Slow Running Macbook Pro (mid 2012)

I have the same computer (entry level MBP-13 Mid 2012) and added RAM and an SSD at two different times. Here are some launch time data from mine

Base system as shipped:

4GB RAM and slow SATA 3GBps 5400rpm hard drive: Office and Photoshop Elements took 15-18 seconds to be ready to use.

First upgrade, RAM:

8GB RAM and slow SATA 3GBps 5400rpm hard drive: Office and Photoshop Elements took 15-18 seconds to be ready to use.

Second upgrade, inexpensive solid-state drive

8GB RAM and fast SATA 6GBps SSD: Office and Photoshop Elements take under 4 seconds to be ready to use.

And here drive read/right speeds for yours and mine:

Yours, mech hard drive:

Performance:

System Load: 1.13 (1 min ago) 0.95 (5 min ago) 0.93 (15 min ago)    

Nominal I/O speed: 1.51 MB/s    

File system: 37.09 seconds    

Write speed: 82 MB/s    

Read speed: 81 MB/s

Mine with OWC SSD:

Performance:

    System Load: 1.61 (1 min ago) 1.60 (5 min ago) 2.94 (15 min ago)

    Nominal I/O speed: 0.15 MB/s

    File system: 28.20 seconds

    Write speed: 487 MB/s

    Read speed: 482 MB/s

I used this kit and had no installation or service issues, and that was nearly three years ago. My 2012 is still very fast today.

https://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/Y3SSD6E500/

The little hard drive enclosure was invaluable for making the data transfer. I put the new SSD in the enclosure, used Carbon Copy Cloner to recreate the old HD on the SSD, then moved the SSD out of the enclosure and into the MacBook Pro,

⚠️ NOTE: Best practice is to change the hard drive CABLE whenever you change or upgrade the drive. The cable is available for US$15 from the same vendor where I bought my SSD kit and is easy to change.

From the report there is no suggestion that you have installed any apps or have downloaded any malware that could

reduce your macs performance.

Apple says the minimum RAM for Mojave is 4GBS, but that's only if you switch your mac on and stare at it.

8GBs should really be the minimum requirement, so you could upgrade your RAM.

Apples official line is 8GBs is the maximum RAM fro your mac, but some people have reported using 16GBs (2x8GBs sticks).

The hard drive in your mac is only spinning at 5400RPM so it is a slow drive, upgrading to an SSD would certainly help.

You have a lot of apps that open when you start your mac up, this will swallow up a portion of your RAM.

Do you need all these apps to open when you startup/ login.

Open System Preferences> Users & Groups> Login Items any items you don't require on login

highlight and click on the minus button.

You must only buy the correct RAM for your particular model and year mac. RAM can be expensive and you need to get the

correct modules. Most SSDs should fit in the MacBook Pro but make sure.

https://everymac.com/systems/apple/macbook_pro/macbook-pro-unibody-faq/macbook-pro-13-15-17-mid-2009-how-to-upgrade-hard-drive-ssd.html

https://everymac.com/systems/apple/macbook_pro/macbook-pro-unibody-faq/macbook-pro-13-15-17-mid-2009-how-to-upgrade-ram-memory.html

Don't worry that the links above say mid 2009, the articles cover the 2012 MacBook Pros.

Do you normally read/write Windows NTFS formatted external disks? If not, you might as well remove the Paragon NTFS drivers.

If you do normally move a disk between Windows and your Mac, exFAT is fully supported by both platforms, and you do not need 3rd party drivers.

Just a thought.

What did the report say.

An SSD is the most effective performance boost.

Max out the RAM

But posting the EtreCheck report will let others make better suggestions.