Can someone help me with my EtreCheck report?
Can someone help with this? Can I salvage my computer or is it time for another one?
iMac 27″, macOS 12.7
Can someone help with this? Can I salvage my computer or is it time for another one?
iMac 27″, macOS 12.7
The first backup of a whole lot of source data can take days, yes.
The backup is also important for data preservation purposes.
I’d let it finish.
A Tome Machine backup can also take a while when there are hardware issues with the source or destination, or when the source or destination are slow, with the integrated HDD in that iMac being middling-speed for an HDD, and with an unknown-speed external HDD.
Fusion sprints well too, but isn’t good with heavy read or write I/O activity, including backups.
Backups are incidentally also a good test of storage performance and stability.
The first backup of a whole lot of source data can take days, yes.
The backup is also important for data preservation purposes.
I’d let it finish.
A Tome Machine backup can also take a while when there are hardware issues with the source or destination, or when the source or destination are slow, with the integrated HDD in that iMac being middling-speed for an HDD, and with an unknown-speed external HDD.
Fusion sprints well too, but isn’t good with heavy read or write I/O activity, including backups.
Backups are incidentally also a good test of storage performance and stability.
Since the backup is already in progress I'd let it finish first. Once you have a backup you can take your time getting rid of everything you don't need. They will be removed from the backup automatically, when Time Machine eventually needs the space they occupied.
Yes, scams abound.
Personally I agree $158 for 8 TB storage is pretty reasonable. You might consider erasing the "junk" first but given that Mac's abysmal performance it may take a very long time, and be more trouble that it's worth.
Don't let anyone else use your Mac. If they must, have them log in under a "Guest User" Account you can create: Change Guest User settings on Mac - Apple Support. A Guest User Account has no ability to effect any permanent change.
I kind of agree with John Galt. I'd usually be a bit more conservative in my approach, but...
Erase and reinstall might be the best bet here. Make sure you have a good backup or two first, of course. Be selective about what apps, plugins and other tools you reinstall afterwards.
"CleanMyMac" claims another victim.
In addition to it, you don't need any non-Apple "anti-virus" products on a Mac, and to compound your challenges it appears that you may have installed the execrable "MacKeeper" a couple days ago.
These things wreck perfectly good Macs. Erase it and reconfigure it from the ground up. Don't reinstall the junk.
Thank you! I will get an additional hard drive. How do I save all my apps, etc.? My apology if this is a low level question. I don't know how to use time machine and I'm not sure how to save everything prior to doing a complete reset.
Thanks! Yes, I let a friend use my computer who was into audio. He set up a second identity or partition somehow (of which he forgot the password) and installed a bunch of stuff without my knowledge on my computer... Never again. I tried to remove them but I'm not sure where they all are.
Can you suggest the best way to do a backup. I never learned how to use Time Machine. I was doing it the old fashioned way onto a hard drive myself. I have alot of double files of the same thing because I did do saves from my camera in an organized manner. Thanks so much for your help!!!
You can probably get by with a little less than 8 TB but that Mac is using nearly all its internal 3 TB storage. Apple has traditionally recommended a backup drive of 2 to 3x the source drive's capacity, so 8 TB is about right.
Time Machine will want the entire backup drive to itself.
I see 8 TB hard drives on Amazon for about $158 so that's reasonable. I have alot of junk on my computer. I was loading a bunch of photos and videos from my phone to do Photoshop and Divinci Resolve. I need to save the files in a more concise way in the future... And keep friends from loading a bunch of junk onto my computer without my knowledge... I really appreciate your help. I didn't use the computer that much up until recently. Then, I got into trouble and thought MacKeeper, etc were reliable programs. So many scams these days!
If your friend also installed GeoComply Player Location, then they were probably also online gambling or doing paid competitive e-sports from your computer too. So who knows what else they mucked around with.
Just got the hard drive. About to set it up and do Time Machine... I delayed it too long. Should have been done it. Thanks so much for your help!
Best to save prior to removing the additional account and VPN which I was suggested by someone else were toxic...? Or remove as many toxic apps, files, plugins, etc. PRIOR to doing the save?
Thank you! I think it's done but I wanted to save my phone photos, too. It's taking forever. I may just scrap it and do it after the reboot. I have the Intel version of iMac desktop from 2015. So, it's going to be a bit nervous for me to "pull the trigger" and wipe all my stuff from the hard drive. I'm reading the instructions over and over to make sure I do the right thing. I think I have to go into a different mode and use disk utility...? I'm hoping the reboot will go well and I can get on with my life... LOL Still - it's a bit nerve-wracking. Seems like it's easier with Silicon but that's not what I have... Who knew?
In general, "the patient" (my computer) seems in fairly good health. Just taking forever to do anything related to the desktop.
Any last suggestions? You guys have been great! Thank you for your help. It means alot to me.
Hi everyone. Just wanted to thank you all for your support! Everything went well. I deleted everything and did a reset. Computer seems to be working much better now. I don't think I could have done it without you so your support is much appreciated. Have a great day or evening.
Here you go: Back up your files with Time Machine on Mac - Apple Support
Regarding Step 1, I'd get a minimum 8 TB capacity for that Mac.
Thank you! I will get a hard drive tomorrow. I have one but it's about 1/2 full and I'm not sure how much space I'll need. I really appreciate your help!
Can someone help me with my EtreCheck report?