iMac is slow and beach balling

Welcome garygautreau,

Thanks for posting is Apple Support Communities. There are several factors that can cause your Mac to run slow.

We'd like to provide you with a few things you can check:

• Your computer’s startup disk may not have enough free disk space. To make disk space available, you can move files to another disk or an external storage device, then delete files you no longer need on the startup disk. macOS can also help you optimize storage by storing files in the cloud and helping you identify files you no longer need.

• An app you’re using may require more memory than your Mac has easily available. To see how much memory your Mac has, choose Apple menu  > About This Mac, then check the amount of memory listed in the Overview pane. See the documentation that came with the app to find out its system requirements.

• To find out how to increase your computer’s memory, choose Apple menu  > About This Mac, click Memory, then click Memory Upgrade Instructions in the lower-right corner. (Not available on all computers.)

• Quit any app that isn’t compatible with your Mac. For example, an app may require a different processor or graphics card. See the documentation that came with the app for information about its system requirements.

• To see what processor your computer has, choose Apple menu  > About This Mac, then click Overview.

• To see what graphics card your computer has, choose Apple menu  > About This Mac, then click Displays. The name of the graphics card in your computer is displayed in the middle of the window.

• Quit any apps you’re not using.

• If you have problems with your disk, use Disk Utility to verify and try and fix any issues.

• Use Activity Monitor to see if a particular app or activity is making a large demand on your Mac.

Click here for more details: If your Mac runs slowly

Let us know if this helps.

Have a wonderful day!

Hello,

I believe we need to proceed with an EtreCheck report. EtreCheck is a useful App to diagnose and identify issues, both hardware and software. It is trusted by many users. Please follow the steps outlined below:

1. Navigate to: https://etrecheck.com and get the free version of EtreCheckPro.

2. Download it. It is a free and trusted app. It is often recommended here on Apple Support Communities.

3. Open EtreCheck, and before running the report, be sure to check “Allow full Drive Access” at the bottom of the EtreCheckPro window.

4. Run the report, and put it in a post, as shown here: https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-250000211. We will then examine the report for issues in your Mac.

Jack