iMac running very slow

[basils57]

Recently, I'm having trouble with my iMac running very slow - especially when trying to open browser pages. Initially this seemed to only happen with Safari, when I needed to refresh the page before it would connect, but now Chrome seems to take an age to open pages.

Additionally, my machine doesn't generally seem to be anywhere as speedy as usual.

I recently updated to El Capitan (10.11.2), and all seemed ok initially, and I have no reason to connect the 2 events, and was wondering whether it would be worthwhile and how to re-install Safari.

I have run first aid on disk utility and all is reported as ok, and there don't seem to be any untoward drains on memory or CPU.

Any help/advice would be most welcome.

 

[Cory Cooper]

Hello and welcome.

Do you have a current Time Machine or other backup of your data? That is always a recommended first step.

The slowness can be caused by several things: a low amount of free space on your hard drive, incompatible software, anti-virus or other third-party software like MacKeeper or CleanMyMac, toolbars and malware, etc.

Let us know the following:
-Amount of free space left on the hard drive
-Do you have an anti-virus installed?
-Do you have MacKeeper or CleanMyMac installed?
-Is it mostly when using Safari and Chrome?
-Do you recall installing any toolbars or browser extensions?

Also, 10.11.3 was released earlier this week, so it might be a good step to update.

C

 

[honestone]

Regarding upgrading to OS 10.11.3, it might be wise to download the Combo Updater and upgrade that way, versus getting the updater from the App Store. I did just that the other day (ie, downloading and applying the Combo Updater), and I am not having any issues at all. In fact, I always use the Combo Updater.

You can get it from here:

https://support.apple.com/kb/DL1859?locale=en_US

 

[basils57]

Hi Guys

Thanks for the replies, and apologies for the slow response.

My free space left on the hard drive is 49.5 GB
I have Kaspersky installed and the nothing is showing on a full scan.
I have CleanMyMac installed.
Problems on the browsers applies to both, but predominantly Safari
I don't recall installing any toolbars or extensions apart from Evernote Web Clipper in Safari and Hola in Chrome - both browsers have worked with these with no problems up to now.
As suggested I have now updated to 10.11.3 but the problem is still there.

 

[basils57]

Forgot to mention with CleanMyMac 3, I have only installed this since my problem occurred - thought it might help.

 

[honestone]

I am not familiar with any of that third party software you mentioned. I do use Google Chrome as my primary browser (about 99% of the time). Also, some folks around here don't like, nor recommend, CleanMyMac. I am not familiar with the product, as I use other proven, reliable software for such purposes.

The amount of free space left on your drive could be an issue.

 

[tompatrick]

Hi basils57,

Did you know about Mackeeper? They slow down Mac OS and removed using these instructions. Also, there are certain other reasons for slowing your iMac like hard-drive is getting full; perhaps you are using outdated OS, startup items is slowing down, too much programs running in the background, you are using old hardware.

I suggest you to use a good Mac cleaner program like Stellar Speedup Mac which automatically cleans up the useless apps and helps you to improve your slow and sluggish Mac OS.

 

[Cory Cooper]

I would try uninstalling CleanMyMac and Kaspersky. These types of utilities and antivirus apps are know to cause slowness and other performance-related issues.

Also, I disagree with tompatrick, and don't recommend apps like Stellar Speedup Mac. I am very old school and prefer regular maintenance with apps like DiskWarrior and Drive Genius, keeping multiple backups of my data using Time Machine and CCC/SuperDuper!, keeping a good amount of free space on the startup drive, keeping the OS and third-party apps updated, and never installing/relying on software like MacKeeper/CleanMyMac/Stellar Speedup Mac/antivirus apps/etc. They normally cause more issues than they are worth.

C

 

[honestone]

As usual, Cory speaks wise, wise words! I myself use (and depend upon) Onyx, TechTool Pro, and SuperDuper! for just about all of my disk-related tasks (I have Disk Warrior also). That includes cleanup, maintenance, repairs (when necessary, which is very, very rare), and backups.

But, besides such tools, it is also important (and certainly very, very pertinent) that one also performs some tasks on their own as a part of disk maintenance. Myself, I am constantly deleting unneeded files and folders, and EMails I no longer need. As an extension of that, the deleting of such EMails from Outlook does not remove them. So, as part of my weekly processing, I first run a three step "procedure" supplied by Microsoft to permanently have such "deleted" EMails removed.