First things first: Now that we’ve Apple’s macOS 10.14 (Mojave). If your iMac is running an older macOS version, we recommend you upgrade. Here are several important things to prepare your Mac for macOS Mojave.
May 11, 2019. Sep 13, 2017. On our experiment, when we’re using 2.4GHz connection we barely gets 100Kb/s to 200Kb/s download speed and it takes 5 hours to complete the macOS High Siera Updates which is the size is 5.20 GB. But when connected to 5GHz we get the full bandwidth of our internet connection which is 3.5Mb/s and it only takes 30 minutes to complete the update.
Beach balls belong at the beach — which is probably why Mac’s loading cursor has been “lovingly” nicknamed the spinning beach ball of death. Whether you call it the beach ball or the pinwheel, it certainly doesn’t make you feel like you’re at the beach.
So are you seeing that cursor more often with your iMac? And you wondered why your Mac is running slower?
The longer you’ve had your computer, the more likely it is that your iMac is going to suffer performance issues — but even newer models can seem to slow down at times. So what gives?
There’s actually a number of different reasons out there — but don’t let them discourage you.
By pinpointing the likely culprits, you can find the simplest ways to solve the issue and get your Mac machine back to its usual pace — perhaps then you can spend some time at the actual beach ?
In this guide, we are going to share with you those common reasons why an iMac may freeze up or run slower, and more importantly, what you can do to speed it up.
Why is My iMac so Slow?
To add to the frustration of seeing that spinning beachball, there are a number of different reasons why your Mac could be sluggish in performance, ranging from hardware issues to even simple user errors. Here are a few of the top offenders:
Any of those issues sound familiar to you? Good — if you can pinpoint the cause, it’s a bit easier to discover how to fix it.
Still not sure? Don’t worry, there are some more hints below as to what solutions may work best for you.
1. Improve Overall Performance with Better Computer Habits
The first thing any Mac users should do when that spinning beach ball starts popping up too often is take a look at how the computer is being used. Ask yourself these questions:
Sound familiar? Thankfully, there are a few easy fixes that improve your Mac’s overall performance.
First, clean up your hard drive.
Use an external drive to save files you don’t access very often, like older family photos or videos. Uninstall any applications that you don’t use any more. Even clearing out your bookmarks will help. If you prefer the easy way, you can use CleanMyMac, an app that automatically searches for system junk and unnecessary files and removes them with one click.
Second, look at the apps you are using.
Programs that essentially do the same thing can be drastically different in terms of speed. Firefox tends to be much slower than Safari. In general, third-party apps tend to run slower than native Apple programs. For example, using Microsoft Word instead of Pages may make your iMac run slower.
Then, clean out your desktop and dock.
This can also improve your computer’s performance. Instead of storing files and apps directly on the desktop, leave them on the hard drive and use a shortcut icon for the desktop.
Some slow issues can also be improved by resetting the non-volatile random access memory (NVRAM), helping to free up some of the active memory your Mac machine uses. Apple has a detailed guide here. Clearing out the system management controller can help too — the process is as simple as turning the iMac off and also unplugging from the outlet.
2. Optimize iMac Startup Speed
Macs run fine most of the time, but acting more Tortoise than Hare when powering up? There are a number of issues that can cause your computer to start up slow even freeze to death. For example, when your computer is trying to start several programs at once, performance suffers. There are a few ways to fight off that start-up sluggishness.
The easiest way to manage Mac startup items is by using MacBooster (via the “Startup Optimization” feature, there you just select the items you don’t want to start up and click “Disable”, that’s it). By the way, the software does a number of things to keep your iMac in good shape.
If you’re a power user, it’s also relatively easy to get that done manually. First, reduce the number of programs that start automatically. These settings are available in System Preferences > Users & Groups. Don’t see some of the start-up programs there? Click on the app on the dock, then under options uncheck “Open at Login”. When shutting the computer down, make sure to also uncheck the box that says “Reopen windows when logging back in” or you’ll still have several programs running at startup.
Second, make sure that your computer isn’t working harder at the start by disconnecting any accessories. Leaving an external hard drive, SD card or even a printer plugged in at startup will slow down the process. Finally, make sure you are still using good computer habits. Keep your hard drive clean, and give your Mac a check up occasionally by looking at the system report.
