iMac is slow after the Tahoe installation.

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Level 1

5 points

iMac is slow after the Tahoe installation.

I have a fairly new iMac, 8 months old M4 chip. When I bought it, it was working great. I recently installed Tahoe, and now the thing won't open up anything after it wakes up from sleep mode. I open Chrome as an example, and the window opens but you can't search for anything. I wait and wait, and then usually close Chrome and then reopen it. Then it usually works. It's not just Chrome, it's everything. Having to wait 2 minutes or so to get started is not exactly how i want this thing to work. As I said, it was fast and working great before the update. The version of Tahoe is 26.1. Any good suggestions? I actually did an uninstall and reinstall of the Tahoe OS, and that didn't help. Thanks very much

iMac 24″, macOS 26.1

Posted on Dec 21, 2025 11:19 AM

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Answer 1

Dec 21, 2025 12:14 PM in response to steveg2700

are you using any apps that claim to "clean up" or "speed up" or otherwise "optimize" your Mac? and / or any antivirus apps? the only thing those apps are good for is causing major issues within macOS while providing ZERO protection or benefit. you would do well to uninstall them.

if you have no such apps, i'm thinking you should download and run the free version of EtreCheck so we can see if you have some software installed that is causing your issue. make sure you give "full disk access" to etrecheck. Learn how to use it by reading Using EtreCheck. if you need help interpreting the report, you can see how to post the report here by reading How to use the Add Text Feature When Posting Large Amounts of Text, i.e. an Etrecheck Report. and it automatically obscures sensitive things (like serial numbers) so you don't have to worry about sharing the report here.

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Answer 2

Owl-53

Level 10

102,643 points

Dec 22, 2025 2:59 AM in response to steveg2700

If you mean Erase all Content and Setting ?

If doing that procedure, it would have only removed everything Except the Operating System, Tahoe 26.1

It would have remained untouched

If you had since restored the computer from a recent TM Backup when issues were presenting

The Restore from the backup would have Re-Introduced the existing Issue right back into the computer

Thereby, Negating all the work you had done previously

You best course of action is to follow the good advise from my colleague @ jefferythefrog and use the Etreach application and post the Full Report

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Answer 3

steveg2700 Author

Level 1

5 points

Dec 22, 2025 5:00 AM in response to steveg2700

Thank you both for your advice. I ran the report, but can't post it. I tried adding the extra text feature, but I can't seem to make it work properly. Could you please explain the procedure exactly? Thank you

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Answer 4

Owl-53

Level 10

102,643 points

Dec 22, 2025 5:19 AM in response to steveg2700

From Within the Etrecheck application

You " Copy Report "

This will place a Copy of the Full Report onto the Clipboard

ie Finder >> Edit >> Show Clipboard. Check of it is there

Manoeuvre to Additional Text

⌘ + V as in Victory will paste the report into Additional Text

Give it a Name like Etrecheck Report

Once done >> Post

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