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.
Unusable – 2016 15" MacBook Pro 2.7Ghz
- Thread starter henryaaron
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
I didn't say completely. And a computer that slows me down by anything over 10% IS completely unusable anyways.
"I optioned to create a new user account instead of partitioning the drive. The new user is not showing the same issues which is tremendous news."
Then whatever it is that is "slowing you down" is probably NOT "OS related".
Instead, it has to do with something in your account.
Could it be:
- Startup item?
- Application?
- Virus protection?
What you might consider doing (and yes, it's a "long and winding road"):
SLOWLY replicate your primary user account (the one that's giving you problems) to the new account.
Since Safari was running slow (but not other browsers), I'm wondering...
Do you keep many tabs open?
I HATE tabs (shouting intentional) and refuse to use them at all. Not one, not ever.
Could it be a connection to one or more websites that is overwhelming Safari and putting on "the brakes"?
Then whatever it is that is "slowing you down" is probably NOT "OS related".
Instead, it has to do with something in your account.
Could it be:
- Startup item?
- Application?
- Virus protection?
What you might consider doing (and yes, it's a "long and winding road"):
SLOWLY replicate your primary user account (the one that's giving you problems) to the new account.
Since Safari was running slow (but not other browsers), I'm wondering...
Do you keep many tabs open?
I HATE tabs (shouting intentional) and refuse to use them at all. Not one, not ever.
Could it be a connection to one or more websites that is overwhelming Safari and putting on "the brakes"?
It's helpful to have two machines to do this.
You do a fresh install, create a new account with the same username/passwords and then install your programs, set them up and run them. It's a PITA as well but it's the most reliable way to upgrade or clean an account out.
haha knew it
Removing malware is basically a game of whack-a-mole. The software will be installed in two or three different places. When you remove it from one place, something running elsewhere will put it back. Here's a rough outline of what you need to do:
1. remove all browser extensions, including Safari extensions. Keep an eye in case they get reinstalled.
2. get Activity Monitor running, and sort by CPU descending. Scan the list for anything sus, with a name like '2wgTxx' or 'MacVirusScannerHelper'. The name will either be a random string, or something disguised in plain site (Apples don't ship with a service called MacVirusScannerHelper, for example). Google anything that has a weird name or is eating a lot of CPU. A lot of ones that look weird will unfortunately be okay (like spotlight services), so be patient.
3. Once you've found a malware, follow directions online to remove it.
4. places you will find it: /Library/StartupItems, ~/Library/StartupItems, /Library/LaunchAgents, /Library/LaunchDaemons/
Whether it's worth it to dig this out or just migrate to a new account depends largely on your expertise and abilities. Good luck.
Removing malware is basically a game of whack-a-mole. The software will be installed in two or three different places. When you remove it from one place, something running elsewhere will put it back. Here's a rough outline of what you need to do:
1. remove all browser extensions, including Safari extensions. Keep an eye in case they get reinstalled.
2. get Activity Monitor running, and sort by CPU descending. Scan the list for anything sus, with a name like '2wgTxx' or 'MacVirusScannerHelper'. The name will either be a random string, or something disguised in plain site (Apples don't ship with a service called MacVirusScannerHelper, for example). Google anything that has a weird name or is eating a lot of CPU. A lot of ones that look weird will unfortunately be okay (like spotlight services), so be patient.
3. Once you've found a malware, follow directions online to remove it.
4. places you will find it: /Library/StartupItems, ~/Library/StartupItems, /Library/LaunchAgents, /Library/LaunchDaemons/
Whether it's worth it to dig this out or just migrate to a new account depends largely on your expertise and abilities. Good luck.
I removed all startup items, and applications that weren't 100% trustworthy (I left Adobe and Microsoft apps), and I don't think I ever had any virus protections besides maximum security macOS configuration (SIP, Firewall, FileVault).
I can keep many tabs open at times. The consistently reproducible issue was that opening the console on large websites (macrumors.com is an example of a large website) took 30 seconds (that's an actual number). Google's homepage, and Apple's are examples of small websites where it didn't take any time.
The CPU didn't show significant peaking or anything. I suspect this lag was somehow created by memory swaps. My system is constantly using at least 75% of available memory (12/16GB) + swap and cached files.
Since this issue wasn't prevalent on small websites which happen to use less RAM. I think my guess is reasonable. I just wonder how the swapping process can lag like that.
Safari didn't have any third party extensions either.
Here's what I tried before abandoning the account
1. Removed any extensions
2. I did this and everything towards the top was system processes. I disable all startup apps and system extensions as well to try to get a pure boot – I then read through almost the entire list and everything was (or looked like) a system process.
3. Didn't find any malware.
4. I deleted everything in these directories.
My 2017 runs like a ****ing heater in my lap watching YouTube since installing Big Sur. I don't know what they did that could ruin the efficiency of my machine to that extent but it really starts to make you wonder about all the planned obsolescence theories with the M1 Macs coming out.
I'd more attribute it to bugs rather than design. I'm sticking with Mojave until they fix Big Sur or Catalina.
Yeah, people complain about the 2017s for the keyboard, and the fact that it wasn’t any faster than the 2015. The idea that it wouldn’t be able to run Big Sur seems a bit far fetched. I’m glad you figured out it was the account. The poster who talked about NVME drives, the 2017s didn’t have NVME, their SSDs are soldered to the logic board.