3. Fix iMac Frozen and Crash Issues
Sometimes the issue isn’t that the machine itself is slow, but that it’s not running at all with frequent freezes and crashes. First, determine if the issue happens only when you are using a certain app or only when you have a certain accessory (like a hard drive or printer) plugged in, or if it happens universally across several different tasks.
If the issue seems to be an app, check the manufacturer for updates and install them, since many will include bug fixes that prevent crashes. If you are still having trouble, contact the application developer with specific details to try to resolve the issue.
Speed Up Slow Mac
But, if the crashes aren’t happening when you are using a certain program, it’s likely an iMac issue. First, make sure you have enough space on your hard drive, once again you can use CleanMyMac to free up more disk space. If your iMac has stored a lot of duplicate files like copies of photos and backups, remove or transfer them by using this smart duplicates finder called Gemini.
Also, close any applications you aren’t using. If the issue persists, use Disk Utility to check for any errors from your start-up disk. You can also use Apple Diagnostics to help identify persistent errors.
4. Speed up Slow Internet Connection on iMac
Apps running fine, but internet crawling? First, run a speed test to see if it’s your network provider or the computer that’s causing the issues with a tool like Wi-Fi Explorer. Once you’re satisfied you are getting the speed you are paying for, make sure the router isn’t the issue — try moving it closer to your computer for a better connection. Use Wi-Fi Explorer again to see if your iMac picked up on any of the issues.
Next, check if you’ve been caught up by some Adware, a new type of malware that does not do much harm but displays flash ads when you surf the Internet. That could slow down your browsing experience, even crash your web browser. How to fix it? You can try a lightweight security app like Norton Security for Mac to scan and remove any threats it would find.
A slow internet connection can also be caused, again, by bad computer habits. What web browser do you use? Safari is optimized to run on Mac, and you will likely have more issues with Firefox, Chrome and other browsers. If you already use Safari, do some spring cleaning by emptying the cache (Safari > Empty Cache) and refreshing the history (History > Clear History). Or, you can go into the Safari menu and choose reset to restore the factory defaults.
One more way to speed up your internet connection is to reduce the number of programs that are connected to the internet. Time Machine, for example, may be set up to automatically backup your computer via Wi-Fi and can slow your connection. Apps like Mail and anything connected with iCloud will also use up your connection, so close out all the un-essentials when you need more internet speed.
5. Fix It When Your iMac is Slow after macOS Update
A macOS update should improve system crashes and speed — but that’s not always the case. Many users have reported that their computer has slowed down after updating to latest macOS (i.e. 10.14 Mojave). Initially, the system may run a bit slow as the new system needs time to update library data in certain built-in apps and the performance issues should resolve on its own after 24-48 hours.
The new user interface in macOS Mojave may also be partially to blame — while that flushing effect you see when closing apps is cool, it’s not so great for performance. You can reduce the motion and transparency effects via System Preferences > Accessibility > Display, and check the “Reduce Motion” and “Reduce Transparency” options.
6. Boost Your Old iMac with Hardware Upgrades
Technology ages in dog years — or even double dog years. If your iMac is slow and none of the above suggestions fixed the issue, you may need to upgrade your computer’s physical components, or at least compare the cost of doing so with the price of a new machine.
Two of the biggest hardware updates that will enhance your speed are upgrading the RAM and switching to an SSD from an old HDD or Fusion Drive. The computer’s RAM is where all the active applications are stored — if your RAM isn’t big enough, you won’t be able to multitask without a significant slowdown. RAM standards have increased over the years to better meet the demands of new software. Most iMacs have removable memory slots so that upgrading RAM is a simple DIY job on these models.
Solid State Drives or SSDs are about five times faster than the hard drives inside even a three-year-old iMac. https://dpcma.over-blog.com/2020/10/watch-the-color-purple-online-free-no-download.html. Because there are no moving parts, they’re more efficient for speed and performance and run between $100 and $500. You can replace your hard drive, or run a dual hard drive and keep the original for more file storage.
Here’s a video you may find useful:
Final Words
iMacs are well-built machines — time goes on, it’s not too surprising that your Mac gets older and tends to run a bit slower. Sometimes, that’s from bad computer habits, while other cases are simply from outdated hardware. We hope you find the above fixes useful. If you have any additional questions, leave a comment below.
