iMac Running Very Slow - What To Do

martindow

My partner has an imac which is incredibly slow to start up, open apps, etc.  It is a 2015 model running Monterey 12.7.6 and has a 1TB HD with less than 200MB used, 800 free.

After a quick google, problems suggested seem to be lack of HD space and programs running in the background using lots of CPU, but there don't seem to be any. 

Two items load on log in - Mac_SwapperDemon and Autolaunchapp.  Could these be affecting startup and can I safely disable them?

It's an old machine, but it seems madness to spend over £1000 replacing it if it can be made to run a bit faster.  Any ideas please?

oldernonethewiser

martindow said:

My partner has an imac which is incredibly slow to start up, open apps, etc.  It is a 2015 model running Monterey 12.7.6 and has a 1TB HD with less than 200MB used, 800 free.

After a quick google, problems suggested seem to be lack of HD space and programs running in the background using lots of CPU, but there don't seem to be any. 

Two items load on log in - Mac_SwapperDemon and Autolaunchapp.  Could these be affecting startup and can I safely disable them?

It's an old machine, but it seems madness to spend over £1000 replacing it if it can be made to run a bit faster.  Any ideas please?

Well it can't be that if so little of the hard drive is being used.

If you do a search for Mac_SwapperDemon you will find descriptions of ways to remove it.

Never heard of Autolaunch app and searches suggest it is an Android thing.

I would stop both of these running at start up and you'll soon find out if that makes a difference.

Neil_Jones

I think you mean 200Gb, not 200Mb 

Monterey requires 16Gb of hard drive space on its own.

Based on the age I'd say hard drive is on the way out, but apparently this flavour of MacOS freaks the frig out if you introduce it to an  SSD its not expecting.

SimplyBetter

martindow said:

My partner has an imac which is incredibly slow to start up, open apps, etc.  It is a 2015 model running Monterey 12.7.6 and has a 1TB HD with less than 200MB used, 800 free.

After a quick google, problems suggested seem to be lack of HD space and programs running in the background using lots of CPU, but there don't seem to be any. 

Two items load on log in - Mac_SwapperDemon and Autolaunchapp.  Could these be affecting startup and can I safely disable them?

It's an old machine, but it seems madness to spend over £1000 replacing it if it can be made to run a bit faster.  Any ideas please?

https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-250003583

martindow

Thanks all for your help and advice.  Yes Neil, GB not MB - I'm from the age of floppy discs and KB and still catching up!

Reading more about this it seems that more recent versions of the OS it has updated to are more demanding of the HD and the relatively slow speed of the existing one is not sufficient hence the slowness.  

If newer OS require the speed of an SSD to work well an external drive could well be the answer.  The LaCie one mentioned in the article linked to by Simply is not available, but no doubt the people in my local Apple store could advise on an alternative.

PHK

That iMac is on the vintage list so only receives essential support and repairs. There might not be anyone who can advise in store. 

zagubov

These machines have a long potential life (I'm on a 2012 macbook right now).
Maybe look in Applications>utilities.activity monitor to see what might be using up the memory/processor.
Are you able to change the OS to a version that tolerates SSDs better?

SimplyBetter

zagubov said:

These machines have a long potential life (I'm on a 2012 macbook right now).
Maybe look in Applications>utilities.activity monitor to see what might be using up the memory/processor.
Are you able to change the OS to a version that tolerates SSDs better?

From whence did you inform yourself that Monterey 12.7.6 has a problem with SSD?
A couple of people have mentioned this. I think you are mistaken. The issue is often with the external drive caddy/connection, rather than the drive itself.
Which is why only certain drives were recommended and this is mentioned in the linked-to article;

Although many external SSDs may work as an external SSD startup disk for Mac, some may not have the correct connection or startup disk functionality. If you purchase an external SSD other than what is recommended above, check with the manufacturer to find out if it uses USB 3.1 technology and can be used as a startup disk for a Mac computer.

It might require a bit of trial and error with enclosure cases. 
I would buy an SSD and enclosure case separately. Though don't buy a cheap SSD that has no DRAM if going for a 2.5" SSD. 
The OP might not be quite so adventurous and may prefer to seek out a brand name product that might give him some assurance that if it does not work as requested, that they can return it. Here is one such product: Crucial X9 Pro 1TB Portable SSD | CT1000X9PROSSD9 | Crucial UK
They can make suitable inquiries before purchase. Note that product will need a USB-A 3.1 to USB-C adapter, since the iMac may not have USB-C.
Would be helpful if they properly identified their iMac, rather than just guessing.
Examples:

iMac Model/Generation	Part Number(s)
iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Mid 2015)	MF885xx/A
iMac (21.5-inch, Late 2015)	MK142xx/A, MK442xx/A
iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, Late 2015)	MK452xx/A
iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Late 2015)	MK462xx/A, MK472xx/A, MK482xx/A

martindow

Thanks again for the further comments.  

@SimplyBetter putting the serial number into Macfinder it is a 21.5" Late 2015, 1.6 Ghz i5 dual core which I think is MK142LL/A/A

SimplyBetter

martindow said:

Thanks again for the further comments.  

@SimplyBetter putting the serial number into Macfinder it is a 21.5" Late 2015, 1.6 Ghz i5 dual core which I think is MK142LL/A/A

Model

A1418 (EMC 2889)

It's what I imagined, given the issues with performance. Even though I suggested an external SSD, I think it a rather inelegant solution, though probably the right one if you are not able to tackle this:

https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/iMac+Intel+21.5-Inch+EMC+2889+Hard+Drive+Replacement/57817

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYNFJwhuDm4

martindow

Thanks SimplyBetter.  As you suspect that looks a bit daunting for me.  I have got a local repairer who may well be confident doing this for me.  If so do SSDs have standard dimensions to be a straight swap for the existing drive?