Hi there - friend has a 2019 iMac, hardly used and by no means clogged up with crap or similar.
Etrecheck report attached - is there anything anyone can spot that is out of the ordinary?
I can't work it out!
Thanks.
iMac (2017 – 2020)
First, be aware that you bought the slowest Mac that Apple offered at the time of purchase: 8 GB RAM and a 5400 rpm hard drive. And you've installed software that most of the experienced users here consider to be akin to malware: CleanMyMac.
Both of those items above have contributed to the very poor performance you're experiencing:
Write speed: 66 MB/s
Read speed: 60 MB/s
There is no reason to ever install or run any 3rd party "cleaning", "optimizing", "speed-up", anti-virus, VPN or security apps on your Mac. This documents describe what you need to know and do in order to protect your Mac: Effective defenses against malware and other threats - Apple Community and Recognize and avoid phishing messages, phony support calls, and other scams - Apple Support.
There are no known viruses, i.e. self propagating, for Macs. There are, however, adware and malware which require the user to install although unwittingly most of the time thru sneaky links, etc.
Anti Virus developers try to group all types as viruses into their ad campaigns of fear. They do a poor job of the detecting and isolating the adware and malware. Since there are no viruses these apps use up a lot of system resources searching for what is non-existent and adversely affect system and app performance.
There is one app, Malwarebytes, which was developed by a long time contributor to these forums and a highly respected member of the computer security community, that is designed solely to seek out adware and known malware and remove it. The free version is more than adequate for most users.
So uninstall CleanMyMac according to the developer's instructions, reboot and check performance.
First, be aware that you bought the slowest Mac that Apple offered at the time of purchase: 8 GB RAM and a 5400 rpm hard drive. And you've installed software that most of the experienced users here consider to be akin to malware: CleanMyMac.
Both of those items above have contributed to the very poor performance you're experiencing:
Write speed: 66 MB/s
Read speed: 60 MB/s
There is no reason to ever install or run any 3rd party "cleaning", "optimizing", "speed-up", anti-virus, VPN or security apps on your Mac. This documents describe what you need to know and do in order to protect your Mac: Effective defenses against malware and other threats - Apple Community and Recognize and avoid phishing messages, phony support calls, and other scams - Apple Support.
There are no known viruses, i.e. self propagating, for Macs. There are, however, adware and malware which require the user to install although unwittingly most of the time thru sneaky links, etc.
Anti Virus developers try to group all types as viruses into their ad campaigns of fear. They do a poor job of the detecting and isolating the adware and malware. Since there are no viruses these apps use up a lot of system resources searching for what is non-existent and adversely affect system and app performance.
There is one app, Malwarebytes, which was developed by a long time contributor to these forums and a highly respected member of the computer security community, that is designed solely to seek out adware and known malware and remove it. The free version is more than adequate for most users.
So uninstall CleanMyMac according to the developer's instructions, reboot and check performance.
Traced to a new failing HDD which Etrecheck is now showing.
Replacement ordered - thanks @Old Toad.
It may be a relic from the previous user but its presence is strong in the system. It has been the cause of many, many performance issues with other users.
Rerun Etrecheck when you've removed it to make sure there are no supporting files with CleanMyMac or MacPaw in the file name still there.
Thanks. Will do.
I have a hunch this may be linked a huge Photos library. Currently running a repair on that. Will see!
Thanks. CleanMyMac is a relic from the user who hasn’t gone through the correct uninstall procedure, I think. I will certainly remove it properly but there’s no way it can account for the performance we’re seeing.
I’ve two older and lower specced Macs than this and neither take at least two seconds of spinning wheel between any click.
The performance of this is SO bad I can only think it’s something totally obvious that I’m missing, otherwise I’d simply be formatting and starting again.
Painfully slow and laggy 2019 iMac