How to Fix A Slow Hard Drive with 8 Tips (Quick Navigation)
Applies to: fix a slow hard drive on Windows 10/8/7 Desktop or Laptop
Are you confused by a hard drive slows down in file transfer speed, read/write, or response? This can start to happen to everyone with an aging PC, but sometimes it happens in just a short period of time, like a few months. To fix a slow hard drive, you must clearly know that there are basically two culprits: software and hard drive corruption. Once hard drive and software lack in good health, it begins to develop bad sectors, viruses, fragmentation, and many serious issues and finally leads to a very slow speed that affects your life and work.
Hard Disk Suddenly Is Extremely Slow, How to Fix
'Is it normal to see my LaCie external hard drive becoming very slow suddenly? Especially this afternoon when I tried to copy some large files to it, I noticed that the speed of the transfer was almost 0.5MB/s.I am so sure it's not about the slow internet. Perhaps it's because the hard drive is too old to function well. Do I have to replace the hard drive? But I'm still looking for some better advice to prolong the lifespan of this slow external hard drive.'
For your information, factors of viruses, bad sectors, bad track, and corrupted master boot record on an HDD or USB external hard drive would result in its decreasing performance. There are many ways to determine which way your hard drive becomes slow down. Here on this page, we provided the most helpful hard drive test and repair solutions for you, which are divided into two parts: quick fixes and advanced fixes. The quick fixes we put in the beginning do not require much time and skills, so we suggest you take a glance and give a try if you haven't tried any of the methods yet.
Fix 1. Check and Remove Virus from the Slow Hard DriveMac Slow Download Speed
You can ask for help from the built-in Windows Defender or some reputable third-party antivirus software (i.e., McAfee, Symantec, Kaspersky, Avast.) to scan hard drive viruses. Here are the steps to remove the virus using Norton:
Step 1. Download and run Norton Power Eraser.
If a new version is available, Norton Power Eraser will check and download it.
Mac Download Speed Very Slow Jams
Step 2. In the 'Norton Power Eraser' window, click the 'Scan for Risks' icon.
Step 3. Wait patiently during the process.
Step 4. After successfully removing the risk, click 'Finish'.
You can also try to remove the virus without using antivirus software, instead, using cmd.
Step 1. Run the Windows Command Prompt with the Admin privilege.
Step 2. Type the command:
Fix 2. Switch the SATA Data Cable to Fix HDD Slow
The other quick solution to fix a slow hard drive, especially for the hard drive that fails in a fast file transfer speed, is to switch the SATA data cable from the first to the last SATA port. Sometimes, it's a problem of a dusty or loose SATA cable that slows down your HDD.
Step 1. Disconnect the SATA cable from the first SATA port.
Step 2. Connect the SATA cable to the last SATA port.
Fix 3. Disable Startup Programs to Speed Up Hard Drive
The more programs you install on your computer, the longer it may take to boot or start Windows. If your hard drive is running extremely slow as your system drive, you can fix it by disabling some unnecessary startup applications.
Steps to disable startup programs in Windows 10:
Step 1. Open System Configuration or Task Manager, go to the Startup tab.
Step 2. Scroll down to select all unnecessary programs and click 'Disable'.
Fix 4. Check Disk Usage and Restart Some Programs
Some applications like Photoshop can take up high disk usage resulting in a slow hard drive. Thus, you can check the disk usage in Task Manager and restart the program accordingly.
Step 1. Type task manager in the Windows search bar and select 'Task Manager.' https://speedykryptonitecupcake.tumblr.com/post/631970816072040448/ndp-view-2-download-mac.
Step 2. In the Processes tab, look at the 'Disk' process to see which program is eating up your disk usage.
Then, restart the program to see if your hard drive running at a high speed.
Fix 5. Check Hard Drive Errors to Fix Slow HDD Error
For some serious hard drive issues that might cause a hard drive overloaded and sluggish, you need the advanced help of professional hard drive diagnostic toolkits! Here, EaseUS Partition Master Free is recommended. This free partition manager comes with a useful feature that happens to solve the problem of a slow hard drive correctly, which is called 'Check File System'. See how to use it in a simple way.
