Why the hell is my Mac so slow?

[mike62pp3]

Here's my set up:
Macbook Pro (Early 2010) running 10.6.5 w/ 2.56GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 4GB DDR3 RAM, 500 GB HD w/ 290GB free space.

There have been times when I'm just running iTunes and the wheel of death will come on, or i'm on Chrome or FF w/ 2 other programs running and will get the wheel again and will get locked for about 1-2min. Before I hadn't had too many problems on a different MBP with lower specs, this one is higher yet is slow. I don't understand what the problem is because I also monitor my CPU and when it locks up the CPU remain at normal. Also, flash has always been lagging on here but will freeze for 5-10sec while audio keeps playing. I possibly think it's the Hard Drive which is a WD Blue Scorpio w/ 5400 RPM.

Thoughts? I'm thinking of upgrading to 8GB of RAM but think RAM isn't the real issue here. The only heavy programs I run is the Adobe Suite & Maya 2011. Any help is appreciated. Thanks!

 

[imaketouchtheme]

Here's my set up:
Macbook Pro (Early 2010) running 10.6.5 w/ 2.56GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 4GB DDR3 RAM, 500 GB HD w/ 290GB free space.

There have been times when I'm just running iTunes and the wheel of death will come on, or i'm on Chrome or FF w/ 2 other programs running and will get the wheel again and will get locked for about 1-2min. Before I hadn't had too many problems on a different MBP with lower specs, this one is higher yet is slow. I don't understand what the problem is because I also monitor my CPU and when it locks up the CPU remain at normal. Also, flash has always been lagging on here but will freeze for 5-10sec while audio keeps playing. I possibly think it's the Hard Drive which is a WD Blue Scorpio w/ 5400 RPM.

Thoughts? I'm thinking of upgrading to 8GB of RAM but think RAM isn't the real issue here. The only heavy programs I run is the Adobe Suite & Maya 2011. Any help is appreciated. Thanks!

There is no reason that it has to do with your computer being "under-spec'd".

Try repairing your disk permissions, defragging the hard drive, etc.

If that doesn't help, backup your data and reformat your hard drive.

 

[mike62pp3]

There is no reason that it has to do with your computer being "under-spec'd".

Try repairing your disk permissions, defragging the hard drive, etc.

If that doesn't help, backup your data and reformat your hard drive.

I've already had 2 different HD replaced by WD and re-installed the OS multiple times as well

 

[imaketouchtheme]

I've already had 2 different HD replaced by WD and re-installed the OS multiple times as well

Obviously, it's still under warranty. Go to your local Genius Bar and have them look at it. They can run the Apple Hardware Test on your computer to determine exactly what the issue may be.

Be prepared to show them your issue if they find nothing in the wrong with your computer.

 

[mike62pp3]

Obviously, it's still under warranty. Go to your local Genius Bar and have them look at it. They can run the Apple Hardware Test on your computer to determine exactly what the issue may be.

Be prepared to show them your issue if they find nothing in the wrong with your computer.

Does it still cover if I replaced the hard drive myself?

 

[imaketouchtheme]

Does it still cover if I replaced the hard drive myself?

Shhhhh. They have no idea that you did that.

Honestly though, being an Apple Macintosh Certified Technician myself, there's no way for Apple to tell if you've opened up that Mac.

Do you happen to have the original hard drive, though? Or is the hard drive you got replaced the same as the original one (size, speed, brand)?

 

[mike62pp3]

Shhhhh. They have no idea that you did that.

Honestly though, being an Apple Macintosh Certified Technician myself, there's no way for Apple to tell if you've opened up that Mac.

Do you happen to have the original hard drive, though? Or is the hard drive you got replaced the same as the original one (size, speed, brand)?

Haha thanks for the tip. And yes the hard drive is a different brand and size. Won't they be able to tell when they run diagnostics on the HD?

 

[imaketouchtheme]

Haha thanks for the tip. And yes the hard drive is a different brand and size. Won't they be able to tell when they run diagnostics on the HD?

Yeah, I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[davidlv]

I had a very similar experience with a WD Scorpio Blue HD, it would stall or stutter for several seconds at random times, really messed up my workflow. I could find no reason for it, all HD diognostics were OK, Disk Warrior gave it a clean bill of health, but it was constantly slowing down the whole system. Changing to a Seagate Momentous and later a Hitachi solved the issue completely, either drive. How much is the peace of mind worth to know the HD is or isn't the cause of your issues? The cost of either of those drives is probably worth the investment, IMO. I still have the WD, but it is in a USB case now, where it works fine. It will even boot the system, and doesn't have the same isssue (of course being a USB interface, the drive is slow, but it never causes system wide stalls as it does installed internally). Some people have had good luck with the WD, some not, even varying among people with indentical MBP models.