MacBook running slow in NM

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Pecospete77 Author

Level 1

4 points

MacBook running slow in NM

Can anyone offer suggestions to restore my Mac to performance level? I've attached a Entricheck report.

MacBook Pro 13″, macOS 10.15

Posted on Dec 21, 2020 11:43 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

steve626

Level 6

11,135 points

Dec 21, 2020 4:39 PM in response to Pecospete77

Your computer has a number of problems that are causing it to run poorly:

failing hard drive
hard drive is mechanical (spinning) drive, formatted with APFS, which is required for Catalina, but APFS is known to run very slowly on older mechanical drives
4 GB RAM is not adequate for this recent an OS. It will run, but poorly.
2012 vintage of your computer may also mean other components are out of useful life

You certainly need to replace a failing hard drive right away. Having a good backup (or two) is important. The report indicates that you do not have a Time Machine backup.

If you replace the hard drive, a solid state drive (SSD) will run much faster, maybe x10 times faster. But I don't know if that makes sense with just 4 GB RAM and a 2012 machine, a new computer may make more sense.

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Answer 2

Pecospete77 Author

Level 1

4 points

Dec 21, 2020 11:48 AM in response to Pecospete77

Major Issues:
  Anything that appears on this list needs immediate attention. 
  No Time Machine backup - Time Machine backup not found.
  Failing hard drive - This computer has a hard drive that appears to be failing.
  Runaway process - A process is using a large percentage of your CPU.
  Software performance problems - Software seems to be causing performance problems.

Minor Issues:
  These issues do not need immediate attention but they may indicate future problems or opportunities for improvement. 
  Upgradeable hard drive - This computerâ  s hard drive could be replaced with an SSD. This would dramatically improve your computerâ  s performance.
  Unsigned files - There are unsigned software files installed. Apple has said that unsigned software will not run by default in a future version of the operating system.
  Vintage hardware - This computer may be considered vintage.
  Limited drive access - More information may be available with Full Drive Access.
  Sharing enabled - This computer has sharing services enabled that could be a security risk.

Hardware Information:
  MacBook Pro (13-inch, Mid 2012) - Vintage!
  MacBook Pro Model: MacBookPro9,2
  2.5 GHz Dual-Core Intel Core i5 (i5-3210M) CPU: 2-core
  4 RAM - Upgradeable
    BANK 0/DIMM0 - 2 GB DDR3 1600  
    BANK 1/DIMM0 - 2 GB DDR3 1600  
  Battery: Health = Normal - Cycle count = 315

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