Step 1: Open EaseUS Partition Master on your computer. Then locate the disk, right-click the partition you want to check, and choose 'Check File System'. https://campusbrown417.weebly.com/blog/free-music-maker-download-mac.
Step 2: In the Check File System window, keep the 'Try to fix errors if found' option selected and click 'Start'.
Step 3: The software will begin checking your partition file system on your disk. When it has completed, click 'Finish'.
Fix 6. Clean Up and Optimize Hard Drive for Free
Your hard drive can run like a snail if it is full of junk files like system junk files or application cache. You can get rid of these junk files with a free tool - EaseUS Tools M. This free tool helps clean up system junk files and large files with ease. Here are the steps to perform system cleanup.
Step 1. DOWNLOAD and install EaseUS Tools M. Select 'System Cleanup' on the main screen.
Step 2. Select the type of junk files you want to scan and click 'Analyze'.
Step 3. Identify and select useless files and click 'Clean up' to remove those files from your PC or laptop.
Fix 7. Defragment Your Computer Hard Drive
https://campusbrown417.weebly.com/blog/download-original-halo-for-mac. To keep your hard drive running its best, you should defragment, or consolidate files, on your hard drive. Defragmenting improves your computer's performance. Here are the steps:
Step 1. Open 'This PC', right-click your hard drive and select 'Properties'.
Step 2. Select 'Tools > Optimize'. Then, select the drive again and the drive will be optimized automatically.
Fix 8. Extend C Drive to Speed Up the Hard Drive
If your hard drive is the system drive - C drive, you can extend C drive to solve the slow hard drive issue. You can turn to EaseUS Partition Master again to get help. Download this software and extend C drive with ease.
Step 1: Launch EaseUS Partition Master
Increase Download Speed Mac
Step 2: Increase C drive space
1. Shrink partition to free up unallocated space:
Right-click on a partition next to the C: drive and select 'Resize/Move'.
Drag either end of the partition to shrink and leave unallocated space behind the system C: drive and click 'OK'.
2. Right-click on C: drive and select 'Resize/Move'.
3. Drag the system partition end into unallocated space so to add space to C: drive.
Step 3: Keep all changes to extend C: drive
Click the 'Execute Operation' and click 'Apply' to keep all changes so to extend the system C: drive.
Conclusion
These 8 tips can do you a great favor when you are trying to solve the hard drive slow issue. Among them, EaseUS partition software has played an important role in checking disk error and increasing C drive space. If you still have problems, you can read the FAQs to get additional help.
FAQs - How to Fix Hard Drive Becomes Slow Suddenly
Basically, by removing hard drive bad sectors and optimizing the hard drive should revive the failing hard drive that becomes incredibly slow and slow. Otherwise, you have to apply a quick format with the software's format partition features, or even a low-level format to make a final effort. Have you noticed a certain speed improvement in your hard drive on your computer? There are several other concerned questions and solutions that might give you a clue of increasing the hard drive speed.
1. Hard drive very slow to read
Check for programs making frequent read/write requests to the hard disk in Task Manager. Make sure no unwanted programs are tying up your disk in the background. Full solutions to how to fix hard drive slow to read.
2. External hard drive slow and unresponsive
Connect your external hard drive to a new USB port to a new computer to check whether it's really not responding. Font explorer for mac os high sierra. Sometimes a damaged USB port will disallow your drive to show up and respond properly on the PC. Full solutions to how to fix external hard drive not responding.
Mac Download Speed Very Slow Cooker3. Fix slow external hard drive on MacSlow Mac Computer
Many factors would affect the performance of an external hard drive on macOS/Mac OS X and decrease its speed in file transfer or hard drive loading. Tuneup for mac free download. Here are some Mac external hard drive speedup tips for you, including activity monitor lookup, proper startup items management, visual effects turning off, etc. Full solutions to how to fix slow external hard drive on Mac.
Mac Slow Internet Speed4. The External hard drive takes forever to load
Hard drive not showing up or recognized is taken as one of the direct consequences of infinite loading. To overcome the endless loading problem and prolong the lifespan of an old hard drive that has the loading problem, you can update outdated disk drivers, format the disk, etc. Full solutions to how to fix an external hard drive take a long time to load.
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