High Sierra I upgraded to from OS X Mavericks has them?

The RAM I have has been in the MBP for a very long time & I bought it direct from Crucial as that was what most were recommending at the time. Do you know of have simple to perform tests that I can carry out to check the RAM?

If you see my screen-shots , very strangely, the etrecheck reported the System Performance as “Excellent” even though it has all these issues & did not flag up any RAM issues?

Tbh, I can only use Activity monitor at a very basic level but will do my best but please bear in mind, that the issues I am getting on this account on Safari & Mail are NOT happening on Firefox but wanting to gel everything with Apple, I only ever use Safari.

May I ask, what exactly is a “Full System Installer” & how does one use it if they ever need to?

Many Thanks,
Bazzy!
[doublepost=1533322990][/doublepost]

Hi!

That was what I was afraid of - not being able to Back Up to losing newer data since the High Sierra upgrade!

I do not *think* I have reset Safari as I was not sure if I would lose all my settings & saved bookmarks etc. I do not know what Cache is so was scared to mess with it. I ahem deleted all cookies but it not help. Also, unlike Mavericks, on High Sierra, there is no “Reset Safari” option in the drop down menu under the Safari name?

How do I go about re-setting Safari & will I lose anything by doing so?

Do you have any idea why websites keep on asking me to constantly accept cookies when I have already done so multiple times. This was a major headache when on Mavericks & one of my reasons for upgrading the OS but the problem has followed to High Sierra?

I will keep in mind what you say about making a TM Back Up of the SSD & then re-installing HS if all else fails but once again, may I ask, if everything is working well on Firefox but not Safari, is it likely to be just a Safari issue or both Safari & MacOS with all the many hundreds of strange EXEC Files?

Is there a test I can do & post screen-shots here to better show my system performance under load so you all can see what is happening?

Many Thanks,
Bazzy!
[doublepost=1533323128][/doublepost]

Hi!

My apologies for the length - being dense, I feel compelled to provide as much info as I can but can also see how off-putting it would be for others! Sadly, I am also lacking in explaining technical stuff properly & concisely so my apologies to everyone.

I already had another user account as spare which I do not normally use - a Mac guide stated to do this in case the regular use account has issues. I looked into it & it was clean - no data etc in it all.

Well, on this 2nd User Account, it was a much better experience - Safari was much faster & snappier & had very little sluggishness & rarely ever got stuck. The real test was with ebay which was an absolute nightmare on the main user account as it would get constant beach balling & freezes. Not on this account - it was like it was normal & like on Firefox except for a few Beach-balls. Overall, on any website, Safari was a vastly different in a much better way as one would expect with an SSD.

The only issue that repeated was websites keeping asking me to accept the blasted cookies so this is a pervasive issue it seems.

Even Mail, which took ages to start & shut down on the regular Account (& with all the other issues mentioned) was much snappier & faster which was very refreshing to see!

Just so you are aware (since you were helpful in helping me upgrade), when I first tried the system after upgrading to SSD & HS, the whole system was pretty much like it was now - beach balling, slow, sluggish & freezes. After resetting the PRAM/NVRAM, doing an SMC Reset and selecting the SSD as the Start Up Drive, the whole system was just wonderful - very fast & like a new computer. Sadly, after a few days, the issues sorted of re-emerged but not as bad with Safari particularly badly affected & some regular general beach balling & freezes, mouse jumping/not responding it time etc. Trying to re-set the PRAM/NVRAM, SMC etc again, did not work this time however.

Due to this, I wish to try out the 2nd user account for some time longer to see if the above repeats itself but it does seem that the main/regular user account is the culprit does it not? If so, something is messing with overall general system performance, Safari, Cookies etc - is it all these strange EXEC Files that have suddenly appeared as well as something else?

How do I find ALL of these Black EXEC files & open them if they were previous important files/documents etc or get rid of them if they are not needed or problem causing?

Many Thanks,
Bazzy!

So many questions and issues. The "geniuses" often recommend trying a fresh user account to see if it solves issues, which it obviously does in your case. This suggests your account has issues that will be transferred from clones/backups hence my suggestion of wiping the drive and installing a fresh system. To get a full OS installer, go to the App Store and check your purchase list

 

[GoodWheaties]

Hi!

The EXEC Files seem to range from OLD to VERY NEW - it seems that everything with “MacOS” which is the High Sierra I upgraded to from OS X Mavericks has them?

The RAM I have has been in the MBP for a very long time & I bought it direct from Crucial as that was what most were recommending at the time. Do you know of have simple to perform tests that I can carry out to check the RAM?

If you see my screen-shots , very strangely, the etrecheck reported the System Performance as “Excellent” even though it has all these issues & did not flag up any RAM issues?

Tbh, I can only use Activity monitor at a very basic level but will do my best but please bear in mind, that the issues I am getting on this account on Safari & Mail are NOT happening on Firefox but wanting to gel everything with Apple, I only ever use Safari.

May I ask, what exactly is a “Full System Installer” & how does one use it if they ever need to?

Many Thanks,
Bazzy!
[doublepost=1533322990][/doublepost]

Hi!

That was what I was afraid of - not being able to Back Up to losing newer data since the High Sierra upgrade!

I do not *think* I have reset Safari as I was not sure if I would lose all my settings & saved bookmarks etc. I do not know what Cache is so was scared to mess with it. I ahem deleted all cookies but it not help. Also, unlike Mavericks, on High Sierra, there is no “Reset Safari” option in the drop down menu under the Safari name?

