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iMac slowed down massive after small Update to 10.15.7

Sorry for my bad english in advance!

My iMac 27 (12 GB ram - Model: End of 2013) is suddenly super slow.

I think after a small update to 10.15.7 - but I don't really know.

(I had Catalina for a while and it was all good)


Everything is super slow: Booting, starting Programms or Files (Videos etc.)

Sometimes starting "things" take 10sec or so....


I tried safe mode (with Shift at Boot). But it was also slow.

I tried checking the hard drive with the disc utility (after Boot and CMD-R): No errors were found. Did not help either.


It would be very kind if someone can give me some tipps.

I append an EtreCheck Log.


Perhaps I should try a reinstall the mac at the weekend and restore a backup from Time Machine?

But if the last update is the fault - perhaps it would not work to speed things up again.


Thank you in advance for your help.

Uwe


iMac 27″, macOS 10.15

Posted on Nov 18, 2020 9:27 AM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Nov 18, 2020 10:14 AM

Thank you for posting the EtreCheck file. That is a big help. Someone else may have some further suggestions to offer, but here are my comments.You have only 12GB of RAM installed and you are running Catalina, which should have a minimum of 16 GB RAM. I would upgrade your RAM to 32 GB since you appear to use a number of RAM intensive apps. It is important to only get RAM from a reliable source. We recommend crucial.com or mac sales.com. Otherwise it often does not work. You also have an internal slower mechanical hard drive which is slower than an SSD. Additionally, there are some things you can do which will help. I hope the following is helpful to you in dealing with a slow computer. Often times there is a specific cause for slowness and other times any of the following actions may be helpful. They are “maintenance” steps which are often ignored by many people.

·      It is important to occasionally restart a Mac. Ideally, once a week or more often. This does some system cleaning.

·      Regularly clearing the history of your browsers can help as all the data is stored in RAM. Clearing frees up RAM for system use.

·      Some people seldom empty their trash. If you haven’t, then do so. Also empty your email trash.

·      Some programs use a lot of RAM. (Like many Adobe apps and games.) When using them, close any other apps not being used. This step is important.

·      Doing a restart in the Safe Mode can clear a number of problems. This is done by holding down the Shift key at start up. This process can take up to ten minutes while the computer is doing its maintenance and cleans the cache. You may then restart normally.

·      It is also a good idea to periodically run the Disk Utility app. If it reports some issues, then rerun it repeatedly as needed until the final report is ok.

·      On some computers such as yours the problem is simply that there is not enough RAM installed for RAM hungry programs that are being used. fortunately, you can upgrade your RAM. Be sure to order it is module sets.

I hope these suggestions are helpful and enable you to speed up your computer somewhat.

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7 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Nov 18, 2020 10:14 AM in response to uwenet

Thank you for posting the EtreCheck file. That is a big help. Someone else may have some further suggestions to offer, but here are my comments.You have only 12GB of RAM installed and you are running Catalina, which should have a minimum of 16 GB RAM. I would upgrade your RAM to 32 GB since you appear to use a number of RAM intensive apps. It is important to only get RAM from a reliable source. We recommend crucial.com or mac sales.com. Otherwise it often does not work. You also have an internal slower mechanical hard drive which is slower than an SSD. Additionally, there are some things you can do which will help. I hope the following is helpful to you in dealing with a slow computer. Often times there is a specific cause for slowness and other times any of the following actions may be helpful. They are “maintenance” steps which are often ignored by many people.

·      It is important to occasionally restart a Mac. Ideally, once a week or more often. This does some system cleaning.

·      Regularly clearing the history of your browsers can help as all the data is stored in RAM. Clearing frees up RAM for system use.

·      Some people seldom empty their trash. If you haven’t, then do so. Also empty your email trash.

·      Some programs use a lot of RAM. (Like many Adobe apps and games.) When using them, close any other apps not being used. This step is important.

·      Doing a restart in the Safe Mode can clear a number of problems. This is done by holding down the Shift key at start up. This process can take up to ten minutes while the computer is doing its maintenance and cleans the cache. You may then restart normally.

·      It is also a good idea to periodically run the Disk Utility app. If it reports some issues, then rerun it repeatedly as needed until the final report is ok.

·      On some computers such as yours the problem is simply that there is not enough RAM installed for RAM hungry programs that are being used. fortunately, you can upgrade your RAM. Be sure to order it is module sets.

I hope these suggestions are helpful and enable you to speed up your computer somewhat.

Nov 18, 2020 12:57 PM in response to Ronasara

Thank you for your suggestions.


More memory would, of course will be better. And you're right I sometimes close the other apps before I work i.e. with Adobe Premiere because of the low memory.


From time to time I did a reboot, and after the problems occur I did a restart in Safe Mode and checked the harddrive (Fusion Drive) with the Disc Utility. Nothing changed after this.


And some weeks ago, also with Catalina (10.15.6 or so?) everything was fine.

And suddenly everything is much slower than before. That can not be only because of the RAM.


Do you think a reinstall with backup from Time Machine could help?

Is the macOS after a reinstall and import from the backup cleaner?

Nov 21, 2020 12:06 AM in response to uwenet

I did a reinstall, after Booting and with CMD-R. But without deleting the hard-drive.

Everything works as before, but also as slow as before. Starting up e-mail i.e. takes about 15sec.

What's funny, only the first start of a program is always slow - then I can work nearly normally with the program.


And I see in the activity that there is still free memory available and it is not "swapping memory to the hd".

The same with the CPU: 90% inactive - but programs starting slow?


I think deleting the hard-drive and reinstalling macOS will not improve the situation.


Does someone has further ideas?



Nov 30, 2020 8:33 AM in response to Ronasara

After reinstalling, it did not change anything.

I finally bought RAM end extended from 12 to 24 GB of RAM.

I can't believe it - my MAC is running fast again!!


What's really curious - It took a while till the speed was there again!

After the first boot with the new RAM installed - the 24GB showed up in About Mac, but was still slow.

The next day (I always put my Mac in sleep mode) when I used it again, probably it was fast again.


Thanks for you help

Uwe

iMac slowed down massive after small Update to 10.15.7

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