How do I go about re-setting Safari & will I lose anything by doing so?

Do you have any idea why websites keep on asking me to constantly accept cookies when I have already done so multiple times. This was a major headache when on Mavericks & one of my reasons for upgrading the OS but the problem has followed to High Sierra?

I will keep in mind what you say about making a TM Back Up of the SSD & then re-installing HS if all else fails but once again, may I ask, if everything is working well on Firefox but not Safari, is it likely to be just a Safari issue or both Safari & MacOS with all the many hundreds of strange EXEC Files?

Is there a test I can do & post screen-shots here to better show my system performance under load so you all can see what is happening?

Many Thanks,
Bazzy!
[doublepost=1533323128][/doublepost]

Hi!

My apologies for the length - being dense, I feel compelled to provide as much info as I can but can also see how off-putting it would be for others! Sadly, I am also lacking in explaining technical stuff properly & concisely so my apologies to everyone.

I already had another user account as spare which I do not normally use - a Mac guide stated to do this in case the regular use account has issues. I looked into it & it was clean - no data etc in it all.

Well, on this 2nd User Account, it was a much better experience - Safari was much faster & snappier & had very little sluggishness & rarely ever got stuck. The real test was with ebay which was an absolute nightmare on the main user account as it would get constant beach balling & freezes. Not on this account - it was like it was normal & like on Firefox except for a few Beach-balls. Overall, on any website, Safari was a vastly different in a much better way as one would expect with an SSD.

The only issue that repeated was websites keeping asking me to accept the blasted cookies so this is a pervasive issue it seems.

Even Mail, which took ages to start & shut down on the regular Account (& with all the other issues mentioned) was much snappier & faster which was very refreshing to see!

Just so you are aware (since you were helpful in helping me upgrade), when I first tried the system after upgrading to SSD & HS, the whole system was pretty much like it was now - beach balling, slow, sluggish & freezes. After resetting the PRAM/NVRAM, doing an SMC Reset and selecting the SSD as the Start Up Drive, the whole system was just wonderful - very fast & like a new computer. Sadly, after a few days, the issues sorted of re-emerged but not as bad with Safari particularly badly affected & some regular general beach balling & freezes, mouse jumping/not responding it time etc. Trying to re-set the PRAM/NVRAM, SMC etc again, did not work this time however.

Due to this, I wish to try out the 2nd user account for some time longer to see if the above repeats itself but it does seem that the main/regular user account is the culprit does it not? If so, something is messing with overall general system performance, Safari, Cookies etc - is it all these strange EXEC Files that have suddenly appeared as well as something else?

How do I find ALL of these Black EXEC files & open them if they were previous important files/documents etc or get rid of them if they are not needed or problem causing?

Many Thanks,
Bazzy!

If you open Safari then go to the top menu bar and select Safari>Preferences>Privacy is “block all cookies and website data selected”? Not sure if that would cause the issues you are having or not.

 

[Bazzy]

So many questions and issues. The "geniuses" often recommend trying a fresh user account to see if it solves issues, which it obviously does in your case. This suggests your account has issues that will be transferred from clones/backups hence my suggestion of wiping the drive and installing a fresh system. To get a full OS installer, go to the App Store and check your purchase list

Hi,

If I do have to go down this route, may I ask, are all these issues that were brought forward from the Mavericks Super-Duper Clone used ALSO be on the Time Machine Mavericks Back Up that I have? I just do not wish to go through all of the hassle unless this time I am absolutely sure that it will be a true clean install which I thought I had done already!

What about Migration Assistant? Will that offer a transfer of Data without all these issues? Which is better, safer & more appropriate to use - Time Machine or Migration Assistant?

Many Thanks!
Bazzy!

If you open Safari then go to the top menu bar and select Safari>Preferences>Privacy is “block all cookies and website data selected”? Not sure if that would cause the issues you are having or not.

Hi,

I have just checked & the “block all cookies and website data selected” option is unchecked.

Many Thanks!
Bazzy!

 

[GoodWheaties]

Hi,

If I do have to go down this route, may I ask, are all these issues that were brought forward from the Mavericks Super-Duper Clone used ALSO be on the Time Machine Mavericks Back Up that I have? I just do not wish to go through all of the hassle unless this time I am absolutely sure that it will be a true clean install which I thought I had done already!

What about Migration Assistant? Will that offer a transfer of Data without all these issues? Which is better, safer & more appropriate to use - Time Machine or Migration Assistant?

Many Thanks!
Bazzy!



Hi,

I have just checked & the “block all cookies and website data selected” option is unchecked.

Many Thanks!
Bazzy!

Since it seems it really is limited to Safari you could try something like this. Export your bookmarks to the desktop (it will create a file with web links) then delete all the cache, cookies, and history in Safari. If it seems better you can import your bookmarks back in and hopefully it will be fixed. You can google how to do this stuff as I don’t want to write it all here.

 

[hobowankenobi]

Don't worry about the exec files.

You need to focus on Safari in your user account.

You have a bunch of older plugins and extensions that need be disabled or removed. For testing, disable or remove ALL plugins and extensions, and see how Safari behaves.

FWIW, this happens to Safari, on occasion. I got tired of it and switched browsers, having encountered it more than once on multiple machines. Problem solved. Much easier than hunting down the culprit.